Great Recipes and Great Food

Everyone knows that Christmas is the one time of the year where everyone can let their hair down, forgot their worries and enjoy themselves. That said, preparing a Christmas meal for the whole family is often none of these things, and is instead very stressful as the chef of the family will testify to. Having to make sure portions are correct, everything finishes cooking at exactly the same time, and keeping it all warm are just some of the challenges. Here are three tips then that you can use to help your Christmas meal go smoothly.

Prepare Food Early. Believe it or not, a great deal of the Christmas meal can be prepared earlier than day or even the day before. You can cook all the veg in the morning and keep it in cold water until five minutes before serving. Just drop the veg in some hot water for 2-3 mins and it will be as if they were cooked right then. Most of the sauces will keep just fine if you make them in the morning and then just add some more water and heat up again quickly when you want to serve. Don’t try this with the potatoes or turkey however, as these don’t taste so good reheated.

Lay Table Early. This can be done at the very beginning of the day and saves a lot of hassle. You can lay all the place settings, cutlery and champagne flutes as long as you know how many people you are expecting. You can even place the crackers in position and add decorations such as poinsettias in glass vases.  Doing it early means you don’t have to panic setting it all up just before serving.

Self Serve. One of the best tricks to a smooth Christmas meal is allowing people to self serve from the Kitchen. This way you don’t have to lug heavy bowls and serving dishes back and forth, the dining table doesn’t get cluttered up, and people can have exactly what they want. It’s advisable to keep the wine glasses on the table however as trying to juggle food and drink never ends well.