The Perfect Gentleman Issue 9 - Christmas | Page 34

Top 5
Christmas
Chef Tips

by The Suited Chef

I am going to be a tad controversial, ready. The Christmas meal, whether it
be Lunch or Dinner is not that difficult. It is basically a glorified roast
dinner with some additional elements. Here are my top 5 tips to make the
festive food season easier & even more delicious.

1 - Prepare as much as possible before hand so you don't have rush on the day.
This includes the making stuffing, peeling the vegetables and any treats like
devils on horseback. They can all go in the fridge in containers.
2 - Roasts are all about the timing. Set a time that you want to eat, then grab a
piece of paper and calculate all the times for everything. Then set a schedule &
a series of alarms (on your phone) to start each element.
3 - The trick is to rest the Turkey for a good while, longer than most people
think. In fact you can cook the Turkey & whilst it rests cook all the other
vegetables including the roast potatoes.
4 - Change up a few elements to bring some novelty into the meal. Add Dates &
Apricots into the sausage stuffing. Roast the potatoes in Cumin seeds. Add
Sherry to the gravy. Toss the sprouts in Honey, Oil & Chilli.
5 - We all know that there will be leftovers - Mix the left over Christmas Pud
with melted Chocolate turn them into balls & into the fridge. Use the Turkey
for a rich Risotto with left over root vegetables such as carrots.

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Suited Chef