Christmas dinner idea thread.....

[Glaucus]

I know there's a lot of budding chefs and there a few of us who do a fake Christmas dinner for friends on the run upto Christmas.
Mines in two weeks.

So what's everyone doing for their dinner.
I can't decide what meat to do on the main course. I might look into traditional Victorian or possibly Roman dinners as I want to try something other than the usual turkey or goose.

Starter
Game terrine with cranberry sauce and fresh bread
Haven't decided on which bread to make yet.
Loosely based on this recipe
About 600g lean meat cut into strips (this could include any of pheasant breasts, guinea fowl breasts, duck breasts, goose breasts, saddle of rabbit, haunch of venison)
olive oil for frying
500g sausage meat, livers (and other game off cuts),finely chopped
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
6 mint leaves, finely chopped
few sprigs of thyme, finely chopped
5 juniper berries and 3 black peppercorns crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
splash of brandy or Armagnac
2 tbsp red wine
300g streaky bacon

1) In a large bowl, mix together the sausage meat, the chopped game offal, the breadcrumbs and all the herbs and spices
. Mix together with your hands then add the egg and the alcohol. Again, using your fingers mix together well until all the ingredients have combined.
2) De-bone the game if necessary then cut into strips about 5cm long and 2cm thick. Heat some oil in a frying pan and gently fry the meat until browned on all sides. Take from the heat and leave aside to cool
3) Use the streaky bacon to line the base and sides of your terrine dish, leaving enough bacon overhanging to use to cover *** top.
4) You can now add a layer of the sausage meat mix to the bottom of the terrine, followed by a layer of the meat and a layer of sausage meat mix. Keep on alternating layers of sausage meat mix and meat strips until you reach the top (three layers of meat is good). However you create your terrine make sure that you finish it with a layer of fsausage meat mix which should extend a little above the rim of the dish.
5) overlap the bacon to cover the meat inside and cover with foil and try not to let the foil touch the meat. Secure with a couple of elastic bands
6) cook in a bainmarie for about 2hours. verry slow simmer or around 160 in the oven.
7) use a thermometer or a metal skewer to check the middle is pipping hot and cooked.
8) once cooked, remove the foil and allow to cool slightly. Next you need to press *** terrine down. Good way is to have an exact same terrine mould and place that on top with something heavy in it. Place in *** fridge and leave for at least 1 day.


Cranberry Sauce
cranberrys
Port
Water
Juice of an orange
Lemon zest
Honey and sugar
Cinnamon
Nutemeg

First make a syrup by dissolving the honey in the water and port over gentle heat. Once all the honey has dissolved add the cranberries, spices orange and lime. Turn up the heat and cook the mixture until the cranberries pop (about five minutes). Then reduce the heat to a rolling boil and continue to cook the mixture until it has thickened sufficiently.



Cottage loaf
500g Strong white bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons fast acting yeast or 1 ounce fresh yeast
350ml tepid milk and water mix (50:50)
1 egg

1) sift flour and salt into a bowl, stir in the sugar and yeast. Make a well in *** centre, stir in the milk/water mix and make the dough.
2) Kneed the dough on a floured surface for 15mins untill smooth and ellastic
3) put the dough in a large clean, oiled bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place till it doubles (about an hour)/ Turn out and kneed the dough for one minute. Dive *** mixture into two thirs and one third. Shape into balls and leave for 5 minutes under a damp cloth.
4) put the smaller ball ontop of the big one, push your finger through the small ball into the big ball to join them. Take a sharp Knife and cut slots all around *** two balls.
5) beat the egg and some salt and brush over the dough
6) cook for 35-45 minutes at 220


Main course
Royal Roast - 3 Bird Roast
Ingredients
6kg oven-ready goose
1.3kg chicken, oven ready
1 Pheasant, oven ready
1kg sausage meat
2 Onions, chopped and fried until softened
3 oranges, peeled and roughly chopped
3 Apples, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 bunch Chives, chopped
1 bunch tarragon, chopped

1. Ask the butcher to 'tunnel bone' all three birds completely removing all bones, which can then be used for making stock. Ask the butcher to keep the wing tips and leg ends on the goose.

2. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4. In a large bowl mix together the sausage meat, fried onion, orange, apple, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper, chives and tarragon to form a stuffing mixture.

3. Remove the skin from the chicken and pheasant, but leave the skin on the goose. Place the chicken on top of the goose, then the pheasant on top of chicken, spreading the stuffing mix between the layers.

