What we had for Christmas Dinner

Every year I post what we had for our Christmas Dinner, partly as a note to my future self. This year we had less people around, so didn’t go too crazy.

I did notice that across the supermarkets there was a lot less game based roasts about. Aldi for example didn’t do their excellent game box they did last year. That box came with two pheasants, partridges in puff pastry, partridge breasts, and some cranberry stuffing. M&S didn’t have their three bird game roast which we have had before, nor did they have their stuffed partridges or pheasant. I still wish Sainsbury’s did their four bird roast, a goose stuffed with duck, turkey and guinea fowl. However they’ve not done this roast for over ten years now… which is a pity.

In the end we had a Two Bone Rib of Beef from Aldi and the Slow Cooked Three Bird Roast from M&S.

We had the Slow Cooked Three Bird Roast from M&S last year and though initially I thought I had made a mistake in buying this roast, we really enjoyed it in the end.

This is the picture from the box.

This year, though I cooked it according to the instructions I don’t think it was a good as it was last year. Last year it was very easy to carve and didn’t fall apart, this year not so easy.

Last year we had a M&S salt dry-aged  British sirloin of beef roast. It was nice, but it was also expensive. We didn’t eat that much on the day, so it lasted for a few days cold. I decided that I would save some money and buy a cheaper beef joint this year and was impressed with the Two Bone Rib of Beef from Aldi, which was less than half the price of the M&S beef roast.

Though I cooked this medium, I had planned to cook it rare, was really good. Lovely and tender, and very tasty. I was really impressed with the end result.

We did have a range of stuffings and pigs in blankets, I mange to do crispy roast potatoes, and we had a nice selection of vegetables. I didn’t do any festive red cabbage this year, I also didn’t do my festive carrots.

Overall we had a delicious meal, which everyone enjoyed.

We have a tradition of having our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ve done this for ten years now. We do this for a few reasons. On Christmas Day itself, the children are often too excited to sit down for a long meal, so don’t eat or enjoy the meal or the occasion. It also usually means I spend a fair few hours in the kitchen, which means I miss them opening and playing with their presents. I also find it quite demanding to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, whilst creating a wonderful dining experience.

Having the meal on Christmas Eve means that we can both spend a bit more time preparing the meal (less stressful in itself) and enjoy eating the meal (as do the children). As a result for them it helps pass the time on one of the more exciting days of the year as they anticipate the arrival of a sleigh full of presents being pulled by eight tiny reindeer! Even though they are older now, we still maintain the tradition.

As to what we eat on Christmas day itself, well we have lots of lovely leftovers, cheeses, pickles, hot bread, etc…. quick and easy to prepare and delicious.

The story behind those green boxes

As we leave Christmas behind, I am reminded of the visit I made to Waitrose just after Christmas to get some coffee and milk. As I looked down the aisles I noticed amongst the shelves lots of large green boxes.

For many of us, planning our Christmas meals, we order main courses, sides, party dishes and desserts from our favourite supermarket and then as the big day approaches, we try to get through the crowds to pick up our orders. Often these orders come in plain boxes, and in the case of Waitrose green coloured boxes.

The reality is that not everyone comes and collects their orders. I also suspect sometimes people pick up their boxes, having only paid a deposit and leave the one or two they don’t want before leaving the store. What is the story behind those forgotten or left behind green boxes? We may never know, but it did get me thinking about what those stories could be?

Was the order placed and then personal circumstances changed so the order was never picked up. Was it something drastic and awful? A sudden admission to hospital, redundancy, something worse! The meal might not have been cancelled, just reduced in size and numbers. They didn’t need as many joints of meat as they ordered, that boneless stuffed leg of lamb gets left on the shelf.

Maybe it was less dramatic, maybe that unexpected invite meant that a massive festive feast was no longer needed. The need to cook a large meal disappears, the order is ignored.

Could it have even been forgotten, maybe an order was placed elsewhere and a solitary green box was ordered and then forgotten.

Amongst the green boxes on the shelves was a vegan party pack comprising red onion bhajis, crisp sweet potato nibbles, and some dips. Was this ordered and then left behind? Were the vegan friends that were originally invited over for Christmas drinks and nibbles now unable to attend? Had the daughter broken up with the vegan boyfriend? We will never know for sure.

In a large green box was a large shin of beef. A huge joint that required extensive time, five plus hours, in the oven to cook. Maybe this isn’t what they thought it was, maybe they thought it was a pre-cooked beef shin that had been slow cooked and only needed heating up in the oven.

I know that sometimes when I have picked up an order, what I get is not what I expected and I feel a little disappointed. I can quite easily imagine ordering an expensive green box, looking inside, thinking, that is not what I was expecting, and leaving it in the store.

