Christmas Cooking

mirrorwall14

Not sure if there is one of these but search isn’t throwing anything obvious at me!

So this is the time of year when I like to test out new recipes that I may or may not use for the Christmas season of cooking and baking.

This weeks one for me is https://www.skinnytaste.com/mashed-sweet-potatoes-brulee/
My other half loves sweet potato but I don’t get on with it generally. Considering trying this with some roast chicken this week to see what it’s like. Pretty sure the kids will love it even if I don’t!

Does anyone else do this? Any ideas or suggestions

tscul32

I have a couple of large sweet potatoes in the kitchen so might try that recipe myself at the weekend. Let me know what you think of it if you make it. We all like sweet potatoes and the kids never complain about extra sugar.

mirrorwall14

tscul32 wrote: »

I have a couple of large sweet potatoes in the kitchen so might try that recipe myself at the weekend. Let me know what you think of it if you make it. We all like sweet potatoes and the kids never complain about extra sugar.

Will do. Likely cooking it tomorrow or Thursday!

SusanC10

I do this - trying out recipes ahead of Christmas.

I want to try a Red Cabbage side dish so currently looking for a recipe.

Also the kids want a Chocolate Biscuit Cake this year which is not something I have made for years so going to trial that soon too.

Jude13

I have had something similar before with pecans on the top, unreal.

washiskin

Testing out sprout gratin today and a white onion and cider soup later in the week.

SusanC10.....this is the best red cabbage dish I know....throw it in oven and forget about it for a couple of hours, even better cooked the day before you need it and (honestly) it's fab cold on a leftovers sandwich......

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples

DvB

Jude13 wrote: »

I have had something similar before with pecans on the top, unreal.

Pecan pie is one of my favourite desserts... had it in the states and loved it. Keylime another smashing pie.

TRS30

DvB wrote: »

Pecan pie is one of my favourite desserts... had it in the states and loved it. Keylime another smashing pie.

I'd nearly go out on a limb and say anything that ends in 'pie' is good!

SusanC10

washiskin wrote: »

Testing out sprout gratin today and a white onion and cider soup later in the week.

SusanC10.....this is the best red cabbage dish I know....throw it in oven and forget about it for a couple of hours, even better cooked the day before you need it and (honestly) it's fab cold on a leftovers sandwich......

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples

Thanks for that. Good to give that a go.

Loughc

anyone got a good macaroon recipe? Damn bake off.

DvB

Loughc wrote: »

anyone got a good macaroon recipe? Damn bake off.

Great minds think alike.

tscul32

Loughc wrote: »

anyone got a good macaroon recipe? Damn bake off.

There's a basic one on the odlums site. Just coconut, condensed milk and egg whites. No rice paper or blitzing coconut. Dying to try it myself, they did look good, particularly the one with the mango curd.

tscul32

SusanC10 wrote: »

Also the kids want a Chocolate Biscuit Cake this year which is not something I have made for years so going to trial that soon too.

I have to do that every year too. What I started doing was rolling the mix into (big) bitesize balls and then rolling in icing sugar. Just keep them in a tub in the fridge then. Easier than cutting slices every time someone fancies some.

mirrorwall14

washiskin wrote: »

Testing out sprout gratin today and a white onion and cider soup later in the week.

SusanC10.....this is the best red cabbage dish I know....throw it in oven and forget about it for a couple of hours, even better cooked the day before you need it and (honestly) it's fab cold on a leftovers sandwich......

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples

I’ve never had red cabbage. What’s it taste like? Just no idea what to expect with this!

mirrorwall14

tscul32 wrote: »

I have to do that every year too. What I started doing was rolling the mix into (big) bitesize balls and then rolling in icing sugar. Just keep them in a tub in the fridge then. Easier than cutting slices every time someone fancies some.

That’s a brilliant idea. I make nut balls for my kids for protein at breakfast. Must experiment with some Christmas flavourings for them too

Jude13

TRS30 wrote: »

I'd nearly go out on a limb and say anything that ends in 'pie' is good!

Is applied tart the same a the American apple 'pie'?

Deja Boo

Jude13 wrote: »

Is applied tart the same a the American apple 'pie'?

Emm, more intense I'd say... with added ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and with loads more sugar, butter and filling. Generally made in a deep dish pie tin. Like an apple tart on steroids... A crumb topping is nice too - much yum.

Jude13

Ah ha, so tart ......more tart and pie sweet.

Loughc

washiskin wrote: »

SusanC10.....this is the best red cabbage dish I know....throw it in oven and forget about it for a couple of hours, even better cooked the day before you need it and (honestly) it's fab cold on a leftovers sandwich......

