The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater. Read Along Thread 2022 PART 2

[LillianGish]

A continuation of the brilliant thread started by @Dillidilly who I hope is still lurking somewhere and reading along

@picklemewalnuts It was really nice! I admit I did a crap job making it look attractive, after 30 mins in the oven that was as brown as the sausages wanted to go I shop at Tescos so got 'The Bury Black Pudding 4 Slices' which was in the sausage section.

Looks great! I made that as well, a while back. I can’t remember if I posted a photo...

The black pudding is hiding under the apple. I made frikadeller (meatballs made with 50/50 beef and pork mince) to go with it.

Other things I’ve made more recently:

Saffron buns for St. Lucia’s day (these don’t look as good as they should as I was in a rush and didn’t take care to roll them out/form them properly). I used cranberries instead of raisins which was really nice, will definitely do that again.

Pulla bread (Finnish cardamom-spiced bread with raisins and almonds).

Ooh thanks, crackers! I'll add it to my delivery. Looks tasty, Tangled!

I've swapped across to chicken sausage, as the low fat pork ones have changed recipe. They don't brown quite as they should, either.

I got too tired to finish writing about hymns and carols, feeling slightly under the weather atm.

That's a shame. But better to rest and come to it again when you can do it justice. I hope you feel better soon.

Ooh @TangledWebofMincemeatDeception your mash looks so fluffy and the meatballs delish! I've made Lussekatter before because of my dad's yoga teacher telling him how good it was😂I've never heard of Pulla bread, that looks amazing as well, hope you feel better soon! I love a chicken sausage too @picklemewalnuts I pretend they're MUCH healthier than their pork cousins

December 21st

A wreath for the front door!

Tangled are the breads different from the stollen? It looks similar!

I'm just putting the black pud in my basket, Crackers!

I've not read all of today's chapter- I'm staying at my mum's, to bring her back for Christmas. Tomorrow will be a bit partial too!
I'll catch up on Friday.

So I don't know what Nigel's pie recipes are like. I love a hot water crust pie. I usually make one after Christmas, with the leftovers. Ham, turkey, pigs in blankets, stuffing, cranberry sauce all packed into a good crust and baked. Pour some stock in at the end, to fill any gaps and keep it moist- though as the meat is already cooked you really don't need to, and my family prefer it without.

It looks great, standing independently on a bread board, ready to cut. Some years it cuts brilliantly, others the filling spills out. It still tastes good though!

MiL has expressed a preference for 'a proper dinner' when they visit after Christmas this year. Which is a pain, as they are all fussy so a buffet suits them better. I've made beef bourguignon to go in a pie for her, with jacket potatoes and veg- probably left over red cabbage, and leeks in cheese sauce. I'll do the ham, some nibbles, maybe some bread... and meringues and ready made freezer cakes DH can never resist buying! Which is a long preamble to say, I probably won't do a pie crust pie this year.

@picklemewalnuts I’m not sure! It’s been a long, long time since I had stollen and I don’t really remember what it’s like. My instinct is that it’s probably heavier/sweeter than the pulla bread.

@GlomOfNit beautiful tree!

@crackersforcrackers It’s probably because I just mashed it, didn’t whip/beat as per Nigel’s recipe.

I really like lussekatter but Scandi recipes usually have too much yeast for DH and my tastes - we use less and just leave it to rise for longer.

DH and I are in the process of coming down with some lurgy or other. Feeling quite rough today. Have dosed up on meds and taken a huge dose of vit. C and hope to dodge the worst of it.

Maybe ‘heavier’ isn’t quite the right term...richer?

I'll look the recipe up. I was surprised by the bounciness of the stollen

The crust was soft, too.

I think the bread itself is probably very similar. But the pulla only has a little bit of sugar. Raisins and almonds, but no marzipan/candied fruits.

(At least the recipe I followed was quite basic. Delicious though. They might make fancier versions I suppose!)

I love all your trees ❤️ Here’s the one we got for my mum - literally the last tree standing. Tried three places and this was the one no one wanted, but doesn’t look too bad all trimmed up. @TangledWebofMincemeatDeception yours looks as if it is in the approved Nigel location in the front bay window. Thanks for doing the titles @picklemewalnuts - and very well bolded! I do feel December 21 is too late for the wreath - in my mind (and in practice at our house) the wreath always comes before the tree. Arrived back in the UK in time for a lovely open air carol concert with Salvation Army brass band. Perfect start to the festivities.

Awww @LillianGish I love the tree, it’s beautiful. I’m glad it found a home!

It looks lovely Lillian!

All of them do. I agree about the wreath. One of these years I'll make my own.

This is the first time I've read CC and I have to say I was unnerved reading this chapter when Nige mentions in detail the cake toppers, they are word for word what my mum has and uses every year- the trees, toadstool and gold Merry Christmas.

I agree the 21st is too late for wreaths! I like to see them from the beginning of December. I thought the pie looked delicious, funnily enough right at the end he mentions Tartiflette and that's what I made tonight, it went down a storm I highly recommend this recipe: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/tartiflette_59096

Hope you feel better soon @TangledWebofMincemeatDeception ( I also think next year I will mash the celeriac + potatoes instead of beat them). Love the tree @LillianGish 🌲

22nd December
*
A terrine or two.*

I'm doubly disappointed. My bold failed again. And...

I only photographed the first page, and am left hanging, wanting to know more about terrines!

Never mind. Tonight will have to be soon enough. We're heading home at lunchtime, assuming I can herd the cat that is my mother into the car.

She's a triumph of expectation over reality. The kind of woman that thinks she can move from an enormous 4 bed house into a 3 bed bungalow without getting rid of anything, and believes she'll be able to sell her 50 year old sofa suite.

@crackersforcrackers I could have written this because I felt precisely the same, except our Merry Christmas had all its letters! ‘This is the first time I've read CC and I have to say I was unnerved reading this chapter when Nige mentions in detail the cake toppers, they are word for word what my mum has and uses every year- the trees, toadstool and gold Merry Christmas.’

My Mum too, except that we had a polar bear with a chunk of icing attached! Also yes to the red paper frill.

We had the paper frill, the writing and Father Christmas sitting on top of the chimney which unfortunately became known as FC on the bog. 😄

My cake (now mostly eaten!)