Cooking for Christmas
Gosh, blogging and book writing don’t go together, especially in the run up to Christmas. This year there is no opportunity for a turkey (that’s okay) or goose (deep sigh, I spose there’s still time tomorrow to go buy one). We’re having a ‘family and friends left behind in London open house’ on Christmas Eve. My head has been full of how to condense the subject of pasta into 2000 words, not rustle up cheese straws, so I’ve ordered canapés from Marks and Spencer to supplement the gravadlax and game pie I’ve made (more about that in another post). I’m about to have a go at Nigella Lawson’s Clementine almond cake as a lighter alternative to the usual fruit cake. A girlfriend bought it over for a school reunion supper party the other week and it was delicious.
Yotam Ottolenghi is my favourite celebrity chef at the moment, I think he’s got a terrific flair for flavours, so I’m also going to make his blue cheese and membrillo quiche for the vegetarians. All washed down with large quantities of prosecco, that should be okay I think.
Christmas Day we’re going to my 90 year old father in law’s for lunch. His stove is very 1970s and not in a good way: it is rusty with disuse and takes about 2 hours to heat up. He’s not that interested in the savoury stuff – much preferring creamy desserts – so I’m going to bake a 3 bird roast in the morning, wrap it in foil and drive it down to Kent. I’ll have to use the microwave to heat it up if necessary.
In the evening, there’s a beef casserole if we feel like it. My copy of Elizabeth David’s Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen is in Italy, and I cannot remember the details of her recipe for casseroled beef where one rolls the pieces in clove flavoured flour prior to frying. Black olives are also on the ingredient list, and I think one finishes it off with a mix of chopped parsley, garlic and lemon rind. So I’ve done an approximation. And then we’re off to Italy the next day. Hurrah.
Whatever you’re cooking this Christmas, I hope it’s not stressful and you find the time to enjoy yourself.
