In These Stilettos

This succulent Cranberry Orange Chicken followed by a decadent white chocolate and raspberry “pot du creme”, officially signals that Holiday season has begun. No matter what you’re celebrating this year, you’ll probably end up cooking a large meal or two for your family during the holiday’s and lets face it, in Africa, with the heat of our December, the last place we want to be is sweating it out in a hot kitchen. We always had debates in my family growing up over the “traditional Christmas meals” versus something lighter due to the hot weather. We almost always ended up with a combination of both. Thankfully, with Instant Pot around, we don’t have to worry about spending hours in the kitchen anymore.

I’ve been fortunate enough to spend a few Christmas periods over in the USA (and thanksgiving) and I’m proud to say I have mastered the art of succulent turkey, when people say they are dry and unflavourful I beg to disagree. My initial thought was a cranberry orange turkey, however, the Instant Pot however is a little too small to fit an entire turkey, and I certainly wasn’t going to cut off leg and wing portions (hint hint woolies, I see you have the mince now, please sell the pieces too). After some back and forth, I settled on chicken. I knew I wanted to incorporate Cranberries, and I adore the combination of cranberry and orange, it’s just so festive. Even my husband, who is not a fan of “fruit with food”, polished this off. Keep reading for the full recipe.

Mains – Orange Cranberry Chicken with a Balsamic Glaze

You’ll remember that I previously cooked a rotisserie style chicken in the Instant Pot and it is absolutely glorious. So incredibly moist that it falls off the bone, (you can see the recipe up on my Instagram highlights). The first secret to a really great chicken, my mother in law taught me this, is to use a good quality, organic free range chicken. Happy chickens are tasty chickens 🙂 I bathed this chicken in butter, balsamic glaze, freshly squeezed orange and salt and pepper. Stuff fresh rosemary under the skin and into the cavity of the chicken, along with a cup of cranberries and sliced orange. Brown the chicken on both sides by using the saute function of your Instant Pot.

Add your metal trivet stand and a cup of chicken stock into the bottom of the pot along with a big handful of baby carrots. This will not only steam your chicken but will create the most delicious gravy. Chuck in another handful of cranberries for good measure and place your chicken on top of the carrots.

Make sure the lid is closed securely and the steam vent is set to “sealed.” Select the “Poultry” button with high pressure, and a cook time of 38 minutes (dependent on the size of your bird). Finish with a natural release of about 20 minutes. Carefully remove the chicken. If you prefer a crisper skin, which clearly we do; brush the chicken again with the balsamic butter glaze and pop it under the grill for a few minutes. The Balsamic creates the most glorious brown, crispy edge to the skin. Meanwhile remove the carrots and saute the remaining liquid, with a little cornflour to thicken up.

Decorate a serving platter with some fresh cranberries, orange slices, and rosemary, to help showcase your gorgeous Instant Pot Whole Chicken. 

Dessert – White Chocolate “Pot du Creme” topped with Raspberry Coulis

Now lets move onto the good stuff…. the dessert. A recipe so easy I literally had to good it twice to make sure I wasn’t missing something !

While my grandparents were alive, Christmas pudding was an absolute must, Christmas cake always featured as well, but the Christmas pudding “Brandy pudding”, was always set alight by my grandfather, with all the grand-kids looking on in amazement. Everyone crossed fingers that they would get “the penny”. I, however, am absolutely not a fan. There’s something about “fruit mince” that I despise (so mince pies are off the menu too), I prefer lighter, cooler dishes and trio of berries pavlova almost always features on my Christmas Menu.

I haven’t quite figured out how to do a meringue dish in my instant pot (yet), but I did keep the white and red colours going with this glorious dessert, so keep reading until the end. This is honestly the easiest dessert I have EVER made, and one that I will repeat again and again.

This recipe uses the perfect blend of rich white chocolate and fresh, bright raspberries for a simply irresistible treat. Whether it’s a hot summer day or a winter evening in front of the fire, this fabulously easy dessert is a winner.

All you have to do is blend together some white chocolate with egg yolk, lemon zest and vanilla extract and blend in some warm heavy cream to gently melt the chocolate. Divide into some ramekin dishes and pour a cup of water into the bottom of your Instant Pot. Set to 0 minutes on manual and natural release for 5 minutes. It’s a make ahead dessert so you need to refrigerate it for about 4 hours. Blitz up some raspberries to make a simple coulis to top. Sit back and watch all your guests lick their bowls 🙂

Gone are the days of long, complicated Christmas Dinners. Thankfully, with Instant Pot in hand, families can spend a little more “together time” and less time fighting about whose turn it is to do what.

*White Chocolate Pot du Creme recipe originally found from Chop Secrets.

**Collaboration with Instant Pot**