The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, stories & 100 essential recipes for midwinter

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It is a pleasure to announce thatIn May 2018, The Christmas Chronicles was named winner of the Food Book of the Year in the2018 Fortnum and Mason Awards. Place the second sheet of pastry over the filling then press the edges of the two pieces of pastry firmly together to seal. It is important that they are well sealed, otherwise your filling will leak. Brush the top layer of pastry all over with the beaten egg, scatter with the nigella or sesame seeds then pierce a small hole in the centre with knife or the handle of wooden spoon. Place in the oven, the baking sheet on top of the hot, upturned one, and bake for 40 minutes till golden brown.

The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, stories and 100 essential

The idea is to keep the cake moist and to help preserve it. I have a suspicion that the task isn’t really necessary, but the idea makes sense and I’m happy to go along with it. It is as if my entire childhood was lived out in the cold months, a decade spent togged up in duffel coats and mittens, wellingtons and woolly hats. To this day, I am never happier than when there is frost on the roof and a fire in the hearth. I have always preferred snow underfoot to sand between my toes. Slater has two elder brothers, Adrian and John. John was the child of a neighbour, and was adopted by Slater's parents before the writer was born. As the season slides into winter – you can feel the heavy, sweet air of autumn turning crisp and clean with each passing dawn – there is the return of chestnuts and sweet potatoes, almonds in their shells, cream-fleshed parsnips, fat leeks and muscat grapes with their scent of sugary wine and honey. There are squashes shaped like acorns and others that resemble turbans to bake and stuff and beat into piles of fluffy mash; pomegranates – I love to see one or two cut in half on the display so we know whether we are buying jewels or pith – and proper big-as-your-hat apples for baking.

Spoon the figs into a sterilised storage jar, then pour over the liquor. Pour in the vodka, then seal and place in a cool, dry place for three or four weeks, or, better still, until Christmas. Began my annual rereading of this Christmas journal on November 4, 2020--third time around. Delightful!***

Grape, Gorgonzola and walnut salad | Sainsbury`s Magazine Grape, Gorgonzola and walnut salad | Sainsbury`s Magazine

I would highly recommend this compendium of recipes and thoughts about the winter season which reads like a personal journal. I don't know if I'll ever make any of his recipes since I'd have to convert them from grams and milliliters but I can drool and dream. Put the apricots into a stainless-steel saucepan. Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin strips of zest from the orange and drop them into the pan. Add the star anise, brandy and sugar and bring to the boil. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. In 1998 Slater hosted the Channel 4 series Nigel Slater's Real Food Show. He returned to TV in 2006 hosting the chat/food show A Taste of My Life for BBC One. Although best known for uncomplicated, comfort food recipes presented in early bestselling books such as The 30-Minute Cook and Real Cooking, as well as his engaging, memoir-like columns for The Observer, Slater became known to a wider audience with the publication of Toast: The Story of a Boy's Hunger, a moving and award-winning autobiography focused on his love of food, his childhood, his family relationships (his mother died of asthma when he was nine), and his burgeoning sexuality. The remaining fruit – bundles of joy, soft as a pillow, juicy as a xiaolongbao dumpling – should not be wasted.For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition. But it's not all about food. There's descriptions of evergreen trees for instance; memories of Christmases past, and family traditions. It often reads like a memoir. When offered a choice of anything in the bookshop last December, I chose this book. Nearly a year rolled around until I did more than skim it, but it has been a delicious guide to this year’s festive season. So far I’ve made nothing other than the Christmas cake, but that was a project for the month and really the perfect way to celebrate this stuffed compendium of winter’s rituals and culinary traditions. It’s a book that combines recipes with a calendar of Nigel Slater’s approach to Christmas, and it mixes childhood memories with historical tradition and even practical tips. The author’s voice is strong, sometimes even sharp, and highly opinionated. As always, his prose is highly readable and saturated with his own personality. You don’t have to cook from it, although no doubt that would be a bonus. There is variance in the writing and some passages are beautiful. The recipes and photographs look good and I will be trying out several recipes this winter.

Christmas Chronicles By Nigel Slater | Used The Christmas Chronicles By Nigel Slater | Used

Its all about the cold and crisp months leading up to including Christmas,new Year and into January/February. It is the Winter of my youth.The recipes are divine and I do mean angelic with feet planted firmly in winter. Cut the leeks into rounds about 1cm in length and wash them in plenty of cold water. Bring the butter and water to the boil in a wide pan with a lid, then add the leeks. Cover with a piece of greaseproof paper, or baking parchment, and a lid. The paper will encourage the leeks to steam rather than fry. From the BBC1 presenter and bestselling author of Eat, The Kitchen Diaries and Toast comes a new book featuring everything you need for the winter solstice.Warm the oil, or a little pork fat, in a frying pan and cook the sausages, slowly, over a moderate heat. Let them brown nicely on all sides. Leave to settle for 5 minutes before sliding off the baking sheet onto a serving board or dish, and slicing.