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.

I burnt the first cake I ever made. Started making it late, realised it wouldn't be ready till 10pm, fell asleep and woke up at 1am. I thoughf it was ruined, but once it was cool, I sliced the top off, fed it for a couple of weeks and put a nice layer of apricot jam and marzipan on. It was lovely. I think fruit cakes can be quite forgiving sometimes.

Thank you for this! It’s made me feel better. I think the oven was too hot. It’s quite a new oven and I still don’t really understand the settings.

I was all set to make mince pies tomorrow but not sure if I should now!

@Watchingpaintdrying I swear my fan oven only has one temperature which is 250 so everything burns. All the Christmas cakes I’ve ever made are black on all sides but they are fine. Saw off the edges with a bread knife and marzipan and ice as usual just like @RainbowZebraWarrior says and it tastes good. DH actually loves the burnt bits and looks forward to them every year.

@narniabusiness I've had a rocky relationship at times with my fan oven over the past 12 years. I now double line the inside of the cake tin, wrap a double layer round the outside, and try some weird balancing game with paper and foil on top to stop it burning (which blows off cos it's a fan oven, obvs) Still mostly catches here and there, but sort of works.

I've had quite a constructive day. Went to John Lewis to fill our Quality Street tin and had a look at Fenwick window. The florist in Fenwick was selling these beautiful limed pine cones (VN) for 20p each so I got a bagful. Don't know whether to do a wreath or just an artful bowl. Got food order delivered from Waitrose and they had no free Waitrose magazines left, so they sent me the Christmas Good Food mag for free instead! Going to carve out some me time tomorrow to read it.

@PowerTulle The cake looks fab!

@PandaSock Don't tempt me!! I'm still valiantly resisting...

Today's happy bargain: I went to Morrison's earlier and found two punnets of fresh cranberries reduced from £2.15 each to 54p each. So we'll be making cranberry sauce tomorrow.

Your pinecones are lovely @RainbowZebraWarrior and what a lovely bonus magazine score!

Cakes generally prefer conventional ovens - fan can be a bit harsh and yields unpredictable results. Even though I know that, I still always forget and just do my cakes in the fan oven.

I thought I’d put it on the conventional setting but maybe I didn’t. I think it was too high in the oven. The recipe said put a s sure if paper over it and I tried, but it wasn’t working so I gave up!

@Watchingpaintdrying definitely do your mince pies tomorrow as planned...You can't be without homebaked mince pies!

@Watchingpaintdrying Don't lose heart with the cake! I burnt my first one and was absolutely gutted about it. Once it was cool I cut the burnt bits off, covered it in marzipan and icing and it was absolutely lovely.

As @RainbowZebraWarrior says, I think fruit cakes are really forgiving.

Paris shop decorations are amazing!

19 November

Planting bulbs and a lamb boulangère

I have spent winters deep in the Worcestershire countryside, on the Cornish coast, the Yorkshire moors and in the Black Country. I have trudged through the snow in the Italian Alps, the Norweigian forests and the Icelandic lava fields. I have run from saunas to freezing ice pools in Finland and rolled in the snow after many a steaming hillside onsen in Japan. And yet it is still winter in the city that I find most entrancing.

Morning all.

There are no photos in today's chapter, so here is a pic of my cat assisting me this morning with the book.

I never get round to planting bulbs in time. I have six bags of tulip bulbs in the shed that should have gone in this time last year.

@Bimblesalong how beautiful!

Gorgeous photo @RainbowZebraWarrior

Thank you for the extract which is a lovely reminder to, where we can, enjoy winter where we are, to be a bit more present where possible and to have a bit of simple space somewhere in the busyness.

It's blowing a gale here. I'm still in bed listening to it. Will get up and enjoy a cup of tea with the dog.

Gorgeous photo @RainbowZebraWarrior

Watchingpaintdrying I think Christmas Cakes can be quite hard to get right. We don't make them often enough to get much practice and they cook so differently to anything else we make - it's just so easy to over or undercook them.

I entered one in the Fruit Cake category at our local agricultural show this summer. I was so chuffed with the design, then when I went back after the judging and it had been cut open, I could see it was absolutely minging. Undercooked to the point of sliminess. No rosette for that cake!

