jackal10

Baked off the bread. The cracklature on the crust is enhanced by its overnight retardation. Keeping the dough in the fridge overmight slightly dries the outside, so you get the fine bubble. I could not resist making a turkey sandwich for lunch (tho I shouldn't since I've put on 5lbs over Xmas). Bacon (it was going to be a bacon butty, since I was cooking breakfast for the house guests), turkey, stuffing, cranberry, iceberg lettice, and ... a slice of Foie Gras... Sliced the bread a bit too hot, so it tore a bit. Not elegant, but yummy. Obscene. The knife, btw, is my favourite one- a full carbon steel Sabatier 6 inch boning knife. Needs constant sharpening, rusts if you put it in a dishwasher, but an edge like no other.

Babies in restaturants? I don't think I could manage a whole one. St John serves an excellent suckling pig, one per table...

Just finishing the Ch Caillou. Just as nice today. Almost like a soft Maidera - raisins and butterscotch with an underlying citrus note. That same darkness a Christmas pudding has. Sweet, but balanced by the lemony acidity. Amazing!

Both, I hope. Marge is not a resident, but a guest. She departs tomorrow, no doubt to the local wildlife's relief. She certainly prays hard for manna to drop from heaven, but she is a surprisingly well behaved dog. I forgot to mention the various college feasts and Guest nights, that now I am a bye-fellow I get to go to at College expense. The rule for Guest Nights is that you can take anyone except your current or another Fellow's partner.

Bank Holidays are official government holidays, and originally when the Bank of England was shut. They are, for 2004, with foods: Jan 1 New Years Day: April 9 Good Friday: April 12 Easter Monday May 3 May Bank Holiday May 31 Spring Holiday August 30 Summer Bank Holiday Dec 25 Christmas Dec 26 Boxing Day Soup was probably too salt for Marge. She got Pedigree Chum and leftover turkey, before, as dogs should not be fed at table, or they start begging. Holidays with foods mostly follow the religous holidays. Christmas New Year Scottish, also Wassail Easter (Lamb, Simnel cake)Purim (Hamentaschen) Christmas New Year/Wassail and from my Jewish background: Passover: (lots) Purim (Hamen Taschen) Shavout (cheese cake) Rosh Hashonah (Honey cake) Succoth (cinnamon biscuits) Hannukah (Latkes) Next serious feast, after New Year will be my Birthday on Jan 10.

"L'art d'accommoder les restes" says Elizabeth David, quoting a previous edition of Larousse Gastronomic "is not to be considered as the summit od culinary achievment" but rather that there are leftovers is the sign of a badly run household. However Mere David relents enough to allow that some are legitimate. Tonight was peasant: chunky turkey soup (turkey, sausage, leeks, carrots, celery) , good bread, and the remains of the trifle. Coffee and desert.

What's Saveur? A foodie glossy, I guess? I'm afraid my food presentation (like my spelling/typing) leaves much to be desired, but its family stye. Those of Scottish decent (I'm not, my family come from Alsace) will wear kilts for Hogmanay, I expect...with nothing underneath, of course.

Its not over yet...I guess I should hand over either Saturday or Monday am, unless you are bored with my ramblings. Fried Xmas pud is the best...with bacon, sausage (Musks Newmarket Christmas Special), eggs, tomatos, mushrooms...the wimps rejected fried bread, fried potatoes, etc, but had toast and marmelade. Must make more bread - we are getting through it. Tonight we go to the neighbors. I guess its leftover turkey season.

Dismembered the turkey, and am making stock from the carcass. As always about half left - enough for about 10 servings... I plan a brunch for later today when the rest of the household eventually emerges. Really an excuse for fried Christmas pud. New Years's (as I said in the first post to this thread) will be Hogmanay - Scottish theme: Haggis etc, and a tall dark stranger to first-foot with a lump of coal and a bottle of malt whisky...but by then it should be someone else blogging. How long do you want me to go on? Personally I'd love to hear about the Japanese festivities next week. I love Japanese food, but know far too little about real domestic cookery there - we only see restaurant set pieces here. Looks like I might get a trip to Japan in May next year. There is a conference in Kyoto (Hotel Granvia 19-21 May 2004) at which I might speak.

