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Christmas dinner cheats
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TelevisionUser
21-12-2012
Christmas dinner cheats

...include Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes, supermarket supplied stuffing and Bisto's gravy granules.
abigail1234
21-12-2012
Originally Posted by SupernovaNebula:
“How is it exactly cheating if you buy ready made stuff? It's there to be bought and eaten. For convenience I use frozen potatoes as their easier to store than the fresh ready prepared ones. I use ready prepared vegetables such as parsnips too and why not? Who wants to spend all day in the kitchen. Time is a scarce commodity these days. If it tastes as good or nearly as good then it's acceptable if it falls of the mark then it has to be done from scratch!”

I love Aunt Bessie's frozen parsnips! And the Yorkshire puds.

Each to their own - but I hate the snobbery around ",making everything from scratch" as if that makes someone's food "better" or the person more "worthy" than those who use the supermarkets. No one posting here of course! Convenience / frozen food has come a long way and I would far rather enjoy the day with my family than getting into a tizz in the kitchen.

In fact, my friend remembered never getting any of her mum's time and attention as a child because her mum was always in he kitchen (I think it was her hobby). Some find preparing and cooking therapeutic - others prefer to do other things. I'm the latter - but everyone enjoys what I serve, and so do I.

I do peel and roast my own potatoes, but only because I prefer the taste to frozen ones but everything else compares well The Paxo stuffing is gorgeous - not at all dried up and horrible but flavoursome and crisp on the outside and delicious on the inside.
Smithy1204
22-12-2012
We are on some of it. I feel kinda bad, we never did when my mum was with us, she cooked everything. So it feels like we're not making enough effort in a way.

But hey. We're buying a pre-stuffed turkey crown, which is much smaller than buying the turkey so suited us because there's only the 3 of us on Christmas Day anyway. But we shall also be making our our sausagemeat stuffing (and lots of it!), we just got a stuffed one because we love stuffing, so the more the better. I don't like going near raw meat though, so this suits me better.

Also got some ready prepared parsnips, 'cos I'm the only one who likes them so I can't be bothered with preparing them for myself. Potatoes we shall be buying and preparing ourselves, same with carrots, sprouts (with bacon and butter I think I shall do), buying sausage and bacon rolls, and I can't think if there's anything I've missed.

So a balance. But it shall taste nice and it shall be a lovely dinner.
RickWhite
22-12-2012
Im not competing in the great British bake off, it's hardly cheating
Demizdeeroolz
24-12-2012
I'm using Aunt Bessie's honey glazed parsnips and have bought Christmas pudding for us and a chocolate pudding for the kids. I made the stuffing, braised red cabbage and bread sauce in advance and froze them. I will make cranberry sauce later today it is really easy, in the past I've made it with frozen cranberries and it turns out great. I bought some turkey gravy granules to give me a helping hand.
Tt88
24-12-2012
You could try the christmas dinner technique that i will be subjected to xmas day. The hosts will be cooking the turkey, microwaving the tinned veg and getting someone else to bring in home made yorkshire puddings!
JulesF
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by Tt88:
“You could try the christmas dinner technique that i will be subjected to xmas day. The hosts will be cooking the turkey, microwaving the tinned veg and getting someone else to bring in home made yorkshire puddings!”

I'm all for taking short-cuts, but tinned veg?! At Christmas!?
Tt88
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by JulesF:
“I'm all for taking short-cuts, but tinned veg?! At Christmas!? ”

We had arranged xmas dinner at ours where we would do fresh veg, yorkshires and turkey and have the space for us all to sit together and eat. But then this person insisted they cook dinner even though they hate cooking (hence the tinned veg and microwave), and have access to about 1/4 of their dining room meaning some people have to balance their dinner on their knees.

I sound moany but its not my idea of a nice xmas dinner!
LaVieEnRose
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by Tt88:
“We had arranged xmas dinner at ours where we would do fresh veg, yorkshires and turkey and have the space for us all to sit together and eat. But then this person insisted they cook dinner even though they hate cooking (hence the tinned veg and microwave), and have access to about 1/4 of their dining room meaning some people have to balance their dinner on their knees.

I sound moany but its not my idea of a nice xmas dinner!”

It's at times like this that you need to take a deep, determined breath and do a Grange Hill

Just .... Say .... No
Christian_Grey
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by abigail1234:
“I love Aunt Bessie's frozen parsnips! And the Yorkshire puds.

Each to their own - but I hate the snobbery around ",making everything from scratch" as if that makes someone's food "better" or the person more "worthy" than those who use the supermarkets. No one posting here of course! Convenience / frozen food has come a long way and I would far rather enjoy the day with my family than getting into a tizz in the kitchen.

In fact, my friend remembered never getting any of her mum's time and attention as a child because her mum was always in he kitchen (I think it was her hobby). Some find preparing and cooking therapeutic - others prefer to do other things. I'm the latter - but everyone enjoys what I serve, and so do I.

