Christmas Trimmings Recipes

Christmas Trimmings Recipes

CHRISTMAS TRIMMINGS RECIPES

BY SIMON WOOD

_____________________________

Honey mustard pigs in blankets

 

Ingredients

 

30 pigs in blankets

80g Colmans English mustard

80g runny honey

Chopped chives

 

Method

Cook the pigs in blankets until golden, add the honey and mustard in to a medium heat frying pan, heat until it bubbles and then add the sausages, glaze until sticky and serve with chopped chives

    Pigs in blankets
    Pigs in blankets
    BROOD Magazine

      Vichy carrots

      Ingredients

      1kg Heritage Carrots with tops

      125g Unsalted Butter

      250ml carrot juice

      125ml orange juice

      2 sprigs rosemary

      1 Star Anise

      4 sprigs thyme

      2 cloves garlic, crushed

      80ml white wine vinegar

      100g sugar or honey,

      Salt and Black Pepper

       

      Method

       

      Pick the green leafy tops off the carrots and drop them into ice water.

      Steam the carrots until just cooked, and then in a sauté pan add in all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil, add in the carrots and cook for 10 minutes, serve with a little of the liquid and the crisp green leafy tops.

      roast potatoes by Simon Wood
      roast potatoes by Simon Wood

      Ultimate roasties

      Perfect Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

       

      Ingredients

      2kg Red Skin Potatoes

      2 Bulbs of Garlic (Halved)

      1 Bunch of Fresh Rosemary

      1 Bunch of Fresh Thyme

      500g Goose Fat

      Maldon Sea Salt

      Black Pepper

      Method

      Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.

      Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they’re all the same size

      Wash the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch and place a large saucepan on to boil, season with a good amount of sea-salt.

      Add your goose fat into a large roasting tray, the biggest you have. This is to make sure there’s plenty of room for the potatoes and heat to circulate, heat for 10 minutes while your pan of water comes to the boil

       

      Now, add the potatoes to the water and parboil for 10 minutes, you want the outside soft and the inside with a little firmness remaining once ready drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes.

       

      After 3 minutes give the colander a shake to help fluff up the potatoes so they look ‘Snowy’ – this will help to help them to crisp up later on.

       

      Carefully remove your roasting tray with the hot fat from the oven and place on a suitable surface, add in half of your herbs and a bulb of your halved garlic and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. After five minutes remove the herbs and garlic. You now have a nicely flavoured oil that will make your potatoes taste amazing! 

       

      If you leave the herbs in for the whole time it takes to roast your potatoes, they will burn and taste acrid! We will add in the rest of the herbs with 10 minutes to go to really lift the flavour!

       

      Tip the potatoes into your roasting tray and turn with tongs slowly coating them in the flavoured hot fat, take care not to break them before seasoning well with the sea salt and black pepper.

       

      Roast for 45 minutes, before turning each one to coat in more fat and ensure even colouring, now add in your remaining herbs and garlic and roast for a further 10-20 minutes depending on how much colour you want on them

       

      Once golden and crisp drain any excess oil on a little kitchen paper 

       

      As a chef I find Its always best to do a little test at this point and eat one just to check the seasoning, sometimes I must do this three or four times, just to be sure!

      Peppers & Spring Onions
      Peppers & Spring Onions

      Simons Christmas gravy 

       

      Ingredients

       

      1kg Chicken Thighs or Wings or a mixture of the two

      Olive oil

      4 large carrots

      2 Sticks of Celery

      3/4 Bay leaves

      1 Sprig of Rosemary

      1 Teaspoon fresh Thyme

      1 Teaspoon fresh Sage

      3 White onions halved

      2 Maris piper potatoes quartered

      1 Tablespoon of your cranberry sauce

      Celery Salt (1 teaspoon)

      Ground Black Pepper

      3 Pints of Chicken Stock

      4 tablespoons cornflour

       

      Method

       

      Set the Stock and cornflour Aside

      Add the remaining ingredients into a roasting tin and cover with olive oil. Roast until golden and the meat is easy to pinch away from the bone, approximately 75 minutes at 180c, 350f, Gas 4. Remove from the oven and shred the meat into the roasting tin and use a fork or a masher to crush all the vegetables Place over a flame or on the hob

      Add 4 table spoons of the cornflour and mix well cooking the flour out and then add in the stock slowly stirring well and crushing all the flavour out of the vegetables and the chicken. Cook until thickened and dark brown in colour.