That sounds dangerously like an invitation to be tagged...

I fogot to say that Marge got a roasted marrow bone, and was very pleased with it... She also got to chase (but not able to catch) rabbits, and the pheasants took one look and made themelves scarce Joyeux Noel!

I've eaten and drunk too much (as Hoffning says "Well fed up and agreeably drunk"), and the kitchen looks like a tip. Still there are enough people around to help clear.... More boasting, and my spelling is probably even worse than usual. First the wines. We started with champagne, then claret: Leoville Las Cases (St Julien) 1986 (98 points, but going over) then the ultimate Christmas pudding wine: Ch Le Caillou (Montbazillac) 1943. This story behind this remarkable wine is one of triumph over adversity as told by the person who sold it to me ($100/bottle) goes: "This is a story of tradition and peasant survival in time of war, long before the advent of oenologues and the fashion for early drinking. Our protagonists are M. et Mme. Pierre Eymery, then in their early to mid twenties; the vintage 1943. The Germans are occupying France and requisitioning wine for their own drinking. Chaptalisation is not officially authorised, and even if it were to be practised illegally, there is no sugar to be had. The harvest is dried by fierce wind, and there is little juice in the grapes. The wine is remarkable, reminiscent of the great 1929, but even more concentrated. It must not fall into the hands of the Germans. Pierre’s parents still have that famous ’29 in barrel, ageing gently, and secreted in an underground cellar. They decide to do the same with the ’43 and lodge it in old demi-muids, topping it up from time to time. In 1988, for the marriage of a cherished grandchild, they decide to bottle the wine without fining or filtering, in clear bottles sealed with wax. Shortly after this, I am given a bottle by friends in the area, and finding it extraordinary, persuade them, for cash, to part with a case. In 2002, they contact me again wondering, as M. Pierre is now 85, whether I would like to buy the remaining stocks. I retaste, and find it still quite remarkable, a combination of rich, burnt flavours and incredible freshness; it’s so stable it does not move after being open for three days" Entirely true. Even though its sixty years old, its as fresh as the day it was made, and perfect for Chirstmas. We drunk it with due reverence, but then wine is for drinking, besides I've laid down another case. Back to the prep. Christmas pudding (see egCI Autumn Preserves) on to simmer. Stock from the turkey giblets (except the liver) for the gravy Made the Brandy Butter (4oz softened butter, 4oz soft brown sugar, juice of half a lemon and as much brandy as it will adsorb; whiz together) Prep the turkey (10lb Organic Norfolk Bronze). Put herb and garlic butter under the skin, from the neck end. You can just see the slices of truffles through the skin. Stuff the neck cavity with sausagemeat (with extra onion and pepper). Leave the body unstuffed - just season and an onion and half a lemon. About 3 hours in a very low oven (65C). Get in vegetables from the garden: baby purple sprouts, purple potatoes, yellow carrots and jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) and prep them Ready for lunch (about 2.30pm, but we paused to watch the Queen's message) Marge the basset hound looking hopeful, but wary of the camera Champagne, caviar and Keta on Blini. I was going to do egg and onion blini as well, but it sort of turned into chopped tukey liver. Mixing my cultures, and showing my background... Croutes of Truffled Brandade, and Tapendade Shot glasses of Consomme with gold leaf. (Remember the braised brisket?) Half an hour in a hot oven to brown the turkey - ended at 55C. Ready to carve. Also a vegetarian low-carb stuffing for the awkward people Made from chestnuts (use cooked sous-vide ones (merchant Gourmet). Peeling chestnut is for others, unless roast by the fire), onions, leeks, garlic, sweated together, and bound with eggs. Half an hour in a loaf tin in a hot oven). Alo the bread sauce. I forgot the chain of sausages and the bacon rolls You can just see the tradtional crackers. When pulled (one person grasps either end) they come apart with a pyrotechnic snap, and the contents spill out. Traditionally these are a small gift, a paper motto with an excrutiating joke, and a paper hat. One pockets the gift, or trades it around the table, put on the hat and reads out loud the joke. Being up market, these had rather nice silver trinkets - mine was a pair of cufflinks. The purple sprouts roasted in olive oil with truffle butter Potatoes and parsnips roasted in goose fat; carrots and artichokes; plain brussels One of our guests had generously brought a Foie Gras Terrine ("I brought some Pate"). Following sklinsky's example I served quenelles of it with the turkey. I can confirm it goes wonderfully with turkey breast, adding richness and smoothness. Which brings us to the Pudding. Pouring flaming brandy over it. You can just see the flames Coffee, sweeties, digestifs... Now I might just be able to manage a little of the Stilton, but then I must go and lie down for a while... Seth: Yes, that is the Membrillo. It is one of the 13 deserts. The other way is to keep it to make lots (in the egCI Autumn preserves). Our Quince tree was very prolific this year.

