Nigella Lawson - live webchat - Tuesday 13th December 1 - 2pm

[RachelMumsnet]

It's time for our final Christmas cookery webchat, and you won't be disappointed.... We're thrilled that the domestic goddess herself, Nigella Lawson is joining us at MNHQ for a live webchat on Tuesday 13th december at 1pm.

Just as Cranberry-Queen-Delia caused a shortage of fresh cranberries, 1996 saw the sales of goose fat rocket after it was championed by Nigella as the essential Christmas cooking ingredient. So if you want to know how to make the perfect roast potato or discover the secret to a succulent turkey, join us next Tuesday or send a question in advance to this thread.

Ahead of the webchat, we've been given permission to share Nigella's recipes for cranberry sauce and chestnut stuffing, both from her book Nigella Christmas which is now out in e-book format.

[Nedsma]

Nigella, we need to make your Chestnut Stuffing & freeze it but your recipe has created a debate (well, bit of a barney really) - do we cook it completely & then freeze it to warm thru on the day or do we stop at the point of adding the eggs, freeze and then cook it on the day? I think one, hubby thinks the other....won't tell you which is which!! We'll be having a Nigella Xmas again this year!!!

[VenetiaLanyon]

Hi Nigella,

Could I ask you what fat you cook your roast potatoes in if you have veggie guests? I tend to do them in olive oil myself.

Thanks
PS Have cooked very many happy meals from your splendid books.

[Get0rf]

I remember when Nigella went on Have I Got New For You with a tshirt with the legend 'Delia' written in sparkles.

[pretendhousewife]

Hi Nigella,
Our family loathes Christmas cake but would love to decorate a large expanse of frosting with tacky ski-ing santas and the like. It would be nice if it had cake underneath it - any ideas?

[thisonehasalittlecar]

Hi Nigella,
I have always thought of myself as someone who loves cooking, but the recent years of cooking for my not always fulsome with gratitude husband and small children have made me realise that actually I just love eating nice food and cook it because no-one else is going to cook it for me.

My question is, doing it both for your family and your job, do you ever get sick of it? Given that you are, shall we say, pretty financially secure, do you ever think, 'Sod it, someone else can do this now.' I think if I won the lottery I might just throw in the towel on the whole thing and hire a personal chef (and hand her/him all my bookmarked copies of your books, natch )

Reading this over it sounds a bit like me and cooking are in a stale marriage and I'm writing to a relationship columnist for advice: Nigella, the spark in my kitchen is dead, how can I get back the love???

[theladylovescupcakes]

I heart Nigella! She is God in our house. Love reading her books and many recipes are favourites now. Look forward to reading her replies tomorrow!

[IReallyHateMyCat]

Firstly, my dh proper fancies you.

Secondly what's your favourite "fun" recipe? You know quirky or cool looking or fun for a party?

Thirdly thank you, love you!

[sybilfaulty]

Dear Nigella

Thank you so much for the wonderful writing, fab recipes, great ideas and beautiful programmes. You are my favourite cookery writer and I have done so many of your recipes. I have had to buy a second copy of Domestic Goddess as my first fell apart beyond repair from overuse.

My question is about the urge to cook: whilst I love food, sometimes the urge to cook is just not there after a huge day with work and kids, in which case tea / toast / cheese/ wine beckon. After your most stressful days, do you never reach for the wotsits and wine hovis and the Lurpak instead of whipping up something from the storecupboard?

Thanks for all the joy you bring to the kitchen.

[cadelaide]

Hi Nigella, my DD (10) did a Christmas version of your storecupboard chocolate cake yesterday, the one with marmalade in it. She added dried fruits, mixed spice and a bit of orange extract and then she did a pretty thing with a home-made star cut-out and icing sugar on the top, like a doily-type thing, you know.

Anyway, it was a roaring success. More for the grown-ups really. She baked it in a large tin so it was fairly flat, like a brownie/panforte sort of thing. I'm not really sure why I'm telling you this, just to let you know that your cookbooks are the the most grubby ones in our kitchen.

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

Hi Nigella, I love your books and often take them to bed for a good read. Favourite being Feast.

Please please, please can I have a recipe for a non fruit cake for my daughter. I feel so bad for her at Christmas, she doesnt like Mince Pies or Christmas Cake or anything fruity/highly spiced. Please help me.

[Brunhilde]

Nigella - agree with Mistressofpemberly - How To Eat best written cook book ever.

Am a huge fan of your tips on fripperies - nail polish, wrapping paper, best sites (dh holds you totally resp for my crack-addiction to Stumbledupon).

So, come on, beguile us with the latest beautiful, delightful nonsense that gives us joy.

