Thursday 19 December 2013

Christmas Dinner

We always have a big turkey.  DH and I love to eat cold turkey, I very rarely make anything different with it, just cold turkey and vegetables is good for us!  We’re happy to eat it for days!

Christmas Day 003

I have tried cooking the turkey under different regimes over the years, but one of the most successful for me is a Delia Smith recipe torn out of a magazine years ago!  The idea is to cook it intially at a high temperature for 30 minutes or so, then reduce the heat for 3 or 4 hours depending on how big the turkey is, and then take off the foil and heat the oven high again for the last hour or so.

Here’s my favourite stuffing recipe:

Spiced Carrot and parsnip Stuffing

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, grated

1 small parsnip, grated

25g butter

1 tsp ground cumin

100g fresh breadcrumbs

2tbsp chopped coriander

grated rind of 1/2 orange

1 egg, beaten

seasoning

Fry onion, carrot and parsnip in butter for 5 minutes, until soft.  Add rest of ingredients.  Mix well. Cool.

This is from another magazine article torn out years ago!

And a turkey basting mixture:

4fl oz coarse red wine

2 generous helpings of mushroom ketchup

3 oz soft brown sugar

1 rounded tsp salt

3 tbsp oil

1 flat eggspoon of mixed spice

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1 pint stock reduced down to 4 fl oz before using.

Mix together and baste turkey regularly throughout cooking.

This one even older, hence the measurements!

And what do we have with the turkey?  Chipolatas wrapped in bacon, roast potatoes, carrots, broccoli, sprouts, gravy, cranberry sauce, mustard, and bread sauce.  I have followed special recipes for the vegetables before, but this year I think I’ll keep it simple.

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