Christmas morning... I need Coffee.... Breakfast and generally wake up, light the fire. Put he Xmas pud on. I guess we will eat about 2.30pm The turkey will need maybe 3 hours at 65C/150F, so needs to go on about 11.30. I don't know why people get so uptight about cooking turkey - its only a big chicken. Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) writes about turkey in "La Physiologie du Gout", translated as "The Philosopher in the Kitchen", the book that defines a gourmand and gourmandism. He says "In the high places of gastronomy, at those select gatherings where politics are forced to give way to dissertations upon taste, what do the guests hope for and long for as a second course? A truffled turkey! " In his memory we will add truffles to the turkey. Maybe not "stuffed spherical with Perigord truffles" as he describes, but "en demi-deuil" (in half mourning), with black trufffle slipped under the skin. About 10.30 I will make make some Bloody Mary's, and we will have the Grand Opening of Presents.

Thankyou for the nice words, but it is really a pleasure to give something back for all the great blogs and postings I have read here. You arew such an appreciative audience! Mayhaw: The cheese came from the Cambridge Cheese Company (Jacky Sutton-Adam [jackysuttonadam@ukonline.co.uk]). Good, a little expensive (that was $100 worth of cheese) but the London cheese factors, like Neals Yard are even better - we are just a provincal university town. I expect they would ship to the US but the cost might be prohibitive. I fail to understand why the US bans decent unpastaurised artisan farmhouse cheese, when there is no recorded example of illness caused by them, but many instances of food poisoning from badly made or stored factory cheeses. Christmas eve supper: Reveillon Actually this is really only the first meatless part of Reveillon; Reveillon (the awakening) is the meat supper after midnight mass. Celery and Anchoide (garlic, anchovy and olive oil dip) Soup: L'aigo boulido. Recipe is here "boiled water": garlic and herbs, with olive oil, bread and grated Gruyere croutes. Provence comfort food, reccomended for invalids Saltfish and Ackee: recipe is here Ackee is the fruit of the breadfruit tree. It has the look and texture of scrambled eggs. The saltfish is basically used as a flavouring. Gratin of Cauliflower: cauliflower cheese with the odd hardboiled egg Jill's Famous Trifle "Treize Deserts": the thirteen deserts, plus some, which will stay as a sort of running buffet just in case anyone feel peckish Left (plus Venus Nipples, chocolate ginger, Panneforte) Middle Right (plus fresh lychees and the mince pies) The apples are home grown Laxton Fortune from store We drank, . Domaine Zind-Humbrecht: Pinot Gris Alsace Hunawihr Clos Windsbuhl 1996 (Parker 95) and very good it was too. Alsace wines are really neglected. Th yule log is on the fire Time for a glass of port, or possibly one of Damson Gin (see egcI Autumn Preserves), and relax. Turkey and Xmas pud tomorrow. Hang up the stockings and I hope Santa Claus brings what you want, and plenty of good vittles. Don't forget to put out his mince pies and carrots for the reindeer. You can track his progress on The official NORAD early warning radar Merry Christmas! Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all! (although it seems unlikely with the current set of politicians)

