Mark Hix’s approach to cooking the Christmas feast is one most of us can only dream of. Everything from the potatoes and parsnips (essential on his family menu) to the gravy, made with the bones of the turkey, is prepared on Christmas Eve. “I never leave anything to the last minute,” he says. “That means the pressure is off on Christmas Day – and you can have a drink just fine!”
The morning of December 25 is set aside for another Hix tradition: a breakfast of scrambled eggs, topped with the salmon he usually catches and smokes in the garden of his clifftop home. near Lyme Regis in Dorset, and a glass of bubbles. After a trip to the local pub for a few pints, Hix gets to work on his kitchen island, roasting the bird (“If I don’t serve turkey, I like to do small game birds or sometimes a goose”) and striking festive cocktails for friends and family.
More seafood stars in a smoked fish entree, inspired by its Hix Smokin’ House delivery boxes, and vegetables on its menu come from nearby Felicity’s Farm Shop, where Hix’s seafood truck is parked in the parking lot, or picked from his terraced vegetable gardens at home.
Lunch stretches into the evening, punctuated with crackers (these are often homemade by Hix and her nine-year-old daughter, Isla) and perhaps the Queen’s Speech.
Isla is there to decorate the frozen pavlova that Hix serves as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding. “It’s more colorful and friendlier,” he says, “and meringue and cranberry sauce are more things that can be made the night before.” Her quick burger patties, created in store-bought pie pans with an easy-to-crumble filling, have become family favorites.
After the gift exchange, it’s time for a James Bond movie, chocolate truffles from Hix and a Quality Street or two. “I love it all,” he says. “It brings back fond childhood memories.” — Amy Bryant
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Perfect for an aperitif before the feast. For non-drinkers, I like to serve something similar to what drinkers have.
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Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-12-22 15:27:42
