Christmas food successes and failures

[SinkGirl]

I thought it would be a nice idea to have a thread where people share recipes / products that worked well and those that didn’t so we all know for next year. Here’s mine:

Successes:
Nigella’s perfect roast potatoes (I make these every year and they are always perfect, although I do parboil them for a bit longer, 8 mins once the water has boiled rather than 4) - the semolina makes them

This Yorkshire recipe - they came out perfectly www.delish.com/uk/cooking/recipes/a29557764/how-to-make-yorkshire-puddings/

M&S Porchetta joint - takes a bit of extra prep with salting the rind but worth it, it was lovely

Bluetooth meat thermometer with two probes - saved my meat as if I’d followed the instructions everything would have been overcooked

Mary Berry’s easy chocolate brownie recipe - so easy, made on Christmas Eve, kids had it heated up for pudding with ice cream. Now I get to eat the rest :D
thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/chocolate-brownies

Failures:
M&S lamb shoulder - even using a meat thermometer so it was cooked to medium it was not great. And it was pretty tiny.

M&S garnish pack - pigs in blankets all unravelled and stuffing balls didn’t cook anywhere near as quickly as they should

How about you? Any good tips or things to avoid next year?

Hit: onion pudding, perfect crunchy accompaniment to gravy. Good eaten cold with mustard too. Also Eton mess, even if the fruit had come from Spain.

Something off the cuff, but DP wrapped Christmas cake (doused in brandy) in filo pastry, pinched the ends so they looked like small Christmas crackers, and cooked in the oven. Very nice, only marred by a lack of custard.

Pork tenderloin stuffed with sausage meat and mincemeat (a recipe I picked up from a thread on here a few weeks ago) was a huge hit here and will definitely be done again. Home made sausage rolls - Pork, cheese and chutney and curry spiced pork with mango pickle disappeared quite quickly too. Bought some cheese from our local (by royal appointment) farm which was devoured quickly too. No failures here so far.

Hits
Lidl speculoos cheesecake went down very well with everyone even cheesecake hating DD.
Stuck to lard for my roast potatoes instead of goose fat and they were perfect.

Misses
Brining the turkey made zero difference just added a level of faff.

Using the microwave for my cauliflower cheese sauce, thought it would be quicker but it wasn't really and was lumpy.

Didn't keep an eye on the broccoli and it was over cooked, yuk.

We had a rolled turkey breast from the butcher and I cooked it with water/veg under and a tent of foil. Lovely and moist. And roast potatoes with polenta, the best we've made.

The M&S collection beef gravy was really good

@Sittinonthefloor I tried the Jamie Oliver tiramisu as well! I didn't mind the taste (thought coffee/booze could have been stronger) but the top layer was really sloppy even after 2.5 hours in the fridge.

Successes:

Julia Child's glazed carrots. So simple to do (40 minutes braising on the hob with veg stock, butter and sugar) but so nice.

Tiramisu - I had to make my own flipping gluten free sponge fingers, but it was worth it. I used this recipe but adapted to the alcohol I already had in the house (dark rum and Madeira). It was delicious, and no faffing about separating eggs.

Vegan Creamed Spinach - I didn't need this to actually be vegan, so I did use butter and dairy milk in it. But it was lighter and more spinachy than creamed spinach made with cream, and the cauliflower added a bit of extra nutrition.

Misses:

Nothing much for once!

Jamie Oliver's Cauliflower cheese was my fail although, to be fair to him, I did forget to buy the broccoli.

@drspouse yes to roast potatoes with polenta here too.

This was only the third time in 20 years of marriage that I’ve been “allowed” to do Christmas dinner. Usually MIL insists that she gets to do it.

Loved doing it.

Hits: bread sauce, homemade gravy (made the day before from roasting chicken wings, veg etc), cranberry sauce, duck from Morrison’s, parsnips with maple syrup, stuffing ball things from Morrison’s (Morrisons was a hit this year).

Misses: duck from Morrison’s- I hate turkey but every year everyone is horrified by this fact because Christmas is all about the turkey. Because I was doing dinner this year, I decided to do both duck and turkey. Except the kids decided they only wanted turkey and everyone else decided they wanted both! So I got about two bites of duck and we have a ton of leftover turkey!

Oh and roast potatoes done with paprika and Parmesan in goose fat.

Vegetarian pigs in blankets - halloumi wrapped in aubergine, amazing!

realfood.tesco.com/recipes/halloumi-pigs-in-blankets.html

Great thread!
Busy Christmas Day this year so lots of shortcuts, which I will definitely do again.

Hits - Waitrose Heston Turkey & Brine Kit, McCain Roast Potatoes, Morrisons The Best Honey Roast Parsnips, Nigella Yule Log, BBC Good Food Very Berry Trifle.

Didn't cook the potatoes and parsnips until turkey was out of this oven. I was dubious about resting the turkey for almost an hour but it worked perfectly and stayed hot wrapped in foil and covered in tea towels!

Fail - COOK Sprouts with Red Onion (prefer whole sprouts), Good Housekeeping Filo Mince Pie Cigars (messy and soggy - cook error quite possibly!).

Ooh additional success today - made turkey and ham pie with the leftovers and it is delicious!

M&S gingerbread house kit - awful - we got it as a present and the instructions led to soggy gingerbread that wouldn't stand up. I will make my own again next year!

What's the point of this thread as the marketing people will read it and this year's rubbish food (that they thought they got away with) will be upgraded.

Christmas cake - first time I’d ever made one, found a lovely easy recipe for a last minute one that doesn’t need to mature, made the marzipan and icing too - absolutely delish.

Also mince pies - even made with bought pastry and mincemeat, so much less stodgy and sugary than shop ones.

Got a full £55 refund for my M&S Beef Wellington today 👍🏻

Good result, BrokenWing £55! I’d have been unimpressed too if I’d paid that much and got an order with broken pastry and the meat stingily marooned in the middle.

Biggest success: Mary Berry lemon possets were extremely easy to make and perfect for Christmas Day when I don't have much room for a more substantial pudding.

Biggest fail: the pavlova which I had to turn into Eton Mess. My excuse is that I don't think the thermostat is working properly on the oven. It's fine at high heat, but not very reliable at low temperatures.

Best buy: two quiches from Cook: one quiche Lorraine and one red pepper and goats cheese.

Can recommend the Creamy garlic Parmesan Brussels sprouts with bacon by cafe delights on Pinterest for an untraditional sprout dish . I would imagine this would make an excellent Boxing Day supper with all your left over sprouts too.

Also, Nigella's Gingerbread stuffing. Very christmassy. It's been going down a storm in my house for years. I think my lot would mutiny if they didn't get this.