Tasty chicken/turkey

4 cups sugar
3 cups salt
3 bulbs garlic, halved
2 Lemons, Sliced
1/4 cup whole peppercorns
1/4 cup coriander seeds
Large bunch rosemary

All all ingredients to one liter (4 1/2 cups) of water and cook over medium heat until salt and sugar have dissolved.

Once you have your brine, pour the mixture, along with eight additional liters (34 cups) and chicken/turkey into your brine container. Cover and refrigerate between 16 to 24 hrs.

Pat dry

Pre-Heat oven to 425

Lemon herb compound butter:
2 sticks unsalted butter
zest of one whole lemon
sprigs rosemary and thyme

chop herbs and combine with zest and butter and mix until soft and combined.

Place vegetables (Celery, Carrots, Garlic, Onion, Potatoes, Leeks) in a roasting pan
oil and salt and pepper vegetables liberally.

add aromatics in cavity of chicken (Garlic, Celery, Carrot, Onion, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon)

butter skin and meat of chicken with compound butter.

place chicken upside down on the bed of vegetables and cook on 425 for 25 mins

then place chicken right-side up cook on 425 for 25 mins then lower heat to 400 and cook for 45 mins or until the internal temp of chicken reaches 180 degrees.

Yule chocolate log

Ingredients
butter , for greasing
5 eggs
140g light muscovado sugar
100g self-raising flour
25g good quality cocoa powder such as Green & Black's or Oxfam Fairtrade
caster sugar , for dusting


285ml/9½fl oz carton double cream
450g fondant chocolate , such as Lindt Lindor
icing sugar , for dusting


Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter and line the base and sides of a 30 x 35cm Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.
Separate the eggs, putting them into two large mixing bowls. Add the sugar and 2 tbsp water to the egg yolks. Using an electric whisk or tabletop mixer, whisk the sugar and yolks for about 5 mins until the mixture is light in colour and thick enough to leave a trail when the whisk blades are lifted. Sift in the flour and cocoa, then fold in lightly, using the whisk blades or a large metal spoon.

Using a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until they are stiff, then fold into the cake mixture in three batches, again using the blades to preserve as much air as possible.

Pour the mixture evenly over the prepared tin, then carefully spread to the edges. Bake for 10-12 mins, or until the cake feels firm to the touch. Put a large sheet of baking parchment on the work surface and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Turn the cake out onto the parchment and peel off the lining paper. Cover with a clean tea towel, then leave to cool completely. Trim a little cake from all the edges, then score along the edge of one of the long sides of the cake and roll up from there, using the paper to help you, rolling the paper inside the cake.

To make the icing and filling, bring the cream to the boil in a small pan, remove from the heat, then break in 400g of the chocolate. Stir until it is melted and smooth. Leave to cool, then chill until it is spreadable, about 1 hr. Chop the remaining chocolate, spoon a third of the icing into a bowl, then stir them together to make the filling.
Carefully unroll the cake, then spread all the filling over to within 2cm of the edges. Roll up the cake again using the paper to help you, then set on a board.

Cut a thick diagonal slice off one end of the cake. Transfer the larger piece of cake to a board or flat serving plate. Spread a little icing over cut side of the small piece of cake and fix it to the large roll to make a stump (as photo). Spread remaining icing over the cake, then dust with icing sugar to serve.

Poached pears and spiced red wine

Ingredients

Ingredients
1 vanilla pod
1 bottle red wine
225g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick , halved
fresh thyme sprig , plus sprigs to seve
6 pears , peeled, but kept whole with stalk intact

Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.

Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig