Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas Special 2010
 

Merry Christmas week!!! In celebration of what's generally the best week in all of cookingdom, I wanted to share my favorite special of the season, Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Christmas Special, where the chef cooks 5 incredible holiday meals at his home with his family and friends with Christmas music playing throughout. The following are links to the first episode (split into 5 parts):

Pork, Apricot, and Pistachio Stuffing

Caramelized Cranberry and Apple Sauce; Mint Chocolate Truffles

Roasted Turkey with Lemon, Parsley, and Garlic (220ºC = 430ºF, 180ºC = 350ºF)

Scrambled Eggs & Smoked Salmon on Toasted Croissants; Turkey part 2; Turkey Gravy with Cider and Walnuts; Light Steamed Pudding with Whiskey Cream

Roasted Potatoes with Chili and Turmeric (200ºC= 390ºF); Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Chestnuts


I'll post each episode as it is uploaded onto Youtube and keep the thread updated.

Enjoy!

Ramsay is a tonne of fun.

Episode 2 is up now!

Honey Glazed Ham with Pear and Saffron Chutney

Pumpkin Soup with Wild Mushrooms; Mulled Wine with Dry Roast Spiced Nuts

Salmon Salad Nicoise with a Light Tarragon Mayonnaise; Pannacotta with Pomegranate Glaze

Beef Wellington; Vanilla Shortbread with Creme Fraiche and Clementines

The one thing I find weird about the Brits is their love of sausage stuffing... I am sure it's tasty but I much prefer a good, traditional Canadian stuffing made of bread, sage and other aromatics.

I was skeptical about it until I tried it. I'll always have a special place in my heart for homemade bread-based stuffings (like this one), but there are sausage-based stuffings that are out of this world.

On the other hand, using chicken broth/stock for a turkey dinner is nothing short of a crime against humanity. I was very surprised Gordon didn't use turkey stock. I use turkey stock for brining our Thanksgiving bird every year.

I use a combination of Giblet stock, drippings and Chicken Stock to make my gravy mostly because I want more gravy than can be had from just the drippings and giblet stock. I could go to the trouble of making a Turkey stock but, really, there is only so much time.

As for using the drippings from brined turkeys, I find the drippings too salty. I want to use my drippings so I never brine my turkey. I have never had a dry turkey... ever.

Simple Roux Gravy
1 tablespoon of fat
1 tablespoon of flour
1 cup of stock
Makes one cup of gravy. Multiply for more.

Cook the fat and the flour until it browns (if you like your gravy really brown, just cook it longer). This takes a few minutes. Once it is the right colour, slowly add in the stock, whisking as you do so. You add it slowly to avoid lumps. Once you reach a smooth consistency, you can add the stock faster. Add more stock if you want your gravy thinner. Salt and pepper for flavour.

Strain through a fine mesh sieve and serve (always sieve... always).

To get the drippings, remove the turkey so it can rest. Pour the drippings into a fat separator or just a container. Skim the turkey fat from the drippings and use it for the fat in the roux (you could also use butter if you need more fat).

Deglaze the roasting tin with some white wine. Toss in some fresh rosemary. Once deglazed, you can cook the gravy in the pan, I tend to do my gravy in a sauce pan so I just pour the contents of the roasting pan into the container with the giblet stock (or whatever stock you are using).

I usually have a couple of cups of giblet stock, plus another couple of cups of drippings. The rest I use Chicken Stock. I tend to make about 8 to 10 cups of gravy because I am feeding a few people.

I am am Brit and I can safely say that the majority of us don't use sausage in our stuffing. For the most part we too use sage, onion and other herbs.

Yes, but you actually call them herbs. We call them erbs.

We think we're cool.

This would be better to me if there wasn't meat snuck into everything. At a big meal with meat as the centerpiece, I get kind of tired of meat hiding in all the sides, personally.

Also, I don't want to see the bill for this meal. I bet it's exorbitant.

The cranberry sauce, truffles, turmeric potatoes, pumpkin soup, mulled wine and nuts are all meat-free.

But yeah, those would be expensive meals.