Is This The Year To Simplify Christmas Dinner?

Posted on December 11, 2006 by Burgermeister

by: Joanie Williams

Are you hosting Christmas dinner this year? What do you think about making this the year you simplify it?

We know perfectly well that every year there’s too much food on the table. We eat too much, we work too hard, and most years we get ourselves too tired to really enjoy everything.

What about making as much as possible ahead?

What about (gasp!) even cooking the turkey and making the gravy the day before?

There are lots of recipes on the internet for making the turkey ahead. You just have to put in “make-ahead turkey” and you can pick and choose the one that suits you.

A few years ago one of my sisters and I tried cooking our turkey the day before. It worked beautifully. The turkey tasted no different, although I admit we “cheated” a little because we also cooked another turkey on Christmas Day. So the guests could smell turkey cooking when they walked in.

Just the same, I am going to cook my turkey ahead this year, and I won’t be cooking another one on Christmas Day.

I’m also going to make the mashed potatoes and gravy ahead. You can also find lots of recipes for make-ahead mashed potatoes and make-ahead gravy on the internet.

Imagine – all those roasting pans and mashed potato pots washed and put away before Christmas morning. Wouldn’t that be super?

The other thing I am going to do this Christmas is limit the number of dishes. When we already have turkey and gravy and stuffing, why do we need a bunch of other side dishes?

Isn’t one or two vegetables enough?

If you really think you need two vegetables why not serve frozen mixed vegetables? That way you get two for one, and you only have to use one serving dish.

Does that salad get eaten? Be ruthless answering this question. If you have wondered in years past why you (or your host of the year) bother making it, then just don’t make it this year.

Of course if people love to have salad, then by all means go ahead and make it. Just prepare it the day before, so all you have to do at the last minute is add the dressing.

If all this sounds a bit heartless, then close your eyes for a minute and visualize what Christmas Day is really like. Do you have nuts and tangerines and maybe chocolates out in little dishes around your living room? Have people been eating a hearty breakfast at your house or somewhere else? Did it maybe include eggnog, shortbreads, candy canes and other rich treats? Have your guests spoiled their appetite a little even before they arrive?

Have you or your guests already been to a big meal on Christmas Eve? Do they have to go to other relatives tomorrow to have yet another feast?

Then ask yourself – will people suffer if Christmas Dinner is simple? Or will they be grateful that they have the turkey and trimmings, but don’t have to stuff themselves with hearty starter appetizers, turnips, squash, or whatever else you normally put on the table to make it groan?

What would you prefer?

If you would prefer to simplify Christmas dinner, then why not start right now, this Christmas?

Just remember, make everything you possibly can ahead, get those pots washed and put away. Pare down the number of side dishes, and don’t serve a rich appetizer.

Then enjoy your own simplified Christmas dinner!

About The Author
Joanie Williams has been giving small dinner parties for years. She would love to hear your burning questions about planning a dinner party. Submit your burning question now.

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Fejoida – English style

Posted on December 6, 2006 by Burgermeister

This weekend I finally made my wife a proper fejoida, after promising to do so for several years. I had previously made pork and bean stew, which although very nice, my wife informed me was not fejoida. For those that do not know, fejoida is a dish from Bahia, Brazil, made from black beans and pork. The dish was invented by slaves who were given the left over pork by their master to cook with. Really the meal is simply beans, onion, garlic, bay leaves and any bits of a pig you can get – ears, feet, lips, and no doubt less savoury parts than that.

Today in Bahia people also use salted beef and Brazilian smoked sausage. My wife managed to order these on the internet, so I cooked with these. But in future I will use steak and salami instead.

