The Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles Readalong 2025 - Part 3

[RainbowZebraWarrior]

Hello all, and welcome to Part 3. 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)

For anyone new, it's a challenge to see of you can pick up the book as 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!

10 January

Jars of joy and the marmalade dragons

A winter afternoon, just getting dark, the scent of hot citrus and sugar climb the stone steps that lead up from the kitchen. Marmalade Day - it's actually two days - will always be up there with Stir-up Sunday as the best of kitchen days.

Image won't add for some reason

Minus 2 and still thick ice and frost here. It's also still dark, so the stove is lit, candles are lit, kettle is boiling and all is quiet apart from a Robin singing his heart out outside my front door.

That sounds cosy @RainbowZebraWarrior

I'm watching the sunrise over a very frosty view. Loved today's chapter and I love marmalade, but I usually get a couple of jars from a friend who makes a huge amount, so not attempting it myself. I am planning a quick food shopping trip and actually cooking properly today though - really fancy bolognese or something like that.

Morning all, snow still here but not getting any worse.

Chilly and frosty here too. We are due to go to London today to do some curling at the curling pop up at Kings Cross. Not sure if we will train it or drive to the top of the tube and go from there. The train is exorbitant but the drive is long.
I remember this post from last year as I said then that I’d never made jam or marmalade and do you need a special pan? And I resolved to do it and then didn’t! I expect this year will be the same, though I do aspire to jam and marmalade making.

I went for a long dark walk last night with the dogs when I got home from work, as I’ve resolved to try and settle in properly to our new town, now Christmas is over. I still don’t love it here (it was a sort of forced move due to family circumstances) and I haven’t settled properly, but we are here for the foreseeable and it’s really a very beautiful and lovely town objectively so I’m going for immersion tactics. To this end I’ve decided to explore all the little streets properly-I found a lovely little cobbled street with some very charming, tiny wonky cottages and an old postern gate that was once part of the old town walls, which made me smile last night and I will walk the dogs that way down to the market this morning with the aim of purchasing some nice bread and some spring-ish flowers if they have any. I’m going on another new -to -the-area women’s group walk tomorrow.So effort being made!
Have a lovely Saturday all

Bolognese for dinner here too @martha79or Cajun dirty rice…something with mince anyway!

I don't make marmalade any more. It's yet another one of those things I used to toil over because of the love of cooking and 'creating beautiful things' but I don't eat marmalade so it was another one of those useless exercises a but like sloe gin also my hands aren't good enough to chop peel into tiny slices any more.

I'm intrigued by cajun dirty rice. I see dirty fries advertised all the time and assume its just like nachos; loads of extra stuff piled on top. I'm going simplistic today and have taken out a chicken joint and a pack of waitrose goose fat roast potatoes from the freezer. Truth be told, I hate bought in roasties, but always buy some as a just in case, so just want rid of them really. Sure they will be nice enough with a bit of extra butter and plenty gravy.

@piscofrisco the cobbled street with wonky cottages sounds lovely. Sounds like you're doing the right thing, though it's understandable that there's perhaps some reticence within your subconscious mind, as it was an 'enforced' move so to speak rather than choice.

Hmph. Has the photo option gone again or is it just me?

RainbowZebraWarrior ; I love making jam and marmalade, nut don't eat it myself. My late DH was a "jam and toast" rather than toast and jam, so I knew it would always get eaten. Haven't made any in years now. For anyone who can't peel and slice, I'd suggest the tins of Ma-Made prepared fruit. NVN, but useful.

I was in the supermarket yesterday but they didn’t have any Seville oranges - not clear if they had sold their stock or they haven’t even started coming in yet.

I make this recipe from marmalade maestro Dan Lepard https://www.danlepard.com/oranges-are-the-only-fruit/

It’s very labour intensive but does make a beautiful soft set thin shred marmalade. It is an act of love though as I don’t like marmalade in any form (the bitterness ughhhh) but DH loves it so much.

I found Seville oranges in a greengrocer near where I work so I'm going to make marmalade this weekend. Got the skins soaking in the kitchen. However I forgot to bloody weigh the oranges so how this will turn out is anyone's guess!

We have various preserves piling up. We use very little jam and chutney. So I really need to stop making it! The only real ‘need’ is the quince I get given and the victoria plums. Everything else is just faffing about for fun! I need to divert my faffing onto bread and cake I think- that all gets eaten super fast.

I can hear the crunching outside my window as everyone drives past very slowly. It’s lethal out there.

Back after being randomly locked out of my Microsoft account for no reason that I could see - hello again.

I LOVE marmalade, and it's one of the few ways I have to indulge that doesn't annoy the gallstones, so every morning I have sourdough toast and marmalade, truly the breakfast of the gods.

We had no snow and the sun is shining like mad this morning. Treecycle van is on the way to collect the sad tree in the drive, a fond farewell to that.

Went to a New Year concert at the local theatre last night, lovely cheering stuff.

Good Morning all nigelistas

I need some culinary help please, my lovely upstairs neighbour has given me a huge, round, 'lump' of frozen venison (he shot it) I have no idea what to do with it? Roast it? Slow cook it? With what? etc. Any suggestions welcome.

Do you know what cut it is? It could be worth asking or trying to work it out. Appreciate this is always difficult when it's still frozen as my Dad never labels his so a problem we get a lot. We usually casserole ours, or do a marinade for certain cuts (ribs etc) Slow cooker is a good bet if you've got one, in some red wine and stock with root veg.

@RainbowZebraWarrior Thank You, tbh I don't think my neighbour will have any idea what cut it is, he shoots and then has a deal with a butcher who takes half of the animal. It's round, has no bone and I should think weighs about 2kl, It also looks very lean which makes me think probably long slow cooking might be best or it could end up very dry. I'll have a browse of my cookery books this weekend and see what I find.

