CHRISTMAS is almost here and if you need some tips for preparing a fantastic Christmas Day spread, our Tasty Times chefs John Clink and Aileen McMonagle from City of Glasgow College are here to help.

Today, they'll take you through recipes for a light and delicious starter, a traditional main course, two delicious desserts and a little something for if you get peckish later on...

TRADITIONAL ROAST TURKEY WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS (serves 10-11)

Remove legs and bone out one 5kg turkey (reserve bones for stock).

Remove any sinew or tendons.

Place in stuffing (see below) and roll up. Wrap in cling film and then in tin foil.

Remove Supremes from crown (reserving bones for stock) and season well – sear in hot oil, skin side first.

Cooking time for breasts are 25 minutes for 500g plus 25 minutes or probe to 75°C at gas 4/175°. Cooking time for leg in a water bath is as for breast.

Stuffing for leg meat

600g Pork Sausage meat

50g Chopped Onion (sweated in 25g butter)

100g Chestnuts (peeled)

Milled black pepper

Method

Coarsely chop chestnuts and bind with other ingredients.

Remember sausage meat is well seasoned so avoid use of salt. Use to stuff leg meat or alternatively for a roulade on its own.

Bacon Rolls

10 Chipolata sausages

5 slices Back or streaky bacon

Method

Slice bacon in half lengthways.

Roll sausage in bacon. Roast in a hot oven for approx. 10 minutes.

Bread Sauce

375mls Whole milk

1 small Onion (finely chopped)

1 clove Garlic

1 Bay leaf

30-50g Fresh white breadcrumbs

Salt

 

Method

Infuse onion in warm milk with clove and bay.

Strain through a chinois, add breadcrumbs and season.

NB Sauce may thicken on standing, so adjust as necessary.

Cranberry Sauce

400g Cranberries

50-100g Caster sugar (dependant on acidity of fruit)

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Method

Stew gently together until cranberries just "pop". Serve hot or cold.

Roast Potatoes

Floury potatoes, such as Cara or King Edward, cut roughly egg size

Sunflower or groundnut oil

Method

Par-boil the potatoes in gently boiling salted water for about 8 minutes. Stop cooking before they're cooked right through.

Leave to cool completely, then scratch roughly with a fork and season with a little fine salt.

Only roast around the joint if there is plenty of fat – at least ½cm/¾in in the tin – and plenty of room. It's better to preheat the oil in a separate pan, adding any beef fat from the roasting tin just before the potatoes go in. Don't add the potatoes until the oil is sizzling hot. Baste or turn the potatoes (carefully) as soon as they go into the pan so they have a light coating of oil from the start.

Roast for the last 45 minutes of your joint's cooking time, turning at least once. If they look like they could use a bit more browning/crisping, leave them in after the joint has come out to rest, while you increase the heat for the Yorkshire pudding (make batter using two eggs, 150g plain flour. 175ml milk, a splash of water and a good pinch of salt).

Then, when the preheated pudding tin is ready you'll have to decide whether the potatoes come out, or stay in for the full 15 minutes of pudding time.

Drain well and keep in a warm oven, uncovered and not too piled on top of each other.

Season again with salt and pepper before serving.

Serve with traditional steamed Brussels sprouts and carrots.

CRAB COCKTAIL WITH LIME AND DILL MAYONNAISE

(Serves 4, for more, adjust quantities accordingly)

200g Brown Crab Meat

200g White Crab Meat

4 Crab Claws (Cooked)

1 Avocado

100ml Mayonnaise

Fresh lime Juice

Dill

Seasoning

METHOD

Have crab meat prepared and set aside.

In a bowl, mix the lime juice with chopped dill and mayonnaise.

Chop the avocado, some of the seasoning of the and lime juice.

Using a small round cutter layer avocado, brown crab meat, white crab meat and top with the cooked crab claws.

Garnish plate with the prepared lime mayonnaise and dill.

Chill for two hours and serve.

BLACK FOREST CHOCOLATE CUP

(Serves 4)

4 Chocolate cups

Chocolate Genoese

180g Soft flour

25g Cocoa powder

25g Corn flour

10 Medium eggs

250g Caster Sugar

125g Butter

50ml Kirsch

200ml Double cream

50g Caster sugar

150g Maraschino Cherries

Method

Weigh measure all ingredients. For the Genoese, sift the flour and cocoa together with cornflour, Whisk the eggs and sugar together over a pan of hot water until mixture has doubled in size and becomes light and creamy, remove from heat and whisk until the mixture becomes cold and thick.

Fold in the flour and butter (separately). Place in a greased floured Genoese mould.

Bake for about 30mins at 200-220c.

Whip the double cream with the caster sugar.

Once Genoese is ready and cooled spoon the Kirsch onto the sponge, then finely slice and place one slice into chocolate cup.

Then pipe or spread a layer of whipped cream onto the sponge, then add maraschino cherries on the layer of cream.

Continue with another layer of sponge, cream, cherries and finish off with a layer of cherries on top of the chocolate cup.

CHICKEN LIVER PATE

(Serves 4)

100g cranberry chutney

4 cheese straws

4 slice of white bread (for the melba toast)

1 onion

1 garlic clove

450g chicken livers (trimmed and cut in half)

1 tbsp brandy

1 tsp mustard powder

Salt and ground pepper

Method

Weigh and measure all ingredients.

Finely dice the onion and crush the garlic clove.

Melt 110g of the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sweat it off until soft but not coloured.

Add the garlic and chicken livers and fry until golden brown and cooked through. Next, add the brandy and mustard powder and season well with salt and pepper.

Place the liver mixture and the remaining butter into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste. Place the mixture into a terrine mould and put in the fridge to set.

For the melba toast: remove the crusts from the bread, cut each slice into four triangles and toast.

To plate the pate: cut a long slice of the pate and place onto a long rectangle plate. Put three triangles of the melba toast, with the cheese straws going through the middle of the melba toast, on top. Garnish with the cranberry chutney.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

(Serves 10)

200g sultanas

72g apples

160g flour

200g raisins

160g breadcrumbs

36g prunes

200g suet

160g brown sugar

24g ground almonds

200g currants

1 tinned pear

3g salt

150ml stout

3 eggs

25ml brandy

4.5g allspice

25ml milk

zest of a lemon

zest of an orange

200g mixed peel

Method

Soak fruit in brandy and stout overnight.

Mix all dried ingredients together.

Form into a bay. Add milk, eggs and fruit and form into a soft mixture.

Place half mixture into plastic bowl, insert pear upside down in centre, then fill in rest of mixture.

Cover bowl with greaseproof paper and tie with string.

Steam for 1.5 hours and serve with custard.