Your favourite Christmas recipe.

[MrsWhites]

Is it too early? I want to try a few new recipes this year so share your favourites with me please!!

I’ll start with the pie I make with Christmas leftovers:

hairybikersrecipes.co.uk/hairy-bikers-turkey-ham-pie-recipe/

Can you let me know how this goes?

I definitely will! I'm making it later on today, to eat tomorrow. I did buy the liquid glucose in the end.

Some lovely ideas to make a note of on this thread.
My favourite is the homemade mincemeat recipe that starts with a jar of Robertson’s mincemeat: that’s my sort of cooking.

Absolutely loving this thread! 🎄
Loads of delicious recipes.
I am not a great cook! But I am hosting Christmas dinner this year for 10, who are mostly, very plain eaters. Can anyone suggest come VERY easy recipes, to make things a little bit special?
Thanks 😊

Nigella's bread sauce: so easy and it makes the Christmas dinner for me!

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/my-mothers-bread-sauce

Plus a simple cranberry sauce to make when you have a spare 10 minutes on Christmas morning: 1 pack cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water. Put everything in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil and summer until the cranberries start to pop. Place in a dish straight on the table, it will be fine waiting there until the rest of lunch is ready.

If you have leftover cranberry sauce, add some soy sauce and use it to glaze cocktail sausages or even leftover pigs in blankets on boxing day.

Thank you @Ophy83 😊

Super, thank you

I was about to post this. I made it as homemade gifts one year and have had requests for it ever since. Took a few years off since having DD but going to come back to it this year I think.

Another ‘homemade gift’ that went down amazingly well and I still sometimes make either to give away or drink myself is toffee vodka just mixing werthers originals with a bottle of vodka in a big sterilised mason jar, shaking every so often over a few days and then decanting into smaller bottles. One I really enjoyed but only made for myself was Christmas Pudding vodka too https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/christmas-pudding-vodka

I can’t find the recipe online anymore but Delia had one for filo parcels with leeks, Brie and cranberry which was my go to when I didn’t eat meat and still enjoy at some point over Christmas now that I do again. I’ll have to keep looking for the recipe to make again this year but basically sweat down the leeks in lots of butter, cut a bit of cheese, arrange in a ready made filo square and blob of cranberry on top, fashion into a parcel - I think that was the gist of it!

Going to go back through rest of the thread now to see what else I can add to my list! Love all the ideas.

Toffee vodka sounds amazing - how many werthers do I need to put in?

I did about 1l of vodka (can’t remember if it all fit in the jar or if it ended up being more like 750 ml) and a full bag of werthers which googling now tells me is 135g, the hard candy ones.

Also, too simple to be called a recipe really, but my sister did these one year and they’ve become a Christmas Eve staple ever since - I make the dip with cream cheese if I’ve not got crème fraiche.

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/parma-ham-wrapped-grissini-with-pesto-dip/amp/

My sil made 'true' mince pies last year, they were fab doused with icing sugar and served warm with thick cream on the side. They werent filled with the typical sweet mincemeat, it was a recipe she got in a book. I liked them as they werent as sweet. I shall ask her for it and share here

I use paul hollywoods recipe and i use cointreau to soak fruit and feed the cake. Its not as heavy as trad christmas cake so a nice change

I do Nigella's christmas rocky road.
Nigella's cranberry and pecan biscuits are just delicous - cook loads!
Delia's flourless log (I don't think it's on her website) - it's the most delicious yule log.
I do Nigella's bread sauce too
Jamie's Fantastic Fish Pie which is just the best one for christmas eve

The best mine pies are definitely Paul Hollywood (and he also bastardises a shop bought mince meat in the same way as the OP).
Best eggs benedict are probably Gordon Ramsay (we have these for Christmas morning rather than christmas muffins).

I stick to those each year but try different recipes otherwise. Usually bake Delia's Christmas cake.

I have made the Delia tort which is delicious (this thread has just reminded me) and also I think it was a Delia chocolate mousse recipe which was the best one ever which basically only had dark chocolate and egg yolks in. Sadly for both of these my children are too weak to tolerate dark chocolate.

I have realised that I shared this without warning not to make it on Christmas Day. It has lots of steps and needs counter space, hob and oven space.
It all comes togther n8cely, looks great and my family lives it but I always make it the day before.

Plain eaters should be easy to please in terms of dinner but it can be easy to put them off by making red cabbage too spicey, cauliflower cheese too strong or doing strange things with sprouts like frying with shallots and chestnuts. 😁

If they are really fussy I'd check what veg they like so that I had plain peas and carrots or whatever.

For puddings and cakes, check again as some people can't stand dried fruit. Apple crumble might work? Pavlova? Ice cream.
Brownies?

Are they just coming for dinner or for days? Check out if they do spag bol or lasagne or chilli (come people won't do beans).

Good luck! I'm not sure what's worse fussy guests or foodie guests 🤔 😁

This is a popular starter or buffet offering in my house served with posh crackers...https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tangy-roast-pepper-walnut-dip

I have saved this thread! Some fantastic recipes and suggestions.

We love this Stilton puff recipe by Nigel Slater

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/stilton_puffs_33929

Sounds gorgeous. I only like homemade mince pies - I find any bought ones to be too sweet and the pastry too soft and thick. My dad bakes trays and trays of them and brings them in great quantities. I do make some myself occasionally but I’m terrible at pastry and it’s always a right palava.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/books/delias-happy-christmas/traditional-mince-pies
This recipe with nice shop bought mincemeat. Pastry rolled as thin as possible. They’re the best.

My husband has just been diagnosed as pre diabetic. Any good recipes for that?

@HannahDefoesSpringFling thank you so much! They are only coming for the day. Apple crumble is my dads favourite, so that's a good should, thanks. I'll start a wee WhatsApp group, get everyone's thoughts. Thanks again 😊

I wonder why Delia's Creole Christmas cake has been hidden.

Reporting back on Delia's chocolate truffle torte. It was really easy and is delicious. I made it yesterday then left it in the fridge to set and we had it this evening.

I'll definitely make it for one of our Christmas parties as it's an easy make-ahead recipe so should make things simpler on the day. Thank you to the PP that posted it!