It may not yet be November but it's already time to start thinking about your Christmas dinner. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Whether it be the traditional turkey or the more unusual Beef Wellington, everyone has their own preferences of what they like to eat on the big day – especially considering bubble and squeak opportunities on Boxing Day!
Whatever your tastes, here are our top 5 foodie things we're thinking about in preparation for Christmas Day.
5. Homemade Mince Pies
Love them or hate them, mince pies are a classic of the Christmas tradition. It's easy enough to buy them from the shops, but ultimate mince pie glory can only be obtained by making them from scratch!
Already, Chef Silvia Leo is drawing up the recipe for her homemade mincemeat, which we'll be putting into each and every Christmas Feast Box we ship this year, so you can have a crack at making your own pastry delights.
Mincemeat is a preserve, so it can be made weeks or months before you need it – which means there's no such thing as thinking about your mince pies too early.
4. Pigs In Blankets
Likewise, planning your pigs in blankets can never happen too early. Considering what kind of sausages and bacon you create them with can have a big impact on how they turn out. The traditional sausage to use is the chipolata, but with the growing popularity of meat alternatives and inventive chefs, there's no reason vegans, vegetarians or those with other food restrictions can't join in the blanket-y fun!
One of our favourite meat alternatives is Quorn – tasty, and packed with flavour. You could also experiment with the American-style version of this Christmas classic and try wrapping your sausages in croissant dough. Delicious!
3. Securing A Turkey
Experts are predicting shortages of meats and turkey this year around Christmas time, so it's a good idea to secure your dinner's star attraction early.
Ordering one of our Christmas Feast Recipe Boxes now ensures that you won't miss out on your Christmas dinner's centrepiece or have to run around every supermarket in town on Christmas Eve trying to track one down – that we teach you exactly how to prepare and cook it to create the best possible flavour is bonus!
2. The Trimmings
What's a Christmas dinner without all the trimmings? They're our favourite part!
It's easy to make basic roasties, sprouts, carrots and stuffing, but you need to think ahead of your want to take them to the next level. What melanges of flavour are you planning to get the best out of your veg?
Try raosting your sprouts with your chestnuts to awaken their natural nutty aromas that never arise when they're boiled. Explore the options of roasting vegetables together – potatoes with onions, carrots with both – to combine their beautiful natural flavours in ways you've never considered before!
1. Everything Else!
The crackers! The napkins! The drinks! What else do you always have in that makes your Christmas dinner special?
There are lots of festive options for those who don't drink alcohol; one of our favourites is non-alcoholic eggnog – all the best wholesome flavours of the season in one drink! For those who do drink, here at chefs for foodies, we're big wine-lovers, so we ship every Christmas Feast Box with a bottle of Uma Casanatura wine from the Italian Abruzzo region. Why not give it a go?
That's our roundup of our early Christmas dinner planning! Let us know what you're thinking about for the months ahead in the comments – and consider letting us do all the hard work planning for you by ordering one of our amazing Christmas Feast Recipe Boxes!
