Christmas Kitchen Secrets

I’ve had my in-laws staying over for the Christmas holidays so it fell upon my shoulders to carry the torch for traditional yuletide Anglo-Saxon cuisine and put in a good performance in the kitchen, which is where I spent most of my Christmas. I’m not complaining though for my time was well spent and I was more than happy with the results, in fact this year was the first that I was 100% happy with the results, particularly that most tricky of customers - the stuffing. Lets face it everything else on the Christmas menu is pretty straight-forward. Its easy enough to roast vegetables or even a large bird but to take your stuffing beyond the mediocre is a more subtle art. So let me share with you some of those Christmas secrets I have learnt…

• Nuts. Your chestnuts must be fresh, not canned. Roast them, don’t boil them (don’t forget to carve an x on them before you pop them into the oven) and peel them while hot. Go totally overboard, the more the better - I used 1.5 Kg.
• Fruit. Dried berries are best but figs are good too and should be marinated in a decent Port for at least five days. Drain off the excess thoroughly and save the liquor for addition to the gravy. Don’t go too overboard with the fruit, remember its supposed to be a savoury dish.
• Herbs. Dried herbs are a no-no, only fresh rosemary and thyme will do. Ideally a 1:2 ratio or thereabouts and plenty of it.
• Onion. Don’t just throw in the onion, fry it gently in butter first until it is nice and soft but not yet caramelised.

Just add minced pork, egg and bread and stuff it into the bird. Yummy.