4. Bring the edges of the goose together, creating the natural shape of a bird and secure with butcher's twine.

5. Lightly season the three bird roast, place in a roasting tray, cover with foil and roast in the oven for 4 hours, removing the foil for the last 40 minutes of cooking.

6. Rest the roast for at least 1 hour before slicing.

Braised red cabbage
75g butter
1 red cabbages
1 white onion
1 cinnamon sticks
150ml red wine
100ml red wine vinegar
50g caster sugar
3 apples
2tbsp cranberry jelly

1)preheat oven to 160c. In a pan melt the butter and fry the cabbage and onion, for a few minutes untill soft. Season with salt+pepper and add the cinamon sticks.
2) add the wine, red wine vinegar and sugar. Cover with a tight lid and place in the oven for 45minutes, halfway through add *** cooked apple.

Pigs in Blankets
Chipolates (2 per person)
Streaky bacon (1 per sausage)

1) wrap each sausage in the bacon
2) roast for about 30mins until dark brown

Roast Potatoes
Potatoes peeled and halved
4 tablespoons Olive oil
4 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
8 cloves garlic (whole)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
Salt + pepper

1) add Potatoes to a pan of water, turn on to a high heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling boil for 3-5mins. Drain and place in the baking tray.
2) throw in the Onions and garlic.
3) mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper, poor over the potatoes and shake tray to coat everything
4) roast for1hr30-2hrs, until golden. turn once halfway through.

Roast Parsnips and Butternut squash with maple syrup
Parsnips peeled and cut into 8 long strips
Butternut squash peeled and diced in to 2” cubes
4 tablespoons Olive oil
2 cloves garlic (whole)
1 medium onions, peeled and quartered
4 tablespoons maple syrup
Salt + pepper

1) add Parsnips to a pan of water, turn on to a high heat and bring to the boil. Immediately drain and place in the baking tray.
2) throw in the Onions and garlic.
3) mix the olive oil, maple syrup salt and pepper, poor over the veg and shake tray to coat everything
4) roast for1hr, until golden. turn once halfway through.

Honey carrots
Carrots
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon Honey

1) Chop carrots in to long thin batons.
2) Bring to the boil in salted water until aldente
3) Drain, replace in pan add butter and honey and mix until coated and glossy

Chestnut Brussels
1 pound Brussels
½ pound chestnuts
1 shallot
4 streaky rashers of bacon
Large knob butter

1) Cut a slit in each chestnut with a small knife, place in a pan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. After 10 mins add the brussels, when cooked drain.
2) Melt half the butter in a pan, add the shallot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
3) finely slice the bacon into small strips and add to the shallot, fry until brown and crispy.
4) add the Brussels and chestnut mixture to the shallots and fry for a few mins. Finley add the rest of the butter and mix to coat.

Yorkshire puddings (makes 6-8 small)
75 grams flour
100 mls milk
2 eggs
Oil/fat

1) Whisk the flour milk and eggs together with a pinch of salt and pepper.
2) Leave to rest in the fridge for 15-20 mins
3) Turn and pre heat the oven to highest temperature.
4) Place a baking tray with a generous slug of oil in each cake space.
5) Wait 10 mins until oil is smoking. Remove batter and give a final good whisk, poor batter in so it’s 1/3 high up the tin.
6) Return to oven and cook for about 15 mins, or 25mins if you make a large Yorkshire pudding.

Traditional Gravy
1 meat roasting tin
1tbsp oil
1 onion
1 celleray stick
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 litre stock

1) Again put the roasting dish on the stove and boil of any liquid.
2) Add a little oil and throw in the veg and garlic. Fry over a low heat till tender
3) Add the stock and boil until reduced by1/3-1/2
4) Pass through a sieve, pushing some of the veg through to help thicken the gravy.

Dessert
Ice cream and Christmas pudding filo parcels - with rum sauce
Home made ice cream (undecided on recipe)
Christmas pudding (again unsure on exact recipe)
But something like this
PDF File

Make balls of about 2.5"-3"a and freeze solid
slice the Christmas pudding and lightly roll out until about 0.3" thick.
Take 4 sheets of filo pastry and butter and layer.
Take the ice cream and rap the Christmas pudding around it squeezing it to take form. Place in the centre of the filo pasty and fold the sides up and twist the ends to form a crown.
Bake in the oven on a high heat till golden brown. Idea is to get the filo crispy without the ice cream melting to much. Same principle as baked Alaska.



