Pro tips for a great family Christmas: Foodies’ insights and recipes

Trudy Ahern and Seán Gargano, MacCurtain Wine Cellar, Cork

Trudy and Seán opened MacCurtain Wine Cellar in Cork’s Victorian quarter in April 2022 as a wine shop that morphs into an evening wine bar. The couple met 15 years ago while working in Dublin’s restaurant scene – she as a restaurant manager in the likes of Eden and Etto, and he as a sommelier, drinks buyer and bar manager with The Winding Stair group.

Their plan was always to return to Trudy’s native Co Cork with their children, Lauren, who is now 11, and seven-year-Eoin, and the pandemic gave them the impetus to make that move. They divide their time between working in Cork city and living in Kinsale.

How will you spend Christmas this year?

Seán: We’re always super busy up right up to Christmas Eve, which we’ve always worked, and then it’s home to relax with the kids and lots of nice food, and invite the neighbours around for a glass of Champagne.

I grew up in the USA in an Italian-American family, so I love to cook something like braciole (flank of beef stuffed with breadcrumbs and cheese, and braised in tomato sauce) the night before Christmas Eve and then we can just heat it up. And then we head to Trudy’s family on Christmas morning.

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What will take centre-stage on the Christmas table?

Trudy: It’ll be a very traditional Irish Christmas dinner for about 20 people, with turkey and braised cabbage, turnip and carrot purée, garlic potatoes, mashed potatoes, and roast Brussels sprouts with pancetta.

Seán: And my home-made cranberry sauce, which I can’t have Christmas without. I make it very simply with fresh cranberries, clementine zest and juice, port and sugar, but it’s so good – sweet and sour, citrusy and with depth from the port.

What drinks do you enjoy with the Christmas meal?

Seán: We always bring the wine and we always go very classic for Christmas, with a white Burgundy and a red Piemonte, and a really good, interesting grower Champagne to start. We’re restaurant people so we know how to celebrate – and Christmas should be the ultimate celebration, so we go for the best that we can afford for this one time of year.

What food memory sums up your own individual childhood Christmas?

Trudy: Tom Durcan’s spiced beef from the English market, which was always part of the traditional Christmas dinner, served warm alongside the roast ham and turkey.

Seán: Because my family do turkey for Thanksgiving, we never do it again at Christmas so instead we’d change it up every year – maybe with a rib roast or pork – but we’d always start with a big Italian-American-style spread of cold cuts of salami and prosciutto and burrata with olives and artichokes and marinated veg and shrimp cocktail.

What are your favourite foods and drinks to share over the Christmas holidays?

Trudy: I love baking at Christmas. Every year myself and the children make Snickerdoodles, which are a really buttery cookie that are full of sugar and cinnamon and ginger. We started making them because they were Lauren’s favourite cookies but they’re also Santa’s favourite, so we make them for him and we make up little bags of them to give to our elderly neighbours on Christmas Eve.

Seán: I make both a white mulled wine and a red mulled wine. I’ve worked on my recipes over the years. The red mulled wine is fresh and cleaner than most: the trick is not to leave it simmering away on the stove, as you’ll lose all the lovely aromatics into the air. Instead keep it in the fridge and reheat gently just before serving. And I always pop some into bottles (we recycle old milk bottles) as gifts, decorated with a snip of the Christmas tree and a ribbon.

I love to make a hot buttered whiskey too, which is a very traditional drink that was the precursor to the hot whiskey. My favourite whiskeys are Green Spot, Powers John Lane or Redbreast 12, which already have those Christmas spice notes from the PX and port barrels – and then you top it up with hot water and add a spoonful of this whipped spiced butter with brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s great with chestnuts and Trudy’s famous Snickerdoodles.

What are your craftiest hacks for entertaining at Christmas?

Trudy: Because we’re always so busy right up to Christmas, anything we can, we’ll make in advance, whether that’s braising meats or pre-baking cookies. On Christmas Eve I make a slow-rise dough for cinnamon rolls, which I leave overnight in the fridge and then I can pop them into the oven on Christmas morning to bake as we’re opening presents – and it smells amazing.

