Chef Phil Vickery on ‘Stir-up Sunday’
This Morning’s Phil Vickery shares his festive tips for ‘Stir-up Sunday’…
Feeding family and friends at Christmas can reduce even the most competent cooks into a frenzy of stress. But there are ways to get ahead of the festive culinary game, starting this weekend on what is traditionally known as ‘Stir-up Sunday’, the last Sunday before Advent when Christmas puddings are made and families take a turn stirring the mixture while making a wish.
As the countdown to Christmas Day feasting officially begins, TV Times decided to enlist the help of lovely This Morning chef Phil Vickery, 57, to get his practical tips on how we can be super-organised in the kitchen this year…
This Sunday is traditionally the day to make Christmas puddings. What are your tips for perfection? I like mine quite light so that you can cut a nice wedge through it, not ones that are so packed of fruit that they fall apart when you slice into them. I go easy on the fruit, add a little bit more flour, plus almonds to give a nice texture, and I don’t put in too much alcohol. I also add grated carrots, which add texture and give the pudding a lovely golden colour.
What else can we make in advance? If I was making mince pies, I’d make them now, but instead of putting them in the oven, you freeze them in the tray when raw.
Once hard, transfer them into a bag and leave them in the freezer. When you need them, take them out, pop them back in the tray and stick them in the oven. You can get them all done now and they will be perfect. However, I tend to buy my mince pies these days because you can get such delicious ones from the supermarkets.
When is the ideal time to make a Christmas cake?
When I was working as a young chef we used to make our cakes at the end of September or early October to ensure they were really moist. You don’t have to do it that early, but the golden rule is to soak your fruit overnight before adding it. If you don’t soak it, the dried fruit reabsorbs the moisture from the cake and dries it out.
What Christmas traditions have you grown up with?
My mum always made her own Christmas cake,
I’ve still got the ornaments she used to put on it – a Father Christmas on a sleigh and a tiny Christmas tree. And she’d always put a ribbon round the edge. My brothers and I would scrape the bowl when she made the icing and be fighting over who got the most.
What are your top tips to avoid a Christmas Day meltdown?
My golden rule is prepare as much as you can the day before. I roast all my potatoes and cook the parsnips, carrots and sprouts on Christmas Eve, then heat them through the next day. Alternatively, you can have the vegetables all chopped up and ready to go the day before. The other golden rule is do
not have a glass of alcohol until the meal is on the table, otherwise I guarantee that something will go wrong!
What are your plans for this year? We’re going to have a big family Christmas. Fern [Phil’s wife, Fern Britton] has been away on tour with Calendar Girls but gets back in early December so we’ll be at home together in the run-up. We’ll chill out, relax and I’ll try to be a helpful, considerate husband! Fern organises all the presents and decorations, and I’m in charge of all the cooking. Our paths don’t cross!
What’s your festive meal plan? We often like a curry on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day it will be traditional with turkey, all the usual vegetables and trimmings. Fern always eats one sprout on Christmas Day. Bizarrely she likes frozen sprouts but not fresh ones. Then we’ll have Christmas pudding and then a nice bit of Christmas
cake later on!