Christmas 2024

 

Christmas Eve: All was merry and bright as we started with Wonton and Hot Sour soup and then joyously tucked into a scrumptious set meal from our favourite Chinese restaurant. Conversation ebbed and flowed as we munched dinner. 

Christmas Day: It was a mix of no fuss and carefree leisure to the start the day. Bakery cinnamon buns, yoghurt and mandarin oranges were breakfast. Buck Fizz and Christmas chocolates followed as we waited for guests to arrive.

Christmas dinner was traditional festive fare with a few added vegetables. It was a full house and full plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, lightly glazed carrots, steamed Brussels sprouts and steamed green beans. All nestled with gravy, cranberry sauce, I added some after I took this photo, and dashes of pepper. A selection of wine was poured to toast festive cheer. For dessert Stollen and my baking, which each guest left with a bundle of both.

Boxing Day: Relaxed, restful and quiet. It was a lovely day to be out and about and share nibbles later on. I made a tasty Chicken Moroccan Stew, which I will post about later, for us to warm up to which brought much comfort as we settled in for the evening. 

And of course our annual Fortnum's order arrived. Such a lovely selection of biscuits, teas, crackers, jams, honeys, pudding, sparkling tea and pickled olives. Christmas and the year ahead would not be complete without it!   

Leftovers #47 ~ Cornish Hen Hot Open

Holiday time can mean having plenty of leftovers and that means pulling an assortment of things to make a meal. This hot open sandwich was a great way to use those Christmas leftovers into a hearty meal with all the trimmings during the festive week.  

Hope everyone had a great weekend! - JD 

Christmas 2019

Christmas Eve, after we had our usual nibbles an drinkies at our local pub and a walk to enjoy the festive lights; we settle for some homemade tomato soup, a dinner roll and a glass of Fortnum and Mason's Sparkling Tea beverage, to close the night.  

Christmas Morning, for brunch we had a round of homemade cranberry almond scones with Devonshire cream and fresh fruit to keep us going until an early Christmas dinner. 

Christmas Dinner, was Cornish hens, Brussels sprouts with blood orange vinegar and mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing with lashings of gravy.

... and we rounded out our dinner with a slice of Fortnum and Mason's Figgy pudding. Although lashing of custard may have been in order, a slice unadulterated was perfect! 

Boxing Day, was a quiet one spent with friends. We offered some of the usual... cheese and biscuits, olives, dried fruit and of course, my baking. However, I did make a savoury galette, cranberry cocktail sausages and coronation chicken cups. 

What Christmas of ours, would not be complete, without our Fortnum and Mason's order. A nice sampling to enjoy now and throughout the year. Loads of decadent things... honey, sauces, hot mustard, tea, jams, marmalades, puddings, glacé fruit, coffee, biscuits, chocolate, anniversary Heinz ketchup, and sparkling tea beverages.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday time. Whether sharing, enjoying or relaxing, we had a lovely one! - JD     

Turkey Stuffing Potato Chips

These remind me of the roasted chicken crisps (potato chips), we find in England. The flavour wasn't too salty and mimicked a slightly roasted poultry flavour nicely. Pure novelty for the holiday season. 

- JD 

Christmas 2018

Christmas Eve we did a late night simple savoury snack of a bacon sandwich and apple slices because we had visited the local pub, earlier, and had a few drinks and nibbles there while meeting and greeting friends.

Christmas Day started with fresh fruit, eggnog muffins, coffee and a round of Bucks Fizz that kept us going until mid afternoon. 

Christmas Day dinner was more traditional then ever this year. Our late afternoon dinner was turkey, roasted vegetables (potato, carrots, brussel sprouts, and parsnips), stuffing, pickled cabbage, pickled onions, pickled walnuts and a lovely garlic chutney. 

Boxing Day we did our usual get together of close friends and shared an array of cheeses, meats, olives, dried fruit, my baking, of course, a vegan frittata and a minced beef Wellington, unfortunately not shown, as there was no room on the table. So that remained in the kitchen where guests could served themselves or we could serve them. We also had a wonderful mulled wine to enjoy and warm up to. As usual everyone left with a nice selection of my baking. It was a great afternoon... evening for all. 

