Christmas/winter meals

[Elephanttrunk]

Hit me with your tried and tested recommendations for lovely festive meals that aren’t a roast dinner that I can plan to cook in the Christmas break. I am fortunate that I get two weeks off so lots of ideas welcome ☺️

Beef cooked in red wine with stilton and horseradish dumplings

Chicken pot au feu

I love winter cooking, when you’ve nowhere particular to go so can take time over a dish. My favourites for this time of year are

A lovely rich boeuf bourguignon
Chicken chasseur
Crispy pan fried salmon fillets with hollandaise

I like to cook traditional British winter dishes over the 12 days of Christmas, so after turkey/ham etc on Christmas Day and Boxing Day it’s then things like turkey/ham and leek pie, shepherds pie, cottage pie, salmon and parsley sauce, fish pie, beef stew, slow cooked lamb shanks etc. Rib of beef and all the trimmings at New Year.

We're having mince and potatoes tonight with dumplings.

I'm so happy winter is here!!

Christmas pie www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pie
Parsnip rosti annajones.co.uk/recipe/christmas-eve-parsnip-rosti-supper
Sausage and root veg traybake realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-and-veg-traybake-with-pesto-sauce.html
Honey glazed ham
Cauliflower cheese pithivier realfood.tesco.com/recipes/cauliflower-cheese-pithivier.html

Mince & dumplings
Butternut squash soup
Shepherds pie
Steak pie are my go to winter dishes.

Nigella’s Lamb and Date Tagine with Red Onion and Pomegranate Relish. Delicious. I always make it at Christmas.

Steak and kidney pie
Chicken & leek or chicken and mushroom pie
Toad in the hole (with cauliflower cheese if feeding the 5000)
Cassoulet
Coq au vin
Boiled bacon joint with colcannon

Slow cooked leg of lamb from the bbcgoodfood.com website is beautiful; it literally falls apart. They say use whole leg, but I always use a boned joint; it takes up less space in the casserole dish.

Soup is worth a mention too, as a lighter meal, but still firmly in the winter comfort category.
I love Delia’s leek and potato and you just can’t beat a chunky veg soup

Just for a break from casseroles - festive burgers!

Burgers with bacon, Brie and cranberry

Christmas markets night - bratwurst, currywurst, cones of chips with Mayo, giant pretzels and lebkuchen

We’ve just had this curry tonight.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/aromatic_beef_curry_with_63198

The house has smelled like mulled wine all day!

Cottage pie
Fish pie
Sausages and mash with onion gravy
Steak and onion pie
Roast chicken, beef or pork with the trimmings
Lamb shank and mash

Jam roly poly and custard
Spotted dick and custard
Steamed jam sponge pudding and custard
Fruit (apple, pear or plum) crumble/pie and custard/cream/ice cream

Lots of fantastic ideas thank you 😊

Nigellas roast ham with macaroni and cheese. It makes a huge, huge amount. I cook it on the 22nd or 23rd and its good for lunches up to Christmas Eve.

Christmas lasagne. This is from Gerado Cantaldo ,Jamie's mentor. Instead of making a ragu you make a tomato sauce. The meat is seasoned and rolled into tiny meatballs, about the size of a hazelnut. Fry off the meatballs until they've browned. Then add a layer of tomato sauce and add the meatballs and some mozzarella, either pearls or diced not grated. Then add lasagne and repeat with sauce etc ending with the tomato ,cheese and meatball layer. We cover it and cook for hours.

If you have children get them to make the meatballs, smaller hands seem to be best when it comes to making titchy meatballs

Slow cooked lamb shanks with very buttery mash, Lancashire hotpot, shepherds pie, toad in the hole (more buttery mash), casseroles and dumplings, risotto.

Made butternut squash soup with homemade focaccia for dinner tonight, nice and relaxed chatting around the table tearing bits of bread from a board in the middle.

Ooh, and meatball subs, dribbling with chunky tomato sauce and oozing melted cheese (recipe in my DDs 'Matilda and the Ramsey bunch' cookbook) 😋

Oh wow, don't get me started on the puddings . DS made parkin at the weekend. DD is a whizz at crumbles and pies, I use a fab Mary Berry recipe for sticky toffee pudding.

Then there's the bakewell tarts, ginger cakes, treacle tarts.... backs out and heads to the kitchen