Making your Christmas dinner a memorable one

Dear friends and family,

It has been a while ! I come back to you in one of my favorite time of the year, December. December is a season full of joy, love, and heart felt events. Christmas is the main one. Families and friends from all over the world gather during this blissful evening. Many of you, I presume, are hosting dinner at home. What about all you first timers ? I am sure you would love to read some tips on how to prepare for your Christmas dinner in the most organized and efficient way possible. Follow my tips below and have a stress free night that will create happy memories and avoid any chaos. The best gift you can give yourself and your family during this time is your big smile !

Along with the fun and the wonderful expectations of this season comes the shopping, decorating, baking, and cooking. Time will fly, therefore, be sure to start your preparations now.

Lets get started.

1- Make a list of your guests and gifts

2- Prepare the menu

3- According to your menu, prepare your grocery list

4- Turkey tips

5- Table setting and ambiance

1- Your guests and gifts

Know your guests, what they like, appreciate, and enjoy. According to this, plan the rest of the details. Music, menu, drinks, candle scents, table setting, and last but not least, the best part, the gifts !! Start up a little magic of your own doing with creative and personalized gifts for your loved ones. This could be the start of a beautiful and thoughtful tradition for you to carry on throughout the years. Let me give you some ideas of what I usually give, home made jam, cookies, dried herbs, or anything done with a touch of love.

2-3 Your menu & grocery shopping

For the menu and food that you are providing, mix it up between homemade and ordered food from caterers, do this now, as they may not take your order later. Some help could add to your enjoyment of the evening as your guests will appreciate you being comfortable and your spirit festive. Do you want your menu oriental or western? you need to make a decision in order to choose the side dishes accordingly. I am usually very oriental in many ways in my life, whether in cooking or behavior, however, during Christmas, I like preparing my dinner the western way.

– Once you decide on your menu, make a few seperate lists indicating the different recipes you will be preparing for each dish.

– Ingredients you need to buy

– Make a plan on what you can do in advance

– Prepare serving plates, write a note and place it on each plate, noting what will be served on it

– Fill your fridge door with notes and reminders

– All sauces can be prepared beforehand, this will save you time later. Make sure to cover them tightly and refrigerate until served

This goes for your choice of dessert as well. Dessert should be done in advance as the turkey will take up most of your time and oven during Christmas day.

Appetizers:

appetizers can be prepared a day in advance. Try to choose Christmasy red and green vegetables like dried tomatoes, red and green peppers. These go well with delicious dips. For For example, red dip.

Method:

Red dip: mix cream cheese and red sauce plus green onions, and basil leaves, all cut small and mixed well.

Green dip: pesto sauce plus sour cream along with an assortment of fresh vegetables or crackers.

Another delicious appetizer that goes very well in winter is the brie cooked with puff pastry and marmalade jam, baked in the oven.

The traditional cheese platter is always a safe bet. A perfect cheese platter usually consists of the following:

fresh and smooth – mild goat and mozzarella

buttery and soft – brie and camambert

hard cheeses – gruyere and manchego

dry sharp – pecorino romano and parmesean

blue cheeses – roquefort

cheeses taste best at room temperature, so allow them to sit for an hour before serving. Make sure you have a nice assortment of bread along with some nuts, grapes, and quince jam to go with the cheeses.

I always try to shop from local markets as it is the time of year to be encouraging and supportive to all.

4- Turkey tips! Are you ready ? 

buying the bird. Buy 1 pound uncooked per person. For example, if you are cooking for 10 people buy one that weighs 10 pounds. Choose it either fresh or frozen. It is a matter of what is convenient or available. Butter ball is the one I usually buy.

Butter ball turkey

Thaw the bird in the fridge or in cold water for a good amount of time. Do not thaw on the counter or sink as bacteria thrives there. Place the turkey in a dish or baking pan so that it does not leak in your fridge. If your turkey weighs 8-12 pounds, it will take 1-2 days of thawing. 12-16 pounds will take 2-3 days. Follow the instructions that are written on the plastic bag or tag.

Roasting the turkey:

preheat your oven!

wash inside out and dry using kitchen paper. Combine all stuffing ingredients on the side in a separate bowl. Mix salt, pepper, mixed herbs, cinnamon, and rub in and out of the turkey. Use them generously.

The stuffing: I personally, make the same stuffing that I have been practicing for 30 years. My family looks forward to this recipe every year. You will need: green onions, parsley, celery, mushrooms, garlic, chestnut, fresh herbs, and cranberry. Cut all these ingredients using a grinder. Season them with croutons. On the side I prepare minced meat (1kg) prepared by frying them with butter. The meat could be either beef or pork. When the meat is cooked and left to cool, I add them to the mixture. This is my stuffing.

