No-fuss Christmas

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Posted at 9:30AM, 24 December 2007 by Caroline Hire - Food editor, bbcgoodfood.com

I'm aiming to have a no-fuss Christmas. Usually I'm plotting and planning the menu from mid-November but with my wedding at the beginning of the year, all excess energy and excitement have been firmly pointed in that direction.

So in the interests of preserving sanity, I'm keeping it simple with smoked salmon to start, followed by turkey with stuffing balls, pigs in blankets and of course roast potatoes.

For the purpose of roasting, surely Maris Piper is the king of potatoes? These are perfect for reaching the Holy Grail, a creamy centre with a crunchy, flaky outer casing. However, this year my organic box scheme has supplied me with Valours. I can't seem to find much about them on the net so if this is your roasting potato of choice, please put my mind at ease.

As for the controversial subject of 'how to', I like to parboil the potatoes until they take on a fluffy appearance, drain and dry them out over the heat with a little shake, before adding them to a roasting pan of (not too much) hot olive oil. There is of course much debate over the issue, with some people preferring a smoother finish, others swearing by goose or duck fat and the more cosmopolitan, adding ingredients like rosemary and garlic.

Loving the side dishes almost more than the main event, I'll also be chucking a few parsnips in with the potatoes, boiling sprouts, braising red cabbage and making bread sauce. Cranberry sauce has already been bought from my local deli. Life's too short to make something you don't like.

For the final flourish, the traditional is giving way to a Chocoholic's Christmas Pudding (because I am one). I tried it in the Good Food kitchen earlier this year and am still in raptures...

Happy cooking and happy Christmas!

Comments

James

24 December 2007, 8:47PM
James

Desiree have to be the best potatoes - they are potatoes that hve real flavour, as well as crisping on the outside and being 'creamy' within. Forget the boiled sprouts, I roast mine today - how amazing - you lose none of the flavour, and they take on a whole new persona. And the cranberry has been left behind for rowan jelly made with wild rowans from the fields. If you're doing something, you have to do it properly.... I'll be posting my Christmas lunch photos on Boxing Day. www.thecotswoldfoodyear.com

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Alison

27 December 2007, 5:43PM
Alison

My no-fuss Christmas dinner was quite an experience this year. Using my own veg from the garden is very important to me, but my potatoes this year were spoilt by the blight so having to buy a potato is quite strange. I have discovered this year, frozen roast potatoes already for the oven. My family of 11 were surprised how different the potatoes were this year. So no-fuss for me but a bit of a talking point at the table..........my usual way of cooking a roast pototo is too roast from raw with olive oil and salt.

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Caroline

28 December 2007, 10:56AM
Caroline

Alison, what a shame your potatoes were stricken this year. I'm only just getting into eating my own produce. I've got an apple tree which delivered great chutney but would like to start growing potatoes, courgettes etc. As for cooking the pots from raw - I'm just amazed at how many different techniques there are out there and each just as delicious in its own way. James, the rowan jelly sounds like a wonderful alternative. It's great to hear that us keen cooks are still in touch with what's in the fields/ gardens around us.

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Kelvin

7 January 2008, 2:32PM
Kelvin

The trouble with this article is that you are approaching Christmas with a negative attitude, anything worth doing is worth doing well and that means putting effort into it not life so busy so I'll buy ready made. Have less and make it better quality after all you have 11 months to plan.

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