Christmas By Requests

I received quite a few emails after Christmas to post our Christmas dinner.   What really surprises me is the amount of people that regularly come to this blog to see what I am up too.   I get recipe requests and get asked for advice on something or the other several times a day.  I am not a trained chef by any stretch of the imagination but just have this passion to cook.   Passion or a hobby is not something you can create it is something you have in you to harness.  I recently met a fellow who loved model railroading and that was his passion.   He passionately spoke about different locomotives, tracks and layouts like I would a recipe and ingredients.   The same way my wife speaks about wine,  apart from it being her job its her passion and that is why she is so good at it.

From the sounds of a few of the emails I got it seems many people get flustered and nervous to cook Christmas dinner from scratch.   The whole day need not be spent in the kitchen and dinner should come together at a leisurely pace while enjoying the day with family.  Most of our Christmas dinner was done ahead of time,  there are some dishes that actually taste better when made ahead and let to sit for a couple days.

Sour Bread

I made this bread with a bit of a sour twist for the stuffing a couple days ahead of time.  I actually used the steam over for this bread and the crust was outstanding.   By making this ahead of time I let the bread become stale for the stuffing,  by being stale it will absorb the stuffing broth more readily.

Apple Cider

Making a good apple cider is simple, easy, warm and comforting to drink on Christmas day.    I used orange rinds,  meyer lemons,  cloves, cinnamon and star anise.   I sweetened with maple syrup and warmed gently through the day.   Even though this picture looks like a lot of orange and lemons the flavour was subtle with a very slight hint of citrus.   I preferred mine spiked with a touch of brandy by the fireplace outside.   With the weather being exceptionally warm we built an all day fire while having a relaxed Christmas day.



5 Day Gravy

This gravy is bit of work but worth all the effort.   I start it about 5 days ahead of time.   I make a broth of about 8-9 litres from turkey legs, marsala wine and porcini mushrooms.   I simmer this for about 6 hours then strain it.   I then further reduce this broth down to about 2.5 litres.   I then dump a couple of dried mushrooms in the broth and let it sit in the fridge to mature and develop flavour for 3-4 days.   Christmas day I will dehydrate some porcini mushrooms, dice it finely and fry it in some butter and thyme.   I then add a couple tablespoons of flour to thicken and form a roux.  I deglaze with a bit of marsala wine then slowly I start adding the cold turkey broth reserving about half a litre of the broth for my stuffing.    I keep reducing this gravy until I have just about 2 cups and then add some cream and black pepper.   This gravy is packed with flavour.   Is it worth the effort absolutely.

Cranberry, Cherry and Tangerine Sauce

I soaked dried cherries in brandy for a few days and made this simple but amazing cranberry sauce.   Fresh tangerines,  brandy soaked cherries and of course fresh cranberries.  Maple sugar for sweetness to balance the tartness of the cranberries and tangerines.   Star anise, cinnamon and a couple cloves was all the spice needed.   This was made a couple days ahead and left to rest and develop flavour in the fridge.

Veal and Mushroom Stuffing

I made ground veal with porcini mushrooms ahead of time along with the broth.   Christmas day all I had to do was assemble,  soured bread, brandied cherries,  toasted walnuts, ground veal, turkey broth, eggs, fresh mushrooms and seasoned with thyme, rosemary and sage.   I did make a mistake though and wished I had fried the mushrooms more before adding it to the stuffing.   The end result was good but there is room for improvement in the future.   However that is one of the joys of cooking is to look at your mistakes and learn from them and how to improve on it in the future.   No recipe was perfect the first time and with experience you learn what works and what did not give you the results you expected.

Brussel Sprouts in Duck Fat

Simple as can be clean and cut brussel sprouts in half,  well for some of us it was while the brain contemplated every possible angle of a brussel sprout.  Then toss with duck fat and a touch of cayenne.   Roast on high heat for about 20 mins and till the outer layers of the brussel sprouts become crisp.  Serve with lemon.   Just a quick and fantastic side dish.

Capon

I brined this capon with tangerines and lemon.   It is amazing how much flavour and tenderness is achieved by a simple brine for a couple days.  I then but some poultry seasoning on it and roasted it outside in the big easy. Crisp skin and perfectly tender capon was the end result a couple hours later.



Sea Salt Creme Caramel

Made the day before and disappeared before there was a chance to take a picture.





The weather was lovely Christmas day and most of the day was spent outside sipping apple cider and tending to the fire.  There was no stress putting dinner together as most of the work was done ahead of time and maybe I spent 45 mins in the kitchen.   However the real trick and beauty to a stressless holiday is to have a good organized plan.   Don't make cooking a chore make it a fun activity with a bit of planning.