For a Cracking Christmas

The tinsel is hung, the parties were fantastic (if you were lucky enough to have one this year!), and the presents are all wrapped nicely under the tree. All in all, we’re ahead of the game and feeling good about the big day. But what does that consist of?

If you are part of the brigade that has the same festive food offerings each year, this could be the time to shake things up!

Boiled sprouts? No thanks

So, if you roast the same turkey, with the same pigs in blankets and the same Bisto packet gravy smothered over the same boiled veggies every year – well, we won’t judge you if you want to carry on, you’re probably busy enough! But if you want to liven things up a bit this year and do things just a bit differently, read on for some of the BITA HQ teams top tips!

Brown Sugar Baked Ham

Mr Whitnells favourite, normally cooked by his own fare hand :)

While our Irish friends might be okay, we’ve been told in the UK that we might have to go turkey-less this year, so what could be better than borrowing a tradition from the Americans and create a showstopping baked ham? Sacrilegious to some, delightful change for others! Get a ham, score it diagonally so it looks insta-worthy and set in a roasting pan. Cover with foil and put in the oven until there is 45 minutes of cooking time left. Near the end of the cooking, make the glaze: over a medium heat, whisk together 64g brown sugar, 3 tbsp of Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 350ml apple cider. Let the mixture simmer until it’s reduced by half, and from the time the oven beeps, you glaze that ham every 10 minutes for the last 30 minutes of the cooking. To finish, check the meat is cooked, remove from the oven, give it one last glaze and rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Brown Sugar Baked Ham - thank us later!

Eggnog

One of Philomena’s favourite tipples –we weren’t so sure but will give it a go!

Developed by the Brits and then sadly forgotten and currently enjoyed by our American and Canadian brethren, it’s time to bring this delicious drink back to the British Isles. Eggnog started life in medieval times as ‘posset’ a mix of strong ale curdled with hot milk, spices and sometimes, eggs: thank goodness we aren’t stuck drinking that, this recipe is much more palatable! Slowly bring to the boil 470ml of milk, with half a tsp. each of nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Whisk 6 large egg yolks with 60g of sugar until they are pale. Very slowly (so the eggs don’t scramble) add the hot milk to the egg yolks and whisk. Return this to a saucepan and cook over a medium heat until thick and coats the back of a spoon – don’t boil! Remove from the heat and stir in 230ml heavy cream and either bourbon, whiskey, or rum to taste – we recommend around 230ml of alcohol as well.

Brussels à la Diane

“believe it or not they taste incredibly different to the boiled variety!”

Brussels a la Diane

The marmite of the Christmas meal, brussels used to be a lot more bitter than the veggies we know and perhaps love today. Long years of selective breeding have changed the humble brussel, and cooked correctly, it has a lot to offer. Start with fresh brussels, wash and peel the outer layers. Trim the stem and quarter or shred if you have time/can be bothered. Heat a very little olive or coconut oil in a pan and add the brussels when hot. Put a lid on the pan so they steam down on a medium heat, you don’t want them burning. Remove the lid and add chopped good quality bacon or lardons, and cook the sprouts in the fat. When done, add flaked or crushed almonds for a few minutes and then serve. Also delicious with crushed walnuts or cooked and crushed chestnuts!

Peppermint Bark

Felicity’s sugar treat!

Peppermint Bark

A fun treat for those that enjoy their chocolate minty, peppermint bark has only been around since 1999 and it has exploded in popularity since. Incredibly easy to make, beautiful in gift baskets if you’re doing home-made gifts this year, and delicious to snack on – give this recipe a try! You only need white chocolate, dark chocolate with no more than 50% sugar, half a teaspoon of peppermint extract and some crushed candy canes. It’s up to you if you want equal portions of white or dark chocolate! Here are the steps: Melt the dark chocolate – either in a bowl over boiling water or in a microwave in short bursts. When melted, add in the peppermint extract and pour over a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Leave to cool or refrigerate for around 20 minutes till set. Then you repeat this step with the white chocolate and pour this over the set dark chocolate. Immediate top with the crushed candy canes and refrigerate till set, again, around 20 minutes. Then break up your bark – either by hand or with a hot knife for the more professional look and bask in the glory.

Proper Gravy: Laura’s party trick!

Pretty easy to make, proper gravy is a meal game changer. I love hosting dinner parties and I’ll often include all sorts – juniper berries, port, red wine – it’s worth looking up different recipes to see what would work for you. However, as a base, here is what you want to do: Take the pan that you roasted the meat in (with the meat removed) and pour out the juices into a jug or mug. Leave to stand and skim off the fat. Add the meat juices to around a pint of stock (you can go homemade here, or just get a pre-made stock from the supermarket). Put the fat back into the roasting tin and put the tin on the hob over a medium heat. Slowly sift in plain flour (around 30g) and when smooth, slowly stir in the stock mixture. Use a wooden spoon to scrap off any bits of meat that are stuck to the roasting pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for around 10 minutes. Check the taste and add any seasoning you think is needed.