Mince Pies: Pate Sucre 321 Flour 6 oz (or 150g) Butter 4 oz (or 100g) Powdered sugar 2oz (or 50g) Pinch salt 1 egg yolk This pastry has the advantage of having so much butter in it that it does not stick, and stays crisp. Don't overwork or it will be crumbly Whizz butter sugar and flour together in a food processor until crumbs. Add egg yolk and pulse until it comes together. Leave in a cool place for half an hour

Mabelline: Thank you very much, much appreciated. I have discovered that Brogdale the National Apple collection do consultancy services, so I will ask them after the holiday. This is the only picture of myself I have: SethG, and Forever: Thanks. The bread is disappearing fast - may have to make more I urge everyone to listen to King's College Carols, starting about now...

Rushing around this morning doing last minute things. Baked off the bread The pomp al'huile is at the front Collected the cheeses Top row: Colston Basset Stilton; Vacherin Mont d'or; Aged Mountain Gruyere Bottom row: Farmhouse Cheddar; Gubbens (Irish, washed rind); Cotherstone (the softest of the English hard cheeses); Morbier, whith the charcoal strip seperating the morning and the evening milk. The salt cod dish will probably be Saltfish and Ackee, a Jamaican classic, since you have ruled out fishcakes. Making Trifle is a long processs. Picture when its finished. First line a nice bowl with sponge cake, genoise, or swiss roll. Pour on sherry. be generous and let soak in Add raspberries (tinned is fine). Pour on raspberry jelly and let set. Next day spoon on cold custard (hot custard would melt the jelly). Just before serving add whipped cream and decorate. Here Jill and I differ. I think the decoration should be multi-coloured hundreds and thousands, but she points out that they bleed colour into the cream. She prefers glace cherries. We both agree that chocolate sprinkles and chocolate curls are inappropriate. Jill is camera shy, and I hate pictures of myself.

Cusina: The oven features in the egCI Sourdough lesson. I built it instead of a BBQ. It uses a pre-cast refactory oven from Four Grandmere, and a foot of insulation in a brick outer shell. Wood fired. Elevenses is indeed a mid-morning snack. I shouldn't, but its holiday time. The laundry is behind the wall behind the stove. Entrance is to the right, out of shot. Also has storage and a big Maytag US style side-by-side fridge freezer. Getting that in was a struggle. Also more sinks - a deep Belfast one (in the ham soaking pix) and a shallow butlers sink for glasses. The table is a kitchen table, rather than a dining table, although we eat most meals at it in the kitchen. We bought it at auction in one of the local villages. The top has been replaced sometime in its life with basically pine floorboards. The top is plain wood, and gets scrubbed once a week or so. Its usually covered in clutter, newspapers, books, etc. The dining table is polished mahogany in the dining room, of course, but we rarely eat there since we can only get six round it, and for two and informal meals the kitchen is easier. Just back from the company Xmas dinner at a hotel (not my choice). Commercial catering - packet soup, rubber turkey, and commercial pudding. The roast potatoes were turned, which shows some care, but then finished in the deep fryer, which doesn't. Could be worse, just. At least it was moderately hot, and served in about the right order, which is more then many places. Being ancient we left when the disco started... Left to right: Wholemeal, White pain au leaven, fougasse pompe a l'huile. Now safely tucked up retarding in the refrigerator for baking off tomorrow. Thanks for the kind words, but there is a long way to go yet...