• See maccurtainwine.ie/menu for more no-cook sharing plate inspiration.

Recipe

Lemon, chilli and garlic courgette with Macroom ricotta on toasted crostini

This is a very simple, no-cook recipe that we serve at the restaurant. You can easily halve or double this recipe depending on size of your party. The courgette ‘ceviche’ will last for days in an airtight container in the fridge, though it is at its best after 24 hours.

Ingredients:

(Makes about 25 crostini)

3 medium courgettes

table salt

2–3 lemons

2 large garlic cloves, crushed or finely minced

1/2 –1 teaspoon crushed chilli

500g Macroom Buffalo Ricotta

100g creme fraiche

ground Aleppo pepper (or a hot paprika, or Schichimi Togarashi seasoning)

Pecorino or Cais na Tire cheese

to serve

sourdough baguettes

good olive oil

Method:

1. Slice the courgette into thin discs. Sprinkle with plenty of table salt and mix well. Place in a colander in the sink or over a bowl to drain and wilt for at least an hour. Check the courgettes for seasoning, as a lot of the salt will have drained off with the liquid.

2. Juice two lemons into a bowl, add the minced garlic and chilli flakes and mix well. Toss the courgettes in the lemon marinade, ensuring it is well covered; you may need to juice an extra lemon. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours but preferably overnight. It will keep happily and even improve for up to four days in the fridge.

3. In a stand mixer, whip the ricotta, crème fraîche and the zest of two lemons. Taste for seasoning, adding salt if needed, and check consistency, which should be smooth but firm enough to hold in an oval quenelle shape. (This is dependent on the moisture in your ricotta; if it is very wet use half the crème fraîche and see how you go.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.

4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Slice baguettes 2cm thick, drizzle with olive oil and toast on baking sheet until crisp and lightly golden. Allow to cool. Once fully cool, these will keep well in an airtight container for a day or two.

5. When ready to serve, cover each crostini with a generous layer of the courgettes. Scoop about 15–20g of ricotta mixture into a quenelle shape, using two spoons to mould this into a rugby-ball shape, and place on top on the courgettes. Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper, if using, and generously grate Pecorino or Cais na Tire cheese over the whole plate. Drizzle with the best olive oil you have and serve.

Majken Bech-Bailey and Jordan Bailey, hospitality consultants at Bech-Bailey

Majken and Jordan are a Danish-Cornish couple living in Naas, Co Kildare, with their baby daughter Evig. They met 10 years ago in Denmark and lived in Norway before moving to Ireland six years ago to open Aimsir restaurant, with Majken front of house and Jordan running the kitchen.

It secured two Michelin stars within its first year and established the couple as two of the most exciting culinary and hospitality talents working in Ireland. Today they run Bech-Bailey, a hospitality consultancy and event catering company that runs exceptional pop-up restaurant residencies at the likes of Carton House and Slane Castle.

How will you spend Christmas this year?

We are very busy in run-up to the Christmas period but we always take the time at Christmas to travel home to family. This year we are doing something different and travelling to Norway, way up near the Arctic Circle, together with close friends and family.

Christmas for us is very much about spending time together with loads of good food and drinks. This year we are bringing together a mix of both our families and friends so we will be mixing up all different Christmas traditions.

What will take centre-stage on the Christmas table?

We are having three different meals over Christmas this year. Christmas Eve is Jordan’s birthday so we are having a traditional Danish Christmas dinner, with a whole roasted duck, boiled potatoes, caramelised potato, braised red cabbage, brown sauce and potato crisps.

On the 25th we will celebrate Christmas the traditional English and Irish way: roast turkey, with loads of different roasted vegetables and stuffing and so on – and also pigs in blankets (small sausages wrapped in streaky bacon), which Jordan adores.

Then on the 26th we make the most of the leftovers from Christmas lunch with a buffet where everyone can help themselves and make their own sandwiches.

What drinks do you love to serve with the Christmas meal?

