Christmas Food Plans

[Morganna]

The trifle is in the fridge until tomorrow. I will try to remember to take a photo later, when everything has set and firmed up.

I forgot to put the icing sugar in the cream, and noticed when I wondered why it was still there (I had all the ingredients in a bag in the fridge), so scooped the cream off and added it. The cream looks slightly chocolatey, as some of the custard clung to it, but it will be fine when I grate chocolate and orange zest over the top before serving it.

[ParisGal]

I'm only doing tonight's food, so nothing extravagant as tomorrow's at the IL's will be multi-course, 11.30 -> 6pm affair. But I'm quite pleased as I got some wild boar at the supermarket yesterday and it's been in the slow cooker since 10 am along with onions, garlic, herbes de Provence, pink peppercorns and juniper berries, plus a bottle of merlot. MrPG is making some kind of Dauphinois to go with it and I'll do something very simple with a couple of leeks and maybe something else a bit green.

Now I'm planning the apéritif cocktail and wondering if whisky macs would be good

[Morganna]

Oh, that sounds amazing, PG. I don't think I've tasted wold boar, apart from in sausages.

[ParisGal]

I haven't had it much - once at the house of someone who'd hunted it themselves, and I think once when Lidl or Aldi were doing novelty meats. This was just in the butcher's section of the supermarket on special offer.

[Dandelion]

I have a probably stupid question. That M&S Cornish cider cheese cruncher thing. What do you use to dip in it? Crackers, or crusty bread? Will need to do a supermarket dash the morning of the Christmas Boxing Day buffet.

[Ella77]

Crusty bread!

[Dandelion]

Crusty bread!

Thanks! For some reason I thought it would come with something dippable (the ‘cruncher’ in the name misled me)

:blush:

[Morganna]

It is yummy, and I agree about the bread. I don't know what the 'cruncher' thing means, either. The first time I had it I thought it would have some sort of crumb topping.

[Ella77]

The cheese is called Cornish Cruncher. It’s a type of strong cheddar, I think. (MSG crystals.)

[Dandelion]

Yum, I am looking forward to it. :crazy:

[Pippedydeadeye]

I’ve used crunchy bread in the past.

[Squirrel]

That sounds delicious.

I was mid way through making this stupid orange and pomegranate thing* when my daughter wanted help washing her hair in the bath. My son asked if he could juice a pomegranate so I left him to it while I went upstairs. OH MY GOD the carnage! Pomegranate juice everywhere. I’ve saved the juice he generated and I’ll pretend to dress the salad with it tomorrow. Juice that he squeezed out with his bare hands . Fortunately I had already extracted what I needed and set it aside.

* I was asked to make a fruit salad which made me irrationally cross, so I’m doing this and if they don’t like oranges and pomegranate they can bloody well wear it over their heads.

[emma_p]

George It looks like there’s been some kind of serious incident!

I’d love that fruit salad, maybe without the mauled pomegranate dressing though

[Pippedydeadeye]

Aw, that’s lovely. I bet he’ll always remember helping that Christmas Eve.

[wendy james]

That’s brilliant Squirrel!

[Morganna]

My mum used to give my sister and I half a pomegranate each, with a pin to pick out the seeds. It was an awful lot of effort for very little reward, but wasn't too messy (as I remember it), and it kept us entertained for ages .

[Squirrel]

Same here Morgs! I used to love eating pomegranates with a pin .

[Squirrel]

29th - having friends here for what would have been M’s 40th birthday, who died recently.
12 adults and 13 children . Jacket potatoes, chilli / cheese and beans / don’t know what else.

This was absolute chaos but we survived. However I’m not used to feeding a crowd and massively over catered, we’ll be eating chilli until 2021 I think.

And any ideas what to do with leftover jacket spuds? Fry them up maybe? I’ve got a couple of good Indian recipes that use cooked potato.

I made Nigella’s cloud cake for pud, with spiced rum instead of the orange flavours as I’m not a chocolate orange fan. I haven’t made it for years but it was wonderful, better than I remembered.

[Morganna]

You can buy frozen ones, so maybe freeze some as an emergency lunch?

Ot scoop out the mash and use it for cottage pie? Mash would probably freeze too, if you covered it well.