I am not the biggest fan of the Christmas holiday, but i always go to extra effort to make the festive day as special for others as much as i possibly can, so here are some tips i have learnt along the way to help make your day as easy and stress free as possible from cranberry sauce to never fail ham glazed ham, to decadent sweet deserts, so you can wow your guests with a feast to remember
Plan ahead as much as possible
Firstly its always good to plan a head do what you can the day before and have the prep ready to go. Peel your potatoes and have them cut and covered in water in a pot in the fridge ready to be par boil, make the ham glaze and have your cranberry sauce made and in a serving container that you can just microwave on the day. Prep your sprouts and parsnips ready to be cooked if you like a traditional Christmas dinner, maybe you like to keep it more relaxed and alternative and just bbq, were to start in can be overwhelming.
Go chocolate
I like to make ahead the desserts first as there my favourite part of any meal, use my recipe for death by chocolate cake its truly worth the effort, now i am no pastry chef but i can always nail this cake and its always delicious and a real crowd please and can feed the whole family. Get the best dark chocolate that you can find
Invest your money wisely
Now if your a traditional turkey family or roast pork or salmon is your thing, i would go to the best butcher or supplier you can and pre order in advance your Christmas dinner supplies, i like to get boned and rolled turkey as it cooks quickly and easy and is easy to carve as well and stays just a tender and juicy, or maybe you would like to try a rib of beef, but investing in the best quality produce
Its all about the potatoes
Potato, potato, potatoes its got to be a time to consult the potato god, read my blog on how to make the perfect roasted potatoes because if all else fails potato god potatoes never do. Its a good idea to select the perfect potato, speak to your local fruit and vegetable supplier and ask them what roasting well, other wise go fro ones with a red skin, they alway go crispy, heres a link to skip to the potato god method , made with olive oil so you can be healthy and hearty at Christmas
Never fail ham glazed ham
For my ham i smoked my own and glaze them in the smoker last year, next level, but i have a simple traditional glaze that you can make ahead and simply pull out and bast the ham on the day, take one jar of traditional marmalade 200g of honey 200g brown sugar 200ml of orange juice place all into one pan and bring to the boil gently stirring to bring to the boil cook for around five minutes set aside ready to be brushed onto your ham for a classic glazed ham
salads for days
Make in advance some salads , keep them in an air tight Tupperware containers and pull them out in the days following, simply serve with left over turkey and ham when family turn up at the door so you can have a quick and easy meal with less time in the kitchen, just go to the recipe page on this website and pick a couple make them in advanced use this link to find some amazing salads
Hopefully there are some tips you can use this Christmas dinner to help relieve some stress and make your precious time with family and loved ones a little more care free. Happy holidays
ps. Please comment if your after a specific recipe or idea and ill post it for you!!!