Christmas Lunch

Menu

Cocktail: Snowballs (made by my sister)
Turkey stuffed with lemon parsley butter (Gordon Ramsay, BBC Good Food)
Sauces:
Bread Sauce (Delia)
Cranberry Chutney (The British Larder Blog)
Cranberry, apple sauce (Gordon Ramsay, BBC Good Food)
Gravy
Sides:
Stove top carrots (Orangette Blog)
Wok fried Brussel Sprouts with Chestnuts & Mirrin(Got the idea to side step the parboiling and go for searing heat instead from Heston Blumenthal, Waitrose Magazine but my recipe)
Garlic and Rosemary Roast Potatoes
Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing with Sourdough (tweaked a recipe from Epicurious)
Nut Loaf (made by my mother in law)
Desserts:
Sour Cherry Linzer Tart (Sur la Table)
Chocolate & Pear Clafoutis (Elle a Table)

Proud to say, Christmas lunch went off without a hitch.

I said lunch would be served at 4 pm and everything was on the table at 3:45. And it was all still warm.

I had a moment of panic when after a mere two hours in the oven (half an hour at 200ºC and the rest at 140ºC) I inserted an instant read thermometer into the thigh and got a reading of 85ºC. I had been aiming for 75ºC which is the optimum temperature for perfectly cooked poultry (70ºC is even better if you can manage it). I put the turkey in corner of the kitchen, covered it loosely with tin foil and it was still warm and wonderfully moist when we carved into it and hour and a half later.

The carrots and the brussel sprouts were both stove top recipes. I had made and frozen the two cranberry sauces and the bread sauce. The Linzer Tart had been baked off that morning and the Chocolate & Pear Clafoutis went in the oven while we were unwrapping the presents.

My guests were happy and sated.

I under-performed with gifts.  My ineptitude was made even more glaring because my in-laws are so good at giving gifts (even when we set a budget of €25).

Ach, but you can’t have everything right?