Brandy Sauce:

Melt 2 tbsp. Butter in a saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons of unbleached flour. Stir together until incorporated and bubbling. Add a pinch of salt, 2 tbsp. of white sugar, a pint of half-and-half (milk + cream), ½ teaspoon of vanilla, and a dollop of brandy. Stir or whisk until the mixture thickens, but do not allow it to boil. Serve hot, ladled over the pudding.

And here's last years menu


Starter
Fried Camembert with Cranberry sauce
Fried Camembert
4 ounces Camembert cheese cut into triangles 3-4 each)
3 tablespoons flour
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 ounces fresh white breadcrumbs
oil (for deep frying)

1) Mix the cayenne pepper and the flour, then roll each Camembert triangle in flour, then in egg and then in breadcrumbs and then repeat so you get two coatings. This ensures no cheese leaks out.
2) Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or until a bread cube browns in 60 seconds.
3) Fry the portions of Camembert for 30 seconds or until golden brown.
4) Drain on kitchen paper.

Cranberry sauce
1/2 pint water
4 tablespoons brown sugar
2 cups cranberries (Fresh or frozen)


1) Cook cranberries in the 1/2 pint water and the sugar until they become a pulp.
2) Remove from heat and beat till you get a pulp


Serve Camembert on a small bed of rocket leafs and some cranberry dip alongside

Main
Lemon Butter Turkey
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 lemon, grated zest only
110g/4oz butter
1 onion, halved
turkey- giblets removed
225g/8oz streaky bacon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C /350F/Gas 4.
2. Mix the thyme, lemon zest and butter together, season with black pepper.Chill in the freezer for approx. 5 minutes until firm.
3. Put the onion, leftover lemon into the cavity of the bird: loosen the skin of the breast by sliding your fingers gently between the flesh and skin. Take the lemon butter and fit the firm pieces between the skin and the breast meat.
4. Smooth the skin back over and tuck the flap underneath. Tie the legs together. Lay the bacon, overlapping across the top of the turkey.
5. Place in a roasting tin which has been lined, cover the turkey loosely with aluminium foil. Cook for 20 minutes per pound and then an extra 20 minutes. Baste every 30 minutes, recover with foil each time.
6. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the foil to let the turkey brown.
7. When cooked remove the turkey from the oven and let it rest of 15 minutes.

Apricot and bacon Stuffing
10 slices bacon, diced
2 pounds pork sausage meat
1/2 cup finely diced dried apricot.
2 large onions, chopped
1 tsp. dried sage leaves, crumbled
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pound tart apples, cored and cut into 1/2" pieces
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs
3 slices of bread crumbs

Cook bacon until it just begins to brown, Crumble sausage meat in same pan
and cook till done. Add onions and apricots. Stir in sage, thyme, salt and pepper, then the
apples. Remove from heat, add parsley. Cook until apple just start to break down. Remove from heat and cool.
Add the breadcrumbs and eggs. Chill in the fridge for 20 mins. Roll into balls and roast in the oven for 30mins or until brown.

Pigs in Blankets
Chipolates (2 per person)
Streaky bacon (1 per sausage)

1) wrap each sausage in the bacon
2) roast for about 30mins until dark brown

Roast Potatoes
Potatoes peeled and halved
4 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
8 cloves garlic (whole)
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
Salt + pepper

1) add Potatoes to a pan of water, turn on to a high heat and bring to the boil. Once boiling boil for 3-5mins. Drain and place in the baking tray.
2) throw in the Onions and garlic.
3) mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper, poor over the potatoes and shake tray to coat everything
4) roast for1hr30-2hrs, until golden. turn once halfway through.

Roast Parsnips and Butternut squash
Parsnips peeled and cut into 8 long strips
Butternut squash peeled and diced in to 2” cubes
4 tablespoons Olive oil
1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
2 cloves garlic (whole)
1 medium onions, peeled and quartered
Salt + pepper

1) add Parsnips to a pan of water, turn on to a high heat and bring to the boil. Immediately drain and place in the baking tray.
2) throw in the Onions and garlic.
3) mix the olive oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper, poor over the veg and shake tray to coat everything
4) roast for1hr, until golden. turn once halfway through.

