Stopping all the stress.

This will be my last post before the big day and by now I hope you have everything under control. Please remember its only a roast dinner with a few extra bits there is really no need to get in a tiz. If the meal comes out of your kitchen 20 minutes late, who really cares?
Anyway, down to foody matters.
Yesterday I braised some red cabbage, it always amazes me how much one gets from a small red cabbage. The cabbage was finely sliced as was an onion and an apple (the variety was "Rudolf" appropriately). The onion was gently fried in too much butter in a casserole until it was just taking a little colour, the apple and the cabbage was then added and all mixed in. Some seasoning and some nutmeg, clove and cinnamon was then added with a big splash of cider vinegar and most of a can of cider. This was then covered and popped in a medium oven for about an hour and a half. After allowing this to cool it was bagged up in two bags and slid into the freezer. It will reheat perfectly in the microwave tomorrow. (see pics below)

One small red cabbage!

Stirring before the oven

While we are on the subject of vegetables:
 The Brussels Sprouts will be blanched off first thing tomorrow and then refreshed under cold water. Just before serving they will be added to some cooked bacon lardons and the other packet of chestnuts. This glorious gang of three will then be rolled around a pan of hot butter until they are ready for the table.
Most celebrity chefs will tell you that you need to "en-robe" your carrots in an emulsion of cummin juice and larks tongue puree. Don't listen to these people, boil them and simply serve them with butte over them (ok, a little garlic salt as well, if you must) This is not the meal for which to produce glazed carrots - too much faffing.
There is a craze for honey glazed parsnips at the moment. I have never understood this. The humble, yet noble parsnip is wonderfully sweet already, just roast it near the meat to bring it to perfection.
Then there's the potatoes. Everyone has a quirk with their spuds. However, if you need flour to make yours crispy then you are trying too hard. Foe most of the UK, tomorrow will be chilly, this is perfect for roasties. Boil your peeled spuds for just 8 to 10 minutes, drain them and return them to the pan. Put this pan outside in the cold for 2 minutes (yes I am being serious) bring it back in and gently giggle the pan. The cold will mean that the outside of the spuds has dried very fast and the giggling roughs up the edges to catch the fat. Now pop these heroes of the roast into the fat near the beast and turn them once (and I mean only once) during their cooking  - quirky enough for you?
As I sit here in Corner Cottage, this little house is filled with the smell of a gammon which is now cooling from its boiling and preparing to be smeared with marmalade and roasted for just half an hour. This will provide cold cuts and nibbly bits for the next five or six days.
Just a final word, whatever you are doing tomorrow please take just a couple of minutes during the day to count your blessings. A couple of minutes thought, a little meditation or a small prayer of thanks (if praying's your thing) will help you remember that we are lucky to be able to feast on this day.
Have a wonderful, peaceful and calm Christmas among those you love and love you.

Happy new year!

I Have not written much lately as we have had the builders in, trying to ensure that Corner Cottage survives another 138 years! So cooking anything remotely complicated has been impossible. However, as the majority of the work was completed before Christmas we were able to enjoy a fine spread over the Festive Period. When we were first married, the beautiful wife and I decided that we would spend Christmas without any family (apart from the cats) and that we would visit relatives after the madness was over; we enjoyed it so much that we have done the same every year since. For the big day we had a duck, the perfect feast day roast for two. I got mine from Abel and Cole who do my veg box and it was first class with plenty of bits and bobs to nibble on in the days after.


Carving.

   The bird itself carved like butter and tasted like a dream. We went a bit overboard with the trimmings which put the little kitchen under pressure but we managed to eat well, very well. The day had started with eggs BBenedict. I'd made some stove top muffins on Christmas eve and pre poached some eggs, so all that was required was a quick whisk up of an hollandaise sauce and we were away.
Today I decided that all the left overs and bits and bobs had to be used up so we had:

Salad of Butternut squash, dressed with lemon and yoghurt
Salad of shredded Brussels Sprouts with salami
Salad of Rocket with smoked salmon
Spiced cakes of root vegetables

My fridge is now clearer and ready for the good things of the New Year. This year I plan to waste less, Eat more vegetarian dishes, bake more and experiment much more with food. Here's to a very peaceful, prosperous and delicious 2013 with all the food we need and a little of what we want too.

Countdown to Christmas 1

So here we go then - let the madness and the nonsense begin!

Today you need to buy chestnuts - no I don't mean this weekend I mean today, on your way home and make sure you buy two packs. If you leave it too late they will be sold out and all it needs is a Nigella or a Rick to suggest a stuffing full of chestnuts and there will be none left in Europe. (Remember Delia and "The Great Christmas Cranberry crisis").

Your first pack is for your stuffing. This can be made any time this week, then frozen. All you have to do is then move it from the freezer to the fridge on Christmas Eve then into the oven for the last 40 minutes of cooking the roast.

Stuffing

Everyone has a recipe for "The best ever stuffing" but for goodness sake people - KEEP IT SIMPLE! All the volumes are general here as there is so much personal preference involved in this.

Your favourite Butchers sausages (taken out of their skins)
One pack of Chestnuts
A handful of breadcrumbs (three slices of bread in a low oven for 40 minutes then blitzed)
A large egg
Herbs (especially sage)
One large onion
Salt and Pepper

Finely chop the onion and very gently fry in a little oil. When the onion is just about to take some colour take it off the heat and pop it in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly (hands really are your best tool for this). Smooth the mix into a shallow oven proof dish cover and freeze.
Allow to thoroughly defrost before cooking in the oven at a medium heat for 40 minutes.
There is so much scope for putting your own touches in this dish - dried fruit, garlic, chili, and any spices you fancy.

"So" I hear you ask " why use sausages and not just buy sausage meat? Well if you have found a sausage you like (In my case Newitt's Oxfordshire) then why take the risk of some random sausage meat going into your stuffing? You need to be aware that, for a lot of people, Christmas Lunch is all about the stuffing!

This brings us to the other pack of chestnuts. These are for your Brussels Sprouts.
Early on "the day" cook your sprouts in boiling water till they still have a bit of resistance to biting. (Incidentally don't ever, EVER, EVER cut silly little crosses in the base of each sprout - it will simply turn your sprouts into watery fart bombs). When the sprouts are cooked, refresh them under cold water until quite chilled. 5 minutes before serving pop a couple of rashers of chopped streaky bacon into a frying pan and allow to cook. When the bacon is almost to your liking add a big lump of butter (50gms) your sprouts and your chestnuts. Warm them all through and serve as normal.

Packs of Chestnuts are available vacuum packed in every large supermarket or Deli. Some Supermarkets are now selling them from the freezer counter too.
Stop laughing I'm really serious about doing this today - Don't come crying to me if you're foraging around on Christmas eve with no ingredients.