The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles readalong 2025 - Part 2

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to Part 2. We Continue our CC journey.

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 Christmas Chronicles (Notes, stories and 100 essential recipes for midwinter) book began on 1st November.

We continue to read along and comment with the book which is set out in diary form. I will make a post each day (or let you know if there is no entry on a particular day)

Some regulars to the thread already have the book. For anyone new, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up a bargain. Vinted has come up trumps in the past, as has ebay. A rare and precious charity shop find is always a bonus. Don't forget, you can also listen along to Nigel's dulcet tones via Audible.

So, welcome to old friends and new, and don't forget that reading by candle light is particularly enjoyable. Cire Trudon may be one of Nige's candles 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, light a candle, grab a cosy blanket and join in!

Here's a link to Thread One

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/christmas/5432484-the-nigel-slater-christmas-chronicles-readalong-2025?page=39&reply=148553449

Thank you.

So I have a sample batch of sausage rolls fresh from the oven, nine with caramelised onions and nine with Bramley apples… I shall test to see if they work with a G&T… now shhh, Nigel is about to start reading to me!

Gosh they look good! I've a stew with dumplings on. Cold night here.

Hello and thank you!

Thank you @RainbowZebraWarrior

I have been channelling Nigel today by stocking up on sellotape.

I'm marking my spot with a photo confirming that we have the heating on, NVN but I hate having a cold house.

Mine’s on too. With the thermostat turned up to a balmy 18 degrees. And still my feet are cold.

I totally lost track of the last thread, but hopefully will keep up with this one. @AlicePottery your cat is ❤️

Thankyou for the new thread

Placemarking with a Lucie Rie bowl at Kettle’s Yard. Lucie is one of Nigel’s favourite potters (along with Edmund DeWaal).

So many lovely recipes being shared. Now I want spiced plums and creamy sausage meatballs.

When I was a teenager I could never work out how I could tell it had snowed before I got out of bed. I realise now that it was the silence!

Tomorrow I am planning to carve out some menu planning time so I can work out how to run the freezer down to create space for the Christmas makes and bakes.

The bowl and the cat are both wonderful!

Just posted on the other thread, but posting here also.

Good morning all. There's no CC entry today so a chance to catch up for anyone who needs it.

"When I was a teenager I could never work out how I could tell it had snowed before I got out of bed. I realise now that it was the silence!"

It's also the light, I'd say. The light coming in from outside is so different when it's snowed. The eerie, soft white light.

It’s been an age since we have had snow in this neck of the woods. There is nothing like waking up and sensing the light and hearing the silence before whipping open the curtains in anticipation of a decent covering.

We haven’t had much in the way of holidays for a while. Long weekends in the uk. I don’t think we’ve left the country since Covid. We are having a couple of years of holidays while we are pet free <sob>, and this has inspired me to plan a holiday to somewhere with proper snow either early next year or 2026’s winter.

Any suggestions? We don’t ski. I don’t really know what we could do or where we could go.

Yes, we’ve hardly had any snow the last few years (SE England) but a couple of years ago there was a forecast that said it might snow a little bit overnight, but I assumed it wouldn’t come to anything as it rarely does here. Got up at 5am to go for a wee, noticed the eerie silence and took a peek out of the front bedroom window as I was passing instead of ours at the back and wow. We have a very open view at the front, a playing field, a pretty cottage on the other side, lots of tall trees, yellow streetlights on the main road. Normally at night you can’t see much apart from the streetlights. It was incredible. Several inches of snow, the glow from the streetlights reflecting off all the snow, illuminating the field, the trees and the cottage. It was a completely magic moment, totally unexpected. Nigel would have liked it.

Just finished breakfast, reheated sausage rolls and a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, there are no satsumas in the house, so I could not have my traditional Christmas breakfast… growing up, my mum would do the Christmas baking on Christmas Eve and my father would go off to the pub. So mince pies and sausage rolls would hit the oven, cream for the trifle would be whipped as they cooked. A couple of rounds of ham sandwiches, made from the gammon she had cooked, would be placed on a plate and under a mixing bowl in the kitchen for those at the pub or at Midnight Mass. In the morning, I would have coffee in bed, the satsuma from my stocking and any sausage rolls that were not perfect enough to be be shared with guests would be delivered to my bedside table.

Next door’s younger little stripey cat has been in for a visit and is currently asleep on my bed, am expecting his brother Big Stripey any time soon. Now I am off to label up the Mystery Quilt from the Quiltalong… there are a lot of moving parts… so best get started!

Lake Bled in Slovenia is stunning. 80% of Slovenia is National Park and you can always squeeze in a visit to Autria too as its really close to the border. I went there skiing year ago, but took some days off from the slopes as I felt I was missing too much. Its like a picture postcard.

https://www.tosomeplacenew.com/lake-bled-in-winter/

I'm keeping a daily eye out, but can anyone please shout up if a Black Friday offer pops up on St Eval please. I'm after the Holy Smoke enchantment pot and I don't like paying full price any more. Cannot seem to get an ebay or vinted bargains on St Eval these days either.

@LatteLady our Christmas morning tradition was always home made sausage rolls fresh from the oven. (Well, it was until DD went veggie last Christmas eve) I made a large sausage roll yesterday which I finished off with parmesan, black pepper and pine nuts. It just needs slicing now it's cool. I should have sliced it before it went in the oven really as I lost the opportunity for those caramelised bits at each edge, but overall I'm quite happy with the radom additions.

@EnchantingDecorating 2021 was the last time we had proper snow. Since then the most we seem to have had is a sprinkle which came and went in less than a day. At the moment its looking like there is a chance overnight on Wednesday, but I will not be holding my breath.

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with snow. It’s lovely to look at and go out in as long as you don’t have to go out in it. At times I feel a bit bad wanting snow as I know it causes chaos for some including falls, breaks etc.

Good morning all! I'm just catching up with both book, and thread, this morning. Struggling to find much in the way of enthusiasm for much lately so hoping this corner of MN will help me find some enthusiasm for Christmas/winter.

I live in northern Scotland but I'm not originally from here so snow is really a novelty for me. I've bought Yak Trax for my shoes which helps aot with safe walking. It's beautiful - I live near a wooded area and the trees are majestic covered in snow. But the snow is disruptive and lots of people fall and injure themselves.

I’m back at work tomorrow after 3 months off and I’ve a feeling my car will be frozen so I need to factor that in to setting off. I’ve got some cleaning to do and I’m cooking a roast it won’t be very Nigel. And then a Christmas film tonight 🎅🏻