Jamie Oliver: Jamie's Christmas [DVD]

Had this years ago. Lost it so had to replace it. The cooking cards and dvd Is a must for the perfect Christmas dimner

A fantastic Christmas food DVD from Jamie Oliver. He makes it look so easy and things take such little time - it never really works out like this for most of us in reality! However, Jamie is overflowing with his fluid style of controlled chaos - you always know he is going to get the job done.Most of the DVD is about preparing food one day or a few days before Christmas. This is probably the best tip of all, as no matter how good you are in the kitchen, if you leave things too late - especially the turkey - you will probably fail. The turkey preparation takes centre stage, and Jamie is full of useful and inventive tips to make sure it is cooked properly - cooking times, methods of stuffing, inserting butter under the skin and laying vegetables underneath are just some of his great ideas. By the end, almost every single part of the turkey has been used for something!Also, a wide selection of of boiled, steamed, roasted and mashed vegetables are prepared in inventive ways. Jamie suggests using many different kinds of vegetables, including turnip or parsnip. And, flavoured butter - which can be stored for a long time - are a great idea for Christmas.I have to say he did seem to be using lots of salt - always sea salt - and loads of butter, and even dollops of goose fat. It did not look very healthy at times, but after all - it is Christmas!The extras section contains some last minute ideas, including a simple and quick salmon starter which you can prepare whilst your guests are there (or at least Jamie can do it that quickly!). And classic rustic mince pies that did look very appetizing. Also, his tip of having extra gifts wrapped like CD's and bottles of wine for surprise guests is pretty useful and could get you out of a sticky situation.Jamie unveiled his best Christmas gift - the ultra-festive "Jamie's Christmas" woolen jumper from his Gran. It does not get any more Christmassy than this!

I bought this DVD for myself as I love all things Jamie Oliver... and no sooner had I watched it and sung its praises, my mother-in-law stole it (ok, she borrowed it) for her upcoming Xmas Dinner. Jamie does a fantastic job in presenting numerous dishes, snacks and the main star - the turkey - in a way that inspires the home cook and at the same time takes away any panic you may usually experience when having to cater such a feast for the entire family during the holiday season.The DVD includes printed cards for each recipe and shopping lists, and the program is filmed in a way that makes sense of timing: what can you prepare 2 days before Xmas? What about the day before? And what do you start with on the day, in the morning? It even includes a short segment on all the utensils you will need, so a week before you can head out to the shops and find any additional kitchen knick-knacks that make life easier (how did I ever live without a food processor in my life? I can't remember...) Jamie's guide to preparing a stress-free Christmas menu is fabulous and easy... even an inexperienced cook can follow his recipes and instructions, and his presentation style is as usual rustic, but beautiful nonetheless.But as they say: the proof is in the eating. My mother-in-law and I grabbed the laptop and actually "cooked along" real time with this DVD. We made the turkey, we made the stuffing, and my absolute favourite is the chilli-roast pumpkin. I make these a lot, not just for Christmas!To conclude: there are a lot of Christmas recipe books and DVDs out there, but I doubt that there's another that makes the whole "palaver" of big, special family meals so much fun, so carefree, so worry-free, and so delicious!

I got this DVD, as, in a moment of madness, we invited both sets of parents & some of the in laws round for Christmas dinner & then as it got nearer, panic ensued (in the end there were eleven people wanting fed on the day)This DVD was indispensible - I didn't use all the recipes but those I did use were excellent. However, where this DVD really scores is the hints,tips & excellent advice Jamie gives in terms of preperation & organisation.I followed his suggestions as far as possible & it made life so much easier - I really appreciated how much easier on Christmas morning when I had the goose in the oven & then had almost no food preperation to do until about an hour or so before the bird was ready to serve (as I had,as Jamie directed, done most of it the day before !)Great DVD (very reassuring - you really CAN cope !!) & the recipe / advice cards are also tip top.My advice (if you are doing Christmas dinner this year ) is buy, buy, buy !! I really can't emphasise how helpful this DVD is. I think even if you are a seasoned veteran of preparing Christmas dinner, then some of the recipes will still be a revelation (the herby butters are a lovely idea). Worth getting a little in advance of Christmas, to allow you to use it to it's optimum - Thanks Jamie, this helped make my Christmas a rip roaring success.

I bought this dvd when it was originally released in 2005. Unfortunately I managed to lose the recipe cards, so I was pleased to find this dvd again.