The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2024

[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 good few pages by way of introduction. This is why I start the thread now; so that we have time to prepare and settle in.

A lot 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.

I shall post each day and we can share our thoughts and feelings on the day's recipes and sentiments. It's particularly lovely to share any memories and personal traditions (as Nigel himself does)

Note: Reading by candle light can be particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nigel's favourites but they are somewhat pricey. Share your festive finds here, even if they are at the cheaper end of the scale and possibly NVN (Not Very Nigel)

Pull up a chair, grab a cosy blanket, and light your candle of choice. It's that most wonderful time of the year!

Hello everyone just catching up! Have eaten my first mince pie of the season 😋
Having a complete declutter at the moment as waiting for a delivery of a new freezer so I can get ahead with planning.
Had my first visit to Sostrene Grene; went a bit mad.. here’s a little selection.
Really enjoying reading these posts.

Oh I loved this! Thank you for posting!

Thanks for the link - I will be listening to In and Out of the Kitchen while I plan the nibbles for our Christmas drinks party. I'd like a few that are at least a little bit substantial and warm (people tend to loiter which is lovely). Any suggestions very welcome! DH thinks these things just happen.

Snowball with a glace cherry in it? (Very not Nigel ). My girls used to love a snowball (milky custard for theirs when they were little, but latterly the real thing). Christmas doesn't start for us until we have broken out the Advocaat.

Nigel's green olive pastries here are lovely.

Nigella does an anchovy paste one too I think.

Depends if you mean warm / hot, and also depends how sophisticated you want them. Vol au vents are atill rather popular and really good stuffed with a bit of rare beef and a dab of horseradish. When I used to do catering, I'd often get asked to make mini fish and chip cones which went down well. Home made garlic bread also goes down well. Especially with mini cups of soup which people can serve themselves via a ladle from a slow cooker. My absolute favourite though is sausage rolls made with sausage meat mixed with stuffing with a sprinkling of grated cheese on top before they go in the oven.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/dec/18/nigel-slater-christmas-nibbles-and-shocks

It’s going to sound twee but last year I did a goats cheese and red pesto puff pastry Xmas tree shaped tear and share type thing. People went nuts for it and I made about 6 over Xmas. I also have a recipe for a hot spinach and artichoke dip that is always a hit. I agree about sausage rolls too. They are such a winner.

Excellent recommendations - greatly enjoying In and Out of the Kitchen (can’t help but imagine it is Nigel). The olive pastries are bookmarked for snackage.

My go-to warm nibble is gougeres - you can even make & freeze them in advance (unbaked) and then finish them off when your party's in full flow. My kids used to call them "the cheesy Christmas puffs."

Agree with the hot artichoke & spinach dip suggestion, too. It's always a hit.

I knew you were the people to come up with some lovely ideas! Thank you! Might give the green olive pastries a dry run this week - just in case!!

Afternoon all, caught up after a busy few days in the bath this morning after the most glorious swim.

Hope everyone’s, teeth, boobs, dogs and kids ok.

I am going to try the gnudi, and the pear and marmalade, I am not a fan of mince pies or partridge!

Made my first batch of mince pies today. DH is hovering until they are cool enough to eat without burning himself 😂

@FiveGoMadInDorset I read that as 'a busy few days in the bath' 😁

Picked the dog up from Dad at the allotment just before 3pm. The sun was already starting it's descent behind the horizon. I do love a mackerel sky. Gorgeous whiff of woodsmoke too. Weirdly there are still strawberries as well as poppies and lobelia flowering profusely. Blackberries, too.

@Mumwithbaggage Good old cheese fondue is always a hit!

I used to make 'Tiny Toads' for nibbles, they always went down a treat. Mini toad in the holes made in a cupcake tray with mini cocktail sausages.

I enjoyed today's chapter. I remember having Asti for REALLY special occasions at home when i was very young and being allowed to have half of a tiny sherry glass.

Great successes here today! I took a drive to Sweden to a little mountain town and found Marsala in the Systembolaget! Also in the ICA filo pastry and ricotta! I am thrilled!

Also saw some good friends on the way home - pictured below.

Enjoyed today's chapter too. Remembering all those 70s drinks your parents used drink and thinking they were the height of sophistication- babycham, blue nun, snowballs 😂
My gnudi were disastrous. They fell apart so we basically had cheesy soup for dinner. Will make the sauce again though but maybe I'll stick to pasta from now on.

To be fair, the nicest soup I've ever had was cheese soup, in the main market square in Krakow.
Was your cheesy soup nice??

Snowballs are definitely a thing in our household - for some reason the dc have taken them to their hearts!

@IngenTing love your photo!

All of the party food suggestions are being duly noted thank you and am loving In and Out of the Kitchen!

Those photos @IngenTing ❤️. I once pot roasted a brace of partridges given to me by BIL. He is someone who only eats things he’s either shot, caught or grown and always insists on eating woodcock on Christmas Eve. He is the polar opposite of his brother, my DH and I love him for it - he is the country mouse to our town mouse! I’m not really suited to life in the country, but I do love going to stay with them from time to time for the full on rural experience.

@WeMeetInFairIthilien My cheesy soup was lovely. Just not what I thought I was making. Still, my cooking mantra is all mistakes guaranteed edible.

I've never tried the gnudi as there seems just too much room for error for me.

70's drinks were mostly revolting. Snowballs (yuk, my Nanna used to let me have one when I was young and I didnt thank her for it. I bought some Advocaat last year in a fit of nostalgia and still yuk) Babycham was awful, too, as was Cinzano. Asti Spumante was indeed the height of sophistication in many households. As Nigel says, it is tummy twistingly acidic. I remember being sent to the local shop on my own with a note from my Mum circa 1979 to buy some. I would have been 8. I reckon it's the reason my Mum has stuck to red wine ever since. She thinks all white wines taste of vinegar - including champagne - but hasn't actually tasted any for decades. My parents moved on to Bulls Blood shortly after Asti-gate, and then Le Piat D'or, before finding new world wines in the late 80's.

We used to spend NYE at my Great Aunts. She had a cocktail cabinet and was very well travelled. She had also worked in an upmarket hotel in the 60s and used to make the best Champagne Cocktails. Again, perhaps a bit too much for my then 8 or 9 year old palate. I think they were trying to make me feel grown up by allowing me one. Seems rather perplexing, now.

By weird coincidence, they’re making gnudi on Celebrity Masterchef at this very minute. Are they reading this thread?!

Not Celebrity - my mistake. Professional.

Top notch snaps @IngenTing how lovely. I did not drive to Sweden today but I was accompanied all day at work by a ginger cat. He spends every day in the pharmacy I was working at and took a real like to my consulting room. He spent all day on a shelf by the computer. Pharmacies are not inspected by the CQC so I didn’t like to ask him to leave. It seemed VN to be accompanied like this.

How wonderful @AgathaMystery he or she seems to have adopted you. You should think yourself rather special.

I love a mackerel sky too @RainbowZebraWarrior but unfortunately they're quite rare where I live.

I have never heard of Sostrene Grene and we don't have it in the US, but I'll be in England for much of December and I'm very excited to see there's one close to where my family live, so I will definitely be paying a visit.