Mike Devlin's Budget Christmas Dinner for 2

Mike Devlin's Budget Christmas Dinner for 2

Christmas is expensive (everything is these days) and can be unnecessarily expensive. And for some, prohibitively so. Everything about it: gifts, decorations, additional travel, drink, and of course, food, and this is where I step in.

This is primarily for a budget Christmas dinner at home for two (trust me, it will be awesome if I do say so myself, which I believe I just did), but it can easily be expanded for a family, or you can pick and choose from each part - use some, use all of it - this is your Christmas after all.

Remember, I am trying to keep this as cheap as possible whilst keeping it favourable, so there will be no parma, Parmesan, truffles, duck fat, you being required to make sauces from scratch, etc.

This is going to be long, as I will have to explain each section, but I will make this budget Christmas dinner as easy to follow as possible.

Sections covered

• The meat (I will get to this)
• Pigs in blankets
• Roast potatoes with rosemary
• Caramelised Brussels Sprouts with bacon and onions
• Carrots in OJ 
• Cauliflower cheese and roasted garlic
• Char-grilled green beans in butter
• Broccoli sautéed in butter and garlic
• Yorkshire puddings

The meat

Firstly, we can save a lot of money here to make this budget Christmas dinner, and as there are only two of you, you don't need a whole bird. We have two choices: chicken or turkey. The former is cheaper, so buy two decent-sized breasts. The latter, particularly at Christmas time, but if you insist, then pick up a small turkey crown (buy one now and freeze it).

Turkey will take longer to cook, so follow the instructions on the packaging (make sure you season it, though - you can always cook it on a bed of roughly chopped veg and a few sprigs of herbs). That can go in now; we have plenty of time. Chicken will be quick, but this is Christmas, so we are going to wrap them in bacon and pan-fry them in a little oil to brown off the bacon (no need to add salt as it will get that from the bacon).

Grab two sheets of foil ready because the wrapped breasts are going in them. Pour some of the fats from the pan and wrap them up individually, place on a tray, and stick in the oven - be ready in 30-40 minutes. Don't clean or wipe your pan out, please.

Your bacon is already out, so wrap up a few sausages in bacon (streaky is best for this), place them on a parchment-lined tray and put them in the oven.

When done, allow the meat to rest before serving; this helps soften the flesh (and gives you time to do other things). The pigs can be served cold without a problem, but the chicken or turkey can be reheated in the oven for 10 minutes just before serving if you wish (your oven will still be on and hot).

That's the meat done. Next up ...

Roast Potatoes With Rosemary

Next up for our budget Christmas dinner, peel a few potatoes, cut them up into not-too-big, not-too-small pieces, and put them in a pan of cold water with a good dose of salt. Turn on and bring to a boil - keep an eye on them, we only need them cooked, not obliterated (peace at Christmas, not war). 

Meanwhile, get a tray pour some oil in it, and put it in the oven at 220c/430f.

When just about done (or parboiled, as we say), immediately drain and put the lid on it. Give the pan a little shake - this roughens up the outer parts to give more surface area.

Pour into the tray (carefully, it will sputter) and with a large spoon, make sure all sides are oiled. Back in the oven for 30 minutes. Check on them and give them a turn if need be, but now add a few sprigs of rosemary and a sprinkle of salt all over. Back in the oven for another 10 minutes, please. Once golden all over, they are ready to be served.

You're doing well; this is easy.

Caramelised Sprouts

WHAT YOU NEED

Sprouts (duh!)

Oil

A few rashers of bacon

Onion

3 cloves of garlic

Balsamic vinegar

Little bit of sugar

Boiling water

Chop all the sprouts in half, discarding any of the outside if looking a little worse for wear. Put to one side for the moment.

In a decent-sized frying pan, add some oil and place on a medium heat.

Chop the bacon into small bits (or use lardons if you are particularly lazy), and throw it in the pan. 

Next, chop up the onion - diced, slices, it doesn't matter, you decide. After a few minutes of cooking the bacon bits, add the onion, and stir everything.

Now smash those garlic cloves, and add it all into the pan, giving it another stir.

Now add all your prepped sprouts and, yes, another stir. We want to caramelise the sprouts or simply burn them whilst adding all the flavours of everything already in the pan.

You will have to occasionally flip over that random sprout that doesn't want to turn over when you stir it. Trust me, you'll find it. Add the balsamic and sugar (I don't know, a good splash and a tsp, maybe? Not sure how many sprouts you've done).

Once all the sprouts have been caramelised, add boiling water so that everything is just about covered (there will be lots of steam). Turn the heat down slightly so there is a gentle simmer. Scrape the pan if necessary to get all those lovely bits off and into the water.

Once the water evaporates, remove everything from the pan into a bowl. Done. Don't clean the pan!

Carrots

Anyone can cook carrots in water, but it's Christmas and to make our budget Christmas dinner a little special, we're going to do them in OJ.