... and of course no Christmas, of ours, may be complete without another tradition; that sees us throughout the year...  our Fortnum and Mason order. Last year, I forgot to post about our annual order... I may still have the photo somewhere. That being said, this year, I remembered and thought it would be appropriate to share within the Christmas/Holiday post. We ordered plenty of chutney's, sauces, preserves, biscuits, savouries, tea, coffee, Turkish Delight and a Single Malt Whisky Dundee cake to share and enjoy.     

Mulled Wine

When it's cold outside this will certainly keep you warm and toasty. Fragrant mulled spices and wine simply embody the many shared celebrations throughout the holiday season. 

Mulled Wine

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In a large stock pot, bring 1/2 litre of water and spice bag to the boil. Simmer for 15 minutes. 

Add 1 litre of red wine, a 1/2 litre of orange juice, 1 oz of brandy and sugar to taste.

Gently heat to serving temperature. Stirring constantly. Do not boil. 

Notes: spice bag - place cinnamon sticks  orange peel, all spice and cloves in a muslin cloth. Tie with string. If you do not want to create your own then any ready made or prepared mulled spice bag will do.

Hope everyone is done with their Holiday planning and preparing. Wishing you the Merriest! - JD 

New Year's Eve 2016 & New Year's Day 2017

We started New Year's Eve off with an early cocktail... the Ritz Bijou. Mellow with a crisp bite. Will post the recipe soon.  

Dinner was light; a ploughman's with plenty of options that carried us until the stroke of midnight. 

New Year's Day was cool and quiet and the California Gimlet was our pre-dinner cocktail. A solid vitamin C shot with a kick. Again, I will post the recipe soon.   

Dinner was slow cooker ham doused with apple bourbon barbeque sauce and surrounded by sliced apple and onion rings, buttery mashed potatoes and steamed brussel sprouts with a dash of white wine vinegar.  

Forgot to mention that our Christmas Fortnum & Mason order complimented our holiday nibbling and noshing.

Happy New Year, everyone! - JD 

Christmas 2016

Christmas Eve we had our traditional English fry-up. Eggs, baked beans, tomatoes and mushrooms, bacon, sausage, and toast. Hot English mustard was the condiment of choice. 

Christmas morning or should I say... late Christmas mid morning I made these scrumptious raspberry puff pastries with vanilla sugar on top. Easy to make and sweet; they kept us going along with the buck fizz until dinner was ready.  

Christmas Day dinner... we kept it very simple this year with a herbed beef and vegetable stew, dumplings and stuffing with bacon. Also a selection of Fortnum & Mason Christmas marzipan were enjoyed for dessert. 

And the fun didn't stop there, Boxing Day was celebrated with friends and all sorts of nibbles. 

Of course our guests left with a selection of my holiday baking.  

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas... Holiday! - JD  

Food Photo of the Day ~ Rum Balls

My husband and I had fun making these last night. Ran out of chocolate sprinkles therefore the remaining rum balls were dressed with multi coloured dots. The baking continues...

This week sure is flying by. Stay warm. - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Lemon Shortbread with Vanilla Sugar and Hibiscus Flowers

These lemon shortbread are divine. Gilded with vanilla sugar and dried hibiscus flowers on top these biscuits are bursting with lemon flavour. 

Make whatever shortbread recipe you like except add lemon extract to the butter and add the grated rind of 1 lemon to the dry ingredients. Add the butter to the dry ingredients. When dough has been shaped and flatten; sprinkle with vanilla sugar then the dried hibiscus flowers before baking. Enjoy because these will disappear fast!

I have made my infamous chocolate and chili shortbread which disappears fast too!  

Almost one week before Christmas so we are trying to accomplish many things. Baking and preparing are the priority. Which leads me to this quote... 

