Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Read Along 2023 - Part Two

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Continuing from Part 1

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 began on 1st November, however there is still time to fully appreciate Nigel in All His Splendour as it takes us to Christmas and beyond.

Most of us already have the book (or Audio 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 continue to make a post each day and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the days recipes, sentiments and indeed Dear Old Nige himself.

Pull up a chair and a cosy blanket and join in. Twinkly lights are optional, but candle light is definitely recommended. Regulars and newcomers are welcomed like old friends.

Morning all.

A lovely, meandering chapter today, to make up for the lack of Nigel in our loves for the past couple of days. Busy weekend here, so my cake will be made on Monday.

Thanks for the well wishes for my stall. I have a big mystery shop to do this morning, then it's all hand on deck getting final bits together. I'll be sure to post a picture tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's the pic I forgot to post with the day's entry.

Hope your day's are cosy and bright.

I'm not a huge fan of christmas cake or pudding but will make small ones today for the rest of the family using my late grandmothers ancient mixing bowl and kitchen scales. Brings back many happy childhood memories of "helping" her to cook sitting at her kitchen table 🙂

Mitsuko Uchida, Mozart piano concerto, because it will help me concentrate on the lengthy ingredient list I cannot believe I didn’t remember to listen to this when making either of my cakes 🤦‍♀️ Next year…

Just found out a (fairly) local bakery is doing Nigel inspired Christmas baking! How exciting!

We get river ford veg boxes occasionally and I've just seen they've got kits to make mulled ginger hot chocolate and Clementine walnut and chocolate cookies that all sounds very Nigel I might have to order some!

Mozart - The Piano Concertos amzn.eu/d/exNpGR2 😁

I made my Nigel cake a few weeks ago as I get very busy at this time of year. I’m feeding it well.

last night I was at a charity do and having never won a raffle in my life, won the hamper. This is full of Aldi Christmas goodies, including a cake. Husband is coeliac so I’m going to use the hamper to have a nice afternoon tea with friends and will get gf stuff for DH to have.

Bimblesalong. Congratulations on the exciting raffle win - what a lovely idea to share it with friends by having afternoon tea.

Thanks @LillianGish and congratulations on your win @Bimblesalong - you will have to tell us what Aldi bits are worth getting.

Castle of Lights was lovely but surprisingly not very Christmassy! However it was VN having a pootle around the Old Town in the dark and of course you can look down at the Christmas lights in town.

Unfortunately I don’t like Christmas cake or Christmas pudding so won’t be following Nigel on this but I did manage to pick up a second hand copy of The Kitchen Diaries today for £2.

Have been feeling bloody awful over the past week with a horrendous head cold so have fallen behind but planning to catch up tonight.

I did go on an illuminated winter wonderland walk at a place near me which was, without sounding ridiculously childish, actually genuinely magical. I can't attach a video so you'll have to imagine the lights all over the trees in this photo twinkling like fireflies!

I've got a feeling that Nigel probably has a bit of a soft spot for steam trains. I certainly do and am currently watching 'Britain's Scenic Railways at Christmas' on Channel 4 - I recommend it!

@Waitwhat23 that looks absolutely stunning! I hope Northern Lights Newcastle is similar. And I love a steam train. I've been on the NYorks Moors railway lots of times. We have a little railway near me (George Stephenson museum) and we used to do the santa train every year, but DD got sick of it when she was about six.

I've put my tree up. And I've kept aside some of the decorations and lights to decorate my Christmas market stall tomorrow. I've also dug out my Frankincense which is just so tactile and smells amazing. I think I am going to keep the box next to my bed with the lid off.

26 November

The Advent calendar

You may have left it rather late to buy an advent calendar. The good ones go early. By good, I mean the traditional ones made to the time honoured designs and devoid of chocolates, miniature bottles of liquers or other silliness.

My partner is in hospital so our pre-Xmas plans have all been put on hold which is sad as I normally really enjoy the build-up. He’s hopefully coming home soon but will need a very plain diet for a few weeks at least - won’t hurt me to join him tbh!

This thread and the book are a great way to enjoy all the tastes and smells and gentle pleasures vicariously - when I got home from visiting him last night I found myself watching old Xmas cooking shows on the food channel which are just so comforting.

On a different note, I really really want the St Eval tealight advent (Nigel might approve of the candles but not the concept!) Has anyone else got it? Although you won’t be able to tell me what it’s like until December I guess!

@MerryMidwinter sorry to hear about Mr Midwinter - hope he'll be home soon and that this thread can be a comforting retreat for you in the meantime. I've no idea what the St Eval Advent calendar is like, but a tealight a day sounds like a lovely way to countdown to Christmas (and calorie free!) - I think you can't definitely afford to splurge in the circumstances.

I was given a Yankee Candles advent calendar a few years ago, now they are not my favourite candle brand (and NVN I think) but it was a lovely gift.

Realistically I couldn't burn a tealight a day, and some of them were little stubby candles larger than tealights, so I had quite a few left. I sorted out the most Christmassy scents and packed them away with the decorations, so each year since then I have had a couple to use at this time of year.

I’ve lit the log burner (it’s gone very cold here) and caught up with this thread and CC. I’ve enjoyed seeing your beautiful photos of Christmas lights and festive shops.
Nigel’s Christmas cake recipe sounds delicious although I’m not planning on making one myself this year, but he does get one thing wrong. Glacé cherries are delicious eaten straight from the pot.
I think the beauty of German paper advent calendars is probably mostly appreciated by adults. Our local Steiner school used to stock them and they were huge and so pretty. As for our household we are NVN and even have a Harribo one (shudders).
This week I made the cauliflower and leek soup from earlier in the book. It was quite nice but nothing amazing. I have the ingredients for today’s Roast Pumpkin so I might give that a go sometime.

We were at a party last night and a bit jaded today so I might be missing the obvious, but I don't know what the significance of the Thursday before Christmas is - can somebody explain? Nigel says 'The hidden child in everyone comes out at different times (as you can witness for yourself each year in any major city on the Thursday before Christmas)'

Pumpkin soup for lunch today, lovely on a cold grey day. The pumpkin was grown by DD on her allotment, and rescued from being carved into a lantern so that I could make my annual stash of soup for the freezer. Not a Nigel recipe, but a tried and tested one from Jennifer Paterson’s Seasonal Receipts (one of the Two Fat Ladies). I haven’t got a very sweet tooth but confess to occasionally sneaking a couple of glacé cherries straight from the pot - agree with you narniabusiness, the occasional one is delicious!

Just seen snow is forecast for my trip to Berlin next weekend - if it does snow it will be too Nigel for words (must remember to pack accordingly!)

Nigel Slater's Simple Cooking Christmas special is just starting on Food Network

Prompted by Nigel to get our advent calendar sorted ready for Friday - we do a refillable one for all of us to share, with activities, carols and a mini nativity included.

Made his brisket for dinner - anyone else made it? Don’t think I put anywhere near enough liquid in it, and the aga was a little on the high side so it dried out. Managed to rescue a gravy of sorts and added a note to self for next time!

I do get quite nostalgic for the religious advent calendars we had as a child - I'm a similar age to Nigel - with just the tiny card doors and bits of the nativity scene behind them.

I've also never been keen on chocolate ones, Our family one was made by my mum when the kids were small. The first year, she gave it to them filled with tiny presents and sweets. I then bought the playmobile nativity figures and I still get a lot of pleasure from wrapping then up on the 6th January and unwrapping one a day through December. Terrible photo but you get the idea.

See, I was a sitting duck for this thread! Can't believe I'd never come across either the book or the annual thread before.

Photo...

We have a couple of proper old fashioned advent calendars here. Lovely memories of being a kid in the 70s (the winter of discontent particularly springs to mind as it always seemed quite exciting to me with the power cuts and candles)

It's just struck me that Nigel is now 67 years old. I can't quite get my head around that. One of his followers on Insta has just asked when will he be doing another TV show and he's replied that he has more or less retired from that side of things, but 'just maybe'

His bean recipe today in the Guardian / Observer strikes me as being nicer than the bean and leek one. It mentions garlic and lots of seasoning. I wonder if he's read our discussion...

Link to article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/26/nigel-slater-recipes-fo-butter-beans-cannellini-and-cavolo-nero-and-chocolate-and-orange-frangipane

I'm going to do the frangipane tart for Christmas week. I can't resist frangipane, and I've booked a day in my diary to make my own marzipan.

Anyway, I think it's lights out soon. Busy day with the little village market today It was quite quiet, but there was a lovely atmosphere and we made a bit of money. Bitterltly cold qnd threatened to snow, but didnt quite make it. Good opportunity to practice and stocktake for our main fair coming up on 15 December anyway. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas <pulls wooly blanket up to chin>

We have a couple of proper old fashioned advent calendars here. Lovely memories of being a kid in the 70s (the winter of discontent particularly springs to mind as it always seemed quite exciting to me with the power cuts and candles)

It's just struck me that Nigel is now 67 years old. I can't quite get my head around that. One of his followers on Insta has just asked when will he be doing another TV show and he's replied that he has more or less retired from that side of things, but 'just maybe'

His bean recipe today in the Guardian / Observer strikes me as being nicer than the bean and leek one. It mentions garlic and lots of seasoning. I wonder if he's read our discussion...

Link to article.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2023/nov/26/nigel-slater-recipes-fo-butter-beans-cannellini-and-cavolo-nero-and-chocolate-and-orange-frangipane

I'm going to do the frangipane tart for Christmas week. I can't resist frangipane, and I've booked a day in my diary to make my own marzipan.

Anyway, I think it's lights out soon. Busy day with the little village market today It was quite quiet, but there was a lovely atmosphere and we made a bit of money. Bitterly cold and threatened to snow, but didn't quite make it. Good opportunity to practice and stocktake for our main fair coming up on 15 December anyway. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas <pulls wooly blanket up to chin>