Please explain...

[ILoveAFullFridge]

...bread sauce.

I have lived in England for nearly half a century (WTAF!) and I don't think I have ever seen or tasted it.

[LondonMother]

I used Delia Smith's recipe but didn't follow it exactly, which I should have done. Another time I'd do as she suggests and put in more cloves (I was too cautious yesterday), and also a good few extra grinds of pepper and a lot more nutmeg. Bigger bayleaf too. But the basic creamy, buttery, oniony flavour was lovely, and I liked the texture. I made the crumbs in the food processor so they were very finely chopped. There's quite a bit left so I will try some in my Christmas sandwich later.

[JollySantersSelectionBox]

hallow he shouldn't have laughed at you. Mince pies did indeed contain meat traditionally. They were a mix of meat and fruits.

It was tradition to have meat in a plum pudding, or eat plum pudding with your Sunday lunch too.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I made bread sauce today - cloves, bay leaves, pepper, onions
Steeped overnight

Butter, single cream, extra salt

It was lush

[ILoveAFullFridge]

Bread sauce went down quite well, but not, sadly, well enough to become a regular fixture.

I might try to use the flavours in a more gravy-like sauce, less like baby puke bready.

[EBearhug]

We always put cloves into the milk, and the fun is counting them all in, and counting them all out again at the end. Because you can never find that last clove... (Actually, I did today.)

I have used the blender to make it really smooth in the past, but TBH, I can't usually be bothered.

I love breadsauce and have it most times I do a roast chicken.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

Well, DM brought hers along to our Christmas dinner today so I had a good sniff as I reheated it and it did smell quite nice, more of bayleaves and less of cloves than I remember (I don't like cloves). But the texture, I just couldn't bring myself to eat it. So, still a thumbs down but only on texture grounds, not taste

[cupoftchai]

Devil's work. Looks like baby puke.

[sockssandalsandafork]

Mind you they deep fry their roast potatoes and mash overcooked broccoli etc. Has taken years to reeducate Dh

That's so funny! love it.

[ToddleWaddle]

My family always have at Xmas traditionally. Had Dh's family this year and were a bit shocked and disappointed I did not make them bisto instead!
Mind you they deep fry their roast potatoes and mash overcooked broccoli etc. Has taken years to reeducate Dh

[LondonMother]

Well, I made bread sauce. I think I could have executed it a bit better but I liked it a lot and both children felt there was something to be said for it. So I think it will become a fixture on our Christmas menu! Thank you, MN.

[Davros]

We buy M&S bread sauce, it's divine. We stock up at Xmas and put some in the freezer to keep us going for the next few weeks. It's also great with bangers and mash

[ancientbuchanan]

By tradition only with poultry, bread sauce. I've done Delia (never fails), the chef variant( ok so long as I remember to take it out in time) and my mother's. If you make it before hand, it is prob best to microwave to reheat, as it sets like concrete and you have to stir more milk in otherwise.

Along with mincemeat ( which used indeed to have meat in it, so ha to your oh, hello), one of the relatively few mediaeval dishes that survive.

Like stuffing something to make the meat go further and provide a contrast to the other more demanding flavours. Yes, a subtle taste. But should not be as bland as porridge or wallpaper paste.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Bread sauce is gorgeous.

I use onion, milk, peppercorn and cloves then heat and leave it slowly simmering.
Overnight to infuse, remove the spices and liquidise the cooked soft onion into the milk.
I have some fresh naice bread slices in the freezer to use up.
Add some butter and fresh nutmeg et voila.

I haven't used bay leaves though,

[ILoveAFullFridge]

I bunged all the ingredients in a tub, using Oatly instead of milk and a tablespoonful of mayo instead of butter and cream, and left it in the fridge for 24h. Today I removed the onion, cloves, bayleaf, peppercorns, and liquidised the lot (I had used a fresh bagel as had no stale bread).

Yes, it looks like a cross between puke and baby food, but it tastes gorgeous. I shall reheat it in the oven on Xmas Day.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

[Roussette]

I've made it too WhoKnowsWhere and I have to say it is delicious! I didn't have root ginger, so just added a smidge of dried ginger (and a good glug of port) Yum!

[DameDeepRedBetty]

A friend's mum gave us a very simple cheat's bread sauce.

Chop an onion in half. Place together with a handful of cloves, a bay leaf and blade of mace in the bottom of a fairly large ovenproof lidded pot. Blitz some day old white bread, half fill the pot with the crumbs. Pour on some milk to just cover. Put the lid on, and place on a baking tray in oven with the roasting chicken or turkey for the last hour of cooking time.

I put it on a baking tray as the milk sometimes boils over and it's easier to clean a baking tray than the bottom of the oven.

It will have a brown crust on top but beneath will be a perfect yumptious bread sauce, no lumps or chewy bits!

No stirring - what's not to like?

[hallowisitmeyourelookingfor]

DP nearly pissed his pants quite literally about 2 days ago when we were watching someone on telly make bread sauce (yep, that's how we roll on a Wednesday night) and I was in disgusted shock that it contains actual real life bread I've never had it before, it looks like a bowl of sick. I will never be having it future either.
I then started ranting and raving, 'how am I supposed to know, you get things like mince pies and they don't have mince in them' only for him to guffaw loudly and repeat it's minceMEAT over and over to me. Well to be fair to myself, they don't contain meat either do they? Still about that one.

[NorbertDentressangle]

I think bread sauce was invented with the sole purpose of making my brother dry heave at the mere sight of it.

Taunting him with it was one of the highlights of my Christmas as a child (evil sis that I am)

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

Right, I've just made the cranberry relish. I made half the amount in that recipe and it made one full Bonne Maman jam jar. Yum.

[Roussette]

Oooh thank you WhoKnowsWhere... that looks simple and just right and I think there's a bottle of port lurking somewhere in the back of the cupboard.

[ILoveAFullFridge]

Bread sauce ingredients make it sound a lot more interesting. We're having lamb with a fruity stuffing - do you think bread sauce would go with it?

Tricky, I find, to achieve dairy-free creaminess without making the sauce oily. A lot of recipes add extra marg in place of cream, but I usually use cornflour instead.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

This one keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks according to the magazine (I have a torn out page).

[WhoKnowsWhereTheMistletoes]

I use this recipe for cranberry sauce, it has a touch of ginger but not spices. caramelised cranberry relish. I only use a very small amount of ginger and no port as we don't have it, I use a splash of red wine or sherry.

[Roussette]

Thanks London and Cozie... I will give it a bash. Can I make it now for xmas day and just keep in the fridge? (have soooo much to do and I'm still working so anything I can do in advance helps)