Cooks, want to share your triumphs?

[Runningintolife]

I am pleased, I got quite a few agreeable comments and the whole thing worked really well. Here's to you if you cooked today, what were you most pleased with?
I fried the sprouts with some macadamia nuts and a kind of homemade cranberry jam and they were yum. My veggie option went well and I did a side of salmon (for me) as well as the turkey. I did have a cauliflower cheese mishap which led to the oven losing a lot of temperature but luckily the Yorkshire puddings rose eventually.

My beef was cooked perfectly

Very happy with my roasties....

Red potatoes 10kg, par boiled 20 mins in salted water, air dried for 2 hours, bottom of a preheated 220c oven with 1/4 inch of goose fat, turned every 20 mins and sprinkled with salt, pepper, rosemary and a bit of beef oxo cube...

Roast pork - the crackling was perfect. Took me a few years, but this is the second year in a row it’s been really good. Your dinner sounds very ambitious compared with mine. I bet it was delicious.

For breakfast, I did a stollen recipe, but shaped into Chelsea buns and filled with candied orange peel and chocolate chips.
It was a great success and looked fabulous.

Mmm..yum this all sounds amazing, those potatoes 🌟

I cooked a huge turkey crown in my new ninja foodie pressure cooker - it cooked in ONE HOUR and was absolutely perfect - the most moist turkey I have ever cooked !!! I can’t stop talking about it! I’ll never do it any other way!

I've actually scaled back from perfection in favour of reliability and ease. My dad was seriously ill across two Christmases. I started buying frozen goose fat roast potatoes and parsnips. It's now a staple. I save my powder for other things, and have a really easy, pre organised/prepared, but still delicious Christmas dinner.

Yes good idea here's to all the hard working cooks today 🍷 Cheers .

The M&S Red cabbage, sprouts with chestnuts, pigs, extra stuffing, bread sauce and gravy were heated beautifully.

Roasties were crispy, stuffed turkey crown was delish. Chantenay Carrots went into a small dissed dish with a know of butter, sprinkle of salt and sugar and one dsp of water and bunged in the bottom of the oven.

Can't be arsed to do it the hard way nowadays.

Turkey crown - boned it - stuffed it. Some stuffing left so did stuffing in bacon balls Cooked it today and it was delicious As a famously gash cook feel quite proud of myself

I did a joint of beef in the oven and I did a gammon in the slow cooker - the gammon, I have been told, was 'unreal' 🤣

Best roasties yet! Both lads eyes followed the dish closely as it came to the table. Youngest has asked me to teach him the secrets!
piccie just before final stage of cooking as we scarfed them as soon as they came out.
cooking them first in veg stock was a real win.

Vegetables all chopped up and roasted together - potatoes, carrots, peppers, onions and garlic. Really delicious and easy too.

Pigs in blankets in a Pyrex dish, drizzled with maple syrup and roasted - also delicious and easy.

Even more lovely stuff. I also made myself (non-dairy not by choice) a really nice mango and chia pudding. I am totally there for ready made and simple options, I do that most years, and I am very unfussy about presentation but I went big this year as I felt like it.

What worked brilliantly for me this year was pre prep. It was so mellow. I will definitely repeat it!

I cooked and froze cauliflower and leeks in cheese sauce (reheated in the oven with breadcrumbs and Parmesan); braised red cabbage; pigs in blankets.

Stuffing was two packs of paxo, one mixed with chestnuts and cranberries, one with minced pork, made two days before and kept in fridge.

Gravy stock was in the freezer.

That meant only the turkey and sprouts were from scratch today.

I steamed prawns and did a great, retro prawn cocktail in a little glass cocktail dish.

My giant pigs in blankets, each was about 10cm long

Everything! Ok, some bits could’ve been better (carrot and swede, I’m looking at you!) but normally DH, who used to be a chef in a fancy restaurant, insists on doing Christmas dinner. This year he’s not well so after 10 years i finally got to have a shot and loved every minute!

And as an extra bonus, DH loved having someone else do it…. So much, I get to do it again next year!

OH always cooks, his sprouts and bacon stir fried with other ingredients were superb. As were his roasties. Turkey was insipid not down to him. We're going to have rib of beef next year. Which suits everyone

Teaching my 20 Yr old son to cook early on ...so that he was able to cook up a massive feast today for everyone.

Better than I could produce.

My ham on the Weber was divine. Plonked it in for 10 minutes to loosen the skin, took it out to peel, and back in for an hour or more. (You know that Oh bugger, I forgot about that moment?) The shank bone came out in my hand as I brought it out. Cooked perfectly. Fat browned and a little crispy.

I reckon the gravy would have been good if I hadn’t scorched it so have hopes for next year.

I made a black forest trifle (my own made up recipe) which went down very well on boxing day! Choc sponge on the bottom, drizzled with cherry brandy and some of the liquid from the tin of cherries. Tin of black cherries (next time would prob do 2 tins). Home made choc custard (made with eggs, sugar, cream and cocoa powder, not from custard powder!). Whipped cream. Choc curls and grated choc on top and I reduced some of the cherry syrup and drizzled over. Was very nice, though I say it myself!

I made a vegetarian Wellington for Christmas dinner -- it was fabulous

Mmm now want a cooked ham, vegetarian Wellington and black forest Trifle which sounds divine. I have now finished my Christmas hosting and will probably not cook anything for anyone for a few days at least. If not weeks.