There’s nothing like the pressure and stress of Christmas Day cooking to provide opportunity for calamity. We want to impress, we look forward to the glory and praise for our culinary prowess but we’re aware that all the shops and restaurants are closed and you get one shot at cooking the turkey. Having lived through more Christmases now than I care to reveal, I can assure you that the food, good or bad, actually doesn’t make or break Christmas! It’s our attitude to each and every situation that makes the difference. My other pearl of outstanding wisdom is this, keep it simple. A teenage son of a friend of mine informed me recently that using capital letters in texts or emails is, in this modern technological world, considered as shouting. I’ll say it once more only louder, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Your capacity for food does not increase purely because it is the 25th of December. While it is fabulous to have a large and varied choice of food for the plate, please ask yourself what is really necessary? Of course it’s important to celebrate at Christmas, but if you keep the food simple, tasty and nourishing then a jolly, convivial atmosphere with happy people will make it taste sublime. On the other hand restaurant standard food served by a tired, grumpy, ball of stress will mean a miserable time for all. At a happy table beans on toast is as good as caviar.
I’ve heard it all in my game. I’ve seen the organised come in and collect turkeys in plenty of time, only to have the ‘new puppy’ think it was a toy when their back was turned just before it went in the oven on Christmas morning. I’ve had people tell me after Christmas that they forgot to take the turkey out of the freezer in time and ended up having Christmas Dinner on Stephen’s Day. There was a great story from a woman who was cooking goose one year. She was using a large old pan belonging to her mother but during the cooking process a hole developed in the base of it, the juices ran on to the floor of the oven and eventually caught fire! Fortunately the fire was quickly contained but it smoked the entire house out and all the windows and doors had to be opened on a particularly cold Christmas Day. The entire family had to bundle themselves up in coats and scarves for several hours to let the fresh air in. And what about people who are left without power on December 25th? Storm damage a few years ago caused this problem for many and strangely, rather than destroying Christmas, in some cases it brought people and communities together. I know of one street in Waterford where the electricity was out but one house had a solid fuel cooker. All the neigbours brought a bottle, a chair, some food, cutlery and a plate. They crowded in and by candlelight, bread was broken and much laughter ensued. It was a simple meal of turkey, gravy and veg. There were no fancy arrangements on plates, there was no tinkering with blobs of ‘jus’ drizzled artistically over artichokes or any other such nonsense and yet it’s a Christmas that is still talked about fondly to this day.
Christmas is about warmth, family, friends and love. Don’t overcomplicate it by thinking it is about anything more than that. It’s certainly not about presents or toys. However we probably want to make it as special as we can and even the best chefs in the world encounter some problems. To that end here are some easy solutions to some of the more common mistakes. Indeed sometimes the greatest tastes come from mistakes. A friend was attempting to make delicious fudge which refused to thicken. Instead she poured the liquid mixture over bowls of vanilla ice cream and was hailed a genius by all present. Everyone assumed she had wanted to make fudge sauce.
Always have a strainer handy. Lumpy gravy or lumpy custard, strain it through the mesh. Have you had tasteless, bland vegetables? At Christmas there’s always a lemon or two floating around. (We have great intentions of chopping it into slices and having it ready to serve with the gin and tonics, but the gin is long gone by the time we remember the lemon!) Squeezing a little lemon juice over a pan of greens is a great way to instantly flavour them. It saves on a few calories as well as most people think that smothering them in butter is the only answer.
If the turkey does turn out too dry, well then it’s your own fault for not getting it at James Whelan Butchers!! I’m joking of course. Dry turkey can be the result of many different things or a combination of a few. Poor basting, over cooking, cooking too fast, not giving it enough time to rest or simply not having a great quality bird to begin with. If you do carve and find you have something rather leathery and not very moist here’s a solution; using the juices from the pan make a gravy. Slice enough turkey to go around and lay the slices in a casserole dish. Pour over the gravy and leave to marinate for as long as possible then pop the whole dish into a moderate oven for about 10 minutes before serving. When you take the slices from the bubbling juice they will be perfectly acceptable.
Lumpy mashed potato is never good. Again, pass it through it a strainer. Another tip is to warm the milk before adding it to the spuds before mashing. (A smidgen of nutmeg in the warmed milk will make it even better!) Salty soup is a common problem. A quick method is to put a sliced raw potato into the soup. Once the potato becomes translucent you can take it out and the salty taste will disappear.
My biggest tip is that you should, at all times, keep your cool and a sense of humor handy. Any and all disasters can be salvaged. Even if the entire dinner is unpalatable there’s bound to be a bottle of wine and a selection box that will get you through the day. Remember love and laughter is what it’s really all about. HAPPY CHRISTMAS
You can also use neck of lamb or gigot chops to make this stew.
