Dec 10, 2022
Today’s episode is with me, Fiona Staunton of Fionas’s food for life
Below are 10 tips that I hope may help you take some of the
hassle and stress out of the Christmas dinner.
1. Now : Make your red
cabbage now and freeze for Christmas,
- Dessert: Make your Christmas pudding well in
advance, (if you don't like traditional pudding, why don't you make
a chocolate biscuit cake version). Alternatively, a lemon tart
would be delicious if you don't want traditional and can be made
1-2 days in advance. Or a pretty Christmas
meringue wreath.
3. Menu: Plan the menu, keep it simple, but tasty. I usually opt for
Smoked salmon salad
Turkey,baked ham,red cabbage,garlic sprouts and roast potatoes and cranberry sauce.
Christmas pudding with brandy butter
4. Outsourcing: Outsource items to other family members, eg ask a brother to bring the ham, a sister to bring the starter and your mother to bring the plum pudding, made from an old family recipe! It can be a lot of pressure, and financial burden on one person.
5.Decoration: Get the kids involved in place settings or decoration. I find that girls in particular love craft and decorating things, why not get them to make place names for everyone? I have a recipe for edible gingerbread decorations, e.g. place names and a recipe for edible presents, pecan cookies. - Time: allow extra time when cooking the main
course. Remember that when you have lots of things going on in the
oven, it can take longer for things to cook. Allow the turkey to
stand for 30mins before carving.
7. Turkey & Ham: Buy enough to have some leftovers the next day but unless you enjoy making up batches of curries or pies don't buy a massive turkey or ham! If you don't want to deal with a large turkey, why don't you get a boned and rolled turkey from your butcher? Buy the best quality you can afford, eg organic bronzed turkey.Bake the ham the day before, have it hot on Christmas eve if you like, chill overnight but serve at room temperature on Christmas Day.
8. Gravy: Make the gravy the day before, to prevent the last minute pressure.
9. Brussel sprouts: The supermarkets and veg suppliers are loaded up with Brussel sprouts in the lead up to Christmas, it is traditional but not most people's favourite veg! Why not give a modern twist and shy away from the overcooked soft sprouts of our youth? If you shred them and steam fry in garlic and olive oil and top with bacon lardons it can be delicious. You can shred them the day before, store in the fridge covered in damp kitchen paper and they only take 5 mins or less to cook. Here is my recipe.
10. Cheese: Ireland has some amazing cheese. I think it is a wise investment to visit somewhere like Sheridan's Cheesemongers or a good local deli and buy a selection of Irish Cheese. While you may not eat it on Christmas day, a nice cheese board can make a fabulous, lunch, supper or final course to any dinner and if kept well will last for the whole holiday.
Happy Christmas!
ABOUT THE HOST - Fiona Staunton
Fiona Staunton is a Ballymaloe trained Chef and has a Degree in Education from Trinity.
Fiona’s Food For Life' launched 2017 with the slogan ‘Cook, Eat, Nourish’. Fiona launched a series of in-person and virtual demonstrations, she makes cooking good food uncomplicated. More details on the website https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/
WORK WITH FIONA
For cookery demos in real time, virtual or in person, or for speaking opportunities contact fiona https://www.fionasfoodforlife.ie/contact
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