The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater: Read Along Thread

[Dillidilly]

Here we go people!

I thought we could start reading the Introduction from October 15th at a gentle pace to allow people to join the thread. Then all set for Chapter 1 on November 1st.

The Christmas Chronicles is currently just over £20 on Amazon. Maybe people could share all the options for those who are just joining us, who still want to get a copy.

I'm hoping this thread will be a lovely, gentle, uplifting transition into the Christmas period where we can share our thoughts, recipe attempts and inspiration from Nigel x

Evening all. Been a bit awol- DD had vomiting bug and I've been trying to get Christmas present shopping as done and dusted as possible.
About to catch up with Nigel and you lot now with a cuppa.
Advent and Nigel's new book arrived today. Told you. I'm an addict.
I still haven't made the sausages as we've been eating a bit blandly as DD was ill, but having pork fillet, slow roasted till it crackles belly pork and bubble and squeak (I squeaked myself when I spotted Brussels sprouts in my local supermarket- if at all we get huge water-blown nasties, but these are from Holland (and I don't care Greta Thunberg- I saw imported Brussels and I bought the lot!) and look almost like the same packaging as M&S so I made B&S specially. And Paxo stuffing.

I still need to make mincemeat, and mincemeat cheesecake sounds rather good. Might try that too!

I want to go to Norway too! (Obviously) and Sweden. And Finland. And Iceland. And Japan.

Zara home has a very Nigel/this thread vibe. I ordered some little light up houses and plates yesterday.

We eat a lot of aubergines here. I'm going to put you all off for life by saying I remember DD thinking I was slicing into a baby seal when I had one on the chopping board when she was tiny.

Ok. Off to read and catch up.

We eat a lot of aubergines here. I'm going to put you all off for life by saying I remember DD thinking I was slicing into a baby seal when I had one on the chopping board when she was tiny. Haha what are children like? I remember thinking my mum was eating a bowl of goldfish when I was little (never fear, it was tinned peaches!)

Hope your DD is better now, that sickness bug has been doing the rounds here both DD2 and I got it over half term.

In better news we had the gnudi this evening.... I didn't make the sauces Nigel suggested I just wilted spinach, stirred in a tub of tomato and mascapone sauce (oh the shame!) and tore over some basil. It was really nice and everyone ate it all so I'd say it was a hit. I do prefer gnocchi though but it was nice to have something different.

Forgot to add a gnudi photo

They look great @FireworkParrot!

Just dropping in some beautiful Norwegian trees. We were lucky enough to visit in 2020 just before you-know-what.

I'm developing a love-hate relationship with Nigel. I love most of what he says and then he goes and makes a snarky remark about plastic lighters. I guess it's refusing to compromise on plastic lighters that leads you to a life of beautiful china and a fridge full of little artisanal tit bits wrapped in paper.

Those gnudi look delish.

Which advent book are you all talking about? Google is giving me 2 quite similar ones with green covers, not sure which is the 'right' one!

That gnudi looks lovely! Here is tonights aubergine effort - the aubergine probably needed a bit more grilling (I was hungry and impatient!) but the lentil part was so nice. I’d eat that on its own. Also not sure I agree with Nigels description of it as ‘a frugal autumn dish’ - I spent rather a lot on fresh herbs, Parmesan and cream haha.

@LaChatte

Which advent book are you all talking about? Google is giving me 2 quite similar ones with green covers, not sure which is the 'right' one!

I now have both. You want the one by Anja Dunk. German baking. If the other one is by two women, it's shite. I picked it up for a quid a few years ago.

@ChristmasTree999

That gnudi looks lovely! Here is tonights aubergine effort - the aubergine probably needed a bit more grilling (I was hungry and impatient!) but the lentil part was so nice. I’d eat that on its own. Also not sure I agree with Nigels description of it as ‘a frugal autumn dish’ - I spent rather a lot on fresh herbs, Parmesan and cream haha.

Like when he fettles in the back of his fridge on telly and brings out "leftover" bits of cheese that is organic, artisan, from cows that were probably massaged daily by vestal virgins and wrapped more beautifully than any Christmas present.

Eating the goldfish! Kids are so funny.

Viking- I have his old Eating for England book (I believe I reviewed it on 50 bookers at some point) and I decided I hated him on that basis. He'd be writing beautifully, then he'd drop in a real whiplash medusa sting comment about old ladies taking too long in the supermarket queue as they counted out the right money. Some of the comments looking back seem very out of character to the Lovely Zen Nige we know now, I wonder if he thought he should be all "street" and being nasty fitted that (it was written around the time that Jamie Mockney Oliver was getting popular, and Gordon Ramsay (who I refuse to watch or buy) or, alternatively, he is a grumpy old git but has toned it down because he knows people like me will be cross with him.

