Christmas Cooking

mystic86 wrote: »

Sorry to ask again, but would appreciate any guidance thanks

What temp are you cooking them at? I use melted margarine in mine so it's never an issue. You might have to increase the temperature while cooking them

You steamed the pudding for 5 hrs right? How was that done, saucepan, slow cooker, oven? It's hard to figure out why it would not melt as the temp of the pudding should have got plenty high enough to melt it. Can you still see it in the little pellet bits in the pudding?

How big was the pudding?

phormium wrote: »

You steamed the pudding for 5 hrs right? How was that done, saucepan, slow cooker, oven? It's hard to figure out why it would not melt as the temp of the pudding should have got plenty high enough to melt it. Can you still see it in the little pellet bits in the pudding?

How big was the pudding?

Hi,

Yes, 5 hours, sat it into boiling water (in a large saucepan) to halfways up the container.

Yes I can still see the pellets, unfortunately.

Very odd! I haven't used suet in years so haven't encountered the problem, switched to butter recipes. Have you any of the suet left? Just to check the stuff does melt normally when heat is applied, throw some in boiling water and see what happens.

Valresnick wrote: »

Just done Ramsey’s Cranberry sauce, is it ok to freeze it and open it a few days before Christmas ?

I have done it, Grand. Just remove from freezer and leave in fridge 2 days before you need it.

aceygray wrote: »

Hi all, I will be cooking Christmas dinner for the first time this year. I am fairly confident about everything except the sprouts - I've never cooked them before, though I do enjoy them.

Can anyone recommend a nice way to prepare/cook/ serve them? Thanks!

I've shredded them before and cooked them in a wok with some pancetta and a splash of lemon. Very tasty and easy.

The Nal wrote: »

I've shredded them before and cooked them in a wok with some pancetta and a splash of lemon. Very tasty and easy.

Neyite wrote: »

There's a post earlier in the thread for pan frying them with lemon, capers and parmesean - I tried it and it was lovely.


I've another panfried recipe - fry them in butter until nicely browned, add in a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, and a tablespoon of fresh tarragon and chives. You can adjust those to taste. I used to parboil them but it was to easy for them to end up soggy.

Well, I did not know that frying them was an option! In my house growing up they were always boiled. Those recipes all sound lovely - I'm not a massive fan of capers, but I might try some lemon and pancetta. I'm making the stuffing from this recipe (which I highly recommend), which also includes lemon and pancetta, so at least the flavours will go together:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pancetta-wrapped-turkey-breast-herby-lemon-pine-nut-stuffing

aceygray wrote: »

Hi all, I will be cooking Christmas dinner for the first time this year. I am fairly confident about everything except the sprouts - I've never cooked them before, though I do enjoy them.

Can anyone recommend a nice way to prepare/cook/ serve them? Thanks!

http://www.foodireland.com/recipes/brussels-sprout-red-onion-and-bacon-crumble/

nevens recipe is a great

I was all set this morning to finally marzipan the 5 Christmas cakes that have been sitting naked for the past 2 months. Then I discovered I had no cake boards!! Somehow I never ordered them when I got the icing and boxes.
So I watched a Christmas movie instead and they're arriving tomorrow.
Now I'm off to make the stollen that I promised my little lad we'd make during the mid term break....yes, the one at the end of October....

tscul32 wrote: »

Now I'm off to make the stollen that I promised my little lad we'd make during the mid term break....yes, the one at the end of October....

I have around 150g of almond paste leftover and decided I was going to make some Stollen, I'd never had it before but have developed a bit of an addiction this year. Would you have a recipe that you could share? I've looked online, but can't decide.

tscul32 wrote: »

We made this one
https://www.daringgourmet.com/stollen-german-christmas-bread/

I thought it was going to be quite heavy/dense, but I have to say it's quite nice. We went all out though and made the marzipan and candied peel ourselves.

Not sure I'd bother again, probably just buy it next year, but it was a project for myself and Thing 3 and we had fun. And we're the only two who will eat it.

Thank you. I had seen that one alright. All the recipes do sound like quite the process! I tried making a yeasted brack this year, and decided it wasn't worth the effort, so perhaps Stollen will be the same. Hopefully I will get time over the wknd to give it a go.

pigtail33 wrote: »

I have around 150g of almond paste leftover and decided I was going to make some Stollen, I'd never had it before but have developed a bit of an addiction this year. Would you have a recipe that you could share? I've looked online, but can't decide.

Have you tried the original recipe ?
I have not tried it yet - but it does not seem too difficult (just mix, knead and bake)
https://germanfoods.org/recipes/dresdner-stollen/

Bawnmore wrote: »

Does anyone here ever make eggnog? I've never even tasted it, but it sounds like it'd be worth a shot. Any go-to recipes?

We're a Snowball house here instead of eggnog at Christmas.

2 parts Advocaat
A dash of lime juice or lime cordial
Lots of Ice
Fill glass with Lemonade.

Merry Christmas!

pigtail33 wrote: »

Thanks for the tip. I read Felicity Cloake's "How to bake the perfect stollen" in The Guardian, and she actually recommended using plain over strong as it's supposed to be dense. I'd always use strong flour with yeast breads though.

Ok, well then plain all the way. I've only ever had stollen from Lidl, first time this year. So wasn't aware that it should be dense. It's a heavy loaf alright. Myself and the little man are having a slice every day for breakfast. Yum.