The Xmas Eve afternoon table, with mulled cider in our Xmas market mugs (I have an obsession for them, and funnily, each one I have reminds me of a different time in my life).
Gingerbread house -my first, with some online help from my friend Maria;-)
Nigella's rugelach, uncharacteristically (for me that is) baked on the first day of Hannukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights
Nigella's "Incredibly Easy Chocolate Fruit Cake", the chocolate Xmas cake fom her latest book (but a 98% reprint from Feast) I used Triple Sec (a generic Cointreau/Grand Marnier) in place of coffee liqueur.
Carving the Xmas capon (a capon is a male chicken that has been castrated, turning into a Ware chicken with a lot of fat, hence a great bird to roast with succulent moist flesh) I used a meat thermometer as well as stuffing between skin and breasts to ensure juicy breasts (omg, this is verging on food porn)
Stuffing on the side, the Anglo way, this is not the traditional French way (stuffing is just a ball of meaty filling stuffed, not an integral part of the meal usually). This would be more like a terrine for us, though we did eat it hot. It was chestnut/pork inspired by a BBC Good Food mag recipe.
The full plate. I made a Madeira and mustard gravy (also from BBCGF). You can see the drumstick flesh falling apart. Mmmmhhh
The bûche, I made it using my own recipe, but was a bit too speedy with the filling and rolling so it ended up very flat, with filling oozing out of its ends. It was curd cheese/ crème de marrons with a choc ganache on top. Light on the butter and cream but fresh and tasty. But flat...
Nearly forgot to add a slice of this fabulous cheesecake, the maple gleaming cheesecake of Nigella Christmas. It is truly luscious, creamy and delicious!
I baked stollen. One for giving and one for us. I have used the same recipe as last year (the modified version), just varying the nuts and fruit, as it's a success and quite a breeze to bake. Those are big boys using one batch each. I like them better this size, they stay fresh longer (though dried up stollen is fine dunked into a hot bevvy).
I hope you all had a nice Christmas/holiday.
Comments
Happy New Year to your and Yours :)
(How did you make all those wonderful goodies with two little ones in tow??)
xxx