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Mumsnet webchats

Nigella Lawson - live webchat - Tuesday 13th December 1 - 2pm

264 replies

RachelMumsnet · 07/12/2011 15:09

It's time for our final Christmas cookery webchat, and you won't be disappointed.... We're thrilled that the domestic goddess herself, Nigella Lawson is joining us at MNHQ for a live webchat on Tuesday 13th december at 1pm.

Just as Cranberry-Queen-Delia caused a shortage of fresh cranberries, 1996 saw the sales of goose fat rocket after it was championed by Nigella as the essential Christmas cooking ingredient. So if you want to know how to make the perfect roast potato or discover the secret to a succulent turkey, join us next Tuesday or send a question in advance to this thread.

Ahead of the webchat, we've been given permission to share Nigella's recipes for cranberry sauce and chestnut stuffing, both from her book Nigella Christmas which is now out in e-book format.

OP posts:
AgentProvocateur · 07/12/2011 15:13

I'm too awestruck to think of a question!

gazzalw · 07/12/2011 15:16

Dear Nigella
We love you dearly and my wife is a fellow domestic goddess! However, I always equate you and your style of cookery with the 80's/90's and the Generation X years of plenty. Now that most of us are living a less glam, more pared down lifestyle (with children and less frivilous disposable income), can you give us a Christmas recipe that is equally tantalising and evocative of your signature style of cuisine but with fewer calories and less costly ingredients (as we can't all afford to shop at Waitrose or our local deli!).

rubyslippers · 07/12/2011 15:16

Oh wow! Hi Nigella ...

Can you tell me what your favourite cook book is? Also, do you write in the ones you use? My most treasured cook books are the ones from my late grandma with all her notes on tweaking the recipes etc ...

BTW your molten baby cakes are my all time favourite dessert and the recipe is utterly fool proof

AgentProvocateur · 07/12/2011 15:21

Nigella, I love your books. I don't often cook from them, but I love reading them in bed and imagining what I would cook if I had more time.

I'd like to make some sort of savoury nibble/biscuit in advance, so that I can offer it to any guests who drop by for a wee sherry! I once made very thin biscuits with, I think, Parmesan and carraway seeds, but I can't find the recipe anywhere. What would you recommend?

PS Nothing with dried fruit, please!

ahhyesiseeyouvepooedonyourfoot · 07/12/2011 15:23

Ooo how exciting - and perfectly timed! Hi Nigella, I made your 'cranberry studded mince' recipe last night (v straight forward, phew) is it best to leave it to settle for a few days or will it be just as good if I crack straight on with cooking them in the pastry?

Bucharest · 07/12/2011 15:57

Oh my lord.

Delia, Ed and now Nigella.

thestringcheesemassacre · 07/12/2011 15:57

Oh my Nigella what a fab guest.

Nigella, what's your death row meal? (an oldie but a goodie)

Mine would be a roast chicken and my mums Pavlova.

gateacre1 · 07/12/2011 16:13

Nigella
We love, love your cookbooks and recipes
The fried/oven roasted gnocci are a revelation and one of our favourite meals!

Will you be doing any new TV cookery shows in the new year?

Indith · 07/12/2011 16:14

Yes Bucharest! My hokey pokey just goes all sticky too! Why is that Nigella? If you can give me a reason and a fix before Christmas that would be fab otherwise family are going to end up with jars of sticky goo for Christmas presents. I'm sure I saw someone using glycerine or glucose syrup or corn starch or something (wasn't paying all that much attention but registered the added ingredient) on Kid in a Candy Store on TV once that made it much harder and more like the inside of a crunchie.

Since that is repeating Bucharest's question, can I ask, what do you use on your hair to make it be nice and sleek and wavy insteaad of just randomly kink? Dh has been known to sigh something along the lines of "do you think your hair would do that Indith?" Actually if you just sent him a signed picture featuring your hair and cleavage it would probably make his year [cheeky Xmas Grin].

fuckityfuckfuckfuck · 07/12/2011 16:16

Nigella, your Malteser cake is like gold dust in this house, and dp is forever pestering me for your cinammon rolls. To ask a rather dull question for Christmas time, do you think cooking should be brought back into schools? It's only from talking to my friends that I realise most of my (relatively young) generation had no kind of cookery or budgeting lessons, and those who have learned to look later on have done so mostly through celebrity cookbooks. Nowt wrong with that obviously but do you think it's a skill people are losing, and why is there such an assumption that cooking is time consuming and difficult?
And, again, thanks for the malteser cake recipe Grin
Ilovepigs · 07/12/2011 16:20

Nigella-

AN S.O.S from a desperate mum!!

Having our first xmas at home after years of going to the inlawsHmm

So I have to cook my first ever xmas dinner

Please tell me your fool-proof recipe for suculent turkey-thanks!

BIWIshYouAMerryChristmas · 07/12/2011 16:31

I love your books, and the way that you write. In particular, I love the chocolate birthday cake in your How To Eat book. I have made it so often for my boys, who are now 19 and 16, that it falls open at that page, and is very spattered and stained!

But the one recipe of yours that I really didn't like was your Ham in Coke. Yet other people here and in real life rave about it.

When I'd cooked it, the liquor was revolting. It smelt like petrol. I definitely didn't want to keep it to use in making soup! What do you think went wrong? ( I didn't use diet Coke, I used normal Coke)

NettoHoHoHoSuperstar · 07/12/2011 16:46

I'm awestruck!
Hi Nigella.
I'm doing goose for Christmas dinner this year and would like to know if you have a specific stuffing recipe to go with goose?
We love stuffing.

