Sprout, trifle and gravy help!

[BrotherlyLove]

Christmas isn't quite going to plan for me.
I find myself in need of having to make 'proper ' gravy, I've never cooked sprouts and need a spectacular alcohol free trifle that I don't need the skills of Heston to make.
Please point me in the right direction, thank you.

Can’t help with the others but Phil vickery made a trifle on this morning a few weeks ago which looked yummy...it had white chocolate in the custard. The recipe will be on their website!

As long as not served together...

I think sprouts are much nicer roasted in oven with salt and olive oil and chestnuts rather than boiled, but depends on oven space.

There was a thread the other day on gravy... Can't remember which board but it was very detailed!!

I'm going to make the 'make ahead gravy' from Jamie Oliver. Seems easy enough

Sprouts are delicious just boiled or steamed, you don't need to do anything fancy with them (though they are lovely fried with pancetta) and I would defo be heading to the shops for Trifle if you are short of time

Was thinking maybe I could shred the sprouts to make them less sprouty?
Have to make the trifle.

This but just don't add the baileys?

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/boozy-brownie-trifle

For a basic, alcohol free, at little hassle as possible trifle:
Get a bag of frozen raspberries and put in a sieve over a bowl to defrost.
1 or 2 boxes of trifle sponges. Split each one in half, spread one half with raspberry jam and sandwich back together. Line bowl with these.
Take the juice that accumulates from the defrosted raspberries and have a little taste. If too sharp then add a bit of icing sugar to sweeten. Pour this over the trifle sponges.
Tumble the defrosted raspberries over the soaked trifle sponges.
Over that put custard. Can be homemade (use less milk than it says so it’s thick) if cold or just a carton of ready made (can be as cheap or posh as you like). Custard must be cold.
Whip up a small carton of double cream until it’s thick but spreadable. You can either just spread this on top of the custard or pipe it if you’re feeling fancy!
Decorate with a few fresh raspberries. Done. HTH.

The Jamie Oliver make ahead great looks amazing but is so wasteful

I am making this www.janespatisserie.com/2019/11/27/gingerbread-trifle/

For the trifle: cut up Madeira cake, tip bag of frozen forest fruit on top to defrost. Combine a tub of fresh custard with a tub of mascarpone cream and spread on top. Whip cream and place on top of that. Grated dark choc on top - job done

Par boil the spouts, mash them with cream fraiche, nutmeg, black pepper, and chopped cooked chestnuts (can buy them easily). Cover dish with boil and shove in bottom of the oven, out the way to finish cooking/keep warm.

Creamy, not so sprouty sprouts! So good.

Fuck my trifle sounds rubbish now i just bung in trifle sponges to bowl. Pour over peach slices and then jelly and leave to set. I whip the cream when needed, no custard (no one likes it) then everyone helps themselves. Debating about adding a splash of cointreau for christmas - i use orange jelly.
For gravy i just keep the juice from the turkey and make using bisto powder.
I bought organic frozen sprouts this year to see what they are like. Will just steam those.

@SheSnapsThenSheFarts your trifle sounds lovely! What sort of consistency is the custardy bit when mixed with marscapone??

sponge fingers, amaretto/juice sloshed over, raspberries layered on if they are sharp then a fine sprinkle of caster sugar over the top helps.

Cover all that with crushed amaretti biscuits, cover that with raspberry jam, warm it slightly so it spreads better or let it down a bit with more amaretto
Cover all that with custard and let it sit in the fridge overnight at least

Only put the cream on just before serving. .

This also works for cherries/cherry jam ...any fruit jam combo really and alter the booze or juice to suit.

If you are going cherry, consider getting a chocolate swiss roll and using that instead of the sponge fingers and melt some chocolate into the custard...swap in cherry brandy instead of sherry or amaretto and you have a Black Forest Trifle.

@Hairwizard it's not set and solid, just sort of gloopy. I rarely make it myself as I keep shovelling spoonfuls in my mouth every time I go to the fridge

Hahaha yea that sounds like me!

Nip to Asda and grab a copy of their free magazine. There’s a recipe for gravy which isn’t that dissimilar to Jamie Oliver’s but has a load less ingredients. DH made it last week and it’s lush. You might have to double the ingredients though as it doesn’t make a huge amount.

Thanks everyone, appreciate all your help.