MUST READ: The perfect Christmas dinner

Christmas is 17 days away, and the thought of the succulent turkey drenched in a smooth gravy with a wide variety of delicious sides has our mouths watering already.

Read: Share the gift of life this Christmas

We understand prepping for the perfect dinner can be a schlep, so we’ve come up with a dinner plan, inclusive of a shopping list and preparation methods for the perfect Christmas dinner, which includes:

A herb roasted turkey, gravy, ultimate roast potatoes, cheesy veggie bake, chicken and mushroom puff pie, 20 minute seafood pasta, and to end it off, a Christmas cake drenched in custard.

Things to buy:

• 1 turkey
• 1kg chicken wings
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• Chunky vegetable mix
• Frozen seafood pack
• 500g puff pastry
• 500g butter
• 1 litre milk
• 1 box custard
• 1 small block of cheese
• 1 pack of six eggs
• Potatoes (quantity depends on amount of roast potatoes you wish to devour.)
• 1 pack baby button mushrooms
• 1 pack chicken stock cubes
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 250g castor sugar
• 250g Brown sugar
• 500g flour
• Spaghetti
• 1 sachet baking powder
• 1kg dried fruit mix
• 1 small bottle of vanilla essence
• 100g Ground almonds
• Spices of your choice
• 1 sachet paparika
• Salt
• Fine pepper and peppercorns
• 1 small pack ground cinnamon
• 1 small pack ground cloves
• About 30 sprigs of thyme
• 8 onions
• 7 celery sticks
• 5 carrots
• 3 bay leaves
• A few sage leaves
• About 4 sprigs of shallots
• 1 fresh garlic
• A handful of parsley
• 2 lemons
• 1 Orange
• 250ml bottle of cooking oil
• 1 small bottle olive oil (normal oil would work if you don’t want a whole bottle of olive oil just to use a tad bit.)
• 1 small bottle balsamic vinegar
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 small packet of tomato puree
• 150ml Brandy

(Note: Gravy must be allowed to stand at least overnight, so start gravy the night before.  Cake must be baked about 2-3 days in advance.)

Also read: Yapping dogs drive away Christmas cheer

HERB ROASTED TURKEY

Use:

• Turkey
• 1 tbs salt
• 1tsp pepper
• 18 sprigs of thyme
• 4 medium onions, sliced
• 4 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbs peppercorns
• ¹⁄₂ cup butter, melted
• 1 tsp minced sage
  
• 1 tsp minced thyme
• 1 tsp minced chives

Instructions:

Rub the surface of the turkey and sprinkle cavity with salt and pepper. Place 12 sprigs of thyme in cavity. In a large heavy roasting pan, place onions, celery, carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns and remaining thyme sprigs.

Place the turkey, breast side up, over the vegetables. Drizzle butter over turkey and sprinkle with minced herbs. Cover loosely with foil.

Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for two and a half hours. Remove foil; bake one and a half to two hours longer, basting every 20 minutes.

Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

GRAVY

Use:

• 1 kg chicken wings, halved with kitchen scissors
• 3 large carrots, chopped into chunks
• 2 onions, unpeeled and chopped
• 3 celery sticks, chopped
• small handful thyme sprigs
• 2 tbs sunflower oil
• 2 tsp castor sugar
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 4 tbs plain flour
• 4 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 vegetable stock cube

Instructions:

Heat oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Tip the chicken wings into a roasting tin with the turkey neck, carrots, onions, celery and thyme. Scatter over the sugar, toss in the oil and roast for 50 minutes until brown and lightly charred.

Get the kettle on. Put the roasting tin on a low heat, stir in the tomato puree and flour, and cook until sticky. Splash in the balsamic vinegar, then pour over 1.5 litres water to just cover all the ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Crumble in the stock cube and use a potato masher to mash all the ingredients together to release the flavour.

Simmer everything for 20 mins until you have a tasty thickened gravy, then strain it through a sieve, pushing down hard on all the mushy veg. Cool and chill overnight.

Heat the gravy to serve, adding roasting juices from your turkey, if you like.

ULTIMATE ROAST POTATOES

Instructions:

Heat enough oil in a pot to deep fry potatoes. Peel and cut potatoes into four equal pieces.

Rinse them, place in a colander, and sprinkle with salt.  You may add a tsp of tumeric powder to get a rich golden colour.  Shake them up.

Toss into hot oil and allow to fry for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown, on a high heat.

Take them out, and place on a paper towel  to drain oil.

CHEESY VEGGIE BAKE

Use:

• Chunky frozen veg
•  60g butter
•  1/4 cup plain flour
•  2 cups milk
•  1 cup grated cheese

Instructions:

Boil veggies with some salt for approximately 15 to 20 minutes or until it reaches your desired balance between soft and crunchy.

Preheat grill on medium-high. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk. Return to heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine vegetables in a lightly greased, flame-proof dish. Pour over cheese sauce. Add extra cheese to grill on top if desired and grill in oven for 5 minutes or until browned.

CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM PUFF PIE

Use:

• 1 tbs cooking oil
• 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 pack baby button mushrooms
• Handful thyme sprigs
• 2 tbs plain flour
• 1 cube of chicken stock mixed with 400ml of water
• 200ml milk
• Fresh puff pastry, or frozen and defrosted
• 1 beaten egg

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken to taste and fry for 5-8 minutes until golden brown, turning occasionally.

You may need to do this in two batches, depending on the size of your pan. Lift the chicken onto a plate. Add the onion, mushrooms and thyme, then fry on a high heat for another 3 minutes until the onions start to colour.

Tip the flour into the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 min. With the pan off the heat, gradually stir or whisk in the stock, followed by the milk, then add the chicken back to the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes.

Spoon the filling into a large pie or baking dish (approx 20 x 30cm) with a lip and leave to cool.

Heat oven to 200-220 degree Celsius. On a floured surface, roll the pastry out. Cut a long strip as wide as the rim of the pie dish and, using a little of the egg, fix to the edge of the pie dish. Brush with egg, then lift the rest of the pastry over the pie, using the rolling pin to help. Gently press the edges with your fingers and trim with a sharp knife.

Brush lightly with egg to glaze, then bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is risen and dark golden brown.

20 MINUTE SEAFOOD PASTA

Use:

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 1 chicken stock cube in 1 litre of water
• Spaghetti, roughly broken
• Frozen seafood mix, defrosted
• Handful of parsley leaves, chopped.
• Lemon wedges to serve

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan, then cook the onion and garlic over a medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Add the paprika, tomatoes and stock, then bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat to a simmer, stir in the pasta and cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop the pasta from sticking. Stir in the seafood, cook for 3 minutes more until it’s all heated through and the pasta is cooked, then season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

CHRISTMAS CAKE, DRENCHED IN CUSTARD

Use:

• 1kg mixed dried fruit
• Zest and juice 1orange
• Zest and juice 1 lemon
• 150ml brandy
• 250g butter, softened
• 200g brown sugar
• 175g plain flour
• 100g ground almond
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 100g flaked almond
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

Put the dried fruit, zests and juice, alcohol, butter and sugar in a large pan set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside – tie with string to secure.

Add the remaining ingredients to the fruit mixture and stir well, making sure there are no pockets of flour. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 2 hrs.

Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer and spoon over 2 tbsp of your chosen alcohol. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.

To store, peel off the baking parchment, then wrap well in cling film. Feed the cake with 1-2 tsp of alcohol, until you ice it. Leave the icing to set without feeding alcohol until Christmas day and drizzl custard to serve.

And there you have it! The perfect Christmas dinner...

Send us your favourite recipes and photos: reveshni@caxton.co.za