Christmas Dinner Planning - need an app?

I recently saw an article stating that 1/3 of British adults don't know how to cook a turkey Christmas dinner. This I find quite hard to believe when we are inundated with cookery programmes on television and can freely browse internet sites with every possible description of dishes and recipes available. (Lets hope there were no chefs questioned either!)

 Is there an underlying issue with children not being given the skills to cook from home? I know that kids cooking has been removed from the school syllabus over the years. But these are life skills that our children need to take them into the future. I must admit my youngest loves cooking with me and he is quite adept at making lots of things. All my children have baked at home - nothing fancy but they know how to make cakes, pasta dishes, pastry and pizza. I think a lot of people struggle with timings. My daughter decided to cook a Christmas dinner for her and 8 others at uni the other day. Now she is quite an able person and has grown in independence over the last few months. However, on Sunday as I was rushing out to pick up the youngest from an activity I get a call asking what timings should I base my cooking on? And I think that's where most people fall down. They can cook dishes that require basic skills but the situation where you need to create a finished dish for a specific time  can create some worries. Another problem is you have to have all the components ready at the same time to serve up a delicious meal to all your waiting guests.

This is when I go back to my home economics school days - we had to list our timings and plans for the whole meal from start to finish. That way you didn't forget the potatoes needed 20 minutes boiling whilst you were creating the dessert and so on. Perhaps people struggle with planning the meal to a specific time and so if they create a planner and work back from the time guests will dine it's possible that they will gain control of cooking Christmas dinner or Christmas lunch. Back to my daughter I rattled off times for turkey, potatoes, roasties etc then we worked from the time to serve up to the time for all the bits and bobs. She hastily scribbled it down and I got a text later saying it had all gone well. So if my daughter can prepare a meal for 9 people on this premise I think anyone should be able to adapt it to their Christmas dinner.

And for those people who feel they are well in control of that turkey dinner there is even an iphone or ipad app to help those who wish for something a little more exotic to create. The app is advertised as having 60 inspiring recipes such as roasted venison or Chocolate and Drambuie truffles.

Yummy as those sound I think we will stick to traditional turkey dinner in our house this year something that I can handle quite easily after the present opening and before the TV afternoon sit down. I also don't have an ipad or iphone  and so may be a little stuck with only an app! I can conjure up quite a funny image of lots of stressed out cooks with iphones glued to their hands wishing that they'd stuck to turkey,too. My personal best tip for having a stress free Christmas dinner ? With in laws and outlaws being invited to dine I've found the best policy is red wine - not for the gravy but for me! Happy eating!

Difficulty In Finding Glassware That's Unusual

I've been finding it difficult to find glassware that is that bit unusual for chic dining occasions. Glassware for pubs, bars and hospitality outlets tends to be serviceable and rugged rather than stylish. Most glassware under the catering equipment umbrella has to cover a range for beer glasses and wine glasses that are going to be used daily and placed in a glass washer many many times. They have to be of good quality, fairly stylish and possibly even CE marked to meet standards.

Sometimes when you dine,however you want glassware to be up to scratch with something more elegant to befit the dining occasion. Hospitality outlets such as up market bistros and restaurants and cocktail bars often have to have a slightly better class of glassware for diners and guests.

These hi ball style glasses are beautiful in their simplicity. The good news is certain glasses in the range are CE marked and all the glasses are strengthened glass for durability, but they lose nothing in style or looks. So win win for restaurants, bistros and corporate hospitality outlets.

Chutney Relish And Carol Singers

What a brilliant weekend - we had friends around on Saturday night for a meal. I just kept it simple with cold meat platter to start accompanied by pickles and olives. I did, however, make some home made chutney and onion relish. I didn't realise how easy it is to make. The chutney was delicious with a tangy taste as I used apples, onions and a blob of festive mincemeat from a jar. I found this recipe and did add a few twists of my own but it was really easy to do and looked so good in some kilner food preserve jars I bought online, served to the table. We had chicken casserole as a main and trifle to follow. I think it's really important when you do home entertaining to make a homely, nourishing but easy to make ahead menu. Then you can enjoy being with your guests and dining at home is relaxed and stress free. It was a lovely evening with some lovely wine, great company and a warming meal.

The menu was so simple that we even had chance to nip out to see a National Trust property. The Trust offers great days out in the UK for all visitors. They've really latched on to being family friendly over the last few years. I know when our kids were small we were definitely in the minority visitng National Trust with children in tow. They have loads more activities now for families to bring  kids along for a great time. We went to Coughton Court and toured the house, which was dressed for Christmas. The theme was a simple Victorian style affair with lovely paper cones and paper chains on the trees- very effective and charming in it's simplicity. We were also treated to a display form the local ladies choir who sang beautifully well known carols but with a different arrangement to give a twist to the songs. As we stood at the top of the wooden imposing staircase gazing down over the chandeliers, stately furniture and open fire we listened to the choir. It was truly magical and again so simple yet moving. I really felt as if I'd travelled back in time to a less modern and bustling era.

On Sunday we treated my lot to a meal out. We all met up from various areas of the country for a get together and chat. It was lovely to see everyone together as with most people we're normally so busy it's hard to get everyone to meet up. The meal wasn't the best and the waiting staff were a bit ignorant but we had a great chat exchanged photos and left with promises to meet up again soon. Next time we'll book at a better venue. Can't wait for next weekend to do some more National Trust visits - they have some really lovely Christmas events on at the moment.