The Group Executive Chef at Trigon Hotels (Metropole Hotel and Cork International Hotel), Alex Petit has outlined his top tips for reducing stress around cooking this year’s Christmas dinner.
The French native said: “Christmas is a wonderful time of the year when family and friends are together. But that joy can sometimes be overshadowed by the worry of cooking the Christmas dinner. I know only too well about the pressures of preparing a meal so I’ve outlined a few pointers to help on the big day.”
His five tips for cooking a stress – free Christmas dinner are:
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Lists are your friend.
Write out the details of what you will be serving and what you need for each course. Make a list before you go shopping and tick everything off so you haven’t forgotten anything on the day.
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Get a good meat thermometer.
A food thermometer takes away the worry of undercooking the turkey. There are a number of moving parts on the day, you don’t need the stress of wondering if the main part of the dinner is cooked correctly.
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Prepare what you can the night before.
Peel and wash vegetables and potatoes the night before and put them into cold water. Select desserts you can make ahead like trifles and cheesecake to save you time on the big day.
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It doesn’t have to be Instagram perfect.
A lot of people focus on the presentation of the food. Every dish doesn’t have to look social media ready – the most important thing is spending quality time with your loved ones.
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Keep it light-hearted and fun.
It’s a special time of the year – friends and family are home and you are together. Get them involved and enjoy spending quality time with them.
Alex shares his recipe for the ultimate stuffing.
Sausage meat and cranberry stuffing
Ingredients:
- 75 g butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tsp chopped fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, sage and thyme)
- 50 g fresh cranberries
- 50 g dried cranberries
- 175 g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 225 g Rosscarbery free range pork sausage meat
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- In a medium size pan, melt the butter and add the finely diced onions.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and add the dried and fresh cranberries.
- Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
- In a separate bowl, mix the sausage meat, breadcrumbs and fresh herbs.
- Mix thoroughly and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the cooled butter mix and mix until fully combined.
- You can either stuff the turkey with this stuffing or else bake it separately in a preheated oven at 170 degree celsius for 25 minutes.
