A Beautiful Christmas with Le Creuset

Whether you are planning a traditional Christmas with all the trimmings, or an Aussie style BBQ feast, these Le Creuset enamel dishes are perfect for all your needs: marinating, roasting or presenting your food in elegant style. I love the classic and timeless look of Le Creuset design: the smooth ceramic dishes are made in a lovely selection of glossy colours and feature large handles for easy carrying. Freezer and dishwasher safe, the dishes come in three sizes: 19cm, 26cm and 32cm. The 32cm dish is a good size for roasting vegetables so they can be spread out to achieve perfectly crisp results on the outside. The 26cm dish is the perfect size for a casserole style side dish for your Christmas table. It is deep and sturdy so actually holds much more than it would seem at first glance. I was drawn to the 19cm dish because it’s a unique size for a rectangular baking dish. I’m often wanting a smaller size dish to serve more delicate foods such as fresh peas, wilted greens or even casserole style dishes for a smaller group of 2-3 people. This dish is also a nice size for making large terrines and pates.

Classic French Inspired Dishes for Elegant Le Creuset Style

French cooking goes hand-in-hand with Le Creuset Cookware and dishes. I knew a classic Potato Dauphinoise would cook and present beautifully in one of my dishes. This dish is so luxurious, yet comforting all at the same time. It would go well with fish, lamb or beef so is a perfect side dish for entertaining. Chicken Liver Parfait can be easily made ahead and served as a starter in the smaller 19cm dish. Guests can either help themselves buffet style, or you can present neat slices on each individual starter plate. I love the nod towards Christmas flavours with the addition of fresh ginger and port in this recipe. Besides, it’s always nice to have some port on hand at Christmas time! Despite having a luxurious feel, both these dishes are extremely economical to make and both are recommended to be prepared in advance, taking some stress out of your Christmas preparations.

Chicken Liver Parfait with Ginger and Port

Serves 8-10 in a 19cm terrine dish.

• 1 kg chicken livers
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 150 ml port
• 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, stripped from the stalks
• 150 ml cream
• 2 tbsp butter, plus 100g for clarifying later
• 3-4 small bay leaves for decoration

Instructions:

A day or two before you want to serve, make the parfait. Trim the livers of any white sinew. Heat a knob of butter with the thyme in a frying pan until bubbly and foaming. Add the chicken livers in two batches so the pan isn’t crowed and they brown properly. Cook for 2 minutes each side or until a nice brown colour on the outside yet still quite pink in the middle. Set into a blender/food processor. To the pan, add the other tablespoon of butter, ginger and the shallots. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the port to the frying pan to deglaze. Stir well and let it bubble over a medium/high heat until reduced by two thirds. Add the contents of the pan to the blender along with the chicken livers. Blend for several minutes to ensure the pate is smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to catch any lumps. Pour into a terrine dish and set aside while you make the clarified butter topping: Heat a small saucepan and slowly melt the 100g butter. Once melted, you will see the milk solids separate and rise to the top from the clear clarified butter. With a spoon, skim off the milk solids from the top. Pour the clear butter on top of the parfait. It should cover it completely. I like to add some young bay leaves for decoration: you can press them down on top of the parfait so that they stay submerged under the butter. Cover with cling film and set in the fridge until ready to serve.

NOTES

• This can also be made well in advance and frozen. The Le Creuset dishes are freezer safe so it can be stored directly inside and taken out to defrost in the fridge the day before you want to serve.
• If you have a high-speed blender, such as a Thermomix, you can skip the passing through a sieve. Do let it run on a high speed for a couple of minutes to make sure the parfait is silky smooth.

Classic Dauphinoise Potatoes

Serves 6-8 in a 26cm dish

• 1.5 kg potatoes
• 400 ml cream
• 100 ml whole milk
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• 70g grated gruyere
• 30g finely grated parmesan

Wash and peel the potatoes. Using a mandolin, slice the potatoes on the finest setting and set aside. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F. In a large pot, heat the cream, milk, garlic, mustard, nutmeg and salt slowly on medium until just boiling. Add the potatoes and let simmer for about 5 minutes to heat through. Turn them gently a couple of times so that the ones at the top have a chance to heat up in the liquid. Grease a dish with the tablespoon of butter - you can use melted butter and a brush or simply spread with paper towel like below Pour the potatoes and cream mixture into the dish and gently arrange and press the slices down so that they are lying flat. Top with the cheeses. Let cook in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the potatoes are very soft.

NOTES:

• Using a mandolin is key to creating thin slices that cook evenly and present in lovely neat layers.

• I recommend cooking this the day before, allow to cool completely then cover in the fridge with foil and place a weight on top overnight. The next day, heat in a warm oven for 20/30 minutes before serving.

To make this recipe, I used the Le Creuset 18cm Coastal Blue Signature Dish and Le Creuset 26cm Coastal Blue Signature Dish . Both these dishes are perfect for marinating, baking, roasting or even just serving. All of Le Creuset Stoneware comes backed by a 5 year warranty.