It's the most wonderful time of the year!
The festive season is almost upon us and we've been blessed by the telly Gods with all manner of heart-warming Christmas adverts making us feel all fuzzy inside.
We've had a chat with Aldi's lovable carroty characters to find out how to cook the best ever Christmas lunch – with a few handy hints and cheats! Read on for how to prepare your most delicious turkey dinner yet…
Off to a great start
We reckon having to coordinate an entire Christmas dinner and all the trimmings means that cheating slightly with the starter is allowed. Make life easy for yourself and stock up at Aldi to wow the family.
Choose from show-stopping Specially Selected Fish & Seafood Verrines (on sale now) with a choice of oak-smoked salmon layered with vibrant beetroot pickle, scrumptious prawns and hot smoked salmon, or luxurious crab pâté, creamy cheese and crème fraiche mousse topped with juicy prawns.
Both are served in stylish verrine glasses for the incredible price of just £3.49 for two.
If you're looking to serve up a hot starter, opt for the indulgent Specially Selected Scallop & King Prawn Ramekins (on sale from December 19) where sweet queen scallops nestle with king prawns in a Veuve Monsigny Champagne, Dijon mustard and parmesan veloute.
Topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and chives these individual terracotta ramekins, are the perfect Christmas starter and all you need to do is pop them in the oven.
The star of the show
No dried out old birds here, thanks! We'll be following Katie's lead and bringing one of Aldi's prize-winning Exquisite Rumburgh Farm turkeys (on sale from December 19) overnight in a bath of sugar, salt, water and festive flavours - think clementine, onion, allspice berries and bay (no carrots!) - for the ultimate in succulence.
Simply Mix 7g chopped fresh thyme, 40g chopped dried cranberries, 1 crushed garlic clove and the zest of one clementine with 200g softened salted butter and plenty of salt and pepper.
Then all you need to do is criss-cross the breast with a bacon or pancetta lattice and check out Aldi's simple turkey cooking time calculator online.
We'll leave the carving to Kevin; our work here is done.
Everybody's favourite part of Christmas dinner, get your roasties perfectly on point this year with this can't-fail recipe:
About 1kg of Maris Piper potatoes will feed around 4 people, but always overestimate!
Quarter, then parboil for 5 minutes, adding a generous pinch of paprika, sea salt and three whole garlic cloves for extra flavour.
Drain well and shake vigorously in the pan or a metal colander to really rough up the exterior. This makes for the crispiest, most mouthwatering potatoes.
reheat your oven to 200C and add your choice of fat to a large baking tray, popping it in the oven to get really hot.
100ml of sunflower oil is fine, or splash out on Aldi's Specially Selected Goose Fat for a touch of luxury.
After 5 minutes, carefully add the potatoes and garlic and cook for around 45 minutes, turning every 15-20 minutes until golden and crunchy.
Delicious!
And Kevin has another top tip! 'Keep checking in store for the Super Six of the week.'
'Potatoes, sprouts, parsnips and more will be at rock bottom prices for you to stock up on all the festive favourites.'
Top trimmings
Christmas lunch means going all out with the sides, from perfect gravy (make it a week ahead and freeze!) to sumptuous stuffing and tempting veggie dishes.
We love the Aldi Specially Selected British Outdoor Bred Pork, Bramley Apple & Cranberry Stuffing Yule Log (on sale from December 19) which has won the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for its higher welfare British pork, tangy redcurrant confit and beautifully hand-decorated bacon lattice design.
Pep up your sprouts with festive flavours like chestnut and bacon, or try baking them in a rich gruyere sauce. Even the most reluctant sprout eater will be reaching for seconds if you try wrapping each par boiled sprout in Aldi's Specially Selected Parma ham. Form into a ball and roast at 180C for 10-15 minutes until crispy.
And Katie says 'don't forget the sauces!' Whip up your own bread sauce by studding a large onion with cloves, leaving it to infuse in a pan of milk with some bay leaves and nutmeg, before straining and adding a few handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs.
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