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples

Leftovers on a sandwich is a great idea! I love red cabbage!!

washiskin

washiskin wrote: »

Testing out sprout gratin today and a white onion and cider soup later in the week.

SusanC10.....this is the best red cabbage dish I know....throw it in oven and forget about it for a couple of hours, even better cooked the day before you need it and (honestly) it's fab cold on a leftovers sandwich......

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/life-in-the-freezer/traditional-braised-red-cabbage-with-apples

I’d leave out the onion and garlic.

Loughc

Deleted User wrote: »

I’d leave out the onion and garlic.

Oh no, best part. I'd leave out the cinnamon tho... yuck.

Mutleyboo

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I’ve never had red cabbage. What’s it taste like? Just no idea what to expect with this!

Red cabbage is a must for our Christmas dinner.. I add caraway to mine and the taste and smell is delicious! Its goes great with pork

Loughc

Mutleyboo wrote: »

Red cabbage is a must for our Christmas dinner.. I add caraway to mine and the taste and smell is delicious! Its goes great with pork

Completely, the smell of it alone is amazing.

DvB

Definitely use red onion with it when cooking red cabbage ourselves, it caramelises and sweetens it nicely. A bit of Garlic added is a must too IMO. Would neve dream of voluntarily adding cinnamon to any dish.

Jude13

I think I may need to bow out of this thread, though that failed with the sweets thread. Bloody love red cabbage.

TRS30

Jude13 wrote: »

Is applied tart the same a the American apple 'pie'?

Tart works just as well for me as pie!

phormium

Fancy some macaroons today too! Haven't made them in years but when I did use rice paper in the past I never cut out the circles, you just piped onto it like parchment and when you remove them when cooked they just break off and the bit stuck to the macaroon stays stuck, you might need to break off the odd ragged piece but a lot of faffing to cut out circles and then pipe within the circles.

mirrorwall14

Jude13 wrote: »

I think I may need to bow out of this thread, though that failed with the sweets thread. Bloody love red cabbage.

Adjust it? I’m going with healthy dishes and will skip a lot of the baking as I’m on weight loss road too but still want to experiment

Jude13

Nah, I am going with the get as low as possible so I can binge at Christmas angle

washiskin

DvB wrote: »

Definitely use red onion with it when cooking red cabbage ourselves, it caramelises and sweetens it nicely. A bit of Garlic added is a must too IMO. Would neve dream of voluntarily adding cinnamon to any dish.

Oh yes....red onion is a must. The garlic in that recipe is really undetectable for people who don't like it but I add a teeny but more.

washiskin

Loughc wrote: »

Leftovers on a sandwich is a great idea! I love red cabbage!!

Ok, here's my perfect leftovers sandwich.....
Aldi's White grinder bread:
A smear of gravy on each slice
Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Red Cabbage
Bread Sauce

It's a huge sandwich, a really great St. Stephen's Day on the sofa filler.

washiskin

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

I’ve never had red cabbage. What’s it taste like? Just no idea what to expect with this!

Braised red cabbage is a kind of warm spice sweet and sour flavour, if that helps.

mirrorwall14

Jude13 wrote: »

Nah, I am going with the get as low as possible so I can binge at Christmas angle

Totally fair! I didn’t leave myself enough time for that

Jude13

washiskin wrote: »

Ok, here's my perfect leftovers sandwich.....
Aldi's White grinder bread:
A smear of gravy on each slice
Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Red Cabbage
Bread Sauce

It's a huge sandwich, a really great St. Stephen's Day on the sofa filler.

Gluten free bread (boooo! I know)
Kerrygold, thick,
Sage and pork Stuffing (GF) moistened with gravy
Dark meat turkey
Ham

Ooh red cabbage might be one to add to the menu!

The left over sandwich sounds divine, except where's the cheese?

I would have been doing the same as Jude, but have my first wedding dress fitting early in January so I can't binge

Loughc

washiskin wrote: »

Ok, here's my perfect leftovers sandwich.....
Aldi's White grinder bread:
A smear of gravy on each slice
Turkey
Ham
Stuffing
Red Cabbage
Bread Sauce

It's a huge sandwich, a really great St. Stephen's Day on the sofa filler.

Oh wow!!! Literally mouth watering sambo there!

The Nal

These are always a huge hit

Oregano, rosemary and ’nduja sausage rolls

Nigella’s Cranberry & Soy Glazed Cocktail Sausages

Think Ill do beef wellington this year. Sick of turkey.

redmgar

When do most start making the pudding?

