Christmas is coming and the goose’s days are numbered as the song goes. Or something.
About a month ago, everyone was ranting about the proliferation of Christmas adverts, advent calendars and tempting selections of special biscuits, cheese and chocolate in the supermarkets.
Now we’re at the end of November and suddenly conversation everywhere is dominated by Christmas shopping (unless you’re me and got it out of the way very very early *glances smugly at the pile of shiny giftwrapped bundles in the living room*), party dresses and talks of sobbing at the John Lewis advert. We have debated endlessly the best Christmas song (Fairytale of New York) and the best Christmas film (Die Hard. Shut up! It is!) and thus accepted the onslaught of the festive season.
Naturally the best thing about Christmas for me is the food. I’ve crammed in more mince pies for ‘research’ already than I care to admit to and after having a cinnamon cherry crepe at the Christkindlmarkt yesterday, I am now obsessed with flavouring everything with this combination.
Mmmmmm.
My best recommendation for a Christmas roast is to:
1) Order a turkey from the fabulous Swillington Organic Farm.
You can even go visit your Turkey on their Turkey Walk. Macabre but fun!
2) Brine brine brine. When roasting a turkey, the proteins contract and release the fat and juices. Good for gravy… not so good for keeping your bird moist!
If you drown the bird in a brine bath for a couple of days, the salt in the brine bath breaks down some of the proteins in the meat which allows water to enter all the little cells. That way, when you cook it, it retains some of the moisture and you don’t get that horrible stringy texture of dry bird. You’re welcome.
>> Here’s my recipe for the perfect turkey
3) Sex up your vegetables. Brussells sprouts are gorgeous and traditional but you can make them far more exciting with one of my sprout recipes. Parp.
>> Sexy sprouts
4) Make everything boozy. Egg nog is brilliant. It’s like custard but makes you hallucinate (well mine does…) and it goes fantastically with mince pies.
>> Sailor Jerry’s Egg Nog
>> Poncey mince pies
5) Say no to sage and onion. A sexy chai tea loaf, pancetta, pear & leek stuffing is far more fun.
And your leftovers?
>> Turkey risotto
>> Boxing day soup
I will see you tonight at the Culture Vultures party!