      Check Seasoning and strain through a colander and then again through a sieve to get a refined finish to your sauce

      Cranberry Sauce

       

      Juice of 2 clementine’s

      400g cranberries

      200g light muscovado sugar

      100ml port

       

      The Method

       

      Add all the ingredients into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until sticky and delicious, store in sterilised jars in the fridge or give away as Christmas gifts!

        

      Chicken fat brioche bread sauce.

       

      Ingredients

       

      500ml whole milk

      500ml double cream

      100g Chicken fat

      25g unsalted butter

      150g chopped white onion

      10 white peppercorns

      2 bay leaf’s

      10 thyme sprigs

      2 grated garlic cloves

      200g brioche crumb

      1g Ground Nutmeg

      3g Maldon sea salt

       

      Method

       

      Sauté the Onion, Garlic, Thyme, Peppercorns, Bay Leaf and salt in the chicken fat and butter. Add in the Brioche crumb and stir before adding the milk and cream.

       

      Add the nutmeg after 5 minutes and then cook for further 25 minutes and then blend until smooth.

      Simon Wood Christmas
      Simon Wood Christmas
      Simon Wood Christmas

      Buttered chicken sprouts

      Ingredients

      1kg sprouts, shredded
      150g chopped shallot
      300ml chicken stock
      Crispy chicken skin
      100g smoked bacon lardons
      Chopped Chives
      250g butter.
      Ground black papper

      Method

      In a saucepan over a medium heat add the lardons and cook until just starting to crisp up. Add in the chopped shallots and cook for two minutes, next add the sprouts, stock and butter and bring to the boil reducing slightly, season with pepper

      Serve in a bowl topped with the chicken skin and chopped chives.

      Buttered chicken sprouts
      Simon Wood
      Written by
      WoodKraft Cheltenham

       KEEP UP TO DATE WITH BROOD:

      * indicates required
      Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Brood Magazine:
      You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.
      We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

      Related Articles

      Russell Kane & Lindsey Kane

      “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT COUPLES IN SOCIETY DO, IF THEY AGREE TO ROLLING AROUND IN THEIR HIPPY BED, LETTING THEIR BABY SUCK ON THEIR T**S UNTIL YOU’RE BOTH 60, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT – NO ONE SHOULD JUDGE ANYONE, I JUST THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO AGREE ON HOW YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR KID BEFOREHAND.”

      read more
      CHRISTMAS DAY RECIPES – SIMON WOOD

      CHRISTMAS DAY RECIPES – SIMON WOOD

      The Turkey

      Ingredients

      • Carrots 
      • Celery 
      • Garlic
      • 4 Large Potato’s
      • 2 Large Onions
      • Clementine
      • Streaky Bacon
      • Sage, Rosemary & Thyme

      The Method

      • If you have stuffed the Turkey you will need to remember to Weigh it again and calculate the cooking time (about 20 minutes per 500g/1lb). 20 minutes per pound
      • Cook your Bird from room temperature not straight from the fridge
      • Cover with Tinfoil
      • Preheat your oven to maximum and as soon as you put your turkey in turn it down to 180c, 350f, Gas 4. 
      • Baste your turkey regularly this will keep the meat succulent.
      • I Like to add Sage, Rosemary & Thyme and a halved clementine inside the cavity of my turkey
      • Always use the giblets in your gravy
      • Cover the breast of your bird with smoked streaky bacon and butter this will keep it from drying out.
      • I like to sit my Turkey on some roughly cut vegetables, just to keep it raised from the bottom of the roasting tin and allow the hot air to circulate and cook the bird evenly
      • Remove the tin foil for the last 50 minutes basting regularly still.
      Peppers & Spring Onions
      BROOD Magazine

        The Cranberry Sauce

        • Juice of 2 clementine’s
        • 400g cranberries
        • 200g light muscovado sugar
        • 100ml port

        The Method

        • Add all the ingredients into a saucepan and cook on a medium heat until sticky and delicious, store in sterilised jars in the fridge or give away as Christmas gifts!

        The Gravy – Ingredients

        • 1kg Chicken Thighs or Wings or a mixture of the two
        • Olive oil
        • 4 large carrots
        • 2 Sticks of Celery
        • 3/4 Bay leaves
        • 1 Sprig of Rosemary
        • 1 Teaspoon fresh Thyme
        • 1 Teaspoon fresh Sage
        • 3 White onions halved
        • 2 Maris piper potatoes quartered
        • 1 Tablespoon of your cranberry sauce
        • Celery Salt (1 teaspoon)
        • Ground Black Pepper
        • 3 Pints of Chicken Stock
        • 4 tablespoons cornflour