Stuffing

Spoon stuff the mixture into the cavities of the turkey adding chunks of butter as you go. Turn the turkey to the breast side, do not over stuff as it will expand. To those of you who are worried about the calories, forget it ! You can diet after the holidays.

Fasten the neck’s skin backwards using a skewer. Secure the wings with scewers and tie the legs together. Place the turkey on a large baking dish. Combine butter and olive oil and brush the whole bird with this mixture.

Cover the whole turkey with foil. Make sure to do that loosely so that the foil doesn’t stick to the meat.

Place your turkey in the oven, after an hour you need to start basting. Take the bird out of the oven, but close the oven door so that the heat doesn’t escape. For the basting ingredients I use, chicken broth, the neck and giblets that come with the turkey, celery, and chestnuts. I boil them together adding some spices and vinegar. I then liquidate them using a grinder. Baste every 45 minutes.

Basting

Bake at 220 degrees, for each 1 kg half an hour of baking is needed. So depending on the weight you will know the number of hours. Please do the math. Take it out of the oven and let it sit for 30 minutes before serving.

Gravy sauce:

– 4 tbs flour

– all the reserve pan juices

– 1/2 cup sweet cherry

if you find thick, add chicken stock

Stir constantly and season to taste. Cook over medium heat until ready.

I recommend you go for this side dish:

mustard glazed shallots and carrots. 

2 tbs olive oil

3 tbs grainy mustard

3 tbs brown sugar

1 tbs apple sider vinegar

12 shallots

1 pound medium carrots

sea salt and ground pepper

2 tbs butter

method:

In a small bowl, whisk together all the above ingredients leaving the butter out. Arrange in a single layer and bake until beginning to brown (about 40 mins) stirring half way. At the end, stir in butter and serve warm.

For your dessert, I recommend ordering from your favorite patisserie. It is traditional for us to serve the buche de noel and marron glacé. Meghli or rice pudding is usually served celebrating the birth of Christ.

5- Table setting and ambience

In every corner of your house, starting from the entrance to the smallest details in your guest bathroom, add a touch of festivity. Get out all your serving utensils, check if they need polishing so that you dont encounter any last minute surprises. Impress everyone by leaving a small gift on the napkins and remember to get good quality heavy paper, ones that suit the occasion. Spread out some tea light candles and natural flower arrangements across the table. Keep it simple and make sure all colors are coordinated.

Table setting

I usually decorate my table with green leaves.

Table setting

What adds a great feeling to the overall setting is the scent. Light up a couple of scented candles or boil some ginger, cinnamon sticks, orange peel, and bay leaves in a pot and keep it boiling throughout the dinner. This will bring out a beautiful festive smell. Music is an essential part of the evening, choose it wisely as it will reflect on the overall mood.

A toast to beverages !

whether you are serving wine, cocktails, or simply juice, stock up your bar with Water and soda, wine (red and white), try to encourage the local produce as we have excellent brands. Liquor: gin, rum, scotch, vodka, and whiskey. Mixers: tomato juice, soda tonic, cranberry juice, orange juice, soft drinks (regular and diet)

post dinner drinks like brandy, liqueur should always be handy as they are great for digestion.

To be placed on the bar:

garnishes: lemon slices, mint leaves, celery stalks, salt, olives, fresh dill weeds, fresh ice cubes, maraschino cherry (red and green) will add the right spirit.

Dont forget the wine bottle opener, a regular opener, ice bucket and ice tongs, napkins for the drinks, straws, and coasters.

Arrange special glasses for each drink.

A merry mimosa cocktail 

2 cups orange juice

2 cups cranberry

1 bottle dry champagne or sparkling wine

mix and serve chilled, this is for 10 servings

spicy mocha mix (served warm)

Half cup sugar

1/4 cup instant coffee

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

mix all dry ingredients in a jar and use upon order by Simply adding a spoon full into hot water.

It has been a long list I know but it is totally worth the effort! I hope you all benefited from my tips and your Christmas dinner is filled with nothing but happiness and lovely memories with no complications. Please inbox me for further guidance as I will be more than happy to walk you through.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Concentrate on the joy that will light up the hearts of everyone you see, call a relative who is far away and have a chat, bless the heart and hands of a giver. “I call him religious who understands the suffering of others.” Ghandi

with love, Jahna