Don’t BEA Cinders

With clever planning, the cook needn’t miss out at Christmas…

WITH Christmas just weeks away and despite the dark nights and dreich weather, the excitement in the run-up to Santa coming, regardless of how old or how young your children are, is palpable.

The difficulty for us, however, at this time of year is simply getting up in the morning. We really struggle. My middle daughter finishes ballet at 9.30pm four nights a week. I was never built for ballet, but my daughter has my mother’s genes and loves it. While I can’t dance, I adore watching and this year we have a very special Scottish Ballet performance of Cinderella. Book your tickets now as it will sell out fast! (see story on Page 16)

The cook at Christmas can feel like Cinderella – they’ll never get to the ball. If you’re in charge of lunch at Christmas, being organised is so important.

Write your list a few weeks in advance so you can get the orders placed. Sticking to a cold starter and a cold dessert can make life a whole lot easier. Over the years we’ve cut out courses. It used to be five or six rounds of food. Now we are down to three and it’s so much better with the main event getting a chance to shine –the turkey.

I’ve tried various methods of cooking the turkey over the years. The slow-cook one that had me up at 3am will not be happening again. Ever. Slow, medium, fast – what’s best?

By far the best roast for me is to cook in the hot roasting oven and when it’s lovely and golden, cover with loads of tin foil and the steam keeps the bird lovely and moist. Baste throughout the cooking period and allow at least 40 minutes to let the meat rest. You’ll need loads of tin foil and an abundance of clean tea towels to wrap the foiled turkey when it comes out of the oven.

Creamy dauphinoise potatoes, creamed carrots, sprouts with chestnuts and delicious cranberry sauce. We’ll all feel as if we’ve been to the ball! Happy cooking, and health and happiness to you all this Christmas.