The colder temperatures are hanging on. Stay warm and have a great weekend everyone!  - JD 

Christmas 2015

Christmas Eve was our traditional English fry-up. Poached eggs, lean sausages, bacon, baked beans, mushrooms, tomato, onions, spinach and arugula and a Scotch bap. Plenty of brown sauce and a crisp white wine. 

Christmas Day dinner was mini beef Wellington's with seasoned oven roasted vegetables; potatoes, carrots and parsnips and a full bodied red wine. 

Boxing Day, we hosted a party at our house with close friends. A selection of cheese with biscuits and crackers, red wine salami, an array of dried fruit, olives, wasabi peas, olive spread with dill and onion bread, that was lightly toasted, Fortnum's Smackerels, green goddess dip with multigrain corn chips, a selection of my own baking and chocolate ginger thins... which are like those after dinner mint thins... After 8:00's however instead are filled with a lovely syrupy ginger filling. Non-alcoholic beverages and wine were on hand.  

All guests left with a homemade pumpkin loaf and an assortment of my holiday baking.

It was a lovely Christmas, shared with those near and dear ones, and I hope yours was too. - JD 

Food Photo of the Day ~ Candy Cane Bark

This was my daughter's creation, Candy Cane Bark. With only a few simple ingredients we created this sweet treat to share. Solid milk chocolate topped with white chocolate and crushed candy canes for some minty goodness. My son wasn't going to miss this opportunity and helped by keeping an eye on the chocolate as it melted and by placing a handful of crushed candy canes on top. They definitely had fun and enjoyed sampling once the everything had set.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend! - JD  

Fortnum and Mason ~ 2015

Christmas has come early because our annual Fortnum & Mason order has arrived. This year we were being particularly good and ordered a nice selection of Christmas themed jams, marmalade, coffee, tea, chutney, and mustard. Other delightful goodies included our usual tea, biscuits, crackers, fruitcake... disappointingly not the King George cake. It seems, Fortnum's did not offer it this year. Instead offering many Christmas puddings. I hope it's absence is not a permanent one. The King George fruitcake with be highly missed by all this year however I am sure the FitzGeorge fruitcake will do. Perhaps I should try and make a fruitcake myself. 

It is a lovely day... sun shining and an acceptable coolness to the air. I will be doing more baking and creating over the next few days. Have a good weekend everyone! - JD 

Holiday Nachos and Boxing Day Pizza

Having a bit of fun this Christmas I made these holiday nachos to keep the hungry masses at bay. I used whatever veggies I had on hand and did a mix of red and yellow corn chips. Placed shredded lettuce on top for a bit of crunch and colour. 

Not everyone, including myself, managed well with the Cornish Hens therefore there were leftovers. So I served up a pizza with brown mushrooms, black olives, red onion, green peppers, feta and mozzarella cheese, and some of the leftover Cornish hen meat. Unique, festive, and slightly gamey however very tasty.   

The temperature has dropped dramatically so a perfect day to potter around the house. - JW  

The Cherry Bakewell Tart

For me nothing says Christmas like the bakewell tart. The sweet smell of almonds. The impeccable white cap of icing and the ornate glacé cherry on top. I do not know exactly where or when my love affair with the bakewell tart began... probably from Christmas' past. After years of buying store bought Bakewell's out of shear convenience and thinking anything I made will ever compare. I recoiled from making them. That was until now.  

The bakewell tarts I made, pictured above, are less manufactured and more a reflection of sweet admiration. Easy and simply divine these Bakewell tarts will have one never look at store bought again. Sorry Mr. Kipling...  

 Cherry Bakewell Tart   

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makes about 20 tarts

Filling:

Scant 1/4 cup raspberry jam or strawberry jam

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, softened

1/2 cup superfine caster sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup ground almonds

1/3 cup self-rising flour, sifted 

1 teaspoon almond essence

Icing:
1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract, pure or imitation is fine

1 tablespoon hot water, approximately

glacé cherries sliced in half 

Pastry Crust:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cold water 

Mix flour and salt together in a larger bowl. Add the oil and mix with a fork until it looks crumbly, like meal. Sprinkle in the water and mix with a fork. If the pastry is a bit dry  then add more cold water. I find that I need to add about 2-3 more tablespoons of cold water. Gather the dough and press into a ball. Roll out in-between sheets of wax paper.