[AitchTwoOHoHoHo]

Admit it, Nigella, the ham in coke is delicious but the stock it leaves behind is fit for nothing. DO NOT mention that bogging black bean soup.

[housemum]

Aitch - agreed!
Back to fawning, your Christmas cake recipe is delicious, my "Domestic Goddess" book naturally falls open on that page. Since trying it, you usurped my old Delia recipe (which was a bit too dry if I'm honest but I'm too much of a domestic slattern to have the time or inclination to tinker with cake recipes). Make it every year and the 3 daughters have to help, even though only 1 of them eats fruit cake (we make up for that by doing a Yule log on Christmas Eve )

[BaublesandCuntingCarolSingers]

Oh for God's sake, it's my son's first nativity play at 1pm so I will miss the webchat (bloody inconsiderate of them!)

My entire family hate christmas pudding but I usually make one anyway and end up eating it alone :( Do you have any ideas for an alternative festive dessert that will be as special as a christmas pudding but without all of the dried fruit/candied peel that my lot seem to hate? They do love a good cheesecake but can't seem to find any sort of christmassy version...

[midnightexpress]

Oh cripes, I LOVE Nigella! Welcome to MN. Your banana bread recipe from Domestic Goddess is almost obscured by banana cake batter, we have made it so many times. Also love one of the beef stews in How To Cook, the Involtini in Feast, and, Oh! The mushroom sandwich. The mushroom sandwich in How to Eat. Mmmmm. Your American pancake recipe (with added blueberries) is our standard start the weekend recipe. And and and.

Anyhoo. My question: your children must be approaching the leaving home stage. What single recipe/dish do you think they will take away from home with them?

Nobody ever answers my questions on these webchats btw, so PLEASE answer this one.

[midnightexpress]

housemum, my copy of Domestic Goddess has 'v good' scrawled next to the Xmas Cake recipe in the margin. We have one sitting in its tupperware waiting to be fed, but I suspect that DP has drunk all the brandy, despite my dire warnings to him not to do so. Either that or I have hidden it somewhere and forgotten where that is. Bother.

[outwardbound]

Hello there :)

Who would you be most nervous cooking for?

[housemum]

I'd forgotten the curries in Feast - fab for Hallowe'en, we have gone trick or treating with the neighbours, then come back to warm up with a huge curry to share :)

And the banana bread - great when you have some left over bananas

Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly (made that for when my friends from church came round ) from the Forever Summer book

Sooo many fab recipes that work first time!

[OliviaMumsnet]

Nigella

Am gutted not to be able to make it into the Towers today.

Just want to say along side almost everyone else on the thread that think you are fab. My domestic goddess book has so many spatters etc it falls open to the the page. Will be whipping up some of your courgette cake into muffins for a new baby later.

V quick but rather specific one, I made the rest of the office some of your butter cut out biscuits when I went to visit last week. (and covered in edible glitter - they were super kitsch, hope you would approve)

Do you think the leftover dough will work as those stained glass biscuits where you do the clever thing with the boiled sweets and melt them? (have never attempted)
TIA

[NigellaLawson]

12 12 (don't get too excited this is mnhq!)

[SexyDomesticatedDab]

Olivia - had me worried for a minute thought Nigella couldn't make it in.

Why would a new baby want to eat courgette muffins ??

[loudee]

Hi nigella. Thank you for making it a joy to cook properly just for me! I either couldn't be bothered or couldn't justify making a proper meal if I was eating alone but since reading your books I am inspired to make the effort.

The first thing I ever cooked properly for other people was your mushroom stroganoff (now an addiction).

What was the first meal you cooked?

Merry Christmas!

[AitchTwoOHoHoHo]

omg that mushroom stroganoff... now add double cream, now add butter, a gallon more cream then more butter... delicious of course.

are you bringing out a diet book any time soon? i do like your japanese-ish recipes in HTE, more of those please. naturally low-fat and healthy but without any actual mealtime sacrifice is what i'm after, please.

[BigBlueBear]

Nigella, I bought your How to Eat book when it first came out. I even have a signed copy of Domestic Goddess that my MIL got me. Those two, Feast and Kitchen are stalwart favourites in my house. I write notes on the pages of the books as I cook, sometimes tips like "Ignore timings, this will actually take 45 minutes in the oven" but more often - for your recipes, at least - comments like "amazing", "quick and tasty", "fab". You get the picture.

You are the the ultimate cook's cook. Keep doing what you do.

And thank you.

[housemum]

bigbluebear a teensy bit jealous of your signed copy (see post above somewhere about a forgetful DH and trying to make up for it with "humour"...)