Previous

RECIPE FOR A STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS
I wrote something like this for Christmas last year, but I feel it could be repeated. Christmas is all
about sharing time with your loved ones: friends and family and sharing food at the table without being the slave in the kitchen. This is my recipe for getting Christmas dinner on the table without anyone feeling stressed out or left out.
Christmas Eve day: Prepare your favourite stuffing, place in ovenproof dish and refrigerate. Do not put in turkey. Scrub or peel any combination of root vegetables that you like, such as, sweet and regular potatoes, parsnips, carrots, turnips, squash. Cut into a uniform size (for equal cooking) and store in a bag in the fridge. Wash lettuce for salad and store in a bag in the fridge. (Or call someone that is coming for dinner and ask him or her to bring the salad.)
Christmas Day: Rinse turkey and place a quartered apple (do not core, just cut into four), a lemon cut in half and a few sprigs of fresh herbs such as sage, rosemary or thyme(just like the song) into the cavity of the turkey. Rub the turkey (outside) with a little olive oil and season with kosher or sea salt and another sprig or two of fresh sage. It is now ready for the oven. 400 F. Cook until juices run clear, not pink, when stabbed with a fork in the thigh of the turkey or 160 F on a meat thermometer when placed in the thigh. Cooking times vary with the size of the turkey - calculate approx. 20 minutes to the pound.
The root vegetables: Toss with a little olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Place on a baking sheet with a sprig of fresh herb (one out of the song above) and place in the hot oven after the turkey is cooked, removing the turkey from the oven to rest on a platter before carving. Cook the root vegetables until tender. Pour some of the pan juices from the cooked turkey onto the stuffing mixture in the ovenproof dish.
Place in the oven and cook at the same time as the vegetables. Use the remaining pan juices for gravy. Toss your salad with your favourite dressing or make a simple vinaigrette of Olive Oil and white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Dessert can be as simple as sherbet or ice cream with fresh fruit and your previously baked Christmas cookies.
The only thing missing in this wonderful feast is the cranberry sauce. Instead of opening that tin of cranberry sauce, try this simply delicious way to make your own cranberry sauce, in minutes. For each bag of fresh cranberries (found in the produce section of any supermarket): pour the whole cranberries in a saucepan with one cup of granulated sugar and one cup of orange or apple juice. Cook on medium high heat until the cranberries 'pop', stirring occasionally. Cook for approx. fifteen or twenty minutes. Remove from the heat; they will thicken further as they cool. That's it! You will never go back to canned cranberries again. If you are sugar conscious or diabetic, cook the cranberries with unsweetened juice and when the cranberries have popped and started to thicken, add one cup of a sugar substitute at the end of the cooking time and stir to blend.
Christmas is family, friends, food and sharing. The best to all for the holidays. Now, really kick back and enjoy! Note: Regarding Fly Freeman's column on eating locally and supporting our local farmers - “Right on!” All components of this dinner can be found locally right now. Think root vegetables and organic turkey and chicken for your holiday meal. And puree those leftover vegetables into a delicious soup!