We always love to start Christmas with a glass of Champagne, ideally a terroir-driven grower Champagne from someone like Benoit Marguit, who grows certified organic and biodynamic grapes, and uses very low SO2. And a good bottle of red is a must – something really special like a Cornas Renaissance 2018, which is a sustainably farmed and very elegant Syrah from the Northern Rhône region.

What food memory sums up your own individual childhood Christmas?

Majken: My absolute favourite thing as a child was to make Christmas candy, which we still do in our home every Christmas. We come together as a family, get some marzipan, nougat, different melted chocolates and make our own candy for Christmas Eve. We also love making Danish cocoa oat balls rolled in coconut which is so tasty and amazing to make with kids and a lovely present.

Jordan: The first thing that comes to mind is the Christmas pudding. My mother always put too much brandy over it and in our house there was always a fight between me and my three brothers about who should light it. This hasn’t changed and we still fight about it every year.

What is your favourite food to enjoy over the Christmas period?

The best thing of all time is a Norwegian waffle with sour cream, chives and caviar. It’s such a treat and a tradition for us to have with Champagne for New Year while we watch the Danish Queen’s New Year speech. In the time leading up to Christmas we normally make æbleskiver – literally translating as ‘apple slices’, it’s like a ball-shaped pancake served with jam and icing sugar.

And your favourite drink for the Christmas holidays?

Mulled wine, the Danish way, made with loads of Christmas herbs, orange, cherry wine, and a little addition of schnapps to keep you warm.

What are your smartest pro tips for entertaining at Christmas?

Prepare as much as possible and keep it simple. When you dress the table make sure it is fully set with water, white and red wine glasses so you don’t have to get up and look for them. I love dressing up the table for Christmas with a gorgeous tablecloth; I like traditional colours like red and green. Then I like to bring the nature in – I take pinecones and spray them with glitter to make them festive and place them along the table.

• Follow @bech_bailey for some behind-the-scenes inspiration from their regular pop-ups and residencies.

Recipe

Danish cocoa oat balls

Pack these into jam jars with a red bow for a really lovely gift idea that is very easy to make. Majken likes to use coffee but fruit juice works well too.

Ingredients:

(Makes about 30)

175g finely rolled oats

100g icing sugar

25g cocoa powder

100g soft butter

2 tbsp coffee, water or juice (orange or cranberry juice work well)

1 tbsp fresh orange zest

Desiccated coconut, to roll the balls in (or coconut flour, icing sugar or cocoa powder)

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Add in the soft butter and use a wooden spoon to bring it all together until it starts to bind.

3. Add coffee (or your choice of liquid) and mix again to incorporate.

4. Add orange zest and mix thoroughly so that the flavours are well distributed.

5. Take a spoonful of the mixture and form a small ball; roll this in the desiccated coconut (or coconut flour, icing sugar or cocoa powder, if using). Repeat with the rest of the mixture.

6. Store the oatmeal balls in the refrigerator until serving, where they will keep well for up to a month.

Artie Clifford and Fallon Moore, Blas na hÉireann

Artie and Fallon are the father-and-daughter team behind the Blas na hÉireann food awards, which are announced at the Dingle Food Festival every year.

Artie and his wife Linda moved to Kerry when their daughters were young. His work as a fisherman was based in Dingle and after the couple fell in love with the town they made it their home. Artie and Linda still live there with their daughter Rachel, and Fallon lives nearby with her husband Mike and daughter Anna.

What food memory sums up your own individual childhood Christmas?

Fallon: Pâté. The ‘Christmas shop’ would bring all these extra goodies to the house, the minerals and the crisps but also the pâté in a little ceramic dish. This with crusty bread has always summed up the start of Christmas to me. I especially love pâté from On the Pig’s Back.

Artie: My very first taste of brandy butter, served with my mother’s Christmas pudding (the best) sliced cold and fried in butter.

How will you spend Christmas this year?

Artie: Christmas dinner is a moveable feast for the Cliffords. Linda is a healthcare worker and so to accommodate hospital shifts, we sometimes have the big day on a totally different day.

