MANY HOME COOKS look forward to cooking the big Christmas feast with as much excitement as when they contemplate a visit to the dentist. It's probably the biggest meal you'll have an opportunity to make and, since the holiday comes only once a year, it's not as if you can do a test run.
The dishes that make up the feast, though, are quite easy and, if you keep side dishes and desserts to a minimum - or better yet, ask guests to bring dessert - you can simplify things further.
You'll want to cook your own favourite Christmas dishes, but here's a rough timeline to help get you started.
Today: If the bird isn't thawed yet, start now. Experts say the safest way to thaw a turkey is in the fridge, but this can take several days. You can hurry things along by immersing the frozen turkey for several hours in the sink or a big pot of cold water and changing the water every 30 minutes. This will start the thawing process, which can be continued more safely in the fridge. If the turkey is already thawed, give it a little more flavour by rubbing it (remove the bag of innards first) inside and out with about half-a-cup of white wine, then put it back in the fridge.
Check the recipes and make sure you have all the necessary ingredients; try to finish all your grocery shopping today, but leave enough leeway tomorrow for last-minute dashes to the store.
Tomorrow: Make the cranberry sauce by cooking the fresh or frozen berries with water, granulated sugar, fresh orange juice, a little fresh lemon juice and the grated zest of one orange. Simmer until the berries are soft and the sauce has a good consistency - add more orange juice if necessary (the sauce thickens as it cools). Store in the fridge. Cut the bread for the stuffing into cubes and leave out, uncovered, overnight - this lets the bread dry so it absorbs more broth (and hence, more flavour) when you cook it. Plan on four small loaves of crustless sliced white bread (six slices to the pack) to feed 12 people.
Christmas Day: An unstuffed turkey is fully cooked when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the fleshiest part of the thigh registers 82 degrees Celsius or when the juices are clear when you pierce the thigh with a knife. A six-kilogram turkey (to feed 10 to 12) takes about three hours, so if you want to serve Christmas lunch at 1pm, put it in the oven at about 9.30am. I prefer to cook the stuffing separately - the stuffing absorbs the turkey juices, making the bird dry. A stuffed turkey takes about an hour longer to cook. You can use the following recipes, or for more detailed instructions, use those of chef Thomas Rebler's on Page 5.
