After another prolonged absence I blame on correcting my back, adapting to the dark and trying not to stare at a screen for more than 12 hours a day, Christmas has completely snuck up on me. In that spirit, it seems appropriate to give a bit of a couple of my foodie highlights.
Warm, spicy red cabbage
Partly memorised and adapted from a Delia recipe, I really miss this if it’s not included with the Turkey at Christmas. If nothing else, it provides some amazing Christmassy smells which swirl through the house as the dinner is cooking. This amount will serve around 6-8 people.
Ingredients
Half a medium sized red cabbage head, sliced
One large bramley apple, peeled, cored and diced
One medium-suzed red onion, finely chopped
Two cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
Ground cloves
Ground nutmeg
Ground cinnamon
Light soft brown sugar
A large knob of butter, cut into diced pieces
Balsamic/red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Simple layering recipe
Using a large saucepan with a lid create a layer with about ¼ of the red cabbage. Sprinkle a relative portion of the bramley apple, garlic, butter and red onion on the top followed by about a dessertspoon of sugar and some salt and pepper. Now for the gorgeous spices… I go a bit nuts with these and use tons, but you should be using about a teaspoon of each spice (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon) per layer. Finally, glug some balsamic (or red wine) vinegar over the whole thing - just a slosh, or maybe a couple of tablespoons. Then, just repeat the process so you end up with about 4 layers of lovely spiced cabbage goodness. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook on a low heat for at least an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. It will eventually reduce and melt together with an amazingly comforting consistency. Even better, if you don’t use it all up with the Turkey, you can have it cold in your sandwiches – yum!
Easy, customised stuffing for Paxo lovers (other instant stuffing brands are available)
This came from me liking to play with leftovers and experiment with flavours. I love my mum’s homemade stuffing which she makes at Christmas. The recipe is torn from a black and white good housekeeping many moons ago. When I was young, I was incredibly fussy about food and, at Christmas, I’d only eat Paxo. Nowadays, it bores me rigid but is a really good staple to have in the cupboard to liven up any weekend warmer.
Ipso Paxo…
Make up about half a pack of standard sage and onion Paxo (will serve about 6-8 people) according to instructions and set aside. Dice a white onion, a couple of sticks of celery, a peeled, cored bramley apple and, for meat eaters, a few rashers of bacon. Gently fry the whole lot in a good knob of butter in a saucepan until it softens and starts sticking together. Then stir this mixture into the Paxo and blend together. Bake as usual for about half an hour for a much tastier, more textured version of this old faithful.
Please sir, can I have some more…
A few more of my Christmas cooking habits
Warm, spicy red cabbage
Partly memorised and adapted from a Delia recipe, I really miss this if it’s not included with the Turkey at Christmas. If nothing else, it provides some amazing Christmassy smells which swirl through the house as the dinner is cooking. This amount will serve around 6-8 people.
Ingredients
Half a medium sized red cabbage head, sliced
One large bramley apple, peeled, cored and diced
One medium-suzed red onion, finely chopped
Two cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
Ground cloves
Ground nutmeg
Ground cinnamon
Light soft brown sugar
A large knob of butter, cut into diced pieces
Balsamic/red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Simple layering recipe
Using a large saucepan with a lid create a layer with about ¼ of the red cabbage. Sprinkle a relative portion of the bramley apple, garlic, butter and red onion on the top followed by about a dessertspoon of sugar and some salt and pepper. Now for the gorgeous spices… I go a bit nuts with these and use tons, but you should be using about a teaspoon of each spice (cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon) per layer. Finally, glug some balsamic (or red wine) vinegar over the whole thing - just a slosh, or maybe a couple of tablespoons. Then, just repeat the process so you end up with about 4 layers of lovely spiced cabbage goodness. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook on a low heat for at least an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. It will eventually reduce and melt together with an amazingly comforting consistency. Even better, if you don’t use it all up with the Turkey, you can have it cold in your sandwiches – yum!
Easy, customised stuffing for Paxo lovers (other instant stuffing brands are available)
This came from me liking to play with leftovers and experiment with flavours. I love my mum’s homemade stuffing which she makes at Christmas. The recipe is torn from a black and white good housekeeping many moons ago. When I was young, I was incredibly fussy about food and, at Christmas, I’d only eat Paxo. Nowadays, it bores me rigid but is a really good staple to have in the cupboard to liven up any weekend warmer.
Ipso Paxo…
Make up about half a pack of standard sage and onion Paxo (will serve about 6-8 people) according to instructions and set aside. Dice a white onion, a couple of sticks of celery, a peeled, cored bramley apple and, for meat eaters, a few rashers of bacon. Gently fry the whole lot in a good knob of butter in a saucepan until it softens and starts sticking together. Then stir this mixture into the Paxo and blend together. Bake as usual for about half an hour for a much tastier, more textured version of this old faithful.
Please sir, can I have some more…
A few more of my Christmas cooking habits
- Smother your turkey in a mixture of butter and lime zest. It’ll make the leftover meat taste amazing when cold.
- Knives blunt? Carving a nightmare? I like Jamie’s foolproof dissection technique best which lets everyone get to the best bits of the bird
- Avoid pastry overload on mince pies. Go for a base only with a Christmas shape on top, or alternatively replace shortcrust pastry with filo layers.
- I’ve customised shop-bought stuffing, remember to customise your shop-bought mincemeat. Spoon the contents of the jar into a bowl and add extra cranberries, grated apple, chopped nuts, spices, even brandy – whatever you like most. It’ll make it go further too – more pies!
