Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Annual Read along 2023

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, it's nearly that time!

For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition.

The book begins on 1st November, however there are a couple of chapters of preamble. That's why I thought I would start thread one now, so that we have time to prepare and fully appreciate Nigel in All His Splendour come 1st November.

Some of us already have the book. For anyone who doesn't, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up a bargain. WH Smith has come up trumps in the past, as has ebay. A rare and precious charity shop find is the holy grail and adds a certain special-ness that simply extends that warm, fizzy Nigel feeling (and some well earned smugness)

I shall make a post each day and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Old Nige himself.

Note: Reading by candle light can be particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nige's candle of choice, but it's somewhat pricey. We don't discriminate against other less expensive brands - even if they are NVN (Not Very Nigel)

Pull up a chair and a cosy blanket and join in.

Bacon and avocado, that really sounds a lovely route. I love the Fortnum’s, Burlington, RA, Bond St route.

Thanks for the Princelet Drift link @Bimblesalong I dream of one day living in a Georgian townhouse with paneled walls, or a modest country house would do too. I hope you have a lovely trip to Paris, and co-incidentally I'm intending to go soon and hoping to find some wonderful houses to visit.

I enjoyed reading about Nigel's house. It was similar to how I imagined it but maybe more austere. I don't think his personal life is always austere. I read once that he sometimes has lodgers (not in the making up the rent sense but more for companionship).

I love this thread too. I just lurk at the moment bit hope to try a few things properly next year. In the meantime, all the lovely posts and photos are very comforting and Christmassy, like listening to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

Apparently the chia seeds are meant to help keep you fuller for longer? Not sure if there's any truth in that, though!

The chia seeds did the opposite to me. Best leave it at that 😬

@LillianGish the house we booked well ahead was Musée d’Ennery. A quirky little place and a lovely small group tour.

@narniabusiness I’d definitely recommend the Musée Camondo. What a life they must have led.
I went to Nice earlier this year and toured some similar style Belle Epoque houses, a different world!

@LillianGish ooh thank you for the plan!

Did the cauliflower and leek soup today with some chicken stock I made in the pressure cooker this morning. I loved it, got one out of three kids eating it too 😪.

Spent some time hiding in Homesense during the rain this morning and sniffed about a hundred candles. Couldn't make my mind up on one though!

Nigel and Nigella are great friends though aren’t they? Her first TV appearance was a slot on one of his Channel 4 shows, and the she was picked up for Bites.

My dream night out. Nigel cooking dinner, Nigella bringing the puds and plenty of wine and chatter.

Oh yes I think they’re each great, and great together too. That would be a fantastic evening! I was only kidding.

Yes, they are great friends, and I see a lot in common between the two of them. Different styles, perhaps, but still comes down to simple, good food. For some reason I'm reminded now of Nigel's TV / travel series in the Middle East. I must watch it again. it's one of my favourites.

Dream night, indeed!

Nigel is playing hard to get on Insta btw. He's not been active today.

Oh yes they’re definitely of the same source in that respect. And there are parallels in their writing too, I think.

I remember watching Nigel in a Christmas episode of his show (can’t remember what it was called).
It was filmed in his house and featured his black Labrador eating nuts from Nigel’s hand.
It looked incredibly cosy and quite unlike the austere house upthread.
The austere house reminds me of a hotel, not a home.

15 November

Frost fairs and braised brisket

I ache for snow. The last generous fall in this garden was January 2013, when the Yew hedges tilted drunkenly with it's weight. I ache for silence, for the sound of my own muffled footsteps as I walk up thr garden path. But most of all I ache for icicles. When I was seven or eight, icicles hung from the greenhouse like trickles of icing on a gingerbread house. They shone in the late afternoon sun. I snapped off the longest as a rapier for a mock fight with an imaginary friend, and galloped across the snow-covered lawn in a one-man jousting match. Before I went in for tea, they other icicles met their fate, as a unicorns horn, a fencers épée and lastly a shimmering javelin.

Forgot pic.

Such a poignant, memory evoking chaper. Some of the strongest memories of my childhood are from snowy days.

It's funny because his home feels perfectly cosy to me. There is actually plenty of capacity for cosiness/hygge IMO. But then I'm Scandinavian and used to a minimalist aesthetic so I suppose it doesn't actually feel so austere to me.

I will catch up on the last 3 chapters today (hopefully). Am looking forward to it - I recall today's being one of my favourites too. There is something magical about snow. I love a braised brisket but won't be making it this week. Maybe next week.

@bigbadbarry I accidentally left out the (hopefully) helpful bit of this comment! Had meant to say I haven't made Nigel's recipe but we do use a cheese sauce to 'zhuzh up' all sorts of things and it does work very nicely indeed with cabbage. Might be worth a try!

I think his TV shows were/are filmed from a house in Hampshire, and I think his upstairs kitchen is just for photo shoots. Dear God I know too much about this man!

I imagine he does testing and development upstairs too.

I think if I were Nigel I would have been rather miffed at the gaudy pink cake on his 30 year Observer - I think that's what it was? - anniversary cover photo!

(Or maybe he's secretly more like Nigella than I had previously thought!)

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/sep/24/all-fired-up-nigel-slater-on-the-pottery-stars-changing-the-world-of-ceramics

I thought the same!

Ah, Nigel and ceramics. Happy sigh.

Huge thankyou to the person who posted the world of interiors magazine link. I've not bought a paper copy magazine for years but went to look for this as I'd so enjoyed the article. Well this month's has a lovely feature on Berwick Church and the murals that Ducan Grant/ Vanessa Bell painted - one of my favourite places to visit on "Southern Tours". I'm enjoying the magazine so much that I'm thinking of getting a subscription (and there's a special offer insert in this month's magazine).

Thanks all for your recommendations, I had a great time wandering about the posh bits of London this afternoon. I hit Liberty, walked through the arcades, popped into Fortnum and Mason then lastly went to go look at the food hall at Harrods. Where after being so well behaved, I promptly spent too much money on cheese (plus some mince pies and quince paste).

I have to say that the most beautiful trees I saw were the simple ones, with fairy lights, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks. I might try and replicate that.

@AIBConsiderate that sounds lovely! And I know just what you mean about the beauty of simplicity.

I am in great need of peace today. I hope to be able to read/catch up tonight.

I love Nigel’s snow sprinkled memories. So glad we had our years in Berlin when the kids were small with proper deep snow that stayed on the ground for months. I used to take the kids to school through the woods taking turns to pull them on the sledge. I’ve seen frozen fountains here in Paris, but we rarely see proper snow here. It makes you realise that winters are just not that cold anymore.