1. Make the pastry crust. 

2. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a patty/muffin pan(s). I used a non-stick muffin pan therefore I did not need to grease it. Roll out the pastry and cut as many circles, as the patty/muffin tin will hold... 6, 12, 24, using a 3 in/7.5 cm cutter. Use to line the prepared pans and spread a little jam in the base of each. 

3. Beat together the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding half the ground almonds after each one. Add the flour and almond essence and stir well. 

4. Spoon batter into the pastry cases and bake for 20 minutes until well risen, firm and golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pans.

5. Combine the confectioner's sugar, almond extract and enough hot water to make a  thin icing. When the tarts have cooled, spoon the icing over the tops. Decorate each with a  whole glacé cherry or half a glacé cherry.   

Notes: You may use whatever recipe you like for the pastry or even buy ready made tart shells to save time. Again, I used a non-stick muffin pan so I did not need to grease the pan. 

Fortnum and Mason ~ 2014

I know Christmas is on it's way when the Fortnum and Mason order arrives. Nothing beats carefully opening and rummaging through the packing peanuts and guessing through the bubble wrap at the glorious culinary treasures inside. As usual we get a selection of our favourites like Smoky Earl Grey tea, Horseradish, Charcoal biscuits, a range of English mustards and King George cake. There are more festive delights like Christmas tea, Christmas coffee, Christmas Glitter Shortbread, Frost Fayre Christmas Spiced biscuits, Christmas Spiced Marmalade, and Boxing Day Chutney. Other items... which usually change from year to year, as we try new and different things, are: French Lavender Honey, a selection of other teas, Fig Cheese (a spread for cheese and biscuits/crackers), Devil Gamekeeper Relish, Damson & Claret (spread), Spice Tins: No.119 Dukka and No.49 Nigella Seeds, Ginger Turkish Delight and the exclusive Sweet Theatre Chocolate in Chili Dark (Katherine) and Orange Dark (Lady Macbeth). 

All products will slowly be enjoyed over the days and months however all Christmasy treats will not be opened until December 24th and that includes the King George cake. How we... I mean... I, will manage until then I do not know.  

Hope everyone had a good weekend! - JW  

Roasting Chestnuts

This weekend we roasted chestnuts. Something I have never done before. First we rinsed the chestnuts because they were packed in peat. Then laid them to dry. Then scored the tops. It is very important to do this or else they will explode in the oven. Placed them on a baking sheet, in a preheated 400ºF oven and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Shelling them was fun and everyone helped. They were quite meaty in size and in texture. And of course some peeled easily than others. The hues of brown to golden brown were appealing and their warmth mouthwatering.

Hope you had a good weekend! - JW   

Lost Desserts

Indulgent classic desserts gives us a culinary history from legendary restaurants and famous chefs, it also gives us some insight as to dinner tables of the past. Where the presentation of a dessert was just as alluring as devouring the dessert itself. The lavish display and creating something that resembles art has not been lost. 

The author, Gail Monaghan, puts forward dessert recipes from the past. Paris restaurants, Victorian households and street vendors from New Orleans. This cookbook reads more like a who's who of desserts. While adding slightly updated versions however not straying too far from the original recipe. The 70 recipes are adapted for the home cook and range from simple to elaborate. Who can forget the Baked Alaska, Orange Chiffon Cake, Mont Blanc, Melon Surprise, Peach Melba, Soufflés, Flans and Crépes Suzette.  

This book is indulgent and nostalgic which is great to have around this time of year. As we tend to entertain and have company pop around more than usual. Depending on what your plans are and what sort of dinner you will be serving, choosing a delicious fancy dessert made by yourself is truly rewarding. - JW