majorbloodnock Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 It does sound good indeed. I must admit I'm not all that keen on bubbly of any nationality (although not enough that I wouldn't drink it, of course) but that's just me. However, the Margaux sounds fantastic, and that roast might have been custom made to show it off at its best. In fact, my wife and I did a rib of beef for Christmas dinner a few years back with a Haut Brion, and it couldn't have gone together better. Good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 What I hope is an interesting story about Christmas meal - I've seen short videos of when my son was in the army in Afghanistan. They were posted in a tiny PB near some Taliban and were relaxing, you can hear gunshots and cheering. They had decided that as it was christmas day they didn't want to fight so they cheered and waved the union flag instead. On film you can hear a soldier shouting that someone was at the gate, another soldier shouts to check if the caller is wearing a belt and if not what does he want. It's a long story but the upshot is that it was a villager with a turkey and some vegetables for the soldiers for Christmas day. With all the odd things they had been sent by people back home they managed a sort of traditional Christmas meal. They managed gravy and roasties, it was alright apparently. Obviously they didn't have an oven, but cooked everything on a makeshift barbecue made out of barrels and stuff. Those Christmas Day videos are the oddest I've ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 .............. I cook and carve the turkey, beef and ham on Christmas Eve............... I'm really interested in this idea, do you serve it cold with the rest of the hot dinner or re heat somehow? It would solve a lot of oven and time problems on Christmas Day, but I wasn't brave enough to offer the turkey cold to guests when I thought about cooking it in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsylabrador Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 My Dad who was a chef taught me to wrap cold meat up in foil with a ladle or two of stock or fully made gravy and pop it in the oven to heat through. The stock flavours it and keeps it moist. My current cooker has a grill/small oven, otherwise I just put it on very bottom of oven. Sometimes I put it in a casserole type pot covered with gravy. I haven't tried this yet but think a baking parchment parcel in microwave would work too. I also like serving the meat cold, if the plates and other food are very hot it seems to work ok. I've been experimenting with roast pots and parsnips and plan to cook them crispy on Xmas eve, put in foil tray and blast quickly on Xmas day. Seems ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheilaz Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Thank you so much for those details. Some very handy ideas to try, preparing and carving the turkey on Christmas Eve sounds wonderful. I feel confident about using this method now, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 My Auntie always prepares her turkey on Christmas Eve too. She then puts the carved slices on a plate covered in foil and she sticks the plate on top of her saucepan whilst cooking the veg to heat the meat through. Never tried it myself, but have eaten Christmas dinner at my Aunties house and have lived to tell this tale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 And something to add to the idea of early cooking of the turkey is that of storing it overnight. It's been pointed out by several people over the years that the weather at Christmas is often cold enough to replicate the temperature of a normal domestic fridge (anywhere between 2 and 5 degC). If that's the case, you can use your shed as an extra large fridge (wrapping up the food, of course, to keep it hygienic), and that'd be ideal for a whole carved turkey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I usually curse the fact that the underfloor heating doesn't work in the downstairs spare bedroom/craft room but it comes into its own at Christmas - I set up a trestle table in there and store all the food, I keep a fridge thermometer on the table to keep an eye on the temperature. With most food like the cheeses and fruit on the table it leaves more room in the fridge for things which it wouldn't be good to warm up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I have always been very traditional in my meat and trimmings, but I am coming around to variety, although I still don;t like more than one meat on my plate when hot, I don't mind at the cold cuts stage though. I'm glad it's not just me who doesn't like mixing their meat, it just seems wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 And something to add to the idea of early cooking of the turkey is that of storing it overnight. It's been pointed out by several people over the years that the weather at Christmas is often cold enough to replicate the temperature of a normal domestic fridge (anywhere between 2 and 5 degC). If that's the case, you can use your shed as an extra large fridge (wrapping up the food, of course, to keep it hygienic), and that'd be ideal for a whole carved turkey. The christmas before last when it was very snowy, I had a stack of our blue plastic recycling crates outside, lined with newspaper and keeping my food cold; there's no way that my fridge will hold food for 10 people Last year I was house-sitting for neighbours who had gone away; they gave me permission to annex their fridge. I currently have a spare fridge in the attic room; a friend was refurbing her kitchen and I got a freezer fro free and a fridge for very little. I shall use them this Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 It looks like we're having goose, just because we've never tried it before 3 people have now said to me' ohh, you've got to be really careful cooking that'. Yikes! What have I let myself into Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I think its from the sheer amount of fat that comes off them, like when cooking duck. I think you have to empty the roasting tray often. But I could be wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 It's not difficult to cook at all. The only thing that really stands out is that it's got quite a bit of fat under the skin. If you prick it well all over with a fork, then put the bird on a wire rack in a roasting tin, that lifts it high enough that the fat can collect below. You'll need to decant some of the fat off as the tin gets full, but that's about as difficult as it gets. Once the fat cools down enough, pour it into a jar or two, then store it. Roast potatoes cooked in goose fat are sublime, so you'll thank yourself over and over again throughout the coming year for having had a goose on Christmas day. I hasten to add that whilst there's plenty of fat on a goose, the meat itself is no fattier than duck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I've found the same with goose before now. I always roast taters in goose fat; there's nothing quite like it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 I've found the same with goose before now. I always roast taters in goose fat; there's nothing quite like it [badly disguised smugness]...except having a spanky new oven to cook them in.....[/badly disguised smugness] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 how's it doing Major... still loving it? I got mine just before Christmas, my old cooker having given up the ghost 10 days before the C Day... I still just love cooking on it 3 or 4 years down the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Finding it difficult to get used to the idea that, if I follow the instructions in a recipe, the result cooks correctly and evenly in the stated time. I won't say I'm missing having to check regularly and continually adjust the dish's position, but it's a difficult habit to break. Having said that, I haven't done much baking or roasting yet. I haven't had the chance; my son has snaffled most of those opportunities. Hey, ho..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I wouldn't complain if your son is doing the cooking, how old is he? I am still amazed that mine cooks to time and temperature as well, my old cooker had got very 'manual' in that I had to do the same as you with adjusting times and position, cooking Christmas dinner was a nightmare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 He's coming up to eleven, but he's been producing sponge cakes for several years now, so he's pretty well practiced by now. The trick is to get my daughter up to speed now, because currently her "help" largely consists of letting her brother do the difficult bits, then taking charge of the interesting stuff. Mind you, now her reading is coming along (she's six) it's going to make following recipes much easier, so I predict her culinary independence will take big strides this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 That's wonderful and a great asset to them (not to mention cooking for you and the missus in your dotage!). Good for you. Rosie is perfectly able to cook a full meal (she's 14) but doesn't often do it, at least I know that she can provide herself with nutritious meals if she needs to. Having said that, the rubbish her friends eat never ceases to amaze me; she had a sleepover on Friday and I made them dinner.... one doesn't eat anything at all, the other was picky (will only eat cheese strings whatever those are) and the last one had no table manners R tells me that none of them are 'allowed' in the kitchen and don't even know how to work a washing machine - what on earth are they going to do when they get their own places? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 ....what on earth are they going to do when they get their own places?.... Learn quickly or starve in dirty clothes. Necessity and all that..... As with your daughter, my son is perfectly capable of cooking a proper meal. He's still got plenty to learn about co-ordinating cooking times (haven't we all?), so his best results are achieved with dishes where one part will happily continue bubbling whilst the one time-critical bit is cooked, such as a tagliatelle bolognese or a stew with veggies. What he does REALLY well, though, is pastry; he's far better than me. As a result, I'm going to try to get him to make up a batch of flaky pastry for the beef welly I mentioned earlier in this thread. There; I knew we'd get back on topic sooner or later..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Sorry to be a pain again! Can I cook the goose the day before, then reheat it after I've sliced it up on the Christmas Day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majorbloodnock Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Not a pain, and yes you can. Take the same kind of precautions as with a turkey to stop the meat drying out, and you'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowberry Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted December 22, 2012 Share Posted December 22, 2012 Been to the fishmonger this morning to get the fish Was told to be there between 7.30 and 9, got there at 7.30 to be told that the weather had held up the trawler... So I had to wait until 8 for the fish to come in.... Can't doubt the freshness though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