Thankyou Ronnie. I always enjoy your posts, and especially your blog. Much better than mine, and an example for all. Wish I had been at the party! hjshorter; Any requests or suggestions on how I should cook the salt cod? The turkey has just arrived from Kelly's Turkey's. Organic Norfolk Bronze. Looks great, beautifully packed with cold packs and foam insulation, and a helpful recipe book,...

The pompe a l'huile dough Before the chaos starts, here is a picture of the working end of the kitchen. The sink is to the left, the door to the rest of the house to the right, the laundry room behind. The sourdough starter is quetly fermenting in bowl on the left . Looking the other way, Mistletoe is top centre You can see the bread oven outside. On the left which you can't see, is the fridge, aand a range of cupboards, pull-out larder units, and a small TV on the side table.

Mistletoe is a fascinating plant. It is parasitic on apple and oak trees, and has long been held sacred. Mistletoe myths. I've never been able to establish it here, and I believe most of the mistletoe sold in the UK is imported. Christmas Eve I plan in the southern French (Provencal) style. Tradition dictates a "Gros Souper", maigre, that is without meat since it is before the midnight mass. After Mass there is the "Souper Gras", that is with meat. Since we aren't church goers, nor do I have the capacity or stamina, we will have the meat for an English Christmas lunch next day. The Gros Souper has seven dishes, though we might combine some and leave out the snails. The are: Celery with anchoïade (Anchovy, garlic and olive oil dip) l'aigo boulido, a garlic and herb soup, Cauliflower, Crouzet (small cross shaped pasta pieces), snails, (not for us) a fish dish of salt cod or shell fish, The "Thirteen deserts" The thirteen are: "Les quatres mendiants" or four beggars, representing the four holy orders: Almonds for the Carmelites Figs for the Franciscans Raisins for the Dominicans Walnuts for the Augustines Four plates of fruit: Apples Pears Tangerines Grapes or Melon Black Nougat (evil) White Nougat (good) Pate des Coings (Membrillo - Quince cheese) Pompe a l'huile (sweet olive oil bread) Dates I will also make Mince Pies, to the sound of carols from King College. This service of nine lessons and carols is broadcast live around the world on the BBC and public radio, from just down the road, and I urge you to listen Its at 3pm GMT . It is a beautiful experience, and the sound of the solo boy chorister singing in procession "Once in Royal David's CIty" marks the start of Christmas for me. It is alos broadcat on the web. You can also listen to it on the Web from The BBC Radio 4 site. Most of the seating is reserved for the college, but the public is admitted on a first come-first served basis, and people are already queueing. King's College was founded in 1441 by King Henry VI, and the magnifigcent chapel has one of the finest fan-vaulted ceilings in Europe, if not the world. The college maintains its own choir school, and is always divided whether to be known for the excellence of its music, or by its academic reputation. It has a reputation as a somewhat liberal and even left wing college, for example it was one of the first to admit women on equal terms. Pomp a l'huile - typical sweet dough recipe, with olive oil, aniseed and orange flower water 100g sourdough starter 500g flour 80g sugar 10g salt 100g melted unsalted butter 5 Tbs Olive Oil 1 Tsp Orange Flower water 1 Tsp Aniseed (I used caraway) 1/2 cup water 1 egg yolk Mix, leave to prove in a puddle of olive oil. Fold sides to middle every hour or so for four hours. Make into fougasse shape, retard overnight.

Stollen for elevenses, and the third mug of coffee..Here also showing the Pannetone texture The stollen was also from Cresci, but with the marzipan cente added. Mine is much more rustic and not as pretty as theirs. Put up the Mistletoe, hanging from the end of the track light near the big sliding glass doors from the kitchen to outside. See if we get any kisses.

Many thanks, but all the advise I've got here is that if they have some bark left they will be OK, but somewhat stunted and possibly more suseptible to disease; the ones that have been completly ring-barked, that is the bark removed all the way round for perhaps a depth of 18 inches are beyond saving. Apparently you can replant in the same place if you replace at least 20l of soil, and sterilise against nematodes. Again advise you can get would be most welcome.

