Chicken bald back

[Space Chick]

I've been thinking today. There are certain foods I only ever buy and eat at Christmas. I'm sure others must be the same and have special Christmas treats that you don't have the rest of the year.

 

Let's all share

 

Mine are:

Bradan rost (a cooked smoked salmon fillet from Loch Fyne)

Sherry Herring Rollmops (again from Loch Fyne)

Cheese crispies (the thin little cheese biscuits from M&S)

Twiglets

Dry roasted peanuts

 

So what are your Festive guilty pleasures?

[Olly]

I'm not mad about sprouts, so I only eat them on Christmas Day but I wouldn't call them a guilty pleasure!

[mullethunter]

After Eights, Chocolate Orange and chocolate money (mince pies but surely that's true for all)

 

Not eat, but drink - Crofts Sherry

[Cat tails]

Turkey!

Cooked pears

Tutti Frutti

Chipolata pudding

Gugelhupf

 

I absolutely love cooked pears and this years pears were perfect! Lovely soft and spiced.

This makes just about our complete Christmas dinner, which is the same each year. we also had different types of potato (mashed, baked and grilled) sprouts and beans

[Couperwife]

Gugelhupf

 

what?

 

I don't know what this is... but I think I might need it

 

C'mon Cat tails, what is it

 

Cathy

X

[Cat tails]

Hahaha

It's sounds way more interesting than it is! But according to wikipedia, that's what you call a "tulband" in English!

It's just an ordinary cake with raisins, sultana's, cranberries and flakes of almonds around it. But for Christmas, you traditionally bake it in a high round tin with a hole in it. It has the overal shape of a Christmas pudding, but then with a hole in it... But far less complicated!

[Egluntyne]

Turkey ..... Not keen. I prefer goose for Christmas, and it is the traditional English Christmas bird. Turkey is a recent interloper. However, I am outvoted here, so bland and boring Turkey it is.

[Cat tails]

My mum isn't keen on goose. Too much of a game taste. But we do like to cook a large bird, so turkey it is. We stuff ours with walnuts and chestnut puree. It's a very soft taste, but also very good. I forgot about the cranberry jam! Also great with turkey.

[Lavenders_Blue]

Apart from the obvious mince pies, christmas pudding etc, the only things that immediately spring to mind are nut roast and ginger wine. I don't really know why I don't buy them any other time of year, but I don't

[chickencam]

Christmas cake is an obvious, but my favourite flavour of Christmas.

Ready made sausage meat stuffings

Chocolate, I really don't eat it for the rest of the year apart from a small egg at Easter.

Sausage rolls, home made

Smoked salmon

My OH has cheese footballs

[CatieB]

Chipolata pudding

Gugelhupf

 

 

you've explained the cake but what is chipolata pudding?? I have a lovely vision of chipolatas in a prawn ring style yum yum yum

[Cat tails]

It's a pudding made with whipped cream, milk, sugar, gelatine, vanilla pods, sugar and eggs, and filled with raisins, sultana's, Marasquin liquor and a type of biscuit which is a bit like a macaroon, combined with a Italian amaretto biscuits. It is a very chewy biscuit with a strong almond taste. The pudding is set in a ring shape tin. (same tin as the Gugelghupf by the way!)

My mom makes it every year. Takes a lot of time, but is well worth it!

[soapdragon]

Brandy butter

Cranberry sauce

Bread sauce

[Grandmashazzie]

The usual,turkey,gammon,stuffing.I really enjoy Christmas dinner and think I must do a turkey now and then.Before you know it it is Christmas again and we haven't had one since last year.

[kinsk]

Chocolate Orange - Mum buys us all one every year

Pringles

The shop bought M&S type party food

Pigs in blankets

Devils on horseback - I do eat enough of these each year though to see me through the other 50 weeks

 

I don't like Christmas cake, mince pies or Christmas pud but I do relent and have a bit of Christmas pud so I can have some brandy cream. I draw the line at devil poo though, aka sprouts.

 

Baileys - only drink it at Christmas, just aswell as we've got through 3 litres

[Cat tails]

Devil poo???

 

I made myself some sprouts only last week! Hmmmm!

I don't like the bitter taste of sprouts, but it's so easy to get rid of that bitterness. I half my sprouts (after cleaning them of their outer leaves) and boil them in water with some vegetable stock (about a tablet per 250 g of sprouts) for about 10 to 15 minutes. Depending on how soft you want them. I like mine to have a bit of a bite. Any leftovers can be made in a nice sprout mash!

[kinsk]

Now there are three words that should never be put together

 

Sprouts = nice mash

[mullethunter]

If you steam or boil sprouts until just tender they're sweet not bitter. I couldn't understand why OH thought they were bitter and disgusting until I tasted them as he'd had them growing up...!

[soapdragon]

Lets hear it for sprouts I love them, esp with a drizzle of Marmite Seriously, a sprout and potato fry up (ie; bubble and squeak) is lovely!

 

I forgot to add Port to my list....never have it at any other time of year but OH insists that he needs it for the cumberland sauce for the ham so we just have to buy a whole bottle!!!!!!! OH also makes Christmas pud ice cream which is amazing, esp with his home made meringues - which we only have around Christmas too!!!!

[kinsk]

Brandy snaps! forgot them, although didn't get any this year, feel I've missed out now

[Space Chick]

Gosh, I LOVE sprouts!! I'll eat them for as long as the allotment will supply them. Would be awful to only think I could have them once a year.... I've had them twice this week already

 

Port - yes, forgot that, a nice at least 10 year aged tawny port

[Guest]

Brandy snaps are really easy to make and much nicer than shop ones.

[JellyBean2605]

DATES!!!!!!

I love 'em!

[chickencam]

sprouts

Before Christmas 3 stalks for £1.50 we stocked up stored them in our summerhouse and had a two week sprout fest all five of us love sprouts. Sadly not a sprout stalk to be had now.

[mullethunter]

Asda had sprout stalks yesterday