Anyway, on with the ingredients:

Pork – I used a mixture of chops, ribs and thick smoked bacon
Spicy smoked sausage
Beef (use good quality – the imported salt beef cost us more than a piece of fillet from the supermarket, so we will not be doing this again).
Large onion
Several cloves of garlic
bay leaves
black beans – if you cannot get Brazilian black beans, use nay others that you like – black-eye beans work well, as would a selection of beans, or kidney beans etc.
herbs – oregano, basil, tarragon
salt and pepper
cumin – and anything else you fancy (I usually like to spice it up a bit)
stock

Preparation is easy. Hack up any big bits of meat, chop the onion, slice to sausage.
Get a big pot, add some olive oil, fry the onion gently, chuck in the meat and garlic and all other spices and herbs, continue to fry gently until meat is sealed. Then add the stock (use chicken or beef) and add the beans (either soaked and washed or tinned). Top up with water, stir it a bit, bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer for a couple of hours. Serve with rice.

Easy. One pot wonder. Plus another for the rice….

It really pays to use better quality meats. My wife has agreed to let me make more “pork and bean stews” as I do not really like the Brazilian sausage and salted beef much. But each to their own. Try it, change it, modify it, and enjoy.

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Pumpkin soup

Posted on October 28, 2006 by Burgermeister

This is an ideal soup for Halloween. If you are planning to carve your pumpkin, this site has some good tips: http://www.pumpkincarving101.com/pumpkin_carving_basic.html

Pumpkin soup ingredients:

2 pounds ( 900g ) of pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 flat teaspoon of curry powder, mild or medium strength
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon sunflower oil

The procedure:

Boil the pumpkin cubes and the bay leaf in some water until nearly tender
Genly fry chopped onion in the oil until transparent, then add the crushed garlic
Mix in the curry spice and stir, then pour the cooked pumpkin into the mixture and
add potato cubes, stock and salt and pepper, simmer until cooked

Blend to a creamy consistency and serve with crusty rolls.

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Chocolate Cake with Buttercream

Posted on October 1, 2006 by Burgermeister

Now this is a delicious chocolate cake recipe. What makes this good is the real proper dark chocolate. Use good quality organic chocolate. It does not have to be organic, but for some reason this always seems to be the best to buy.

What you need for the Chocolate cake mixture:
150g/6oz butter
150g/6 oz caster sugar, plus another 50g/2oz for meringue
7 eggs, separated (use free range if possible)
175g/7 oz Fairtrade dark chocolate, melted
125g/5 oz self-raising flour, sifted

What you need for the Buttercream:
100g/4 oz butter, softened
175g/7 oz icing sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon of Fairtrade ground coffee, or 1.5 teaspoons of Fairtrade instant coffee

The procdeure for the chocolate cake:
Preheat oven to 190°C / 375°F/ Gas Mark 5.
Grease and line the base of a deep 23cm/9 inch round cake tin.
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in egg yolks one at a time, and then stir in the melted dark chocolate.
Whisk egg whites until stiff, then fold in sugar to make meringue.
Alternately fold in flour and meringue to the chocolate mix.
Transfer mix to tin and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the cake is firm to touch and a skewer can be withdrawn cleanly.
Leave to cool in the tin, then transfer to a cooling rack until cold.
Split cake in half and fill with the coffee buttercream.

The procedure for the buttercream:
Infuse the ground coffee in a tablespoon of boiled water, then strain; or dissolve the instant coffee in half a teaspoon of boiling water.
Beat the butter until light and fluffy.
Add the icing sugar to the mix a little at the time, beating well in between.
Gradually beat in the coffee.

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Spicy Thai Chicken Soup

Posted on October 1, 2006 by Burgermeister

If you want to add a touch of the orient to your chicken soup, here’s a nice Thai style recipe

What you need:
0.5 litre (16 fluid ounces) chicken broth
4-5 kaffir lime leaves,
shredded piece bruised lemon grass
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
150ml coconut milk
small red Thai chile peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)
coriander leaves to garnish.

The procedure:

Heat the stock, add the lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce, and lime juice.
Stir thoroughly, bring to a boil, and add the chicken and coconut milk. Add peppers and coriander to taste.

