A Christmas List

 Read more from Gerald

Every magazine, food column and TV cooking show is so full of recipes for Christmas this and Yuletide that,  that I thought I wouldn’t clutter up your Christmas thinking with further recipes for tasty turkeys, suitable stuffings, handsome hams and delicious desserts. So I offer something more practical at this busy time by sharing my list for a cook’s carefree Christmas catering.

1. Set your budget. Decide on your menu, making sure that everything is in season, available and within the budget. If you have invited people for whom you don’t normally cook, it’s a good idea to check if there is anything they don’t/can’t eat…even in this allergy-aware age it’s amazing what a damper a guest in anaphylactic shock can put on the festivities. Make a detailed shopping list.

2. Clean out the fridge before you shop, you will need the room. It’s a good opportunity to bin ancient leftovers and past-it bits and pieces. Fill or buy bags of ice and put them in the freezer for drinks. I freeze a two or three buckets filled with water which I use in the wash tub or chilly bin to cool bottles of wine and beer on the day.

3. Shop for as much as you can as early as you can. Leave only things like crayfish, berries, salad leaves etc. until the last shopping day and but make sure you order them if you can so as to avoid disappointment. Take the list with you and stick to it, shunning impulse buys and resisting the guiles of the supermarket; it is easier in so many ways to shop without children. Store the goods carefully when you get home. If you have a frozen turkey, check to see how long it takes to thaw so you can store it in the right place. Check barbecue gas bottle/charcoal.

4. If other people are bringing things to the meal, make sure that both they and you know what they are. Let them know how many guests there will be. If they are lending you crockery, glasses and the like, try to get them before the day. It’s amazing how things can be forgotten in the excitement and champagne out of a coffee mug isn’t quite the same.

5. Clear the kitchen. A Christmas meal takes a lot of room to prepare and serve so clear benches of unnecessary equipment and kitchenalia. Make sure you have enough paper towels, foil, plastic wrap, containers for any leftovers, washing up liquid or dishwasher stuff and aprons for anyone working in the kitchen.

6. Be turkey-safe. If you are having turkey and it’s a frozen one, when the time comes to thaw it, take it out of its bag, pat it dry with paper towels and place in a dish with sides that will prevent any liquid from dripping and contaminating other food, cover with plastic wrap or foil and place in the bottom of the fridge i.e. beneath any other food. This is the safest way to thaw a frozen bird but it does take time, 10-12 hours per kg in a fridge running at about 4˚C. It is also recommended by some turkey gurus that although it’s OK to put lemons, oranges, onions, garlic and herbs in the body cavity, the turkey should only have stuffing in the neck cavity and of course to calculate the cooking time remember to weigh the bird with its stuffing.

7. List all that has to be done and when, planning to do as much of it as you can on or by Christmas Eve. Peel and prepare the vegetables, parboil and refrigerate potatoes for roasting, wash the salad leaves, they will be happy in a plastic bag in the crisper for a day; make any dressings and sauces; make desserts; if thawed the turkey may be buttered, stuffed and trussed on Christmas Eve then returned to the fridge for cooking on Christmas Day; other meats can be dressed and marinated if necessary; if the ham isn’t to be served hot, it can be glazed a day in advance. Sort out platters and bowls, crockery, cutlery, glasses and table linen. Sit down and have a cool drink and relax while you check the timetable for the big day and decide who is to do what (if you are lucky enough to have help) and perhaps finalize the seating plan.

8. Be calm and don’t worry; if you are well prepared, Christmas Day will not be difficult. One good thing to remember is that the turkey does not have to be served straight from the oven; indeed it benefits from resting for an hour or so and is easier to carve. This is true of any roasted meat, so put it on a platter, cover it and carry on with the vegetables and gravy until all is ready to serve. With the turkey out of the fridge you have room for a few bottles if you haven’t put them on ice in a chilly bin or a wine bin. Have the laid table early if possible, it’s one less job and it gets rid of piles of plates and such like.

9. Christmas is meant to be celebrated… by everyone… including the cook! You may have the most important job on the day but with a bit of thought and preparation there is no reason why you can’t enjoy it just as much as anyone else.

10. Let the others do any washing up!