It's Christmas!

I've got tomorrow off, so I'm going to Borough market to get all the fresh stuff. We've ordered all the meat we need, and I'll pick up all the fruit and veg.

We're having bloc de fois gras du canard to start with, on brioche, with a half bottle of sauturnes to help it go down. Then we're having Nigel Slater's roast duck with potatoes and marsala. Then we got a pudding for two from St Johns, which we'll have with brandy sauce. With the main course we'll have Chris's mum's stuffing, I think we're having brussels with bacon, and am not sure what other veg.

breakfast on christmas day will be bacon butties, and I imagine there'll be a cheapish bottle of bubbly and a carton of orange juice in the fridge.

i just went to the big Sainsbury's in Camden to buy veg (swedes, carrots, sprouts, parsnips, sweet onions) and various dry goods. if i did have any holiday cheer, it dissipated after two seconds in the shop. i was tempted to open a bottle of wine and chug from it as i manoeuvered round all of the people clogging the aisles.
if i manage to the rest of the shopping done without incident, we'll have roasted veg, two kinds of mash (sweet potato and plain), sprouts in mustard sauce, turkey/ham, gingerbread stuffing, chestnut stuffing, and various gravies. for dessert: homemade sherry trifle and mince pies, and a pudding from marks & spencer bcz i've run out of patience/ambition. on the alcohol front, we've got two bottles of posh champagne (perrier jouet) and two decent enough ones for bellinis. also enough hearty red wine to float noah's ark, and some teachers for toddies. hic.

what wines did we get, I may have splashed out on a montrachet mmmmmmm

we got some obscure champagne too.

I'm wanting some savoy cabbage maybe.

just found out that my flatmates's mother has sent a side of smoked salmon from ireland. good times!

My goose has finally had enough of an early cook that I can go to bed and enjoy Christmas (OK, the bouze) later today.

Happy Christmas ILC.

oh wow did we find a beauty this year... roasted red pepper soup. mmmm mmmm mmmmmmm.

we had seven for christmas dinner at our house. between my wife and i we made the soup, a ham, a salmon filet, green beans, four-cheese potatoes, pear salad, and creme brulee. all turned out great but the soup was definitely the highlight.

I finally did my rib of beef with roasties, etc for my family to day that I was meant to do on Xmas day, very good it was too.

My Xmas cake appears to have gone down well too; soaking the fruit overnight in brandy does wonders for the eventual cake, and crystalised ginger is now an absolute msut in my recipe.

I now have a bowl of beef dripping, some really gelatinous gravy to spread on toast, and a beef bone to make potage with.

Yesterday was the big gathering with my side of the family, and there was one tasty new item on the hors d'oeuvres table: a slice of baquette, a mixture of mayo/chopped bacon/chopped green onions, then a slice of roma tomato, then a sprinkle of lemon pepper. Otherwise the same old reliable party foods, but this was pretty good.

To make room in the freezer, I did a variation on Lamb Henry yesterday with a couple of joints I had in there, served with Shetland Black potatoes roasted with some shallots and garlic.

Why do I need room? Fearlessly-Eatsitall is delivering a pig-in-a-box tomorrow.

Tell me your stuffing recipes, people, to go in or with a turkey. This is the only thing I am yet undecided on. Everything else, sorted.

We picked up our goose this weekend!

For dressing - I like the standard bread crumb/butter/herbs/stock mixture with the addition of some roasted slivered almonds, baked in a pan alongside the bird. Sage and thyme and parsley for the herbs. Stodgy and traditional, but ever so good.

a bit later today i can post the gingerbread stuffing recipe (from nigella) that i've used the past few years. simple and very, very tasty.

Is that a suckling pig, Aldo, or a bigger one? Are you spit-roasting?

Neither, it's a pig in bits:

http://www.rivercottage.net/rcv2/food/meat_box.jsp?shop=food&food=meat_box

Mmm, that looks good.

Bah. The two kilner jars had broken. I'm currently decanting brawn.

It's amazing how much broken glass looks like pig jelly. I am going to have to exercise extreme caution eating it.

As a bonus, my hands now smell of brawn.

The whole thing sounds fantastic! mmm brawn. I don't envy you having to make sure you get all the glass out though.

Duck tonight!

Wahey! They're sending some more stuff to make up for it!

I am having a meringue crisis - it won't beat into proper stiff peaks, wah! I am having a medicinal glass of shiraz and hoping it will work when I go back to it.

So far I have cooked up the giblets of my turkey for stock, made a leek mousse and a red pepper sauce to go with it, the soup (chestnut, celery and apple) is simmering away, and I've made my sauces (cranberry, port and orange sauce in one bowl, bread sauce in the other). Once I've resolved the meringue crisis, I'm going to go and make stuffing (I've settled on pork, cranberry and chestnut) and then the rest can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow will involve stuffing then cooking the turkey, veg (sprouts, parsnips, carrots, roast and mashed potatoes) and the bacon/chipolata thingies. Then sitting down to eat it all.

Tremendously traditional, all of it, which is the best way. This is the first time I've ever done this, and I'm really quite proud of myself (meringue disaster notwithstanding).

(the red pepper sauce is to go with the leek mousse, pardon my appalling sentence construction)

Make sure your beating bowl and utensils are spotlessly clean. Also a pinch of cream of tartar (love that stuff) helps.

Yes, they were clean (my mum warned me about that!). Shall go and try the cream of tartar thing now.

I have just put my goose in. Christmas is properly here.

OK, my meringue worked! (sort of) - it should have been the base of a pavlova but may end up in some sort of crumbled thing due to lack of height and subsequent poor presentation aesthetics, but, hey, it tastes good, and will taste better when surrounded by cream and strawberries.

Merry Christmas, ILC folks!

That's what Eton Mess is for. :-)

I now have a full pot of schmaltz in my special schamltz pot I bought in Germany, and with the goose almost done for tonight I think it's about time I had a drink in my hand.

Merry Christmas, ILC!

I have dusted the last of the cookies with powdered sugar and I might be done. I certainly want to be done.

Merry Christmas Eve, ILC folx!