Put your Christmas cookery questions to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and talk to him about ten years at River Cottage HQ and his new book River Cottage A to Z, Thursday 15 December, 1-2pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Is making your own stuffing worth the effort? What's a tasty alternative to turkey? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall will be joining us on Thursday 15th December to solve all your Christmas cookery conundrums and talk about his new book River Cottage A-Z: Our favourite ingredients and how to cook them. Find out Hugh's top tips for cooking with your favourite winter vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish, fungi, foraged foods, pulses, grains, dairy, oils and vinegars.

Come and chat to Hugh on 15th December between 1 and 2pm or post up your Qs in advance on this thread.

Hi Hugh,
For Christmas Eve I am planning on cooking a turkey breast Wellington stuffed with cranberry, to eat before going to midnight mass. What could I serve with this instead of the usual vegetables which we will be having the next day? Thank you

@Janussi

If you prepare the vegetables on Christmas Eve, won't they lose their vitamins and look a bid sad, or would they be OK in water?

I would not leave them soaking in water. Peel them and prep them by all means and then keep in bowls, trays covered with a damp cloth or Tupperware in the fridge or a cool larder. They’ll be fine.

@Strawclutching

How many vegetables do you do? I've gone for quantity but worry I've gone overboard? (7 different vegetables)

As well as the roast potatoes I usually do a big tray of roast vegetables in goose or duck fat. Or use sunflower oil for veggies, and i would include carrots parsnips, celeriac, whole shallots or baby onions, Jerusalem artichokes, brussel sprouts and even florets of cauliflower. Don’t crowd the tray they should be in a single layer but not piled up so best to use the kind that fits the whole oven or two trays one above the other.

Thanks for your reply - sounds like lots of fun :) ate their any recipes your kids love to cook with you at home?

@FeedMyFaceWithJaffaCakes

Hi Hugh best meal for 2 over Christmas when you're very short on time please! Thank you x

I think a lovely easy but special meal for two is a whole two person sized fish, e.g. a mackerel, bream or line-caught sea bass, wrapped in foil with butter, herbs and wine inside and served with a good creamy mash. The cooking juices from the foil make a lovely sauce without any extra fuss.

Hi Hugh, I'm getting the RC A-Z for Christmas and can't wait to sit down and browse through it!
Are there going to be any more RC Handbooks? We have all the RC books (except Australia), and absolutely love the handbook series.

@whataboutbob

Hi Hugh, what sort of wine would you serve with turkey and all the traditional trimmings? BTW I love your books and approach to food and you inspired me to get an allotment.

Brilliant to hear that you're now growing on your own allotment. Big adventures ahead and no looking back!

Wine is such a personal thing. We drink mostly organic and biodynamic wines at home. There are some brilliant ones available on the Riverford website, which is where I get most of mine. The domaine du good, pinot noir is very special and we glug quite a lot or the finca fabian tempranillo. Both would be great with the turkey.

@Hygellig

Hi Hugh, what kind of thing do you have for breakfast on Christmas Day?

I also wanted to say that I really appreciate the work you have done to raise awareness of food waste and non-recyclable coffee cups.

Thanks for your support on the coffee cups – funnily enough I don’t have much on Christmas morning except a good cup of homemade espresso in a mug not a paper cup (obviously!). We’re generally starting to nibble canapes and maybe have a sip of bubbly by midday, and there is a lot of eating ahead.

@MamaBear18

Thanks for your reply - sounds like lots of fun :) ate their any recipes your kids love to cook with you at home?

All my kids love cooking, and they all have their favourites, but unsurprisingly cakes and biscuits and other sweet treats feature quite a lot. The bacon and maple syrup cookies (on page 377 in the River Cottage A to Z) are the latest favourite. You might think bacon in a cookie is a bit of a weird one, but you have to try these!

@Lookinatu

I am doing beef as a extra meat this year in a roasting bag what can I put in it to complement the dinner.

I do love a classic roast beef with all the trimmings. Hard herbs like thyme and bay leaves would be good to put in the bag, maybe a couple of bashed garlic cloves and then serve it up with a homebag horseraddish sauce, if you can get hold of a bit of root. Break it finely and mix with a little creme fresh, cider vinager, english mustard and a pinch of salt and pepper and you'll have the best horseradish sauce ever.