I do peel and roast my own potatoes, but only because I prefer the taste to frozen ones but everything else compares well The Paxo stuffing is gorgeous - not at all dried up and horrible but flavoursome and crisp on the outside and delicious on the inside.”

There is no snobbery about cooking from scratch, just perceived snobbery from people with chips on their shoulders. People have always cooked from scratch for centuries, it's just in more recent times that people have become consumed by convenience cooking. Nothing wrong at all with the odd short cut to help, but please, less of this snobbery crap. In would also add that making Christmas dinner need not be time consuming at all, it just takes a little organisation. People flap about it far too much.
degsyhufc
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by JulesF:
“I'm all for taking short-cuts, but tinned veg?! At Christmas!? ”

Even though sprouts will make an appearance i'm sure we'll also be having tinned marrofat peas.
missloo
24-12-2012
i have bought a pack of sprouts that are shredded and have bacon and sage butter in from asda as a cheat this year. I think everything else is being done from scratch, my turkey is brining as i type
amyawake
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by degsyhufc:
“Christmas dinner cheats

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microwave dinner for one”

Sad but I think there are probably an increasing number of people spending Christmas alone - for a variety of reasons....and some people who wish they could (rather than endure socialising with relations they have to pretend to like).

Hope you find a way of enjoying it - maybe the New Year is more special (it is to me).
amyawake
24-12-2012
Originally Posted by Badcat:
“gravy granules is what I had when I was ickle sprog at xmas cos mum had so many people to feed. She couldn't make gravy for the thousands out of one turkey dribble, she wasn't the chosen one

Real gravy is for when I'm feeling fancy.”

Surely real gravy is comparatively easy, i.e. coming from the concentrated juices of the roasted meat that congeal on the base of the tin. There's where the flavour essence is.
amyawake
25-12-2012
Originally Posted by SupernovaNebula:
“How is it exactly cheating if you buy ready made stuff? It's there to be bought and eaten. For convenience I use frozen potatoes as their easier to store than the fresh ready prepared ones. I use ready prepared vegetables such as parsnips too and why not? Who wants to spend all day in the kitchen. Time is a scarce commodity these days. If it tastes as good or nearly as good then it's acceptable if it falls of the mark then it has to be done from scratch!”

Ready made = more likely to be processed and less fresh.

Lots of people may not be able to tell the difference so that may be fine. Anyone who is into food quality would be able to tell though....I definitely could!
Orangemaid
25-12-2012
Proper sausages and bacon are nice to do the proper way if you get time lol..cook them slightly under the grill, and cut the rind of bacon, cut bacon down to make strips and fold round the sausages, bung in oven to cook , yum I cant spell sausages tonight..it doesnt look right lol
Sad_BB_Addict
25-12-2012
My cheat ths year is Waitrose red & green sprouts & chestnuts with maple butter and thyme.
abigail1234
25-12-2012
Originally Posted by Christian_Grey:
“There is no snobbery about cooking from scratch, just perceived snobbery from people with chips on their shoulders.”

I disagree - there is definitely a lot of food snobbery about. I agree though that some people get in a flap about it cooking Christmas dinner - perhaps they feel they are being judged by the in-laws..
Landdrifter24
25-12-2012
My Mother made our Christmas dinner this year and everything was home made from scratch, even the stuffing, well, the gravy she does is like flour, oxo/bovril, milk and the water from the veg, so thats only half cheating?

My Mother is a very erm, old fashioned mother style cook and shes very good at it too, but she has two faults, her chicken is usually a bit too dry and she cremates steak, but the turkey (which i always find to be more dry than chicken) melted in my mouth today and against all the experts opinions, the beef joint was cooked well done and was also melt in the mouth... so credit to my mother today!

although i seem to have somehow managed to arrange to do next years Christmas dinner at my house, not sure how i managed that... Ribeye and chips it is then.
TardisSteve
25-12-2012
we are having a turkey crown, turkeys are so expensive, dad didn't want to have to cook a turkey, none of had a problem with that. we had a turkey crown last year
alcockell
26-12-2012
Wiltshire Farm Foods Hearty Turkey ready meals for me...
curvybabes
26-12-2012
I had a frozen turkey crown from iceland, have been buying them the past few xmas but must say yesterdays was the best it just melted in your mouth and usually when im cutting it it crumbles but it cut perfectly
nanscombe
26-12-2012
Christmas and Boxing day.

2 x Kershaws Chicken dinners (@ £1.49 each) with added sliced turkey (£2.01)


But no Humbugs, Bah or otherwise.
Tt88
27-12-2012
The meal i mentioned with tinned veg wasnt actually too bad in the end. The meal was a complete shambles though! Xmas dinner was supposed to be a family occassion but as their kitchen was full of clutter hence no room the first two who got their dinner were finished before the rest got ours. We were sat in two seperate rooms and both the hosts hardly ate anything so all in all a bit of a waste of time.
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