I brought it home, chucked away the soggy core, and have the rest in the freezer. You can use it in any recipes for leftover Christmas pudding. I like to chop it into small chunks, stir through a classic Victoria sponge recipe and bake as cupcakes/muffins - very tasty. Some other ideas here. But as others have said, you can often rescue it with judicious trimming and decorating.
How to use up leftover Christmas pudding - delicious. magazine (deliciousmagazine.co.uk)

Rachel Allen's Christmas pudding muffins recipe | Waitrose

Thanks for the quote and for keeping us ticking along so well, RainbowZebraWarrior.

We were cycling in the Peak District yesterday enjoying the autumnal colours, a cosy lunch stop in the community owned pub at Bamford and a lovely warm-up at the station cafe at Edale before getting the train home. I just think this time of year is so beautiful and autumn is so poignant. I'm not sure I agree winter is the city is the best, but there is definitely a great deal of pleasure in cosying up, wherever you do it. I'm doing a lot of (long neglected) work on the house at the moment and I feel like I'm nesting!

Although I'm more or less up to date with the reading, I made my first recipe from CC yesterday, the sausages with leeks and cannellini beans. I have to say I was very disappointed, so little flavour (apart from in the posh sausages which are always lovely).

Even my husband, who very rarely comments negatively on my food, said that this was not a winner and not to bother with it again. Did anyone else not enjoy it or just us? 😳

Seems like a lot of us have had mishaps with Christmas cake over the years. I once soaked the fruits in way too much alcohol and for fat too long. The result was a cake with a weird, solid texture. My Dad absolutely loved it, though. We also tried the Hairy Bikers Christmas pudding liquer one year. Six weeks of lovingly attending to the stuff, and me and my Dad sat down to it on Christmas day, full of anticipation, and grimaced at each other upon tasting. For some reason, it tasted powdery / gritty.

I use leftover crumbled cake or pudding in shortbread recipes. Really simple, but delicious. Love the idea of the cupcakes.

Wow that looks stunning! Thanks for all the kind comments. They e made me feel less useless. I haven’t made a Xmas cake in many many years and did it in a hurry feeling quite stressed. Not the right way to do it! I will feed it regularly and we’ll have it with ice cream if it’s really not nice as a cake!

My sister still won't eat my Christmas cakes after my first one was inexplicably green and slimy inside when cut into. I have done 10 years of extremely nice cakes since then (though I was a bit heavy handed with the feeding last year) but she still won't touch any of my cakes!

I've got two being fed at the moment - one for the house and the other for a social event. I don't even like fruit cake!

@catwithflowers A lot of folk have commented about the cannelloni bean dish being a bit watery. (But had success turning lefovers into soup) I can't see the need for 250ml stock plus 100ml water. Also, the picture doesn't seem to reflect that much liquid. I've made it before, but to a recipe I devised myself (for a well known cookery show) whereby I added creme fraiche, rosemary instead of parsley, and lots of garlic. I also left out the water. Any kind of white beans also need a lot of seasoning.

Masterchef? Ready Steady Cook? Best Home Cook? We need more details. And preferably a you tube link/pics.

I am a long frustrated Bake Off Wannabee. Have got really close 3 times but never quite made it. Probably not applying this year as may be away this spring. But love to hear other people's brushes with food TV.

Ohhh I know the answer to that one!! And was very impressed. fsmile]

Yes yes on seasoning with white beans!

About to start reading the many chapters I've missed.

Ooh, @StarryAnise you must apply again! Don't give up - especially if you've come really close three times.

Yes, @YuletideSolace knows as I've talked about it before elsewhere. It was Masterchef. Maaaaany moons ago. It was the only series that the late, great Gary Rhodes hosted and I have many wonderful memories and photos / keepsakes from the programme (I nicked Gary's cue cards at the end of filming!) The bean recipe I made was from the regional heats, before you got to the televised rounds.

The restaurant I was a chef at was also featured in a Michel Roux jr programme called hidden restaurants (I think) and we also had a rave write up from Jay Rayner who called it his new favourite place. Being involved with good food and around great foodie people is addictive!

I'm so pleased I have those great memories as I'm disabled now and nowhere near capable of doing as much as I used to do. I likely contributed to breaking my body from the gruelling 6 and 7 days a week in the kitchen. Wouldn't change it for the world, though.

@RainbowZebraWarrior I remember the thread about tv chefs and the nice things you said about Gary Rhodes (RIP). Very impressed that you all got rave reviews from Jay Rayner! I like him a lot, as a critic and as a person (from what I know of him).