PH Cooking Competition No. 18 - Epitome of Christmas
Discussion
Firstly, thanks to all who entered the last competition, and a big thank you to those who voted for my dish. 
Now to the competition. Given the festive season is almost upon us, it would seem sensible to acknowledge that many of us will be cooking for friends and family and likely to have menus/dishes already planned. So, rather than suggest a list of ingredients or nominate a specific dish to cook, I propose this competition is to cook/prepare something that represents the epitome of Christmas to you. For some this may be the traditional roast, for others it could be a perfect mince pie, a sandwich made from leftovers, or a buffet of cold cuts. Whatever you decide, the dish must be an essential element of YOUR Christmas and cooked/prepared by you. If you'd like to share the reason for selecting your dish, even better.
Following the normal format - two weekends to cook, a maximum of three pictures showing ingredients, prep/cooking and the final dish.
Entries to be in by midnight Monday 2nd January 2012. Voting Tuesday 3rd to Sunday 8th January.
Now to the competition. Given the festive season is almost upon us, it would seem sensible to acknowledge that many of us will be cooking for friends and family and likely to have menus/dishes already planned. So, rather than suggest a list of ingredients or nominate a specific dish to cook, I propose this competition is to cook/prepare something that represents the epitome of Christmas to you. For some this may be the traditional roast, for others it could be a perfect mince pie, a sandwich made from leftovers, or a buffet of cold cuts. Whatever you decide, the dish must be an essential element of YOUR Christmas and cooked/prepared by you. If you'd like to share the reason for selecting your dish, even better.
Following the normal format - two weekends to cook, a maximum of three pictures showing ingredients, prep/cooking and the final dish.
Entries to be in by midnight Monday 2nd January 2012. Voting Tuesday 3rd to Sunday 8th January.
Edited by Chim Girl on Thursday 29th December 15:44
I will chuck up my main from yesterday - mixed roast, inspired by Jamie's Italy but to my own spec.
Rib of beef and Leg of Lamb - seasoned and herbed with rosemary
Two poussins - stuffed with pork & fennel sausage, sage and pinenuts, with some smoked hot paprika on the flesh.
Beef & Lamb went in first, then 30 minutes later put the poussin in with them, then basted the lot every 15 mins with red wine until the bottle done 1 hour later.
Served with roasted spuds done in a different pan.
Unbelievable - my Christmas guests said best dinner I had ever made!
Rib of beef and Leg of Lamb - seasoned and herbed with rosemary
Two poussins - stuffed with pork & fennel sausage, sage and pinenuts, with some smoked hot paprika on the flesh.
Beef & Lamb went in first, then 30 minutes later put the poussin in with them, then basted the lot every 15 mins with red wine until the bottle done 1 hour later.
Served with roasted spuds done in a different pan.
Unbelievable - my Christmas guests said best dinner I had ever made!
Ok, plenty of meat left from that lot, so switched from a Jamie Oliver style to a Rick Stein-inspired Viatnamese/Thai salad .... I love his methods.
Lamb from the roast
Shredded papaya
Palm suger
Fish Sauce
Salt
Peanuts I roasted dry
Chillis
Loads of limes
Garlic
Beansprouts
Shallots
Corriander and Mint
Tasted fresh as a summer morning - delicious with some white wine and light on the stomach!
Lamb from the roast
Shredded papaya
Palm suger
Fish Sauce
Salt
Peanuts I roasted dry
Chillis
Loads of limes
Garlic
Beansprouts
Shallots
Corriander and Mint
Tasted fresh as a summer morning - delicious with some white wine and light on the stomach!
Here's mine (yes there's far too many pictures - but hey it's Christmas after all!)
Italian inspired chicken (recipe adapted) turkey crown wrapped in proseccto and spiked with rosemary, roasted with garlic and lemon.
Before
During
Lemon, ciabatta and pinenut stuffing
Brussels with pancetta
Red cabbage with kabana (polish sausages)
Before
All served with roast potatoes, and a reduction of cooking juices/red wine (slightly disappointed with consistency mind)
Served
Glorious meat shot
Bloody good spread
Italian inspired chicken (recipe adapted) turkey crown wrapped in proseccto and spiked with rosemary, roasted with garlic and lemon.
Before
During
Lemon, ciabatta and pinenut stuffing
Brussels with pancetta
Red cabbage with kabana (polish sausages)
Before
All served with roast potatoes, and a reduction of cooking juices/red wine (slightly disappointed with consistency mind)
Served
Glorious meat shot
Bloody good spread
Appreciate a LOT of the dishes on here, all about making Christmas a bit more interesting! The above (excuse iPhone pic) was my effort last Christmas (I missed this thread then!) and involved the same old Turkey, but done on the Weber using both smoking and roasting techniques. It took a while and attentive fire management was required but the result was a very moist breast and some really nice smokey tasting pieces towards the skin - so a bit of something for everybody!
Also I put vegetables and stock in the foil pan which allowed me to cook with the breast side down for the first hour (stop it burning and going crap when the fire is warmest) but also provides a sexy base to the gravy!
The SINGLE best thing though, is that you can stand outside and drink beer while the Mrs uses the now spacious oven to do veg etc. WINNING.
I will submit another entry to next years round
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