Typed a huge long message, but lost it. Agreed with a few of you that actually, we don't necessarily live in London and have everything on tap. Watched Toast today so totally feel that he had a dysfunctional upbringing. But I for one don't have the money for expensive candles. I do, however make my own soaps and as a beekeeping family, I have access to beeswax. It doesn't make a good candle in itsself however, so not so simple. I've gathered some eucalyptus from the garden today though, which has made me happy, and still have plenty more for a wreath.

Thanks!

I also made the gnudi @fireworkparrot. I made the avocado and watercress pesto. It was really yummy.

I left mine to chill for 2 days in the fridge. They became proper dumplings in that time. The semolina formed a skin and they formed up.

I might try them with a pumpkin sauce as I think that would go well.

I also feel very judged with the candles. I have a £1.75 scented candle from IKEA and I love it. I looked up diptych candles and I nearly had a heart attack over the price.

I'm Aldi candles all the way here, apart from a White Company one that was a present lol!

Lovely food photos! We just finished our dinner and of course halfway through eating I realised I should have taken a photo! But it was much later than planned when I finally got round to cooking so we were hungry and went straight to eating...I’ve got enough left over for a lunch, though, so I’ll take a photo when we have it again.

I suppose when he says frugal he means compared to the kind of expensive foods people in his circle tend to have on hand as a matter of course. And being a food writer it stands to reason that ingredients are just part of one’s daily life so I expect you’d have absolutely everything in the pantry...not quite the same for the average person on the street. But that’s okay with me.

A handy little tip, btw, is that fresh rosemary and thyme freeze beautifully, as do sage leaves - i always have those in the freezer (and quite a few more) so nothing ever goes to waste and I can make a wide range of dishes without having to pay for lots of herbs and so on every time I want to make something. I just pop them straight into the freezer in the little supermarket bag, no hassle, and then I’ve always got them available. The softer herbs like basil, coriander and mint don’t freeze as well but I still do it.

@RainbowZebraWarrior your eucalyptus is absolutely gorgeous. Every year I plan to use it in my decorating scheme for the big day and then I overspend on other things because I’m terrible for impulse buying and never have any money left for foliage. This year we’re living next to rural countryside so I’m hoping to be able to forage for a few bits throughout the season. Haven’t seen any eucalyptus though...

@Felldownabackdonhole that looks amazing!

The aubergine dish looks great too, and the trees....loving all the photo sharing.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I really love the colour combination of the wall and the eucalyptus.

I am actually properly in love with that bunch of eucalyptus...🥰🥰

Oh thanks for the herbs tip I had no idea! I’ve thrown away far too many soggy herbs in the past.

Another tip I picked up here: you can freeze ginger and grate it straight into things from frozen

I was going to buy a scented Christmas candle this year, as I have done most years, although I don’t think I did last year, but I am quite picky about how they burn (don’t like black residue, which you tend to get with lower quality/cheaper candles) so I’ve decided none for me this year - it’s cheaper to buy good quality plain candles for candlelight hygge and I’ll just use essential oils for fragrance which is cheaper too.

I’m very much enjoying the bay oil I bought on Nigel’s recommendation, and I’m looking forward to the Christmassy mix I’ll use from Dec 1st.

Today I bought two jars, one for the apricot brandy and one for our mincemeat which we’ll make sometime this week, but I forgot the oranges and the wine for the brandy so it’ll have to wait yet another day.

Oh yes i find ginger much easier to grate when frozen.

@Geamhradh I hope your DD is on the mend. Your rapture at the sight of sprouts made me chuckle (I love sprouts...definitely not a once-a-year thing for me!).

Not Nigel, but I just got the tin to make this

I read the panto chapter. I love Christmas but I've only ever been to one or two pantos. As a result, I don't really associate them with Christmas. I'd much rather a Christmas concert or a ballet like 'The Nutcracker'.

Not an aubergine fan so I'll dodge that recipe.

That's a beautiful winter photo Viking

The gnudi dishes are very impressive. I presume the g is silent like gnat or gnome.

Nigel probably grows his own fresh herbs. I came across this article about him - apparently Monty Don designed his garden. www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/nigel-slater-i-m-happy-but-i-ve-only-just-realised-it-1.4068262

I read the chapter and booked my panto tickets. I found it odd he says it’s now time to book your tickets because tickets sell out faster. I usually book mine when the kids gone back to school in September. November is very late for me. I left it late because I wasn’t sure about Covid restrictions. All the good seats are gone now and I got the second priced seats instead.

DH doesn’t eat mushrooms so I am in two minds about the aubergine and lentils.