It's wonderfully sunny here to day but still very cold, Dh starts his new job on Monday so we are having a very chilled weekend at home. I shall do some baking, fajjitas this evening and then we are watching Frakenstien. Tomorrow a walk perhaps and then roast lamb for dinner, simple pleasures.

Wishing all a peaceful weekend.

I'm in a similar position - I make lots of jams (never chutney, can't bear the smell) but eat it once in a blue moon. Mostly quince jams and jellies, and wild plums (the little red and yellow ones in hedges. Various friends like them, and if there's anything left over then it goes to the church fete in my DM's village - any local church or community event that has an element of selling things to raise money will usually jump at the chance, if you need to dispose of them!

I've never made marmalade (can't stand the stuff) but love reading Nigel's description of the process. I used to make jams and chutneys but it has been a long time.

We've actually just reverted to salted butter having only ever bought and used unsalted for years. We used to cook for FiL a few times a week and he claims to hate salt and that he can detect the presence of salt in any food, which immediately makes him refuse the whole meal. I say "claims" to be able to do this because he constantly complains that MiL's cooking is bland and tasteless whereas he loves it when I cook. I do use salt sparingly- e.g in pasta water, which MiL would leave out, but can't tell him that's the reason. Butter was an easy win for us, so long as he sees unsalted butter in our fridge, he's satisfied that nothing else will be salted either. It took a while to get used to it but in some situations- e.g on scones, where the unsalted butter functions almost like cream, or in a sandwich with a naturally salty element like cheese or ham - I came to prefer it. Doesn't work at all on toast or crumpets though. Now that FiL is too ill to come to us, we've reverted to salted butter and my waistline is paying the price for my rediscovery of toast and crumpets with melty, salty, dripping butter... 😋

Just thought I'd share this. I borrowed this book before Christmas and it's due back at the library next week so I'm reading it now. Its an absolute delight. A book about gardening and cooking, interspersed with annecdotes, stories and with Caroline's own illustrations. VVN!

When we had the Thousand Feasts threads, I noticed that CQ uploaded a video absolutely squealing about how wonderful Nigel's new book was. Turns out this one was published around the same time. I've just followed her on Instagram and note that Nigel and Edward Duvaal also follow her.

Images still aren't working then... the book is called Drawn to the Garden by Caroline Quentin. Here's her Instagram page

www.instagram.com/cqgardens/?hl=en

Link to book in lieu of image

https://www.waterstones.com/book/drawn-to-the-garden/caroline-quentin//9780711290556?sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=863943&awc=3787_1768056451_5623f5eb4c3c5daa3d206de644264a49&utm_source=863943&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.octer.co.uk%2F

That book looks great @RainbowZebraWarrior - I think once I've got through my current to-be-read pile I should rejoin the library, I've got out of the habit of going and there's one not that far.

Had a successful trip to the supermarket and bolognese making. Then realised I'd run out of pasta but I had picked up a microwave pilau rice so ended up with something very lurid 😂 (trying to attach image).

Robins always make me happy. Drove over the wolds today and had sun, ice, standing water, snow and freezing fog. Not bad for. 35 mile journey. Children have been fascinated by the ice and we had some fun roleplaying what you do if someone falls through ice (not on or near ice I hasten to add).

I don’t do marmalade making but v happy when I get my jar of shred less from my mum. In fact I need to enquire when I should expect it.

My take on Nigel’s sprout salad. Warm salad as I’m not going to faff anything like that much! Sesame seeds, sesame oil, an orange and an apple. Some fancy purple sprouts, halved and boiled for 2mins. The chaps said as sprouts go, there are worse ways to eat them. DH even voluntarily had seconds. I think it need much more orange, personally.
And how do you get a photo without the shadow of the camera in it?

One of my very favourite gardening books, @RainbowZebraWarrior, and one I re-read every so often, is The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift. A meditatative journey through the seasons, and based on the medieval Book of Hours - and our very own Nigel Slater said when he reviewed it - The Morville Hours is the most beautiful book I have read in years'. Can there be a higher recommendation?!!!

Meant to catch up hours ago, but have been embroiled in the Toon Game (that's Newcastle United for those not initiated) anyway, after a heart-in-mouth game plus extra time, plus penalties - including sudden death - we are through to the 4th round of the FA cup. Apologies to any Bournemouth supporters on the thread.

That looks really good @martha79 and I rely on microwave rice a lot these days. In fact, I'd call it a bit of a revelation. The brown rice or wholegrain rice from most of the big supermarkets is something I stock up on.

That also looks rather delicious @PrizedPickledPopcorn in fact I'd say it looks and sounds better than Nigel's!

It's still majorly icy here with snow and frost also still on the ground. My Dad refilled my grit bin yesterday, so I've been out and gritted the paths and driveway for what it's worth. We have snow forecast overnight, but fingers crossed it comes to nowt much as DD is desperate to get back to Tynemouth Market after the Christmas hiatus.

I was surprised today when I realised we only have four chapters left of our beloved CC, although there is still 23 days to go, so I think we will need a fourth thread. We can then all decamp to the Year Round Nigel Appreciation / Discussion Thread. There is always more to talk about when it comes to Nigel and Nigel Adjacent Things 😊

Robins are the absolute best aren't they,@MichaelmasDaisiesAndAutumSunset and always make me happy, too.

@Bimblesalong Hope you have enjoyed your opera.

@piscofrisco Hope you have also enjoyed your curling excursion.

Minor Aurora being reported here, so off to have a quick peep in the back garden. It's a very starry night, so if nothing else, that's always a beautiful sight.

What did you go and see @Bimblesalong ? (Fellow opera lover here.)