What are the stories behind the green boxes, we may never know.

Christmas Carrots

I did in the end make some festive carrots for our Christmas lunch, using some heritage red carrots.

Take a frying pan, this and fill with evenly cut carrots, either whole or halved in the main. To this add a large knob of butter, a splash of white wine vinegar, the juice from two clementines (you could use similar citrus fruit, or one orange).

Add some fresh mixed herbs. Cover the carrots with boiling water and turn the heat on.

Then let the carrots bubble away gently on the stove top for about 40 minutes. Once the water has evaporated, the carrots should caramelise in the remaining sweet and sour reduction, I always let the carrots brown slightly on the edges.

The result is tender, slightly pickled carrots, full of festive flavours.

Salt dry-aged British sirloin of beef

I blog about what we eat for Christmas lunch, mainly to remember things that worked well and for those that didn’t, not to repeat that mistake.

We have a tradition of having our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ve done this for ten years now. We do this for a few reasons. On Christmas Day itself, the children are often too excited to sit down for a long meal, so don’t eat or enjoy the meal or the occasion. It also usually means I spend a fair few hours in the kitchen, which means I miss them opening and playing with their presents. I also find it quite demanding to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, whilst creating a wonderful dining experience.

Having the meal on Christmas Eve means that we can both spend a bit more time preparing the meal (less stressful in itself) and enjoy eating the meal (as do the children). As a result for them it helps pass the time on one of the more exciting days of the year as they anticipate the arrival of a sleigh full of presents being pulled by eight tiny reindeer! Even though they are older now, we still maintain the tradition.

As to what we eat on Christmas day itself, well we have lots of lovely leftovers, cheeses, pickles, hot bread, etc…. quick and easy to prepare and delicious.

One of the three roasts I cooked, one was the M&S Salt dry-aged  British sirloin of beef roast.

This was quite an expensive joint of beef, so I had quite high expectations for it.

Roast beef packaging

After removing from the fridge for thirty minutes, the joint was seasoned and then seared in a hot pan before roasting in the over for seventy five minutes.

I let it rest and then carved the beef. It was a very tender roast and full of flavour. I did have some gristle running through the joint which I was not too impressed with.

Though it was delicious, we didn’t eat much of it, I think people enjoyed the turkey roast we had. 

I am not sure I would get it again as a secondary festive roast. I think I would save for, say a Boxing Day meal.

So did I make a mistake?

We have a tradition of having our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ve done this for ten years now. We do this for a few reasons. On Christmas Day itself, the children are often too excited to sit down for a long meal, so don’t eat or enjoy the meal or the occasion. It also usually means I spend a fair few hours in the kitchen, which means I miss them opening and playing with their presents. I also find it quite demanding to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, whilst creating a wonderful dining experience.

Having the meal on Christmas Eve means that we can both spend a bit more time preparing the meal (less stressful in itself) and enjoy eating the meal (as do the children). As a result for them it helps pass the time on one of the more exciting days of the year as they anticipate the arrival of a sleigh full of presents being pulled by eight tiny reindeer! Even though they are older now, we still maintain the tradition.

As to what we eat on Christmas day itself, well we have lots of lovely leftovers, cheeses, pickles, hot bread, etc…. quick and easy to prepare and delicious.

I blog about what we eat for Christmas lunch, mainly to remember things that worked well and for those that didn’t, not to repeat that mistake.

I wrote the other day about some hesitation about a Christmas roast I had ordered from M&S.

Think we may have made a mistake with the turkey roast we ordered from M&S. It looks like we ordered the M&S Collection Slow-cooked British Easy-Carve Three Bird Roast. This is a cooked joint, which you heat up in the oven. I thought it was going to be a fresh three bird roast, which we’ve had before from M&S. It’s not that I have a strong aversion to this kind of product, but I much prefer cooking from scratch (or raw) than heating a dish in the oven that is already been cooked.

When I picked up the roast I did think about replacing it with something else, but there wasn’t anything similar. So I kept it in the basket and headed to pay for it. I then joined the queue for the tills which stretched to the back of the shop. I thought this was going to be a long wait, but in the end the till moved very quickly.

Slow cooked three bird roast box

It was quite a large box which I put into the fridge for cooking the next day.

When it came to cooking it, I got it out of the box, it came in a sealed plastic bag covered in netting.

The roast was then placed in the included foil tray and cooked for eighty minutes.

After cooking I let it rest for about fifteen minutes and then proceeded to carve the roast.

It was very easy to carve and didn’t fall apart, unlike some previous multi-bird roasts I have cooked in the past.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, so what was it like?

