Cookery Demonstration 'Christmas Celebrations'

We had a super Christmas demonstration on Thursday. Our ladies bravely navigated the then waterlogged streets of Malton and Norton and were well rewarded with a full and interesting programme.

Claire's delicious mince pies were on hand to welcome guests along with a reviving cup of coffee. For all that it has been tricky driving around our area, we were still accessible and are now even more so as the waters are starting to recede.

The demonstration started at 10.30am with Alison making potted hot smoked salmon. This is a lovely dish, ideal as a starter on Christmas day, or would make a lovely light lunch with warm crusty bread a few green leaves and nice Chablis! 

Claire went on to make two suggestions for topping bruschetta in a 'Christmas' style. These made generous quantities but they must have been good as all the carrot and chick pea canapes had gone before we office dwellers could get to them! The other topping of beetroot and walnut gave stunning colour to the table and by using the currently in season and on trend beetroot gave our starters a contemporary feel.

The 'main event' was of course turkey, and some time was spent explaining cooking times and methods on the AGA. This year we went for a turkey crown with a warm and spicy chorizo stuffing. To accompany this we did carrots with caraway, crispy topped sprouts and, everybody's favourite, parsnip and apple mash. Served up with piping hot roast potato's and a 'secret' turkey gravy recipe. Other accompaniments were apricot bacon and sausage skewers and cranberry relish.

For the vegetarians Claire cooked a delicious mushroom and herb bake served up in individual portions and garnished with watercress. This was almost too delicate to be called a bake and yet too elegant to be called a pudding. With a strong mushroom flavour and a dense texture making this both delicious and filling. Again this would make a lovely dinner party dish at any time of the year.

  
As if we hadn't all eaten enough Christmas pudding followed. This too was popular and the 3lb Christmas pudding that Claire made was heartily consumed. For those with any room Alison showed us how to make an orange and pistachio stollen. This had a lovely christmassy taste and just enough marzipan to keep it moist without overpowering the delicate flavours.

To round of this Christmas cookery demonstration we were privileged to have Judy Bell from Shepherds purse cheeses of Thirsk join us. Judy gave us an inspirational talk on cheeses for our Christmas table. Along with helpful hints on serving and storing these cheeses Judy offered everyone a taste of Harrogate Blue, Buffalo Blue, Bluemin white and the ewe's milk cheeses Katy's white Lavender and Yorkshire fettle. These cheeses are all made using traditional methods and have a full but soft flavour, in particular I really like the Buffalo blue. A big thank you to Judy for braving the flooded plains of Ryedale to join us that day.

For this year we have completed our demonstrations programme. However we will be doing more in the new year. If you would like to know the new dates for 2013 please fill in your details on the contact us page under cookery demonstrations and we will contact you once we have the new programme arranged.