@MoreThanUs

Hi Hugh, I'm getting the RC A-Z for Christmas and can't wait to sit down and browse through it! Are there going to be any more RC Handbooks? We have all the RC books (except Australia), and absolutely love the handbook series.

I'm so glad you've been enjoying the handbooks, and yes there are more on the way. Including Steve Lamb on cheese and Gill Meller on woodfired and outdoor cooking - I am very excited about both of those but unfortunately they won't be out for a while yet. We have all been so busy putting the A to Z together!

Hi Hugh,

Every year I attempt to make Turkish Delight as a Christmas treat for the family, and every year it ends in disaster as, although it sets, it quickly gets too sticky.

Your River Cottage Family Cookbook recipe is the best yet, but I still have this problem- what am I doing wrong?!

Thanks excited to give them a try - my little one loves bacon and homemade biscuits so putting them together should be a hit!

@Makemineacabsauv

Yes! A gravy recipe would be fab thank you!

See my tips on turkey gravy in the earlier post. There is also a whole discourse on my gravy philosphy in the River Cottage meat book. There is also a brilliant cider onion gravy on page 182 of the A to Z.

If anyone's looking for something a bit different for a Christmas dessert and super special, and you like chocolate and you like ice cream then i urge you to have a go at the chocolate brandy and star anise ice cream on page 178 of the A to Z. It's a guaranteed crowd pleaser! You can even serve it next to the Christmas pudding or mince pies instead of brandy butter.

I've just ordered two racks of venison, what are your top tips to ensure I don't over cook it.
As a family we love our meat medium rare (rare), any more well cooked and we will collectively cry and sob at the waste of a small (not so small) fortune it's going to cost

@tworonnies1957

Hi Hugh always seen have some orange and sultana panettone left over after Christmas any idea of what I could make with it please

Yes - somebody has already mentioned trifle, and you have the perfect start with this panettone. Soak it with a bit of sherry and proceed as described in the post described above. OR if you have quite a lot of it it makes the most amazing bread and butter pudding. You could use it to make a variation on the classic bread and butter pudding on page 176 of RC Love your Leftovers.

@MamaBear18

Thanks excited to give them a try - my little one loves bacon and homemade biscuits so putting them together should be a hit!

Yes I am sure they are going to love them. Maybe you could make them after school today!

Oooooh! Great news about the news handbooks - especially the cheese one! Could you also do one on soups / gazpacho etc (sorry A cheeky additional question there!).

I can see the numbers going up on our Ivory petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/165905 even as i speak so thank you mumsnet for your fantastic siupport. Keep it coming - we really need to great the crazy situation with the UK ivory market sorted out and a proper parlimentary debate will come if we get enough of your signatures.

@drivinmecrazy

I've just ordered two racks of venison, what are your top tips to ensure I don't over cook it. As a family we love our meat medium rare (rare), any more well cooked and we will collectively cry and sob at the waste of a small (not so small) fortune it's going to cost

Well, rack of venison can vary a lot in size depending on the type of deer it's from. I would say, bring it up to room temperature then roast it fast and short, but hard to give exact timings without knowing what type you've got. Resting the meat is crucial - 5 or 10 minutes before you slice the rack into chops and it should be pink and juicy.

@MoreThanUs

Oooooh! Great news about the news handbooks - especially the cheese one! Could you also do one on soups / gazpacho etc (sorry A cheeky additional question there!).

We probably wouldn't do a handbook especially on soups but there are lovely soup recipes in every single River Cottage book I've ever done including a dozen delicious ones in the River Cottage A to Z.

I may be too late! I'm curious if you'd ever consider doing a series or special focusing on food for people with asnosmia. It's a loss of smell which affects how we taste food.

Mumsnet thanks again for having me, it's been brilliant chatting with you all, as always. I hope I've been of some help with your Christmas culinary conundrums, and you're help and support with our ivory petition petition.parliament.uk/petitions/165905 is fantastic and will make a real difference. Merry Christmas Mumsnet - don't stress too much and have a festive holiday. I hope we can all chat again soon. Love Hugh xxx

Big thanks Hugh for joining us today and getting through so many questions. We'll be putting together a list of Hugh's greatest tips from this webchat and will post a link on this thread later today. Thanks again Hugh and happy Christmas.