PREPARE YOUR CHRISTMAS DINNER WITH CARE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 76, 22 December 1937, Page 12

PREPARE YOUR CHRISTMAS DINNER WITH CARE

Many housewives will welcome a little expert advice to assist them to make the Christmas dinuer a delicious one. Some will be fortunate enough to have a turkey for dinner, and will perhaps be pleased to have some help as to the cooking of this. C00KING THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY

Choose a cock bird with short spurs and black legs, as long spursand pale, rough legs denote that the bird is old. Hang for several days if possible and then pluck and dress. Fill with foreemeat tnade as follows: 2oz. oatmeal, 4ozs, chopped hain, 6ozs. suet, 8ozs. grated breadcrumbs, 2 teaspoonfuls chopped parsley, i teaspoonful nutmeg, £ teaspoonful mace, juice of a lemon, 3 eggs, pepper and salt to taste. Mix to a stiff consistency and stuff the bird. Skewer two' or three pieces of fat bacon over thegbreast and put into a very hot over, reducing the heat after the first half hour, then cook in a steady oven for three and a-half to four hours according to the size of the bird Have plenty of good dripping in the pan and baste at half hour intervals. When nice and brown, lay several sheets of greaseproof paper over the bird and turn frequently on either side, front and back. Thus the bird is evenly browned all over and well-cooked through. When almost cooked remove the bacon and finish browning. Serve on a hot dish with rich gravy and bread sauce. ' BREAD SAUCE. Simmer a small onion in half a pint of niilk, add a blade of mace, a grating of nJltmeg, a little cayenne and I salt to taste. When the onion is tender I strain the milk over a teacup of bread . crumbs. Cover and allow to cook for ! one hour. Add a piece of butter the size of a walnut, beat up well and serve very hot. (From Mrs L. W. Goldfinch.) TO COOK A FOWL. Not everyone will be having turkey for dinner, so for those who have decided on a fowl here is the best method for cooking: — Put the bird in a tin, and lard it well with dripping or fat bacon. Put it in a hot oven, and maintain this heat for about ten minutes, then reduce to moderate. The great point with all poultry is to keep it moist, so baste well every ten minutes. Allow fifteeu minutes for each pound and fifteen minutes over; the bird to be weighed when ready for the oven. One way of cooking the bird without basting is to put it in a large bag of grease-proof paper so that all the goodness is kept in. In this way it will not be dry if sufficient dripping or i'at is placed ou the bird to start with. But even with this way you will have to remove the paper before the end, sprinkle the breast with flour and let the fowl cook until it browns nicely. For the stuffing. Take $lb pork (half lean and half fat) and mince it with two rashes of streaky bacon. Add a teacup of white breadcrumbs, a tablespoon of chopped parsley, mixed spiees, salt and pepper. Mix well together and then add an egg, working it well into

the mixture. It is important that the stuffing of salt and pepper should be used. SAUCES FOR THE PUDDING. Christmas puddings have now been made for several weelcs and have only to be finished off for the dinuer. They should, hOwever, be accompanied by either brandy, wine or almond sauce, freshly made as follows: — BRANDY SAUCE. Brandy sauce may be simply made by flavouring whippe.d cream with brandy or rum or you can make a hard sauce by creaming butter and sugar together and adding the flavouring. Both these can be prepared edrly, and ojily the spirit — which evaporates if added too long beforehand — mixed in at the last minute, Leave in a cool place until wanted. WINE SAUCE. Perhaps you prefer wine sauce made like this: — Take loz. butter, $oz. flour, 1 gill water, \ gill sherry, sugar to taste. Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour, and cook for a minute or two. Add the water and stir until boiling. Pour in the sherry and sweeten to taste. Simmer slowly for about seven minutes and strain into a heated sauceboat. ALMOND SAUCE. Take Jlb ground almonds, 2oz. castor sugar, 1 whole egg and 3 yolks, i piant cream, i pink milk, 1 wineglassful brandy, \ teaspoonful essence of bitter almonds. Ponnd the almonds and sugar together in a basin, and add the egg and egg-yolks (well beaten), then milk and cream by degrees. Turn into a jug, place this in a saucepan of hot water, and stir till the mixture thickens, which will take quite a quarter of an hour. Remove from the heat and continue stirring at intervals till nearly cold, add brandy and essence, and heat again in the saucepan before serving. \ SALTED ALMONDS. Salted almonds arfc also a delicious little extra to be served at dinner time and may be easily prepared as follows: Ingredients: Jordan almonds, salt, a little butter. Method: Put the almonds into a basin, cover with b.oiling water, allow to remain in a f6w minutes and then remove the skins. Dry thoroughly in a cloth. Heat the butter in a frying pan and add the almonds. Cook very slowly over a gentle heat until an even brown colour is obtained, turning frequently with a metal spoon. Drain off the fat. Toss in a cloth spread with salt and leave until cold. Shake well to rfcmove some of the superfluous salt and store in airtight jars.