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.
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.
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