Bring back to the boil, lower the heat to keep it simmering and cook for about 30 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through).

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Our favourite chicken soup

Posted on October 1, 2006 by Burgermeister

This is our favourte chicken soup recipe. It is great for those cold winter evenings, and far tastier than the tins from the supermarket. It is also great for when you have a cold or flu and need a boost.

What you need (ingredients):
1 onion cut in quarters
3 garlic cloves
2cm of ginger root shredded
2 teaspoons salt
0.5kg new potatoes
4 large carrots cut in one inch slices
2 stalks celery cut in one inch slices
1 can baby corn

Procedure:
1. Combine chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, and salt in a large stock pot, cover with water and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour skimming off oil and fat as needed.
3. Test chicken with a fork to determine when it is tender aad fully cooked.
3. Remove the chicken and shred it, removing bones, fat, skin, and gristle.
4. Strain chicken broth.
5. Add vegetables and chicken to chicken broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are done. Serve hot.

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Marcia's cheese on toast !

Posted on August 10, 2006 by Burgermeister

For almost 20 years I have been making cheese on toast the same old way – toast a slice of bread under the grill, turning it over, placing cheese on it, waiting for it to melt, then sprinkling Worcestershire sauce over it, and watching most of the sauce fall onto the plate. Then one day Marcia made herself some cheese on toast, and it looked perfect. I tried it, it was great. This is what she did:

Get a small non-stick frying pan, place the sliced cheese in it, add the Worcestershire sauce, and heat. Toast the bread in a toaster. Then when the cheese is melted and the bread toasted, pour the cheese over the toast.

This method means that the Worcestershire sauce is mixed well into the cheese, and you get no burnt edges on the toast, there is less washing up to do too. Fantastic, well done Marcia !

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Kibe (aka kibi, quibe, deep fried meat balls)

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Burgermeister

This is a recipe for kibes, which are Arab/Lebonese meatballs. I first discovered them in Brazil where they are very popular in snack bars and delis. They are usually served on their own with some hot chilli sauce and a squeeze of lemon. They take more preparation than burgers due to the bulgar wheat. Adjust bulgar wheat to meat ratio as you see fit. You could even leave it out completely.

200g bulgar wheat
500g of minced beef
1 chopped onion
4 chopped cloves of garlic
fresh mint leaves (about 12 branches)
4 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground black pepper.

Soak the bulgur wheat for at least 3 hours, then drain and press in a colander or sieve to remove the water. Remember water and oil don’t mix, so be sure to remove as much water as possible to avoid an explosive situation in the kitchen !

Mix in a food processor the onion, garlic and mint to make a coarse paste, and pour this into a large mixing bowl. Add the bulgar, meat, spices, salt and pepper. Knead the mixture as if you are making bread to make one large mass. Then mould from that small rolls, approximately 5cm long, into rugby ball shapes.

Deep fry the meat balls at about 180 degrees C for about 10 minutes, or until they brown. Drain and serve with lemon and chilli sauce.

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Bacon Burgers

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Burgermeister

450g minced beef
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
salt and pepper
4 rasher of streaky bacon
Dijon mustard
oil
50g butter
4 long / finger rolls

Mix together the beef and parsley with plenty of seasoning. Divide the mixture into four sausage shapes. Remove the bacon rinds and stretch the rashers. Spread each one on one side with some mustard. Wrap the mustard-spread rasher around each burger and secure it with a wooden cocktail stick. Fry them in the pan with oil and serve in the rolls hot dog style with your favourite burger sauce.

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Grilled Blue Cheese Burgers

Posted on August 2, 2006 by Burgermeister

100g Danish blue
1.5kg minced beef
4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon (or more if you like) Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
pinkch of dry mustard
12 buns !

Crumble the cheese into a bowl and mix in the beef, onionsm Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. Divide the mixture in 12 burgers and grill / griddle. Serve in warmed buns.

Ofcourse, there is no reason why this should not serve 6 instead of 12 people.

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