Christmas lunch may be looming, but you still have time to brush up on your cookery skills before the big day, says Catherine Whyte
Christmas may be a time for celebration but how many of us actually dread cooking the most famous dinner of the year?
Bound by family tradition, we are reluctant to embark on new recipes and saddled by an overwhelming pressure to succeed. Of course, it takes courage to branch out.
Once, when hosting my new partner’s family for the first time many years ago, I nearly caused civil war by replacing the traditional ‘garlic mushroom’ starter with what my mother-in-law acerbically referred to as a ‘brave’ pear and celeriac soup.
As a festive friction survivor, I have three pieces of advice:
If you are cooking something new then practise, practise, practise!
The second morsel of advice is to utilise your freezer; choose dishes you can prepare in advance (cutting down on stress on the day, plus you can always make them again if they go wrong!).
Thirdly, why not enrol yourself on a seasonal cookery course and upscale your culinary repertoire in time for the big day? I've listed some of my favourites below.
Hopefully, come December 26, there won’t be a sad turkey sandwich in sight!
- Page 1 (Results 1-10)
-
1
Leiths School of Food and Wine
Add a traditional Italian flavour to your Yuletide meal at Leiths School of Food and Wine in Shepherd’s Bush. Ursula Ferrigno hosts the one-day course on November 8 (£150), which covers carpaccio of beef with walnuts and gorgonzola, roasted monkfish with garlic and lots more.
-
2
Surrey Hills Cookery School
Surrey Hills Cookery School (with classes held in either Tyrrells Wood or Fetcham) runs an extremely popular ‘Simply Christmas’ course where participants bake a handsome game pie amongst other delights (November 19, 20 and 26; priced £135). The course sells out well in advance so you may wish to mark it in your calendar for 2016 if you don’t succeed this year.
-
3
Squires Kitchen International School
Want to create a spectacular dessert centrepiece? Learn the basics of royal icing at Farnham’s Squires Kitchen International School in their two-day Christmas cake course (Nov 21-22, £260).
-
4
Tante Marie Culinary Academy
Tante Marie Culinary Academy in Woking is running lots of excellent courses, my favourite of which is the Creative Christmas course. During the two days (December 9-10, or 15-16, priced £300) you’ll make canapés and salted maple truffle kisses for the big day, as well as a freezer-ready, three-course Boxing Day meal that includes duck and pork cassoulet with homemade sausages.
-
5
Konditor & Cook – Waterloo
Pipe, mould and ice a Christmas cake to perfection with the masters at Konditor & Cook’s Cake School in Waterloo (£70, Dec 15, 6-9pm).
- Page 1 (Results 1-10)
