carrots, celery, onion, to raise chicken above base of baking tray
chicken in baking tray on raised bed
Christmas dinner, fresh chicken, roast potatoes, broccoli.
Fresh chicken from local butcher, cooked guidance of Jamie Oliver.
Lay carrots, celery, in the base of baking tin. This lifts the chicken up off the base, allows air to circulate and aids cooking. Chicken smeared with butter (to stop drying out), add a little salt and black pepper (for flavour). Half a mandarin stuffed inside the chicken. No stuffing. Cook for 20 minutes per pound, plus a extra 20 minutes.
Not sure of weight. assumed 4 lbs. Cook for two hours.
I was worried it would be overcooked, but no, cooked to perfection.
Potatoes added around the chicken for last hour, after par boiling.
After chicken was removed from the oven to rest prior to carving, green water added, a drop of very high quality Port. Excellent gravy.
Roast potatoes were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.
To drink, champagne (strictly speaking sparkling wine a gift from Cyprus).
Tags: Christmas, Christmas Dinner, dinner
Keithpp's Blog 
December 28, 2015 at 7:04 am |
Asti Spumante from Cyprus? Isn’t it Italian? I prefer Prosecco. How many did you feed with that chicken? I like the idea of raising it up for cooking. Was it uncovered throughout?
December 28, 2015 at 12:32 pm |
Correct, wine was imported from Italy. Why, I do not know, as there are excellent wines in Cyprus, from family vineyards.
– Cyprus wines
– Wines of Cyprus | Status 99
I did not read the label until after Christmas. I wrongly assumed it was a Cyprus wine.
But then there are stupid hotels that import bottled water when there is superior Cyprus bottled water from the Troodos Mountains. One of the many examples of why their tourist industry is collapsing, they have completely lost the plot.
– No tourists
– Where have all the tourists gone?
– Collapse of the tourist economy in Cyprus and the need to divest
Bottle delivered to my room in an ice bucket by room service, compliments of the manager, carried to Athens, carried home, carried away for Christmas dinner. A well travelled bottle.
And it was excellent.
Champagne region is no longer suitable for Champagne. It is too hot. The ideal region is North and South Downs, ideal soil, ideal climate. Which is why a lot of the Champagne producers have been buying land. Begs the question, do they ship the grapes or grape juice to France, then flog as Champagne?
Champagne can only be sold as Champagne, if from Champagne region, made in the approved method, using the approved variety of grapes.
If made elsewhere, using Champagne method, correct variety of grapes, it is Champagne in all but name, but cannot be called Champagne.
But, not to be confused with sparkling wine which has gas injected, which goes flat almost as soon as it is opened.
Apart from compliments to my room, Champagne for breakfast, though I did not check the label.
Previous hotel, where I had breakfast when I had my own apartment for a few days, Champagne for breakfast.
In Athens, complimentary bottle of wine delivered to my room, as was in hotel before I had an apartment.
Prosecco is the latest overpriced trendy drink.
HomeSlice in Neal’s Yard in Covent Garden, the place for pizza, serves Frizzante Classico on tap, a superior alternative to Prosecco. They fill an enormous bottle, at a guess at least two litres, measure with with a ruler, then charge for what has been consumed. I have not tried, but I have had their excellent lager served on tap, Camden Hells Lager, brewed by a local microbrewery.
Chicken served three, plenty left over. For dinner, excellent. Later a little dry. It was excellent due to cooking method, but also because it was a fresh chicken obtained from one of the best butchers in the country, not the salmonella infected cheap rubbish from supermarkets, that you get food poisoning simply from handling.
– Two Caravans
By elevating the chicken, it aided cooking. The residue, used for gravy, a splash of Port. No, the chicken was not covered.
The Port a gift from a reputable family business in Portugal.
The gravy saved for the next day, for excellent Lincolnshire sausages from the same high quality butcher. Ideally what was then left of the gravy should have been poured on the compost heap.
December 29, 2015 at 11:45 am |
I boned a chicken and a duck, put the duck inside the chicken (with stuffing). Was delicious.
December 25, 2016 at 6:55 pm |
Christmas dinner 2016
Slight variant on 2015
https://keithpp.wordpress.com/2016/12/25/christmas-dinner-2/