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!

I’m not super keen on brioche either-maybe that’s what putting me off. Willing to give it a go however. I will investigate at the weekend!

@RainbowZebraWarrior " If you end up forgetting about them until after the New Year, then they make for an excellent bread and butter pudding. If you can be bothered / have time to brave the supermarkets atm, they usually start to reduce them around now."

Oooh I lurve bread and butter pudding not had one of those in forever! Maybe that's the way to go, the Christmas of vol au vents and bread and butter panettone! :D

I get pannetonne and Pandoro confused. I had a delicious brioche like item last year, having never bought one as I thought it was like pandoro.

The pandoro is the one that you slice horizontally and rotate the pieces so that it looks like a Christmas tree, isn’t it? That is dry as anything, but nice with cream, in a trifle, or toasted and buttered?

I’ve had a productive day, really. Turned my office space into a craft space for the holidays. Helped a novice sewer make a donut shaped pillow.

I’m looking forward to the rest of the week now, pretty much finished work until Jan. I will be making something pretty much every spare minute now. Food, socks, sweets… I made @petitpasta ’s cold remedy cubes!

I’m so sorry about the diagnosis, @martha79 . That sucks. I really hope that the rest does the job and you start to feel better. I have a family member struggling with LC.

@PrizedPickledPopcorn What?!? I've never had Pandoro either! I need to eat more this Christmas and New Year, because a trifle would be pretty retro too. :D

Thanks for the kind wishes - in some ways it feels like a relief not to only be given permission to rest but been very seriously instructed to.

Had a very quiet day, not even unwrapped my new pans which arrived this afternoon! Friend decided not to stay over but popped round this evening with an entire fruit platter leftover from the buffet at an event she'd been to, which was rather nice.

I don't think I've had pandoro either - I will need to start making a shopping list for next week. Since there's only me I don't need a big grocery delivery but I do have the local Waitrose on Uber Eats...

Like this- but I’ve seen them layered with whipped cream sandwiched in it and berries sat on the points, almost like baubles on a tree.

Enjoying all the Pannetone chat yum - we are still away and both DH and I have come down with a heavy cold hopefully this means we won't be ill for Christmas 🤞 the ice cubes sound fab will definitely be doing a batch of those when I get back. For now have the spanish version of lemsip which seems to be quite good! At least I don't have to do any cooking or housework and have plenty of time to rest for once!

If Pandora is the Christmas tree shaped one, I found it quite dry. Panettone however is lovely as French toast with a berry compote (or frozen berries whizzed in the microwave a bit)

@petitpasta I've read back far enough to find your ice cube instructions now, thank you! Do you use a big or small ice cube tray? I'll try making them over the weekend.

Joining the panettone discussion - I'd quite happily sit and eat a full big one to myself 😋. My friend's dad buys several at this time of year & always has one on the go when I call for a cuppa.

I've actually had a really enjoyable day today with two festive performances, wrapping in between, and semi-organising Friday's gifts for my class at work. Much more in the spirit of the season now 🎅

I've never had Pandoro (or pandora as my autocorrect prefers; alright, Adrian Mole <ages self>) but I like panettone. Although we never get through the whole thing but it's just light and fruited and not dry at all. I hesitate to say it but I think I might have one right in the deepest depths of my pantry left from last year ('muck out pantry' is approaching the top of my to-do list). it's probably quite green by now 🤢
I've got the sneezes tonight which probably means I'm getting a cold as I am not really a sneezer. Fingers crossed not, who has time for that.

Pandora!
I adore ya
I implore ye
Don't ignore me

(sent to the BBC Poetry dept, but as yet have not heard anything back)

Signed:
A Mole
Aged 13 and three quarters

Trying again see if the photo will load.

I LOVE Adrian Mole!

I used a small ice cube trays and just added one cube to about 2/3rds of a mug of hit water.

I loved reading the Adrian Mole books too!

We have a lovely little Italian shop that makes fresh pasta, they also bring in the most amazing panettone at this time of year. They have different varieties but the classic one is always the nicest IMO. They also sell delicious perfectly aged peccorino cheese 🤤 (I'm usually quite a strict vegetarian but I make an exception when it comes to cheeses at Christmas).

I'm in the middle of a ridiculously busy time at work, tomorrow I have an unreal amount of things to do, including being in 2 different places at once due to poor planning brain fog on my behalf 🤦🏼‍♀️ and of course I can't sleep so I've just posted my Christmas card making adventure on Instagram instead 😅

Welcome to the club @martha79, I've been ill since January 2021, there's no way to sugar-coat it, it's shit but one does learn to live with it by finding coping strategies. Sending supporting vibes your way.

Hello! Thanks for the new thread - I dropped off the last one and into a bit of a void these last couple of weeks - blame it on the roof work that went on and on and on, and a particularly nasty cold that I sort of still have. I've been trying very hard to declutter, tidy and clean so I have time to enjoy a reasonably festive and nicer house before Everyone is back inside it all the time - but two days to go and still lots to do. And I'm not being at all interested in cooking/eating properly so that's not helping recovery from the lurgy, I suspect.

Like Celia, I also have a DC with a birthday this weekend but said child is showing all the signs of coming down with yet another bug (his last one was what I think I've had) and he has SEN and doesn't deal well with feeling unwell.

but! we did get our tree up on Monday and lit today ... might even get baubles on tomorrow!

I really love a panetone and haven't got mine in yet. Nobody else eats it but that's fiiiiine.

