Post in collaboration with Iceland Foods
A festive soiree with Luxury Food & Platters combined with hints and tips for using frozen food to make your festive entertaining easier. This Christmas let Iceland and the #PowerOfFrozen take the strain and help give you the best gift you can have: time with family and friends.
Can I make a confession? As much as I love cooking it's the last thing I want to be doing at Christmas. At the most wonderful time of the year I want to be spending my time making memories with family and friends, not slaving over a hot stove. Does that make me a bad food blogger? I hope Santa doesn't think so! In an ideal world I want to be socialising in my little black dress with a glass of fizz in hand not sweating it out in the kitchen bedecked in a novelty festive apron. So how to help make this happen? The secret is the #PowerOfFrozen. Serving up freezer food to festive guests would once have been considered the ultimate social faux-pas. However times have changed and so has frozen food.
I've been working with Iceland for almost two years now helping to change perceptions of frozen foods and share the #PowerOfFrozen message. Prior to this I'd really only ever shopped there at Christmas for party food (surely we all remember the ubiquitous Kery Katona and the infamous Prawn Ring?!) Over the last two years Iceland have worked hard to up their game, change perceptions and increase their product range and I've been delighted to have been on that journey with them. They've certainly succeeded in changing my own perceptions of both frozen food and themselves as a brand. I reckon that they have surpassed themselves with this year's range of award winning and luxury products which can help you (and me!) create an impressive, elegant and showstopping party spread for whatever the festive occasion.
Even Nigella Lawson says "Your best friend at this time of year is your freezer". I'm not sure if the ultimate domestic goddess means that she'll be shopping at Iceland but I'm going to take her at her word whatever the intention. And if truth be told I will also be making plenty of Christmas food from scratch and popping it in the freezer in advance of the big day. With all that in in mind here's my reasons why you should use frozen food at Christmas and my top tips for doing so.
Why use Frozen Food at Christmas
- Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with friends and family
- Frozen food can help reduce food waste as unlike fresh food it does not go off within days.
- Buying frozen ingredients saves time without breaking the bank.
- Can help you to cater for all dietary requirements with gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options.
- Ideal for unexpected guests and impromptu get togethers, particularly as many products can be cooked straight from frozen.
- An extra hand in the kitchen is always welcome (if only frozen food could help with the washing up)
- With a well stocked freezer you won't have to brave the dreaded Christmas Eve supermarket shop
- Frozen food can help you access luxury products you'd never consider buying fresh and preparing yourself such as lobster and crab
Top Tips for using Frozen Food at Christmas
- Check and double check which foods can be cooked from frozen and which need to be defrosted.
- When buying frozen party food check that it can all be cooked at (roughly) the same oven temperature.
- Always put an egg wash (or even milk wash) on frozen sausage rolls or similar pastry products before cooking to give them a tempting shine.
- Avoid serving catastrophes by removing desserts from their packaging whilst they are still frozen and onto the dishes you’ll be serving them on.
- For a homemade touch, garnish savoury dishes with with fresh herbs, chutneys and pickles and for sweet treats decorate with fruit, berries or a sifting of icing sugar.
- Don't forget to buy Ice Cubes. Your G&T with the Queens Speech just won't be the same without them.
- If you want to pretend that you made it all yourself from scratch be sure to hide the packaging well!
As an extended family we always have a 'party food' lunch on Christmas Day. This follows breakfast of Smoked Salmon, Scrambled Eggs, Croissants and Champagne and precedes a traditional Christmas Dinner served late afternoon. I picked up a selection of Iceland Luxury Food & Platters for a trial run. My kids were well impressed with an impromptu midweek festive soiree for just the four of us Those that caught my eye instore within the £3 or any two for £5 range were:
We tried out the Chicken Nachos with Salsa Dip and the Chicken and Chorizo Cups. Both went down really well with the kids yet were sophisticated enough for adult tastes. Of those yet to try I reckon I've hit gold with the Extra Mature Vintage Cheddar Soufflettes. These were the winner of Best supermarket Christmas canapés in the olive Christmas supermarket awards 2017 with the following comment - You cook these canapés straight from frozen (which is a bonus in our books) and they come out of the oven beautifully light and fluffy, with just the right whack of cheese.
Out traditional Christmas Eve meal is a Fish Pie and for starters with we opt for a selection of seafood based nibbles. The Mini Crab Mac and Cheese above would also work really well for this but for for our test run I purchased:
My teenage son is a big sushi fan and given full reign of the kitchen would happily spend a whole day making it. However that ain't going to be happening at this time of year! This sushi platter is a most acceptable substitute, it's not on a par with freshly made but it sure beats the rather dried up offerings found in supermarket chiller cabinets - and it made a fantastic Christmas tree! The smoked Salmon snowflake terrine was so pretty and the creamy mousse delicious. However I should have taken my own (and admittedly the packaging...) advice and popped it out whilst it was still frozen - I'll know for next time. However for me the real factor came from the Coconut Leaf Prawn Parcels. I have quite literally never seen the likes of these! You can either cook them from frozen in a steamer for 10 minutes or pop them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. So unusual, super tasty and a real talking point at only £4 for eight parcels.
Do let me know in the comments your reasons to have a frozen Christmas plus share any further tips on how to do so. But for now please Eat, Drink and be Merry this Christmas and let the #PowerOfFrozen take the strain. I most certainly will be!
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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Iceland Foods. As always, all views expressed are my own.
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