I've caught up on the entries for the first 10 days.
1st November A Toast to the Winter Solstice
I haven't really put much thought into summer drinks vs. winter drinks. Like food, I tend to drink the same things all year (Pinot Grigio or a gin and 7up). I'm more inclined to drink Baileys coffees in winter though. I'm quite partial to a mulled wine in winter but have never made it myself. Memo to self - must rectify this. I guess if you're a chef, you'll put more thought into this sort of thing. And Nigel says he used to work as a barman.
I like the idea of a pouring ourselves a drink and curling up on the sofa with a book after a long, hard day. This is probably more achievable if you don't have small kids 😄.
I love the sentence, "the fruit-based eau-de-vie of quince and plum and the sloe gin that light up the drinks cupboard like the stained-glass window at Midnight Mass".
4th November The joy of stuffing
I love stuffing, so I should really try the turkey stuffing balls sometime. They look delicious. Although I've no idea where I'd get lardo. I roll my eyes every year when he writes, "It's not difficult to track down". It is in this neck of the woods. I'm not a fan of pears so I'll probably skip the granita. The pears look pretty though.
5th November Fire and baked pears
For obvious reasons, we don't celebrate Guy Fawkes Night in Ireland, but I've read about it in books. It seems to involve collecting pennies for the guy (to buy fireworks) and eating something called parkin at bonfires. The leek, bean and Italian sausage dish sounds tasty and easy to make - will read back in a while and see if anyone has tried it. We're more likely to eat colcannon at this time of year.
6th November Making gnudi
"Gnudi require the hands of an angel". Hmmmm....... sounds like there's a lot of potential for things to go wrong then.
7th November A trip to the forest, and those gnudi
I'm always a bit miffed that my job doesn't entail travelling to Norway to choose a Christmas tree. However, it's a lovely, festive chapter. And I love the tradition of the tree. In these dark times, it's a nice reminder of the friendship and solidarity that can exist between two countries. One of these years I'll make it to London for some Christmas shopping and I'll visit the tree at Trafalgar Square. The sauces for the gnudi sound nice.
8th November A seat at the pantomime
I'm sure I've been to the panto once or twice as a kid, but it wasn't a big part of my childhood Christmases. Interesting to read about the origins of pantomime anyway. The aubergine and lentils dish sounds tasty.
9th November The Christmas list and a fig tart
I'm the queen of list making, so this chapter is right up my street. And I had to laugh at the mental image of Nigel hunting high and low for the sellotape, like the rest of us mere mortals. He really oscillates between down to earth (hunting for the sellotape) and pretentious (sneering at the prospect of lighting a plum pudding with a cheap plastic lighter). I'm not sure I've ever actually eaten figs - unless you count fig rolls.
10th November A sweet preserve with a savoury past
My Mam wasn't a great cook. She never made mince pies. My sister learnt how to make them in Home Economics, so I tend to associate them with my sister. I've made them myself (also learnt in HE), but we always used jars of mincemeat. It never occurred to me that you could (or would) make your own mincemeat, until I caught a Christmassy episode of Nigella. To be fair, Nigel makes it sound pretty easy. Not sure I'd use six jars of mincemeat though. There's only me and DD, so I wouldn't be making dozens of mince pies.
Right, I'm all caught up with the CC now - next chapter is tomorrow.