Cooking Christmas dinner can be more stressful than university finals or as relaxing as a week in the Maldives.
Most of us probably find ourselves basting our turkeys somewhere in between these extremes.
Festive fun! You too can love cooking Christmas dinner if you follow Alice’s clever tips!
For me, as a mediocrity (at best) cook, Christmas dinner is one meal I thoroughly enjoy making. I love the Christmas carol accompanying the preparation, I love knowing that I’ve done too many potatoes – an absolute point of pride – and I thoroughly enjoy laboring over the extra dishes and vegetables that I’d never include alongside a normal Sunday lunch, such as red cabbage and sprouts.
Years of practice have helped shape my positive attitude. Here are my top tips for making the whole process a breeze.
1. Think of it as a large Sunday roast.
This is how I get around the stress of knowing that I am feeding large numbers of people, some of whom are better cooks than me. I also include: ‘Who cares if you get it wrong, everyone will have a glass of Champagne by the time they sit down,’ in my personal Christmas Day pep talk to himself at 7am as I get out the peeler.
2. Save on washing up and have canapés instead of plated starters.
I always do smoked salmon on brown bread, and then invest in shop bought mini quiches (life’s too short) that I heat up and pass around with