What’s Cooking This Christmas?

Every household’s Christmas looks different. Even when we think we’re being traditional and uncontroversial, there are always those little touches that make our Christmas dinner different from your Christmas dinner. Here we go through the keyhole into our mentors’ homes to find out what will be on their table this year.

Ali Young, Community and Mentor Manager

“Our family tradition is to cook the turkey on the barbecue. My dad and I have always cooked the turkey on the barbecue for as long as I can remember. My dad’s always done it and I’m learning to do it as well. It gives it a lovely juicy finish which I really like. We’re actually staying with my brother-in-law up in Yorkshire this year and he often cooks a goose for Christmas so I’ll probably be on accompaniments, so I’ll be trying to think of things to cut through the richness a little bit. There are always Brussels sprouts, always shredded and with bacon.”

“Normally we do stir-up Sunday and Christmas pudding but I’m actually doing something different this year. I’ve got some Christmas pudding left over from last year but not enough for everyone, so I’m going to do Christmas pudding ice cream – make the vanilla ice cream and swirl through the Christmas pudding. My little boy absolutely loves Christmas pudding so we have to have it.”

Belinda Spinney, Senior Mentor

“It will be very traditional, very traditional! But the one thing that we often do is brine and then confit the turkey legs. I think that makes a huge difference. There will be homemade stuffing, bread sauce, roast potatoes, sprouts with lardons, and we always have an argument about whether we want cauliflower cheese or not. The younger ones win on that so they do the cauliflower cheese.”

Martha Money, Mentor

“We love to go out for Chinese on Christmas Eve it is exciting and social to eat and is so different to what we have in the days following! This year we will be hosting my American family so have decided to go for beef (on the BBQ) with some warm roasted vegetable salads, crunchy winter coleslaw and rocket horseradish sauce. Still deciding between pavlova or chocolate roulade for dessert! My children love homemade cinnamon rolls post-presents and will have to have my mom’s crunchy sausage breakfast dish as she is here to make it!”

Louisa Bergese, Mentor

“We’ll be brining (in cider, fennel, chilli honey etc) and barbecuing the turkey this year. We always have homemade cranberry sauce with lots of fresh orange in there for a fresh kick. Bread sauce and slow-cooked red cabbage with apple and a combination of spices are stapes and all-time favourites in our family. Both are made in advance and frozen. Anything I can do to get ahead of the game is a must, as Christmas Eve is all about celebrating with friends.”