Kitchen Confidential: Holiday Edition

Your ultimate toolkit for the holiday season. Make-ahead salads, groovy playlists, and tasty snacks and appetisers to accompany gatherings, potlucks, and cocktail parties.

We have had an extraordinarily busy December, and can’t quite believe it will be Christmas in just a couple of days! If you, like us, have left things to the last minute, fret not — we have you sorted.

As a little Christmas treat, we are sending this out to all our subscribers! Consider this your ultimate toolkit for the holiday season.

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Oysters with Cucumber & Mignonette

Appetisers & Starters

We love a pre-prepared starter that you can pop on the table to get things going.

We keep returning to Annabel’s beloved Zucchini & Feta Crostini. You can make the zucchini mixture in advance, have the crostini toasted and ready to go, and assemble when you are ready to serve.

Our Piperade Bruschetta has been a favourite this holiday season, and for good reason. Again, you can make the piperade a couple of days in advance and bring it together at the last minute. Make sure you bring the piperade back to room temperature before serving to maximise on the flavour.

This Smoked Salmon Paté is also fab as you can whip it together in a food processor (either a day or two ahead, or in a last-minute pinch).

Fresh seafood is such a treat, and often something we love to serve on special occasions like Christmas. This Asparagus, Snow Pea & Scallop Salad is an excellent way to make a bit of precious seafood go a long way.

If you’re planning to celebrate at the beach, you may want to make this gorgeous Beachside Ceviche or some Seaside Tostadas to start. Kick things up a notch and pair them with our dangerously delicious Spicy Cucumber Margaritas for the full experience.

For our paid subscribers, you might like to make these gorgeous Oysters with Cucumber & Mignonette as a special treat. Make sure your oysters are very fresh and very cold! These Prawn Salad Cups with Chipotle Dressing are also fab.

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Classic Roast Turkey with Quinoa Stuffing

Mains

If you want to keep things old-school — this Classic Roast Turkey recipe won’t lead you astray. This fuss-free recipe ensures your success every time! Brining the bird beforehand ensures it is super juicy and moist. We love serving this with Quinoa Stuffing, our annual go-to on Christmas day. It's full of flavour with so many delicious herbs and lighter than a traditional breadcrumb stuffing and it’s gluten-free to boot.

If you are cooking for a smaller household, consider this Ultimate Roast Chicken. It’s hard to beat a juicy roast chicken, and again, we like to brine it first for a moist, flavoursome result. Squeezing lemon juice over the top before cooking makes the skin lovely and golden.

If you are a lamb at Christmas sort of household, here is our family recipe for Perfect Roast Lamb. An easy recipe that makes the perfect centerpiece for a special occasion feast.

For our paid subscribers, you may like to make our heavenly Tender Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Pomegranate. Low and slow is Annabel’s tried-and-tested, foolproof way to cook a shoulder of lamb. You get that melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bone texture that we all know and love. Shoulder is a satisfyingly easy cut to cook, the oven does all the work and leaves you with the perfect flavour and fork-tender texture.

If you are feeding a crowd, here is our tried-and-true recipe for The Ultimate Glazed Ham. Nothing says ‘special occasion’ like a glazed ham. For the sake of your taste buds and your conscience, source free-range ham cured by traditional methods. Glazing a ham is easier than you might think — the trick is to warm it gently in the oven first to loosen the skin so it’s easier to peel off. We love serving this alongside some fluffy buns, fresh salad greens, and homemade mayo for a New Year celebration.

Lastly, if you want to do something different this year, we recommend making our beautiful Celebration Salmon. This is Rose’s go-to recipe for when she wants to impress (with minimal time and effort required, coming together in just 20 minutes). You can take the stress out of entertaining and prep this in advance — salmon and vegetables can be arranged on the tray, then covered and chilled for up to 12 hours. The Green Summer Sauce can be made up to a week ahead and kept in a jar in the fridge.

Our Za’atar-Crusted Salmon with Pickled Onions and Herbs is also seriously impressive if you want a little x-factor. You can make this as individual fillets or as a whole side depending on how many you are cooking for.

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Middle Eastern Grain Salad

Festive Salads

Many of you shared that you wanted ideas for salads — those that are easily transportable, can be prepped in advance, and of course, will go down well on the day.

Whether you are attending a potluck, hosting a picnic, or just really love salad, here are a handful of our favourite ideas that will pair especially well with festive flavours.

Bulking out the table with robust vegetables and salads is also a great way to have less protein (which is often the most expensive part of Christmas). It’s hard to beat a hearty, affordable Cobb Salad with Corn, Avocado & Tomato in the summer months. You can make this with fresh or (defrosted) frozen corn, which makes things easy. Add 1-2 cups of cooked quinoa to make it go even further. You can prep this salad a day or two beforehand and add the dressing and avocado before serving.

Another great make-ahead salad is our Middle Eastern Grain Salad. Robust and satisfying, this salad has it all — the crunch of the nuts and seeds, the tang of the cranberries and lemon, the creaminess of the dressing, and the goodness of the grains and pulses. Don’t add the toasted nuts and seeds or the yoghurt dressing until you are ready to serve.

It’s hard to beat a good Herbed Potato & Egg Salad. We’ve been making iterations of this potato salad for years. Originally adapted from one they used to serve at Amisfield, these days we love it with a mountain of fresh herbs. It’s a great one to take along to picnics and barbecues.

Looking for a salad you can quickly prep with minimal effort? We have lots from the What to Cook Tonight archive — this gorgeous Summer Salad with Peaches, Mozzarella & Rocket is equal parts delicious and beautiful. We also love this Pear & Fennel Salad with Hazelnuts (perfect for our northern hemisphere subscribers).

Lastly, you can’t beat our beloved Everyday Green Salad. Is there anything better than a giant pile of greens? This is such a refreshing thing to eat that goes well with just about everything. You can mix up the greens depending on what you have at hand, and the time of year.

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Dietary Requirements

We are big fans of creating dishes that you can leave things out of or add to in order to accommodate dietary requirements. Then you don’t have to make anything extra and it keeps things easy, whilst being thoughtful of your guests. So say if you have a salad that has a dairy element like feta or some other cheese — leave it off the portions you need to be dairy-free. Ditto for salads that include meat or poultry, you might like to swap out the meat part with some fried halloumi or crumbled feta, or for vegan diners add crunch and protein with toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds, or fry off some chickpeas in olive oil with a little lemon zest, garlic, and chilli. Simple and delicious.

For gluten-free eaters swap out barley, farro, or couscous for quinoa or gluten-free breadcrumbs when making salads and stuffings, and use maize cornstarch to thicken gravy.

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Setting the Scene

So much of making a meal feel festive is about setting the scene. Dress the table with a nice tablecloth (or an ironed sheet), and scatter over rose petals. We like to decorate with candles, napkins, bowls of cherries, almonds, and dried figs. Set out water glazes and wine glasses and make a big jug of festive spritz with a bottle of chilled sauvignon blanc, half a bottle of chilled soda, and ¼ cup of elderflower cordial. Buy some Christmas crackers (the cheap ones are fine) so that everyone gets to put on a funny hat and share a silly joke.

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Playlists

Last but not least, we have some fabulous playlists lined up for you! These are perfect to accompany your summer holidays and the many festivities ahead.

To accompany lazy weekends and barbecues — our Sunday playlist is your summer soundtrack. If you’re in the mood to party, turn things up a notch with Groove. Best paired with a bottle of Bella on ice. Cin cin!

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Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! We hope you eat well and manage to take some time to unwind.

With love,

Annabel & Rose xxx