Start planning now for the festive feast (From The Oxford Times)

Start planning now for the festive feast

6:50am Thursday 10th December 2009 in

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There are just two weeks to go before you place the turkey into the oven and begin cooking for friends and family. If you plan ahead for the big cook-off and use the next 14 days productively, you too can enjoy the festivities and will not spend most of Christmas Day in the kitchen.

The following information may seem boring, particularly if I began by suggesting that this is the moment when you start making lists. But lists work. They certainly save you time and money, and stop that last-minute rush to the shops on Christmas Eve because you have forgotten one vital ingredient.

If you begin by listing the meals that you will be serving over the festive period and the number of people attending each one, you are well on the way to having a successful Christmas.

The next task takes a little time, but be assured it is worth it. It calls for breaking down each meal and listing the ingredients that need to be bought before the big day.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that 24-hour opening means you can shop at the last minute – the ingredient you are searching for may be sold out by then.

Once that’s done, it is a matter of working out what can be cooked and prepared in advance, as many items can be frozen beforehand. Even breadcrumbs for the stuffing can be prepared now and frozen ready for use later. Soups freeze very well too; so do mince pies.

At this point, it is worth taking a look at the food in your freezer, and making space for the festive food by using up some of the items in there already.

Certain seasonal foods such as fresh cranberries can be bought now and stored in the crisper – or should you wish you can make up the cranberry sauce in advance and freeze it.

Cranberries often sell out long before Christmas, so it really is worth buying them in advance. It’s worth buying bread beforehand too and freezing it if you haven’t time to make your own.

It’s pointless having loads of turkey left over for Boxing Day snacks, if you don’t have bread to make sandwiches. It’s also worth checking basics that we take for granted like salt and pepper, stock cubes, flour and butter.

Having worked out your menus and decided just what can be cooked and frozen, it’s worth making yet another list of the items that need to be bought during the last two days. Obviously, this list will include fruit and vegetables, which if stored in the crisper should keep for a couple of days. Brussels sprouts on the stalk will last even longer if kept in a cool place.

And remember that it is worth buying potatoes in bulk if you have loads of visitors. Not only are they far cheaper when purchased in 25kg bags, it saves you running out of a basic ingredient.

Bags of potatoes can be stored in your garden shed, providing you allow for the unexpected frost, which can turn them black overnight.

The next thing that must be noted is the time needed to thaw out the turkey if you have bought a frozen one.

This task takes far longer than most people realise, particularly if you are taking the safe option and thawing it in the fridge. If defrosting it this way you should allow at least ten hours per kilogram if your fridge is set at 4C, and do take care that the turkey does not touching other foods.

If defrosting it in a cool room below 17C you should allow at least four hours per kilogram to defrost and if thawing it at room temperature of 20C, you should leave approximately two hours per kilogram to defrost.

If you decide to thaw it in the shed at the bottom of the garden, do make sure that creatures of the night (foxes, mice, rats and cats) can’t get in and help themselves!

Please take care to ensure the turkey is completely defrosted before cooking, and that it has been taken out of its packaging and placed on a large dish or tin that will catch all the juices as it thaws.

The last list you need to write is the countdown to putting the turkey in the oven, including tasks that can be completed on Christmas Eve, such as preparing the vegetables and putting them in the crisper.

This means all you have to do on Christmas Day is tip them into the various saucepans. At this point it may be worth checking you have enough saucepans, plates and cutlery, particularly if you don’t normally cook for a large number of guests.

Don’t forget to note down the time the oven should be turned on, ready for the turkey too.

Now all you have to do is cross the tasks off as they are accomplished, pour yourself a glass of festive wine and relax.