Also, could I just say that your everyday brownies from Kitchen are brilliant. I make them all the time.
Oh, also, can I have your house.
Thanks Xmas Grin

drinkystinkyyuletidegubbins · 07/12/2011 17:08

Nigella - Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease help. Like other posters, we're hosting Christmas this year - 9 adults and 3 kids - and your Christmas book has become my bible. Half of the attendees dont eat pork, the other half dont eat beef - we'll be doing turkey on chritmas day but any recommendations of a fabulous non-pork based stuffing? And any recommendations of a non-beef, non-pork main for boxing day buffet?

NigellaPleaseComeDineWithMe · 07/12/2011 17:10

I don't believe it - THE REAL Nigella!!!

Have all your books and do lot's of stuff from them - even made Rudolph pie yesterday for a luncheon I did - went down very well!! A few recipes have adjustments that are needed for different ovens or our preferences.

I really have only one question - when would you like to come around for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper (any or all of the above)?

mrsmplus3 · 07/12/2011 17:34

Hi Nigella,

I will be spending all day on Christmas eve preparing the Christmas dinner for the next day (feeding 11).
Once that's done, the last thing I will want to do at night on Christmas eve is start making a dinner for me, my husband and 3 kids for that night.

Can you recommend an easy but tastey meal we could all eat on christmas eve? We're not too fusy but kids wouldn't want anything too fancy either.
I'd be prepared to make a Christmas eve meal on the 23rd though if that's any help to you?

Thanks in advance. Hope you have a wonderful time at Christmas and hope to see you on the telly again soon.

Mrs M

MistressofPemberley · 07/12/2011 17:39

Nigella, I don't really have one single question for you, I just wanted to sycophantically fawn a little. You are my cooking and lifestyle idol.
I bought How to Eat as a treat for myself 11 years ago after my first 'proper job' interview. I love your style of writing; witty, erudite and so passionate. The book (now part of a huge collection) is still my most used and most read. Eleven years later, it has kept me company and held my hand through various slimming campaigns, dinner parties, evenings of eating on my own, Sunday lunches, baby weaning days and children's parties. It's an old friend- quite simply the best cookbook I've ever read. Thank you!

Geordieminx · 07/12/2011 17:43

Hi Nigella;

Would you like to marry my Grandad? Apparently you are his ideal woman. He's 84 but looks good for his age Grin

Blatherskite · 07/12/2011 17:48

Nigella!

Your Ultimate Christmas pudding is what finally convinced me that home made is better than shop bought and actually worth the effort! I made the ham in cherry cola for our only ever Christmas at home too - 8 days after my C-section - and it was totally worth it.

For my birthday this year, I got the Fir trees bunt tin (well it's too late to get one for Christmas isn't it) and I'm going to make the Spruced up Vanilla cake to take to my in-laws on Christmas day. Any tips?

LovesBloominChristmas · 07/12/2011 17:51

Hi nigella

I see that my question is also about Xmas eve, I will be staying at my mums with dh and dd (3), I'd like to offer to do the food. I am capable of cooking all sorts however finances this year mean that it needs to be on a budget. What so you recommend? Btw my mum does not like spicy food and has quite traditional tastes.

Thanks and thanks for being someone on tv who cooks and genuinely likes tge food they cook.

bananamam · 07/12/2011 17:55

Nigella!!! Awestruck...hiBlush.....

What are YOU having for christmas dinner?...Also we are thinking of beef..just a simple roast, any way to to spruce it up? Xmas Smile

Fab to have you on MN!!

ohmygoshandgolly · 07/12/2011 18:58

Wow, Nigella!!! How exciting!

I love your 'Domestic Goddess' book. I even put on my flowery pinny to bake your cakes as it makes me feel more of a 1950s domestic goddess!

My favourite is the sticky gingerbread in the Christmas book.
So, which is your favourite, which cake would you have for your birthday?

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anna26anna · 07/12/2011 19:03



I cracked the perfect Sunday lunch because of you, Nigella. (The gravy is on page 277 of How to Eat - I remember random pages by heart). Roast potatoes that never fail.

Chicken Pie which no adult or child has ever refused. Coca-Cola Chocolate cake. Those simple but totally addictive chilli Prawns in white wine. The amazing Jumbo chilli dip from Kitchen. The granola (Feast, p199, I think).

My question, then:
Our children are 6, 4 and almost 2. For the first 2 years, it was easy to feed them all the variety that we were eating, and they tasted everything and enjoyed lots, but with the arrival of each additional child, and the increase in awareness of what they think they like, we've been worn down and now they mostly eat plainer fare and we save the more interesting stuff for when we're eating dinner separately. Any tips on how to get back on track with having the children enjoy eating all types of dishes with us?
natashakaplinkyplop · 07/12/2011 19:17

Ooh... exciting... erm, where do you get your knitwear from?

Spirael · 07/12/2011 19:53

Ooh, Nigella's visiting! Grin

DH and I both adore baking, we've spent many happy hours making wonderful things out of your "How to be a Domestic Goddess" book. The book was actually bought for my DH. He's a particularly good Domestic Goddess, I feel. Wink

Anyway, my question is regarding flour... For cakes and similar that need to rise, is it better to use self-raising flour, or to use plain and add the raising agent separately?

Also, I'm incredibly jealous of your Kitchen Aid! Xmas Envy Xmas Grin

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