Well it was loved by everyone around the table. The whole thing was well seasoned and it was lovely, moist, tender roast. It was delicious and full of flavour. I would certainly order it again for next year.

Festive Brussels with Chestnuts and Pancetta

Festive Brussels with Chestnuts and Pancetta

As we approach Christmas I am reviewing my processes and recipes for Christmas dinner.

This dish is very simple to cook, has festive overtones and really adds something special to the humble sprout.

Peel and halve the sprouts, now I know some people will think that what is he doing, sprouts are supposed to be whole! Well what I want in this dish is for the sprouts to be a similar size to the chestnuts. 

The sprouts are then partially cooked in advance, by placing in simmering water for about five minutes, drained and plunged into cold water and left to one side. You can do this earlier in the day so freeing up hob space for other things.

When you are close to serving time, in a hot frying plan, add a splash of olive oil and add the pancetta. I go for smoked pancetta, as I much prefer the stronger flavour and it goes well with the similarly strong flavour of the sprouts. 

Cook the pancetta until is just going crispy. Then add the partially cooked sprouts and the chestnuts. I use the cooked and vacuum packed chestnuts from Merchant Gourmet. These are already prepared and cooked and are quick and easy to use.

You can season with some black pepper, but no need to add extra salt, as the pancetta bacon adds the saltiness to the dish.

Toss and sauté the sprouts and chestnuts with the pancetta and serve with your favourite festive roast.

Have I made a mistake?

Think we may have made a mistake with the turkey roast we ordered from M&S. It looks like we ordered the M&S Collection Slow-cooked British Easy-Carve Three Bird Roast. This is a cooked joint, which you heat up in the oven. I thought it was going to be a fresh three bird roast, which we’ve had before from M&S. It’s not that I have a strong aversion to this kind of product, but I much prefer cooking from scratch (or raw) than heating a dish in the oven that is already been cooked.

It’s difficult to see what else we could have ordered as their Christmas food ordering has closed and they no longer have their choices online. However doing a Google search I was able to bring up an online version of their brochure.

I can see that the page that the three bird roast was on was on the same page as two other choices, partridge, and pheasant, which are not slow-cooked. On the next page was a three game roast (which wasn’t slow cooked), but we’ve had that before, and wasn’t too impressed.

Yes, I can see now that the description does say slow-cooked. I actually don’t think I would have ordered it, if I had realised it was a slow cooked roast.

Well the proof of the dish will be in the eating.

Festive Gravy

gravy boat
Image by ALEXANDER MILLER from Pixabay

As we approach Christmas I am reviewing my processes and recipes for Christmas dinner.

Over the last few years I have taken a different approach to making gravy with our Christmas lunch.

In the past I would utilise the cooking pan that the roast meal had come in to make the gravy. It would have to compete for hob space with the vegetables and pan frying the brussel sprouts. It would all then be a bit of a stress to ensure everything was cooked and the gravy arrived on time.

So, now I make the gravy first! This does mean I can’t use the roasting pan, so I create my own roasting pan. 

I use a roasting pan, into which I add some chopped root vegetables. These are usually carrots, onions, parsnips, leeks, as well as some mushrooms. 

I also add some chicken, either wings or drumsticks. I add some olive oil and garlic to the pan. I then roast this in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, the idea is that the chicken is cooked and there are juices in the roasting pan.

Having taken the roasting pan out of the oven I place it on the hob, if required I add some extra fat, usually butter and let this melt before adding a couple of spoonfuls of flour. This is then whisked into the melted butter and cooking juices to form a roux. 

I then add some port (or red wine) and chicken stock and let the gravy cook for a while. Strain and place in a saucepan or a bowl.

This can now be heated up later when you’re about to serve, you could even use the microwave if you are short of hob space.  

I do find it easier to heat up the gravy than make it from scratch as I am about to serve hence making it first.

Festive Carrots

Festive carrots

As we approach Christmas I am reviewing my processes and recipes for Christmas dinner.

I will be cooking some nice festive carrots, that I was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe I saw on a television programme a few years ago.

Take a frying pan, this and fill with evenly cut carrots, either whole or halved in the main. To this add a large knob of butter, a splash of white wine vinegar, the juice from two clementines (you could use similar citrus fruit, or one orange).

Add some fresh mixed herbs. Cover the carrots with boiling water and turn the heat on.

Then let the carrots bubble away gently on the stove top for about 40 minutes. Once the water has evaporated, the carrots should caramelise in the remaining sweet and sour reduction, I always let the carrots brown slightly on the edges.

The result is tender, slightly pickled carrots, full of festive flavours.