Cooking with heart a good recipe for a festive Christmas
As a recipe developer and food blogger, this Pretoria-east mother of twins makes sure Christmas is a joyous and relaxed occasion for all by being prepared and relaxed on the day. The secret, she says, is delegating!
Pretoria-east recipe developer, food blogger and stylist Alida Ryder gladly carries the crown of “Queen of Christmas”.
This is a loving nickname her husband, Chris, usually gives her at Christmas time because she likes to go all out for the glamour and glitz of the festive season.
“I have never seen a Christmas light that I did not like,” laughed the friendly Ryder thinking back on festive shopping in her two favourite shops especially designed for Christmas decorations.
The joyful and engaging mother of teenage twins, Abigail and Aidan, has to agree on her husband’s loving nickname.
The Christmas tree in their airy and modern home in Pretoria-east will already be up in mid-November as the Ryders usually depart soon after schools close in December for the gathering of the clan on Alida’s side at the picturesque coastal town of Stilbaai.
Also known as the Bay of Sleeping Beauty, this town along the southern coast of South Africa is about four hours by car from Cape Town.
Ryder said that Christmas is a nostalgic and emotional time for her since her mother, Ronel Greyling, passed away in 2005.
“I would like to bring all my memories of Christmases of my childhood to our present festive times so that my children would also be able to treasure golden memories of these magical family times.”
The Pretoria-born and bred brunette also believes in creating new traditions.
“Once they start the Christmas movies on the streaming channels, we watch one every day in the preamble to Christmas,” said this movie buff.
When it comes to preparing for the family feast at Christmas in Stilbaai, she believes the menu should be well planned and shopping for ingredients be done in time. The Christmas chef should mostly stick to the traditional dishes that everyone loves like chicken or gammon.
A twist can be added like her recipe for Orange Sage Christmas Chicken (see recipe herewith).
“One year I decided not to make our traditional pumpkin fritters, which led to quite a few regrets and pressure to fall into the traditional line!”
With the planning of the meal, she suggested that the main dish should be decided on first and foremost.
Everything else should be planned around this dish to synchronise the general food theme.
“Don’t take the preparation as well as the cooking on the day all on yourself,” warned Ryder.
She advised that if it is a family feast, ask those attending to synchronise their choice of side dishes with the main meal.
If this can be according to their family traditions or a happy memory of their own Christmases past, all the better.
“You need to delegate consistently throughout the day. Don’t be too afraid to ask for help and use whatever makes your life easier if it is available,” she said and gestured towards her favourite kitchen appliance, her stand mixer.
The one duty she would pass on during the day while preparing the meal was washing up.
“I always ask for help to clean up as we go along. There is nothing worse than the after-Christmas meal lull and you have a lot of dishes waiting for you,” Ryder pointed out.
But to this author of recipe books like Simple and Delicious as well as Cook from the Heart (also available in Afrikaans as Heerlik en Maklik as well as Kook uit die Hart) Christmas joy is not only about the food.
“It is also about celebrating being together,” said Ryder.
She laughed when asked about that one time the Christmas meal for the extended family did not go according to plan.
“Never try anything new on the day without practising first! You are looking for trouble…” she warned.
She recalled one Christmas she decided to try out a tiramisu recipe with a slight difference for the first time. (The tried and tested recipe is given herewith).
“At one stage I had to admit to my husband the pudding is a flop and we settled for expensive ice creams from the garage shop!”
The preparation of food, development of recipes, and styling food for clients like big influential food brands, started for Ryder with her pregnancy with the twins in 2009.
At that stage, she was employed in the beauty industry styling hair and make-up for photo shoots and runway shows while working in beauty salons.
In her heart, the dream was to be a stylist for magazines.
When her gynaecologist told her she needed to be less on her feet during her pregnancy, Ryder started sharing her recipes on the Food24 platform.
She soon started building up a loyal following to develop, together with her husband, their food website, www.simply-delicious-food.com.
At a book launch, she met up with Justin Bonello, a South African cook, TV personality, producer and writer.
He shared his publisher’s details with her and she was on her way to write her first book, Simple and Delicious.
To Ryder, it was hard work for 13 years that has given her career as a chef, author, and food blogger as well as food stylist momentum.
But she is no workaholic and believes in a carefully balanced lifestyle including coffee dates with friends every so often.
“I think we all need friends in the same life phase that we can use as sounding boards and can laugh with,” explained Ryder.
Alida Ryder’s Five Hints for an Easygoing Christmas Lunch
– Make shopping for ingredients for the Christmas meal throughout the period preceding Christmas a priority so that you are not caught off-guard with ingredients not being available.
– Buy items in November like milk, butter, and cheese that you can freeze.
– Christmas music is great for the right ambience around mealtime. Make a wide selection from Michael Bublé to Frank Sinatra and put a playlist together for easy listening and playing.
– Make and stick to a to-do list so that you do not forget the small details and be caught off guard.
– Relax as a host – your loved ones are not at the table to judge your meal or your home, but to be festive and happy.
Alida Ryder’s perfect no-fuss centerpiece for Christmas: Orange Sage Christmas Chicken
Ingredients
1.5kg whole chicken
½ cup of softened butter
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves finely minced/crushed
1 tbsp sage finely chopped
2 tsp thyme leaves
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 oranges halved
1 onion quartered
2 garlic bulbs halved
10 sprigs fresh thyme
6 sage leaves
1 cup white wine
Instructions
1. Place the softened butter in a bowl then add the zest of an orange and a lemon, crushed garlic, finely chopped fresh sage and thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Allow the chicken to come to room temperature before cooking.
3. Gently loosen the skin over the breast and drumsticks with your fingers, taking care not to tear the skin.
4. Spoon the butter under the skin and gently spread over the meat until the butter has been distributed over the chicken.
5. In a roasting dish, add orange halves, quartered onion, halved garlic bulbs, thyme and sage.
– Place the chicken on top, then drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Pour wine around the chicken, then place in the oven.
– Preheat the oven to 180°C.
– Allow the chicken to roast for 45-60 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown and cooked through.
– Remove from the oven and allow to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving and serving.
White Chocolate Christmas Tiramisu
Ingredients
4 extra-large egg yolks
¾ cup caster sugar
150g white chocolate
1 tsp ground cinnamon
500g cold mascarpone cheese
400g lady finger cookies
1 cup espresso
2 tbsp Kahlua / Marsala (optional)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
1. Beat the sugar and egg yolks together until white, fluffy, and voluminous. The mixture should be smooth (sugar dissolved) when rubbed between your fingers.
2. Melt the white chocolate and allow it to cool to room temperature.
3. With the mixer running, add the white chocolate and cinnamon and mix until just combined.
4. Add the cold mascarpone and beat for another two minutes until smooth and thick.
5. Combine the espresso and Kahlua / Marsala in a shallow bowl.
6. Dip the finger biscuits into the coffee mixture then layer with the mascarpone mixture in a serving dish of your choice.
7. Dust with cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least six hours but ideally overnight before serving.
8. Serve topped with festive sprinkles and white chocolate shavings.
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