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114 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
114 lines
4.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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lastmod: "2020-11-21T13:39:08.0000000+00:00"
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author: patrick
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categories:
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- uncategorized
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comments: true
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date: "2020-11-21T00:00:00Z"
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title: Christmas dinner notes
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summary: "My notes on the production of a Christmas dinner."
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---
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For the past several years, I have hosted a Christmas dinner in November (according to Cambridge tradition).
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These are my notes.
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Page references are to Rose Elliot's New Complete Vegetarian, and items are listed roughly in order of when you can make them.
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Changelog:
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* In 2019 I started tracking whether I had bought the right amount of food for 11 people.
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# Executive summary
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Turkey, nut roast, onion gravy, Dublin vegetables, roast potatoes, sage & onion stuffing, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, sweetcorn, red cabbage, pigs in blankets.
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Followed by Christmas pudding, brandy butter, and bought custard.
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# Cranberry sauce
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Page 65.
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225g cranberries, 175g caster sugar.
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Make entirely in advance.
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2019: bought 300g cranberries, made about twice as much as was eaten on the day.
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# Bread sauce
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Page 65.
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275ml milk, 3 cloves, 2 large slices of bread, 15g butter, 1 onion, 1 bay leaf, nutmeg.
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Make entirely in advance.
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2019: Made double the recipe and this was about right for 11 people.
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# Red cabbage
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Page 133.
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1kg cabbage, and whatever else you want to throw in.
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Prepare the day before and just slow-cook for hours on the day.
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2019: used 1kg cabbage, it was nearly all eaten - this was the right quantity.
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# Roast potatoes
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Page 131.
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2.5kg Maris Piper potatoes easily serves 12 people, ~6tbsp plain flour, olive oil.
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Parboil the previous night and store in water.
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Roast for about an hour after they're parboiled.
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## Alternative if you don't have space: potatoes Dauphinoise
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For two years I did not have enough cooking space to accommodate roast potatoes, so made potatoes Dauphinoise or boulangère.
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Page 129.
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Remember to layer salt and thyme in with the onions. Slow-cook, and add in loads of double cream an hour before serving.
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2019: bought 1kg potatoes and 600ml double cream, this was about right.
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## Nut roast
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Page 171.
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The following ingredients are for double the recipe, and serves 12.
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130g butter, olive oil, 2 large onions, 450g cashews, 400g breadcrumbs, 2 lemons' worth of juice, 8tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley.
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Prepared entirely in advance, baked on the day. Requires a full hour of baking, but tin can sit on top of turkey tray so will fit.
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2019: bought 60g parsley and made about 3x the recipe; this was nearly double what was required for 11 people.
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## Sage and onion stuffing
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Make in advance, and cook in oven for any time between 30min and an hour.
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Put in as soon as turkey comes out to sit.
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Add half the packet of sage to the onion and butter mixture, with pepper, and mix.
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Then mix with breadcrumbs.
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Add salt gradually, in case you decide it doesn't need so much after all, and more sage as you go, if needed.
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Too much sage is chemical; not enough is disappointing.
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Taste as you go.
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2019: made with 2.5x800g loaves of bread, which was more than twice as much as required.
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## Creamed style sweetcorn
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This one is inherited from my grandparents, who lived for a while in America and must have picked this up there.
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Pour out of tin, and microwave before serving.
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## Red onion gravy
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Page 66.
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2 onions, olive oil, 50g plain flour, 2 garlic cloves.
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Make the day before and microwave before serving.
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2019: made two saucepansful (the red Le Creuset ones); this was about twice as much as required.
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2018: ran out of this serving eleven people with double the quantity in the recipe.
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## Mashed carrots and parsnips (Dublin vegetables)
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Mashing is because I have never lived anywhere with room to roast them.
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1kg of each.
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At least 45min, probably an hour, roasting.
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Boil the day before until soft, then mash with butter and put in fridge.
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Microwave on the day.
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## Pigs in blankets
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Put in as soon as turkey comes out.
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2019: bought 16 chipolatas, ended up with three spare.
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## Turkey
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Start defrosting on early afternoon of day before, put in fridge to finish defrosting overnight, get out of fridge first thing in the morning.
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2019: bought 2x "medium serves 4 minimum 2.2kg", this was much, much more than required. We ate a little over 2kg.
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## Christmas pudding
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And brandy butter, custard.
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2019: bought about 900g of Christmas pudding, this was about right or a tiny bit under. Bought 200g brandy butter, 1l custard; this was twice as much custard and brandy butter as required.
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