Delia Smith Christmas.

[LucilleBluth]

I'm watching her old Christmas series from the 90s. So far she has cooked some very random stuff, handled a raw goose then touched the salt and pepper grinders and given an explanation about what pesto is.

I was 10 in 1990...was good really this grim, I don't remember.

Prunes in almanac anyone? Gravlax tartlets with a rolled out bread base?

Like many others, Delia is my go to - complete cookery course, cooking for one, the christmas book. Fab. And the recipes have never let me down.

I’m making her cheats chocolate mousses for Christmas dessert this year. Special request of DS.

Another who has been using the Complete Cookery Course for 20 years and has never been let down by it. I'd much rather have Delia's recipes than ultra-trendy, over-hyped stuff.

I remember making a complete faff of a Nigella cake that involved boiling oranges for hours. It was minging.

Delia has never done that to me.

I remember making her chocolate torte from her Christmas book. You needed liquid glucose and I couldn't get it anywhere. I eventually tracked some down in a tiny chemist shop and was asked by a puzzled assistant what I needed it for. Apparently I was the 5th person that week who had been asking. The Delia effect!
I make her Christmas cake every year and make my own mincemeat with her recipe which is delicious. Delia should be deified!

I used my copy of the Complete Cookery Course when I was a young thing working as a home help and had to cook things like stew that I’d never made before - always came out well.

The thing about Delia is that she didn't scare learner cooks. There was method and explanation. Her Summer and Winter books were my bibles.
And as for poo-pooing 90s food, well I remember the 70's 🤢

Delia gave me confidence to cook. I remember hearing her on Womens Hour & Jenni Murray asked her how to avoid lumpy gravy, with a roast. Delia replied:

"That's what sieves are for. Everyone gets lumpy gravy sometimes".

Her Spiced orange & apricot chutney, from the Christmas book is lovely. Still make it every year.

I used to watch her on Swap Shop. I am that ancient.

Ah I love Delia - remember when she went onto the pitch at Norwich FC at half time ("let's be having you!!")?

Her Christmas book is great, I have the copy with the green cover and red bow made to look like a present. I still make loads of things from it.

My mum always used to make that chocolate torte a PP mentioned - it was lovely but so bloody rich!! I also remember my mum getting an injury from caramelising sugar for one of her recipes, but I can't remember which one it was now - a sort of brulee thing with fruit and amaretti biscuits?

Someone up thread mentioned her American Turkey stuffing. The year I made that was the only time everyone raved about the stuffing!!

I agree too that her recipes always work. Thanks for reminding me that it is time to dig our my Delia Christmas Cook book.

I love Delia but I can see that the tv programmes now look a bit dated. At Christmas we always have Delia's Parmesan parsnips, chocolate truffle torte, Christmas chutney and the turkey and ham leftover pie. Yummy!!

If any of you youngsters are up for a right laugh and some interesting social history, try to dig out a copy of the original How to Cheat at Cooking. That will definitely keep you entertained for an evening!

Just looking up the recipe for the torte... remembering how nice it is - and dead easy... Might make it this Christmas to gorge on and feel sick for old times sake

@IDismyname - that'll be the Chocolate Truffle Torte. Golden syrup works equally well and you can't tell the difference.

I ordered some liquid glucose just this week for the torte!
I have both the original Christmas book and the newer one. I love Christmas cookery books, even if just to read them.
The one tiny thing she still does which irritates, is use up 3 sentences telling you how to cut a tomato into 4 pieces. (better than Jamie telling you to stand 10 ft away and just hurl it at your plate I suppose, or Nigel Slater opening a brown paper bag and just happening to have the rarest most organic "leftover" tomato in the whole wide world. Or Nigella who would say "pah! let's use pomegranate instead!"

I am making mincemeat today, and will dig out Delia specially!

I love Delia but yes some of the style of the books and tv shows will be dated. Looking at cookery programmes over time must be pretty interesting... ‘How to cheat’ was her error - never cooked anything from that.

I also used to love watching Ken Hom’s wok. Found it very soothing for some reason.

Like Nigel Slater too. The book though not the programme. The one with recipes over the year. Can’t really watch him for some reason.

Delia's Christmas book is out on my worktop now, with all my Christmas cooking notes in it. It is the most useful Christmas book ever. I always make the chestnut stuffing and the sausage rolls. For years the Creole Cake has been our staple Christmas cake as none of us like marzipan.
I have lots of her books and when I look through them I realise how innovative they were in their time. She actually teaches you how to cook.

The thing with Delia is you have to remember that she was educating people - I’m slightly older and I had a poorer background. We didn’t eat pasta much less know pesto. Olive oil was something for your ears from the chemist. Fruit was basic - I don’t remember my mum buying anything from the exotic aisle. There was no google or YouTube - you had Delia. She comes across as helpful not patronising too which helps.

I'm reading this at my kitchen table with my feet resting on my ancient copy of Delia's Complete Cookery Course. It was a leaving-home gift from my parents.

As well as teaching/reminding me of excellent recipes over the years she's a perfect footrest for this shortarse when I'm siting at the table

I think the only truly awful stuff she's done was that series when she was cooking using frozen/tinned/pre-prepped ingredients like tinned cooked mince and frozen mash.

I get the thinking behind it & am all for recipes that don't require someone to have a ton of beautiful fresh ingredients at their disposal but ye gods!! Some of her ideas were beyond grim.

I too have been let down by Nigella baking recipes but never by a Delia one.

And in her TV programmes she actually gives the quantities of the ingredients and complete instructions - whereas with "modern" cookery programmes the quantities and many specifics are left out - I assume to make you buy the accompanying book! I'm another one who still uses her Christmas book and the "Complete" course when I want to check on basics. I taught myself to cook in my first flat using her "One is Fun" book.

I need that torte in my life!

I’ve ordered a copy of the 1990 Christmas book from eBay this morning, Delia effect strikes again!