CTS Foreyule Feast - Other Food

Ham

Buying: Typically 2 pieces of 3-5 lb each. We used to get shoulder on grounds of cheapness, but an experiment in 2000 suggested it was better to get a smaller quantity (say 2 x 3-4 lb) of better quality meat (e.g. gammon). It's usual to get one piece smoked, and one unsmoked, but they're not necessarily distinguishable once cooked!
Cooking: Boil each piece for 15 minutes / lb plus 15 minutes (this will usually be something over an hour). On grounds of cooking space, it's desirable to cook both pieces in a single pan - this would need to be perhaps 8 inches diameter, and 8 inches high. Otherwise it has to be two pans simultaneously.
Serving: If there is enough room and carvers, the ham can be sliced and served simultaneously with the turkey. If not, it can be carved in advance, onto a pre-warmed (ideally) or cold plate.

Vegetarian Main Course

There are always a couple of vegetarians attending the Feast. The standard practice is to ask them to choose (and, if possible, prepare) a main course they'd like. This will typically require some oven space for perhaps 30 minutes.
It's helpful if the quantity and ingredients will permit this also to be used as a starter for participants who can't have the soup.
If the resident vegetarians can't come up with anything, try Arjuna on Mill Road.

Baked Potatoes

Buying

Allow one potato per person, with perhaps 10% extra as spares. There should be a variety of sizes in the ½-1lb range. Potatoes will keep quite well (ideally in the dark), so advance purchasing is possible. This will help spread the load and allow a better choice.

Cooking

This is usually a significant logistical problem, as most houses only have one oven! The usual solution is to cook the potatoes elsewhere, and then move them to the venue.

Wash each potato, and prick several times, firmly, with a sharp knife or fork.
If cooking offsite, wrap each one in kitchen foil.
Bake for 1-1½ hours at 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6.
The potatoes are done when the innards are soft. If there's no foil, the skin will be crisp and slightly loose as well.
If cooking offsite, pack the potatoes into a cool-box for transport - they will keep warm for 1-2 hours. If necessary, they can be reheated in the main venue oven once the turkey is out.

Serving

Self-service from the cool-box; someone with oven gloves should serve from the oven. Ensure that there's plenty of butter available!

Salad

Ingredients

Usually something like this for 15-16 people:

lettuce: 1 (there is usually quite a lot left)
carrots: 6-8
mushrooms: ½-1lb (left over from the soup)
peppers: 2 or 3 (some supermarkets do a red/yellow/green mixed pack)
tomatoes: 6-8 / 1-1½lb
others as desired, e.g. cucumber, spring onions

These should be washed, and chopped or otherwise prepared as you wish.

Trimmings

These are a relatively recent innovation. Two things have been tried:

Stuffing

Ordinary packet stuffing seems to work quite well, following the instructions on the packet. It will need baking for 20-30 minutes, in a ceramic dish. There's usually space in the bottom of the oven.
2 x 170g packets has been sufficient for a group of 19.

Gravy

This has been less successful, mostly for lack of a decent recipe. Timing is also a problem, however, in that it requires a fair amount of attention when there are plenty of other things to do.
The following recipe might work for a vegetarian gravy:

Ingredients: 3 vegetarian stock cubes, 1 tablespoonful of plain flour, 1 pint of water
In a pan, heat 3-4 tablespoonfuls of the water to near boiling point.
Turn the heat down, and dissolve the stock cubes.
Gradually mix in the flour, to form a smooth, runny paste.
Still stirring, gradually mix in the remainder of the water.
Turn up the heat, and stir until the gravy has boiled, then take it off the heat. If it's too think at this point, you could add more water.

Obviously, this will provide about a pint of gravy; something more like two pints is likely to be necessary for the typical group.
If there are no vegetarians, use the juices from the turkey instead of the stock/water mixture.
Total cooking time is something like 20 minutes; it will keep warm in the pan.

Haggis

Buying: It is usual to get McSween haggis from the Cambridge Cheese Company (in All Saints' Passage). A "2-3 person" haggis is just enough for 5; a "3-4 person" haggis allows a larger portion for more people. The per person cost goes down as the size of the haggis increases, so it's best to get a single large haggis if possible. They'll keep for a few days in the fridge, so buying in advance is feasible. Try to resist the sales pitch to buy a larger number of smaller haggis!
Cooking: Follow the instructions on the outer bag: i.e. remove the outer bag, wrap in foil and simmer for 45 minutes.
Serving: Remove the foil (care!), open the sheep's stomach with a sharp knife, and let people serve themselves. The more hardy may choose some of the stomach as well as its contents!

Dessert

This is typically 3 frozen gateaux from a supermarket. It is desirable to allow for dairy / chocolate allergies, and the choice might be something like:

one Black Forest gateau
one pecan Danish gateau
one cheesecake

... though variations are always welcome!
They can be bought in advance (if a freezer is available for storage), or on the day. To allow for defrosting, it is usual to take them out of their packaging some time during the afternoon (once the turkey's dealt with) and leave them on plates at room temperature.
Note, of course, that nobody should be allowed to start on dessert until the washing-up from the soup and main course is finished!

Last update 2001-10-26 by Mark Waller
Version 1.0