Tips on how to survive Christmas dinner
• Skip the sit-down starter and kick off the meal with platters of nibbles that everyone can enjoy with a glass of bubbly while you're waiting for those tardy family members to arrive.
• Plan a menu that involves at least one course, and ideally two, that can be prepared in advance and just pulled out of the fridge or freezer at the last minute. Precook fritters and hot nibbles to just warm through in the oven when your guests arrive. Desserts like pavlova can be made days in advance so all you have to do at the last minute is whip the cream and serve it with a bowl of berries. And of course Christmas cake should always be made a few weeks ahead as it gets better with age.
• Make dips, sauces, glazes and dressings in advance. Wash and prepare vegetables and salads and have your other ingredients measured and ready to throw together at the last minute. For succulent, tender turkey, brine it overnight (see annabel-langbein.com for the recipe).
• If you're short on time in the run-up to the big day, pick dishes that just involve assembling ingredients, rather than spending a lot of time on fiddly preparation. Pop into the deli for a selection of olives and charcuterie, or finish the meal with a platter of fresh and dried fruit and some cheeses.
• Plan a menu that takes into account our Antipodean summer setting. Fire up the barbecue and sear a fillet of beef instead of spending all day roasting a turkey. Serve ham cold with a selection of salads and some crusty bread rolls. Plan a light fruit salad instead of a heavy Christmas pudding.
• Share the workload with your family and friends. Put someone in charge of the starter, someone else in charge of the dessert. Delegate the non-cook in the family to choose some special bottles of wine.
• Set the table the day before so you can spend time making it look special.
• And finally, go easy on the eggnog until the turkey is on the table. As my mother used to say: "Too many chardonnays ruin the cook!"
Flower Power Salad
Who would have thought that hollyhocks, nasturtiums and violas would be so delicious? It might seem like a throwback to the hippy 1970s, but these edible flowers look so pretty and with their vibrant colours are sure to add lots of great phytochemicals to your diet. Be sure to identify your flowers carefully - they're not all edible!
Serves 8
2 handfuls edible flower petals, such as hollyhocks, violas, roses, nasturtiums, sage, coriander, rocket, marigold or chive flowers
2 handfuls soft herb leaves, such as parsley, basil, tarragon and mint
5 handfuls mixed salad leaves
A little Szechuan pepper or black pepper, to taste
Apple Glaze:
1 cup apple juice
1 To make Apple Glaze, place apple juice in a large, heavy-based frypan and simmer until it reduces down to about 3 tbsp (about 25 minutes). Allow to cool.
2 To prepare salad, place flower petals, herbs and salad leaves on to a serving platter. If not serving at once, cover with a wet paper towel and chill. When ready to serve, sprinkle with pepper and drizzle with cooled Apple Glaze. Serve immediately.
Domino Potatoes
These always get rave reviews. I allow one medium-large potato per person, but for hungry appetites cook extra - it's an economical and reasonably healthy way to fill people up.
Serves 6
6 large potatoes, scrubbed
4 tbsp melted butter or extra virgin olive oil
Flaky salt, to taste
1 Preheat oven to 180C fanbake and line a large oven tray or shallow oven dish with baking paper. Slice potatoes very thinly, then stack back together and flatten out on the prepared tray or dish in overlapping rows like fallen dominoes.
2 Drizzle or brush with melted butter or oil and season with salt. Bake until golden and crispy (40-50 minutes, depending on thickness).
Roast Turkey with Lemon Gravy
Turkey has a reputation for being dry, but brining it first keeps it moist. If your fridge isn't big enough, put the brine and turkey in a clean rubbish bag and pack in ice in a chilly bin. Rest cooked turkey breast-side down for at least 15 minutes before carving - this allows the juices to run down into the breast meat, making it juicier. For this recipe, allow 30 minutes prep time, plus brining. Cooking time is 3½ hours, plus resting. Serve with all the trimmings - for stuffing recipes see annabel-langbein.com.
Serves 10
4-5kg whole turkey
1 recipe of your favourite stuffing
2 onions, peeled and halved
3 cups white wine
2 tbsp butter, softened
¼ cup cornflour
½ cup lemon juice
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Rosemary Brine:
1 cup sugar
1½ cups salt
2 tbsp black peppercorns
6-8 sprigs rosemary
8 bay leaves
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
4 cups boiling water
24 cups cold water
1 To make brine, place all ingredients except cold water in a very large, heatproof pot or bowl and stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Add cold water, then turkey. Cover and chill for 12-24 hours.
2 Preheat oven to 160C fanbake. Lift turkey out of brine and pat dry inside and out. Fill cavity with stuffing, tie legs loosely, tuck wings under and place in a large roasting dish with onions and wine. Rub skin all over with butter. Cook for 3 hours at 160C, then turn up heat to 180C and cook until a cooking thermometer inserted into the thigh shows 78C, or the juices run clear when a skewer is inserted into the thigh (about 15 minutes). If it starts to brown too quickly, cover those parts loosely with tin foil.
3 Transfer turkey to a serving platter, cover with tin foil and a teatowel and rest for 15-30 minutes while making the gravy.
4 To make Lemon Gravy, discard onions and place the roasting dish over a low heat on the stovetop. Combine cornflour and lemon juice and add to turkey juices a little at a time, stirring constantly, until gravy starts to thicken. Simmer 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning to taste and thin with vegetable cooking water if desired. Serve hot with turkey and stuffing.
Perfect Asparagus with Tarragon Hollandaise
Look for firm, tight asparagus heads with crisp stems and store with the cut ends in cold water, like bulb flowers. To prepare asparagus, snap the spears as near to the base as they will allow - this finds the spot where they change from tender to tough.
Overcooking asparagus ruins it - it takes no more than five minutes to cook to perfection. For a special occasion like Christmas, serve with Tarragon Hollandaise. To maintain its unctuous texture this sauce needs to be served within a short time of being made. Hollandaise is a classic partner for asparagus, but it's also great with salmon, poached eggs, chicken, scallops and as a dip for artichoke petals.
Serves 8
2-3 big handfuls asparagus spears (about 6 per person)
1 cup water
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
Tarragon Hollandaise:
500g butter
5 egg yolks
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3-4 tbsp finely chopped tarragon
1-2 tbsp lemon juice, to taste
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
1 Snap the tough ends from the asparagus spears (the tough bases can be boiled for stock). Place water, butter and salt in a large pot or frypan that is wide enough to hold the asparagus lying flat, and bring to a boil. Once water boils, add asparagus, cover and cook until just tender (3-5 minutes, depending on thickness).
2 To make Tarragon Hollandaise, melt butter in a small pot. Whisk egg yolks and vinegar in a large heatproof bowl over a pot of boiling water until light and fluffy (30-60 seconds), ensuring the base of the bowl does not touch the water. Gradually whisk in the hot melted butter until it is fully incorporated and the sauce is creamy and thick. Stir in tarragon, then lemon juice, salt and pepper.
3 Drain asparagus, pile on to a serving platter and serve immediately with Tarragon Hollandaise.
All recipes are from Annabel's new book Annabel Langbein The Free Range Cook: Through the Seasons (Annabel Langbein Media, $59.95). To view videos of Annabel making Flower Power Salad and Lemon Gravy, visit the website.