        The Gravy – Method

        • Set the Stock and cornflour Aside
        • Add the remaining ingredients into a roasting tin and cover with olive oil
        • Roast until golden and the meat is easy to pinch away from the bone, approximately 75 minutes at 180c, 350f, Gas 4.
        • Remove from the oven and shred the meat into the roasting tin and use a fork or a masher to crush all the vegetables
        • Place over a flame or on the hob
        • Add 4 table spoons of the cornflour and mix well cooking the flour out
        • Add in the stock slowly stirring well and crushing all the flavour out of the vegetables and the chicken.
        • Cook until thickened and dark brown in colour.
        • Check Seasoning and strain through a colander and then again through a sieve to get a refined finish to your sauce

        The Stuffing – Ingredients

        • 750g pork mince
        • 25g sage, chopped
        • 100g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
        • 75g Chestnuts, roughly chopped
        • 2 apples, grated
        • 2 onions, grated
        • Salt and Black Pepper

        The Stuffing – Method

        • In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients
        • You can use to stuff the neck of the turkey, or put in an ovenproof dish, cover and bake at gas 4, 180ºC, for 1 hour until golden.

        roast potatoes by Simon Wood

        Perfect Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

         

        Ingredients

        2kg Red Skin Potatoes

        2 Bulbs of Garlic (Halved)

        1 Bunch of Fresh Rosemary

        1 Bunch of Fresh Thyme

        500g Goose Fat

        Maldon Sea Salt

        Black Pepper

         

         

         

        Method

        Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.

        Peel the potatoes, cutting any larger ones so they’re all the same size

        Wash the potatoes in cold water to get rid of any extra starch and place a large saucepan on to boil, season with a good amount of sea-salt.

        Add your goose fat into a large roasting tray, the biggest you have. This is to make sure there’s plenty of room for the potatoes and heat to circulate, heat for 10 minutes while your pan of water comes to the boil

         

        Now, add the potatoes to the water and parboil for 10 minutes, you want the outside soft and the inside with a little firmness remaining once ready drain in a colander and leave to steam dry for 5 minutes.

         

        After 3 minutes give the colander a shake to help fluff up the potatoes so they look ‘Snowy’ – this will help to help them to crisp up later on.

         

        Carefully remove your roasting tray with the hot fat from the oven and place on a suitable surface, add in half of your herbs and a bulb of your halved garlic and put it back in the oven for 5 minutes. After five minutes remove the herbs and garlic. You now have a nicely flavoured oil that will make your potatoes taste amazing! 

         

        If you leave the herbs in for the whole time it takes to roast your potatoes, they will burn and taste acrid! We will add in the rest of the herbs with 10 minutes to go to really lift the flavour!

         

        Tip the potatoes into your roasting tray and turn with tongs slowly coating them in the flavoured hot fat, take care not to break them before seasoning well with the sea salt and black pepper.

         

        Roast for 45 minutes, before turning each one to coat in more fat and ensure even colouring, now add in your remaining herbs and garlic and roast for a further 10-20 minutes depending on how much colour you want on them

         

        Once golden and crisp drain any excess oil on a little kitchen paper 

         

        As a chef I find Its always best to do a little test at this point and eat one just to check the seasoning, sometimes I must do this three or four times, just to be sure!

        Peppers & Spring Onions

        Pomegranate and Balsamic braised red cabbage

        • ½ Red Cabbage, Shredded
        • 75ml Balsamic vinegar…. The best you have!
        • 250ml Pomegranate Juice
        • 1 Pomegranate 
        • 1 Star Anise
        • Salt and Pepper
        • Olive Oil

        The Method

        • Shred the cabbage and add into a large pan with a little olive oil
        • On a medium Heat stir until coated and starting to soften
        • Add in 250ml Pomegranate juice and the star anise
        • Cook until softened 
        • Add in 75 ml Balsamic (Adjust to taste)
        • Cook down until golden and sticky
        • Sprinkle with Pomegranate Pearls and serve
          Simon Wood
          Written by

           KEEP UP TO DATE WITH BROOD:

          * indicates required
          Please select all the ways you would like to hear from Brood Magazine:
          You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.
          We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

          Related Articles

          Russell Kane & Lindsey Kane

          “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT COUPLES IN SOCIETY DO, IF THEY AGREE TO ROLLING AROUND IN THEIR HIPPY BED, LETTING THEIR BABY SUCK ON THEIR T**S UNTIL YOU’RE BOTH 60, IF THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT – NO ONE SHOULD JUDGE ANYONE, I JUST THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT TO AGREE ON HOW YOU WANT TO RAISE YOUR KID BEFOREHAND.”

          read more