The traditions through Christmas week are so important, though. Christmas Eve is very much a day for families to go out for a Christmas drink together and meet neighbours and friends out with their families. And it’s a day to eat Ling Pie – a very traditional dish in Dingle for Christmas Eve, featuring salted ling with mashed potatoes and white sauce. Danno’s is the best spot to find it in.

Fallon: I love the lead-up to Christmas from mid-December as we wind down after sending out our Blas Boxes. There is such a luxury in having time to prep for parties and home-made gifts for friends.

Then that movable feast allows us to get time with both sides of the family and also friends. We always have at least one full day of an open house with lots of food and drinks. It’s a lovely day: noisy, chaotic and full of laughter and fun.

What will take centre-stage on the Christmas table?

Artie: We mix it up year to year: a favourite is Beef Wellington, as that was our wedding meal, but we do always cook a traditional turkey and ham with sausage-meat stuffing, as my favourite dish over the festive season is the sandwiches.

The 26th for me is very special, when we tuck into the cold cuts with all the extras that just lift them up: chutneys, pickles, relishes, delicious breads and smoked onion mayo. Add some home-made potato salad and maybe a nice cold beer.

And what drinks do you enjoy with the Christmas meal?

Our work with Blas na hÉireann lets us discover new Irish producers all the time. We love a robust red with the dinner but it’s really about the gorgeous drinks that can top and tail the day.

The Valentia Spritz is the perfect start to the day, especially when we are just landing back to the fire at home after our Christmas swim and everyone is busy chatting and cooking.

What is your favourite food to enjoy over the Christmas period?

Artie: Topside spiced beef – both my parents’ families were from Cork so it was always on the table at Christmas, and cooked on Christmas Eve. When we can smell that in the house it is officially Christmas.

Fallon: Big breakfasts with family and friends, as it’s almost always a time that people can call. We love to do a breakfast hash, with Micilín Muc sausages, Annascaul pudding, shredded Christmas ham, leftover roast potatoes (chopped and toasted in the pan) and mixed in a big bowl with spinach. It’s such an easy dish to ramp up for a big group, topped with an egg and some roasted tomatoes, and then you just have to pour the coffee and spend the rest of the day topping up the coffee and chatting.

And your favourite drink for the Christmas holidays?

Artie: It has to be the ‘Christmas milk’. Five Farms Cream Liqueur, made in Co Cork using milk from just five family farms who work as a co-operative, and blended with triple-distilled Irish whiskey – it is delicious and the bottle looks gorgeous on the counter, where we keep it to hand.

Fallon: I love cocktails at Christmas, when the house is spick and span, full of food and drinks, lights on and fire lit. There is always an Espresso Martini made at some point, and I’m excited to try it with the Copeland Coffee Liqueur which was new to the Blas award winners this year.

• See irishfoodawards.com for details of this year’s Christmas Blas Boxes, plus details of Blas na hEireann 2023 finalists and winners, and follow @blasnaheireann and @theirishkitchenshelf for more recipe ideas.

Recipe

Valentia Spritz

We can’t choose which Valentia Spritz we love best, so we’re giving you both recipes. This first one couldn’t be simpler to make but is so delicious, thanks to the layers of flavours in the Valentia Island Vermouth.

Ingredients:

50ml Valentia Island Vermouth Ór

100ml Cava or Prosecco

2 slices of fresh orange

lots of ice

splash of soda (optional)

Method:

1. Pour a measure of vermouth into a generous wine glass and half fill with ice.

2. Top up with two measures of Prosecco or Cava, add a couple of slices of fresh orange, top up with a splash of soda and enjoy.

Valentia Spritz Royale

The cherry garnish and dash of liqueur make this twist on the simple spritz extra Christmassy.

Ingredients:

50ml Valentia Island Vermouth Ór

100ml Cava or Prosecco

Dash of cherry liqueur

Maraschino cherry, to garnish

Method:

1. Pour a measure of vermouth into a generous wine or gin and tonic glass, pop in a maraschino cherry and half fill with ice.

2. Top up with two measures of Prosecco or Cava, drizzle in a dash of cherry liqueur and enjoy.