Ahh, the wonderful morning mug of coffee... Anybody there, or am I talking to myself? Today I will make doughs for the holiday breads: white and brown sourdough, and a new one for me, a "pompe a l'huile", a rich sweet fougasse with olive oil, flavoured with orange flower water and aniseed or caraway. Its part of the traditional "treize deserts", the thirteen deserts for Christmas eve., symbolic of the apsotles etc. Also as prep for tomorrow I put the salt cod (aka stockfish, bacalao, saltfish) into soak. Stockfish starts thin, and as hard as a board, covered in a salt crust Alas cod is now a threatened species from over-fishing. Mark Kurlansky's excellent book "Cod" (ISBN 0-09-926870-1) documents how important the cod trade was, and he claims it changed the world. Salt cod was an important source of protein, and features in many cuisines, French, Portuguese, and especially West Indian, where it was introduced as cheap food for the slaves, who of course transformed it to deliciousness. Still undecided how to cook it. I was going to make fish cakes and Brandade, but I found a tin of Ackee yesterday, so it might first be saltfish and Ackee, and the remains turn into fishcakes. At home most of today. I've got lots of stuff I need to catch up with. Top of the list is writing exam questions for next years final exams for the courses I teach at the Computer Lab in the University. Due in just after the holidays. Writing them used to be fun, but nowdays they make you write model answers to go with the questions, which is much harder. These then get checked by the examinations committee and by the external examiner for correctness, fairness, comprehension etc. As an examiner I have some flexibility - the tradition is I can ask anything that a student should be expected to be able to answer, that might be relevant to the course and at a suitable level of difficulty, regardless of whether or not it has been taught or is on the formal syllabus. Similarly lectures are optional (although advised) for the students. If they feel they can learn more by reading or (or anything else, like playing sport or drinking), that is up to them. I must also make a start on my new book on Ultrawideband Wireless (UWB), to be published by Wiley back end next year, but I promised some sample chapters after the holidays. Otherwise it's the company Xmas dinner this evening, and I guess I;ll do some chores like clarifying the stock and emptying the grate of the living room fireplace ready for the holiday fires. According to the TV news it snowed about 24 miles to the east of here yesterdays, but here it was bright blue skies and sunchine - that really clear blue you get on cold winter days. Today its has warmed up (10C/40F) and raining. Jill is making Sherry Trifle.

Many, if not most cultures have some sort of winter festival. In Europe these also marked the start of the agricultural year. Yule is the pagan, driudic or wiccan festival, and possibly the ancient pre-christian northern European winter festival. It is associated with the solstice - the shortest day. Christmas is the Christian festival, and some of the ancient rituals, have been incorporated by inclusion, either by the early proselytising church, or by Victorian romantics. In turn, some of the modern Druidic or Wiccan practices are Victorian fantasy. Boxing day is the day after Christmas, 26th December. Traditionally it is the day one gave boxes, or tips to the tradespeople and servants who had given service during the year. This is no longer done, although we still give some before Christmas to the postman, the milkman (we still have daily milk deliveries in returnable glass bottles in the UK), and the person who delivers the papers. They give fantastic, cheeerful service in all weathers, and it seems a small way to say thankyou. No particular Boxing day food traditions that I'm aware of, except eating up the leftovers, and a bracing walks to counteract the day before's over-indulgence. Traditionally there are foxhunts on Boxing day (with stirrup cups drunk in the saddle before setting off). Fox hunting is soon to be banned - as Wilde said, the unspeakable in persuit of the inedible. Leftover Xmas pudding is great fried for breakfast with a full English breakfast: Bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, fried bread, fried potatoes; toast, marmelade, tea or coffee. Optional are porridge or cereals, devilled kidneys, kippers, kedgeree... For supper we ended up with an omlette of wild mushroom, ham and cheese (aged Vintage farmhouse cheddar); salad; pannetone and tangerines Ch. Mourgues du Gres (Costieres de Nimes) Galets Rouges 2000