Honey carrots
Carrots
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon Honey

1) Chop carrots in to long thin battons.
2) Bring to the boil in salted water untill aldente
3) Drain, replace in pan add butter nad honey and mix untill coated and glossy

Stir fried cabbage
1 medium Cabbage
2 tbsp Oil
1 Egg

1) shred the cabbage
2) In a large wok ad the oil and stir fry the cabbage
3) Just before the cabbage is cooked, break the egg in and stir till it’s evenly coated

Chestnut Brussels
1 pound Brussels
½ pound chestnuts
1 shallot
4 streaky rashers of bacon
Large knob butter

1) Cut a slit in each chestnut with a small knife, place in a pan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. After 10 mins add the brussels, when cooked drain.
2) Melt half the butter in a pan, add the shallot and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until translucent.
3) finely slice the bacon into small strips and add to the shallot, fry until brown and crispy.
4) add the Brussels and chestnut mixture to the shallots and fry for a few mins. Finley add the rest of the butter and mix to coat.

Yorkshire puddings (makes 6-8 small)
75 grams flour
100 mls milk
2 eggs
Oil/fat

1) Whisk the flour milk and eggs together with a pinch of salt and pepper.
2) Leave to rest in the fridge for 15-20 mins
3) Turn and pre heat the oven to highest temperature.
4) Place a baking tray with a generous slug of oil in each cake space.
5) Wait 10 mins until oil is smoking. Remove batter and give a final good whisk, poor batter in so it’s 1/3 high up the tin.
6) Return to oven and cook for about 15 mins, or 25mins if you make a large Yorkshire pudding.

Gravy
I have two recipes for this, a fast simple one and a traditional.

Fast and simple
2 heaped tablespoons flour
3 tbsp Oil
1 pint water
3 tbsp Bovril

1) combine flour and oil in frying pan or in the turkeys roasting tin, if there is water in the roasting tin, boil this of first.
2) Let the oil and flour mixture fry for 30 secs, do NOT colour.
3) Add the water a little bit at a time, whilst continuously whisking, wait till it balls up/boils. Before adding more water. Keep doing this until you reach the required consistency.
4) Add the Bovril a bit at a time until you reach the required taste level.

Traditional Gravy
1 meat roasting tin
1tbsp oil
1 onion
1 celleray stick
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 litre stock

1) Again put the roasting dish on the stove and boil of any liquid.
2) Add a little oil and throw in the veg and garlic. Fry over a low heat till tender
3) Add the stock and boil until reduced by1/3-1/2
4) Pass through a sieve, pushing some of the veg through to help thicken the gravy.

Dessert
Banoffee pie
1 disc of shortcrust pastry
1 can of condensed milk
1 pint double cream
1-2 bananas

1) put the pastry disc in to a shallow pie baking tray and blind bake until golden and cooked.
2) In a sauce pan of water submerge the can of condensed milk and boil for two hours. Do NOT let the water drop below the top of the can, always ensure can is fully covered by water. Allow to fully cool in the water.
3) Whisk the cream until you get to the stiff peak stage and slice the banana
4) Once can is fully cooled open and spread on the pastry, then put a layer of banana before topping with the cream.

Frozen Mississippi mud pie
Base
50g Butter
75g Digestive biscuits
75g Ginger biscuits
Filling
1 pint double cream
450g Caster Sugar
4 level tbsp corn flour
4 eggs
125g butter
1tsp vanilla
30ml rum
10ml coffee essence (if you haven’t got any, keep an eye out for camp coffee, in a light brown glass bottle usually in the baking isle by sugar)
Topping
125g Plain Chocolate
2 eggs (separated)
150ml Double cream
icing sugar + cocoa for dusting
chocolate curls or grated chocolate for decoration.

1) lightly oil a deep 8” spring release cake tin
2) melt butter, finely crush biscuits and add the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the cake tin to form a abase. Place in fridge and allow to cool
Filling
1) Place cream and sugar in a heavy pan over a low pan. Heat until the sugar is dissolved, Do NOT boil. Remove from heat.
2) Mix the cornflour with 60ml of cold water, beat eggs and add to the cream
3) Place pan back onto the heat and bring to the boil, continuously stirring until it has boiled. Boil for 15-20mins stirring occasionally until very thick and looks like fudge.
4) Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, beat the butter and all over ingredients into the fudge until glossy.
5) Leave to cool further, poor over base and return to fridge.
Topping
1)Melt chocolate and cream for 10 mins do NOT boil
2) leave to fully cool
3) whisk the egg whites and fold into the chocolate
4) spoon over the fudge and place in the freezer for at least 2hours. Remove from freezer 20-30mins before serving.