SarahLil

Anyone any tried sprouts with pancetta, chilli and garlic? I am thinking of trying this as part of a Sunday dinner in the run up to things in December, my nail lady makes it, it sounds fab, I must get the recipe off her

otnomart

SarahLil wrote: »

Anyone any tried sprouts with pancetta, chilli and garlic? I am thinking of trying this as part of a Sunday dinner in the run up to things in December, my nail lady makes it, it sounds fab, I must get the recipe off her

I often make peas with pancetta, I am sure sprouts would taste just as good !

The Nal

SarahLil wrote: »

Anyone any tried sprouts with pancetta, chilli and garlic? I am thinking of trying this as part of a Sunday dinner in the run up to things in December, my nail lady makes it, it sounds fab, I must get the recipe off her

Yeah I've done it with shredded sprouts. Very nice.

Neyite

I've the Christmas cakes baked and in a weeks time they'll be ready for their first drink. Gingerbread dough is already done and in the freezer.
Tomorrow I'll be doing my chutney and at the weekend I'll do the chilli jam to pair with the cheese. Then it's onto the gravy, soup broth and stuffing balls that can also go in the freezer. Closer to the big event I'll do the ice cream.

I want to try a pistachio marzipan stollen this year and also do my own mincemeat - I didn't get the chance to do it last year.

SarahLil

redmgar wrote: »

When do most start making the pudding?

I think some Elves here do them the October Bank Holiday weekend for puddings

Flippyfloppy

Neyite wrote: »

I've the Christmas cakes baked and in a weeks time they'll be ready for their first drink. Gingerbread dough is already done and in the freezer.
Tomorrow I'll be doing my chutney and at the weekend I'll do the chilli jam to pair with the cheese. Then it's onto the gravy, soup broth and stuffing balls that can also go in the freezer. Closer to the big event I'll do the ice cream.

I want to try a pistachio marzipan stollen this year and also do my own mincemeat - I didn't get the chance to do it last year.

Amazing! Seriously, do you have a blog? (don't want to ask you to link all those recipes!)

SusanC10

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Amazing! Seriously, do you have a blog? (don't want to ask you to link all those recipes!)

+1

Would love to make my own Chilli Jam and Mincemeat

scarepanda

Mincemeat is one of those things you think would be very hard to make, but it's actually stupidly easy to make and tweak to fillings you like.

Neyite

Flippyfloppy wrote: »

Amazing! Seriously, do you have a blog? (don't want to ask you to link all those recipes!)

, I'd never manage a blog!

Apple Chutney is Darina Allens recipe.

Nigella's Chilli Jam
Gingerbread dough is by Donal Skehan and he's got a template to use as well.
Jamie Oliver's make ahead gravy
Stuffing balls are an adaptation of Bazmo's excellent recipe here.

The ice cream comes from Murphy's ice cream blog - I tried out the sea salt, butterscotch and dark chocolate trio from there and they work really well together.

Christmas cake is an adapted Good Housekeeping recipe. I do 6" cakes because they cook quicker and are a perfect size for a gift. I size up that recipe by 1.5 and it will fill 2 x 6" cakes. I swap out some of the prunes for dates, and half the almond flakes for chopped pecans, and use Lidl's spiced rum rather than just dark rum, but that's just personal preference.

If you aren't a fan of fruit cake then a cranberry & chocolate roulade is really nice to do as well. There's various recipes online.


The soup is Rick Stein's Duck Noodle broth. I roast the duck, strip the meat and freeze that, do the stock concentrate and freeze that, then on the day itself it's just a matter of firing it all into a slow cooker Christmas morning along with the rest of the ingredients then adding the coriander & noodles just before serving.


Turkey is a Neven Maguire recipe, and the ham is just boiled in coke then baked.

SarahLil

Wow Neyite thanks so much

tscul32

I'm definitely doing the Christmas cakes (usually do 5 or 6) in October. Every year I say bake in October, marzipan november then decorate in december. Then I end up doing most of it in december. Will do puds soon too and get the cookie and gingerbread doughs and pastry in the freezer. Also do stuffing and sausage meat stuffing in advance and freeze.

tscul32

I do shredded sprouts with bacon, add parmesan and a little cream at the end. The leftovers make my sambos. I'm the only one who'd eat the red cabbage so don't make it but a friend does and she generously passes a small tub my way in exchange for a one person pudding.
It's no wonder I can easily find a half stone over Christmas.

SarahLil

tscul32 wrote: »

I do shredded sprouts with bacon, add parmesan and a little cream at the end. The leftovers make my sambos. I'm the only one who'd eat the red cabbage so don't make it but a friend does and she generously passes a small tub my way in exchange for a one person pudding.
It's no wonder I can easily find a half stone over Christmas.

Ohh the sprouts sound fab, I might try that too thanks