Re Dennis Severs' house - have wanted to go for decades but just never got around to it. I'm very surprised Nigel was allowed to take photos as I believe they're very strict about that but then ... he IS Nigel.

18 December

The almond paste

The origins of the ancient paste made from ground almomds and sugar are complex but it almost certainly came to us from the Middle East. The earliest mentions attribute it's invention to the Persians, whom we should also thank for formal gardens, cheques, etiquette, polo and postage stamps. The paste was originally eaten not as a sweetmeat but for its medicinal qualities. A product of the apothecary rather than of the confectioner.

Morning, all. I've been awake since 5am as per usual (I very much suit my real name!) so I've switched on the snow projector outside and now I have pretty falling snowflakes projecting through my bedroom window and onto my celling. It's quite mesmerising. Keeps me happy, anyway.

Welcome back @GlomOfNit and fingers crossed this latest bug doesn't come to anything.

Good luck to all with busy days and hope you can all see the end, and some rest, in sight.

Oh. Today's chapter; Marzipan. My favourite. Apothecary and health benefits indeed. I don't need any further excuse to scoff the stuff 😋

The things I learned from (or was confused about by) Adrian Mole many years ago!

I'm sorry you've been ill for so long @AlicePottery - it's such a horrible feeling (I described it to the GP yesterday as my whole body going "nope, absolutely not!" and it's impossible to push through it). I love your cards, probably what my cats would look like if I tried to put a Santa hat on them! 😂

@RainbowZebraWarrior your snow sounds nice. Maybe I should give marzipan another chance for medicinal purposes. Or use it as an excuse to buy stollen.

I'm delighted to see the Adrian Mole love- my favourite books! I'm on my yearly re-read at the moment.

Morning all,

Sending healing thoughts to all of us ill. The cold I had last week has now changed into the dreaded cough (I had pneumonia in the sunmer, so am on edge about coughing again), and the final blessing- I've 'lost' my voice. That's to say, all of the top notes have gone, and only the bass note remain. I sounds like a man (can hit an octave below middle C now!).

School won't accept that as an excuse to be off though, so I'm ploughing on into the last two days.

My wrapping is all done (bar 2 presents I'm still waiting on), the cards are done and in tje post. The cake needs to be marzipanned, but today seems to be an appropriate day to do that, so I shall aim to complete that tonight.

We had a tiny piece of a rainbow, over on the hills opposite (North) to us, yesterday morning. Sending it to you, @RainbowZebraWarrior

Oh, thank you my lovely ❤️ all rainbows very gratefully received here 😊 Sorry to hear you're still poorly and about the voice. It's rubbish when you feel you have to power through. Sending gentle hugs and keeping everything crossed that it doesn't turn nasty.

I am reminded as to why I follow Miranda Hart. She has a chronic health condition which has symptoms similar to mine. She's also currently had flu and recently posted this:

"When I was very unwell for long time in the past, Christmas was harder for fomo, wishing things were different, and feeling alone with a long term condition. So this is to send much love to those feeling similar. It’s tough but you are NOT alone. ❤️"

I bloody love marzipan! Also love that Indian sweet that is similar but made from pistachio (can’t remember the name).

uniting two topics - trifle and marzipan - my grandma used to make an amazing trifle using Battenberg cake. For the first time since she died (18 years ago! Some people cast very long shadows) I am attempting it this year.

Been having a bit of a break from everything. I know next week will be full on and husband is now not back until next week so I’ve effectively lost this weekend. I’ve felt like I had a broken spring recently. So needed to stop. All I did yesterday was knit. And I still have two sleeves to do! Still feel a little more resilient.

Hope you can rest @AlicePottery and @martha79 . I am twitchy and impatient to get back to normal after only a week of the lurgi so I can't imagine the patience and acceptance needed longer-term.
My driving fitness assessment went well. They were really kind and said they will advise DVLA there are no issues with my driving. 🤞DVLA agree. Went out to celebrate with friends and had a surprisingly great pub Christmas roast. Working up to the end seemingly covering for managers who have taken leave but hopefully we will be quiet. I have tomorrow off to clean, make mince pies and make my annual rubbish wreath before adult children return. We are just a three and I it gives me joy putting the heating on in their rooms and filling the fridge with things they like in readiness for a couple of very precious weeks.

Ah, I didn't know that about Miranda Hart.

My mum's coming over tomorrow to stay the night (DS's birthday) and drive back Saturday after the roast pork I'm hoping to do for an early lunch, and I'm really worried I'll give her this bug. She's quite hermit-like now and avoid anywhere with crowds. And she'll be going back to my dad, so I don't want to pass anything on to both of them!

Must marzipan my own cake, thanks for the reminder WeMeetInFairIthilien! I'll ask mum if she wants hers iced (she loves royal icing but hates marzipan and I've yet to find an acceptable alternative to that barrier between the juicy brandied fruit and the icing). It'll add about 500g to the weight of the cake but she did say she was taking an extra bag ...

My mind is on the OTHER cake I need to make, perhaps this afternoon and ice tomorrow. DS2 has had some autistic interests over the years that have tested my cake-creativity and in the past I've made a toilet cake (with a choir of singing poos!), two washing machine cakes, numerous bus cakes, the odd train, and god knows how many various CBeebies characters. This year he decided on a non-train Thomas and Friends character and has even fixated on a photo of a fondant icing topper he found on ebay! Given that the ebay seller is herself copying a copyrightable character, I'm not bothered about trying to replicate what she did!