Note – do not feed the Mississippi mud pie to pregnant people or young children, ensure that eggs are well within use by date.


If your anything like me you only have one oven.
The way I get around this problem is cook the sausages and stuffing, in the morning.
I then put a rack on the bottom of the oven giving me a 3rd shelf.
Turkey on top
Potatoes in middle
Parsnips and Butternut on bottom.

When the meats cooked, remove and allow to rest, as well as removing the others and place into serving bowls and cover to keep warm.
Then simply place the stuffing and sausages in the oven to warm through, also due to space I use frozen yorkshires, these go in at the same time and take 5mins. While these are all warming through you can make the gravy.

I hope this is a help to some of you.

[lostkat]

Oooo, nice! I like the look of the Game Terrine, Lemon Turkey and Christmas Filo Parcels especially.

I have 8 people coming over for dinner on Christmas Eve. Originally it was just 6, but then my brother and his GF decided they want in on things. I want to keep it fairly light as it's Christmas Eve.

I've decided that I want to do Salmon en Croute for the main, but am undecided on what to put in it as the filling. It'll probably involve juniper berries. The rest I'm still unsure on. I have a few options floating around, but I need to give it some thought really. I haven't even decided on what veg etc. to do with the salmon. My bro's GF doesn't like fish, so I'll be doing her a chicken breast wrapped in parma ham.

I'm sure I'll reach a decision eventually

[Glaucus]

Decided as long as the butcher has all three is stock I'm going to do a royal roast. (only get paid day before the meal)

Which is otherwise known as the three bird roast. see first post for recipe. Although I will change the stuffing.

[Kell_ee001]

I shall be eating whatever my parents are kind enough to feed me

[Glaucus]

225g Dried pitted dates chopped
225g glacéed lemon peel
225g glacéed orange peel
225g glacéed mix peel
225g glacéed red cherries
225g glacéed green cherries (couldn't find any so just used red)
425g currents
425g rasins
425g sultanas
340g ground or chopped almonds (which ever you preffer)
2 cups apricot brandy (I used an entire bottle of cognac and 1/2 litre of orange juice

450grams self raising flour
220grams demarar sugar (but muscavado might work better)
1 teaspon ground cinamon
1 teaspon ground ginger
1 teaspon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspon ground cloves
1 teaspoin salt
750g suet
6 large eggs
180ml red current jelly


1) Mixe all the dried fruit together and saok for 4 days, keep adding liquid if it starts to dry out.

2) after 4 days mix all teh dry ingredients together, add teh eggs and jelly to the wet ingredients. Mix all extremly well.

3) in a large enough bowl or several small ones. Evenly mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Make sure it's well combines. Can't mix to much. I would do it by hand or you'll break all teh cherries up.

4) greasy a pyrex or ceramic bowl, and place your mix in leaving a inch or two for expansion. Make sure it's well pressed down.

5) cook in a bainmarie for 6-12 hours

6) once cooled take out and wrap in cling film then foil and store in a cool place

&) once a week douse in some brandy or cognac. (as it's only 5 days till I will be eating this, I will be doing this every day)







The soaked dried fruit


The dry and wet ingredients :0 look how much there is I reckon this will make 4 or 5 family sized puds.. Ooppss


Mixed together, fills a large wok


Butter/grease your bowl


fill bowl leaving some room for expansion, double foil and secure with several elestic bands. Important not to let any water into the pud.

[Glaucus]

not as dark as I thought it would be and it's a little to moist. Too much cognac I recon. Still it's needs a 2nd cook. Only managed 4 hours but of to work now, so will cook it for another 4 hours or so tomorrow. Tastes great though..

[vix]

Mmm looks good. I'm doing my own mince pies this year Now I'm part time I'm spending most of my days off in the kitchen. Rightly so too I guess

[Glaucus]

Originally Posted by vix

Rightly so too I guess

To true. Can't beat a day in the kitchen.

Now it's cooled down the taste and texture is awesome. No where near as heavy as most Christmas puddings. but the colour is even more pale. But at least it tastes fanatastic. Just got another 3 or so to cook.

[Lopez]

That reminds me, I need to make some mincemeat

That Christmas Pud sounds alright actually AcidHell. I normally don't like it because it's just too heavy for me.

oops... posting on Leon's computer - Kate

[Glaucus]

Originally Posted by Lopez

I normally don't like it because it's just too heavy for me.

I don't usually make it as a I fell the same way, but this one is scrummy, I could easily eat this with custard. but it's going in another pud.