What are you baking/cooking today?

[Lex345]

For the first time in a long time I don't have to make a last minute dash to the shops for a forgotten item so have the whole day to bake and cook. What goodies are you rustling up today? I thought I might make some Christmas muffins, some little tarts, some vol au vents for the buffet later. Anyone cooking something lovely I can shamelessly copy?

Ooh thanks for the sweet pastry recipe!
Today I am doing

Mince pies
Bailey's tiramisu
Red cabbage
Gammon
1000 layer potatoes for dinner tmrw

Eldest DS is Head Chef and younger DS is sous chef tomorrow, so then I get a rest :)

Meringue for tomorrow's pavlova. Will possibly do Christmas biscuits with DD.

I'm baking a special bread we eat on Christmas morning. It's a bit like a cakier version of Panettone. It contains raisins, sultanas and 13 egg yolks! It's baked in a savarin tin so it's round. You eat it with Edam or Gouda cheese and it's delicious.

That sounds amazing @PrincessOfPreschool would you mind sharing the recipe please?

I need to make stuffing - two types, one bread and one sausage meat. Also going to make sausage rolls (will bake them tomorrow morning) and prepare the veg.

I used to boil the ham Christmas Eve then glaze and finish it on Christmas Day, but for the last few years I have used Delia’s oven baked method - easier and tastes nicer too, much less chance of ending up with a dry ham.

Just need to get off here and actually start!

Pesto and Parmesan pinwheels it is! Thanks all. I can’t believe I’ve never made/tasted these before!

As well as the mincemeat that I mentioned earlier, I have made braised red cabbage. The kitchen is now carnage as the red cabbage went everywhere. I even lost an apple under the counter, which took an age to retrieve it!

Nothing I don't know anyone who bakes on Xmas eve. I plan to cook absolutely nothing today or tomorrow bar breakfast 🙌🙌

Sure.

2lbs bread dough. (I usually use 750g of bread flour and then remove some before adding rest of ingredients as that makes about 2.5lbs). Make it as normal bread and let it rise once.

Add:
12/13 small yolks (I got large eggs half price so I sort of guessed the amount and did 9 🙈).
8oz caster sugar
8oz softened butter
8oz raisins
8oz sultanas
1 tsp bicarb mixed with dessert spoon milk

Once bread dough has risen you beat the yolks in gradually, mixture should get bubbly. I use a stand mixer otherwise v hard work. Next add sugar and keep beating, then softened butter gradually. Finally mix in the fruit and the bicarb mix. Put into greased pan (should be about 3/4 full). Leave in pan for a second rise in the sun (can you tell it's not a UK recipe? I put in the oven at 40 degrees!).
Bake till golden brown and cooked (try 10 mins at 180, 25 at 170. I forget every year how long).

It's a very, very old recipe. At least my great grandmother but prob older.

I'm making the QEII jubilee trifle / it all gets a bit master chef making the 10 different parts & assembling. I really enjoy making it.

Also cooking a gammon for tomorrow & super lovely nachos for dinner tonight.

Sorry, second rise in the sun is 30mins

I’m going to my sister for the main deal but I will be contributing two of our favourite things for Christmas Dinner using my Mums old recipes. It’s a nice memory of her after she dies two years ago and she was a brilliant cook!

So today all I need to do is make meringue shells for a light dessert, they will be filled with whipped cream tomorrow. They were intended for those who don’t want Christmas pudding but some people are greedy and expect both! So I use 5 egg whites and end up with about 36 shells ie 18 meringues. All went well this morning, egg separated without wasting any, whites whipped up beautifully into peaks and stayed still when the sugar was added. They are now in the oven for 11/2 hrs then left to cool in the oven once it is switched off.

I made the stuffing last night - sausagemeat and apple, delicious hot or cold! Sometimes I think my family would be fine to leave out the turkey and just have this stuffing with the sausages and bacon rolls!

Pinwheels, palmiers, cheese and onion rolls

creamy roasted onion soup (starter)
ham (for general grazing)
Yorkshire puddings
Veg prep
possibly a quiche

yesterday’s triple chocolate sticky toffee brownies are nearly gone already
made walnut bread to have with the cheese

Just Yule log. Doesn’t feel v festive!!

Me & DS did already do 2 different types of biscuits but that’s nothing out of the ordinary either, boo!

I'm not feeling up to it this year as DF died unexpectedly 2 weeks ago. With the help of my DC I have made a couple of simple desserts this morning - chocolate trifle, no bake strawberry cheesecake and jelly. I've also made my stuffing. I'll cook the ham later and that's about all I have the energy for today.

Making gingerbread cookies with the children, our Xmas eve tradition 🎄

Supposed to be doing frangipane gluten free mince pies- we'll see😅

Dinner rolls (which may or may not work).
Cranberry & pistachio shortbread and Cherry streusel tart.

Cooking the gammon. Tonight it will be ham egg and chips!

Making my Boxing Day lasagne in advance with basic ingredients.

Deciding which of the 10kg potatoes are going to be mashed, baked, chips or roasted. Parboiling the roasties. Pre-baking the largest so hungry people can zap them and use up meat leftovers after Christmas.
DH thought I’d gone overboard but anything less than 250g per person per meal is miserly IMO.
Preparing the other veg.

While the oven is on I might make oaty shortcake biscuits in memory of DM, a huge fan of Christmas.

Fucking gluten-free fucking Christmas fucking cake 😬😳 I've made several each year, but this year's all turned out soggy - more like pudding than cake. I've eaten them. No more after this year! Going to try over-baking it (a lot) in the hope it'll be able to absorb a bit of booze afterwards. I won't be able to ice it but that's okay. Can you hear me making Grinch-type grumbling noises?!

I'm sorry to hear about your dad, @Grievingxmas. What a complicated season this is for you

Sticky toffee pud for tomorrow and prepping veg that have taken responsibility for.

Just made a tiramisu and about to peel the veg.

Will make a fruit cake after Xmas as we have too much of everything at the moment.

Stuffing
Gravy
Ham

might do some veg prep if I feel like it

I've made a winter salad for tonight. We'll be having a family dinner and the main course is deer.
I've also made pigs in blankets (with posh sausages), a croissant and berry bake for breakfast tomorrow and some (sweet) potato and parmesan stacks to take to my friend's pot luck on the 26th.
I've also made some cranberry sauce...

I've just prepped the stuffing and the pigs in blankets.
The gammon will soon come off the stove and into the oven.