So here it is, my Christmas menu. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting up recipes that make up a low stress Christmas meal. Here’s how it will look….

 To start:

Burnt lemon and feta dip with crudites

 Chive Lemon Creme Fraiche with Brown Bread and Smoked Salmon

For the main event:

Lemon, thyme and garlic roast turkey (or chicken!) with matching stuffing and gravy
‘Glaze you like I should’ Ham
Hassle free hassle back potatoes
Potato and celeriac garlic gratin
Maple roasted parsnips and carrots with hazelnut crunch
Pea puree
Roasted bacon and chestnut sprouts

To finish it all off:

‘Trifling fool’ – layers of lemon drizzle cake, white chocolate creme patisserie, fresh raspberries, lemon curd and fresh cream.

So here is how I see it. No one is going to starve at Christmas. Even if there was a power cut, you’d be able to live off the stacks of USA biscuits and quality street. This will be my fifteenth year doing Christmas dinner for my family, but also with my family. Having a little veg preparation party the day before will make life much easier, and delegating tasks makes life much less stressful. I don’t believe in everything having to be homemade either. Ina Garten is an advocate for buying things as well as making them, and I am an advocate of hers!

This menu is designed as a ‘starter’ pack. Take things out and add things in as you want. Every family has their favourite and ‘must have’ dishes. This menu relies heavily on the oven as I think it’s easier than having things on the hob. The starters and desserts are both cold, so that whoever is cooking can actually enjoy them. The main thing is to do as much as you feel you can manage, which might be more or less than this Christmas menu.

We have our own turkeys and enjoy a pretty traditional Christmas dinner, but I like to think that this has a bit of a twist.

I’d love to hear what you think, and please feel free to ask any questions!

Bridget x