Peel and slice (or batons if you want to) a couple of carrots, and put them in a pan, then cover with smooth OJ. Then proceed as you normally would, simmering until done (a knife easily goes in, but test this regularly lest your carrots turn into mush).

Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon but keep simmering the OJ, as we want to reduce it, thereby thickening it, and as it's Christmas, you could throw a knob of butter in there, too. Once you are happy with the consistency, pour over your hot carrots and serve (the carrots can be quickly warmed up in a microwave before pouring the sauce).

Cauliflower Cheese and Roasted Garlic

WHAT YOU NEED

Cauliflower (obviously)

Bechamel sauce

Cheese

Garlic

Firstly, we make roasted garlic. I would say make an entire bulb; it's easier, and then you have leftovers for other things (it will last several days in the fridge).

Grab a bulb, and cut the top off to expose the cloves (leave all the outsides on). Now place on a piece of foil. And fold the sides up to make a bowl.

Pour olive oil into and onto the bulb, and then liberally add S&P. Close the foil up, place on a baking tray and into the oven for around 25 minutes at 180c/360f. Remove and allow to cool down.

We are *really* going to cut corners here, as we are not going to make our Bechamel - as I said, easy and cheap - so pick up a small carton of it from a grocery store (full recipe available in our Simply Sauces eBook at the DWC shop).

Grab your small cauliflower and break/cut into small florets (discard the stem and any leaves). You could cut costs even more and buy frozen!

Drop them into boiling water for about 10 minutes (you can steam them instead if you wish) - we need them just about done. It is very easy to overcook it, and mushy cauliflower is terrible. Drain and set to one side.

In a bowl, heat up your Bechamel in a pan or the microwave. Once hot, put as much cheese as you like in it and stir it. You may want to add some S&P here. But don't forget your roasted garlic! Add as many cloves as you like, but all you have to do is break into the bulb remove a couple of cloves and squeeze it out. It'll be a pale browny colour and very soft. Give it all a good mix.

Overproof the dish and put your cauliflower in it, then pour your sauce all over it, and a sprinkle of paprika on top. Into the oven at 220c/430f for 15 minutes.

Oh, yes, this is easy.

Green beans

Simple this. Top and tail the beans, put in a small oven-proof dish, splash olive oil on them, S&P, and a couple of cloves of garlic that's been roughly chopped.

Straight into the oven at 200c/390f. Check on them after 10 minutes by inserting a small knife into one - are they cooked? Are they blackening? We want both.

If cooked but not chargrilled enough. Throw them in a pan (garlic as well); use the pan you cooked the chicken in, or the one you used for your sprouts (extra flavour see). 

Broccoli

Also easy. Break/cut into small bits. Throw into a pan with one finely chopped clove of garlic (I like garlic), and a good bit of butter.

This one, however, you need to pay attention to because with a spoon you are going to keep basting the broccoli in the hot butter.

You may not wish to brown the butter, but you definitely cannot burn it, so be careful with the heat.

Could take about 10 minutes so long as the pieces are small enough (bite size).

Gravy, sauces, and condiments, I suggest you buy ready-made to keep costs and time down. I did consider explaining all of this but I have written an eBook for DWC all about this, and two, again, I have to think about costs for this piece.

Yorkshire Puddings

And we finally get to this bit. Many Americans STILL don't know what these are (shame on you, I made them for as many people as possible when I lived there), but no Christmas dinner is complete without one on your plate.

Easy to make, but also easy to screw up, and seeing as though that is technically baking, we are going to need actual measurements. Again, this is for two people, and for that, you get two (giant Yorkies).

WHAT YOU NEED

1 egg

50ml of full-fat milk

35g flour

S&P

Oil

Doesn't seem much, does it, but follow my words to a tee, and you will be amazed. But first off, this has to be made in advance. The earlier in the day you make the batter, the better it will be.

Grab a bowl and break your egg into it, then add your milk and a little S&P, and give it a really good whisk. Then, in another bowl, add the flour, and slowly start to add your liquid mix into the flour, constantly stirring. As it gets incorporated and the more liquid goes in, the easier it will be to stir it.

Once done (no lumps!), cover it with something and leave it to its own devices. Ideally, you would do this at the beginning because Yorkies tend to be the last thing that goes in the oven. As I said, a tested batter = a happy batter.

When the time comes you are going to need one of those bun pans, but one that is 5cm across. Pour some oil into two of them - I don't know what you call them! Holes? - I'd say half a centimeter deep, and put in the oven at 220c/390f.

We want to reach smoking point, and the easiest way to know this has happened (trust me on this) is to open the oven door and notice if your eyes start watering. If they are we are good to go. 

Divide the batter into each hole thingy - it will instantly start to cook - and place back in the oven. Do not open the door!!! I cannot stress this enough. Ignore them for 20 minutes. Go tidy up or something. 

After 20, sure go have a look. Yeah, look at those beauties! They are huge! Serve immediately onto your plate.

That's it, we're done with our budget Christmas dinner. Let us know what you tried and what you liked.