I have the book and it is with me in Ireland for a week, so that I can mark up the recipes I really want to do with Bookdarts. There is to me one glaring lacuna, which is Cumberland sauce, to accompany ham. It may possibly be there but masquerading under a different name? The ingredients are redcurrant jelly, blanched shreds of orange and lemon peel, orange juice, mustard, and port. There’s a sequence to its preparation but you ought to find a recipe online to tide you over until Jane perfects her own version!
Delighted with the this post, thank you. I have ordered the book and look forward to some inspiration. It's a perfect gift for my early bird friends xx
Ohhh India, I am so horribly and rudely late in joining the merry Christmas throng here and in thanking you for such a very kind and very generous review of my new book - but my feet haven’t touched the ground since publication day and I didn’t want to rush off a comment for such a lovely thing!
Despite the fact my tardy interaction might seem otherwise, I am completely overwhelmed and over the moon that you like the book so much, and have been walking on air since this time last week ☺️ Thank you, thank you, thank you so much 😊🥰🎄
I bought the book on your recommendation, it arrived this morning just before leaving for holiday and this afternoon I have devoured it in the holiday cottage we’re staying at in North Norfolk. It’s the perfect book to read in such a cosy cottage and there are so many delicious recipes I will be making as soon as I get home that are seasonal rather than purely festive.
Hello Elaine - thank you so much for buying the book and I'm delighted you like the recipes - yes, not all of them festive by any means. Hope it was just the job for curling up with in your cosy cottage! Happy cooking!
Excellent - I'm so pleased you like it. I think it's a genius book. And yes, perfect spot to read it in. PS not sure where exactly you are but the best coffee is in the village stores in Stiffkey, also their butter flapjacks.
Inspired by this piece to make something from Lovett’s Just One Pan - so I made the brownies with raspberry and sea salt. Very very easy to make and incredibly satisfying. Also - and at risk of blowing my own horn - they actually look about 80-90% as good as the image in the book, which is incredibly satisfying.
It sounds so gross, doesn't it. But it's fragrant and scented and spiced and DELICIOUS and I will stop now because I see Ruth has given you the perfect recipe!
It’s so good, although I quite see that the words themselves don’t hold much appeal. And, it’s often made so badly that it probably reinforces any prejudice.
This is essentially Jane Grigson’s recipe to which I’ve made minor adjustments. You must use good quality white bread and don’t stint on the dairy products, either - this is not the place for skimmed milk. It serves eight and will keep in the fridge, cling filmed, for up to 24 hours.
425ml full cream milk
1 small onion, peeled
6 whole cloves
7-8 scrapings of nutmeg, or a pinch of ground mace
A pinch of hot chilli powder or cayenne pepper
100g fresh fine white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp double cream
Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan. Stud the onion with cloves and add it to the milk with the spices, salt and plenty of ground black pepper. Slowly bring the milk to just below boiling point then push the pan to one side and let the milk infuse for 30-45 minutes.
Scoop out the onion (and discard), put the pan back over a low heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, and keep stirring until the sauce is a rich, thick cream; it should be thick enough to just hold its shape, but not so thick you could make a snowman out of it.
If you are going to serve the sauce straight away, stir in the cream. Otherwise, refrigerate, reheat very gently, stirring frequently, and add a little more milk if the sauce is too thick. Stir the cream in just before serving.
I write my Christmas present list in August and start shopping in September . I’m obsessed with Christmas! I have ordered the book. What I’ll do is read it in its entirety and get used to it and then implement next year. Thank you so much for the recommendation . Can you recommend Christmas tableware (as if you weren’t busy enough) I seriously need to upgrade!
Thank you Jane for a sane roadmap through the chaos of Christmas. I’m definitely getting your Get ahead book too now, you write such clear instructions that it makes it so easy to follow and I am recommending it to all my friends
I too love bread sauce. Turkey is a vehicle for it and the shrub sounds delicious. We can make all these things for Thanksgiving too though my grown family prefers steak and I prefer salmon along with traditional fixings. Thanks for this. will be ordering the book too.
I am really not interested in turkey but the children mutinied the one year I tried a rib of beef. They said it was untraditional and went on and on about it. I sort of see their point though, and the bread sauce makes everything okay.
One of the best things about living in The Gambia is that I can skip Christmas altogether. I get the day off, but since the country is 98% Muslim, no one really cares. I am going to make a fabulously strong iced egg nog and spend the day on the beach. That's my advance planning.
Such a privilege to live here. And yes, delicious fresh fish and seafood, usually in a spicy tomato and onion sauce, eaten on the beach watching the fishermen bring in the next catch.
Oh, the green background has vanished from your logo (if that's the correct word). I rather liked it!
Christmas doesn't get mentioned chez moi until it's practically too late, but I have started watching Gilmore Girls, a show which had entirely passed me by. I'm enjoying it very much but do occasionally want to give Lorelai a sedative. Am I unique in this?
From the time you amended the heading lettering on your front page to the current version the logo on the top left corner of the front page has been showing with a solid mid green background on my tablet screen. Most mysterious!
Oh it was most def big enough to be noticeable. I really liked the green. And if you colour the logo in again you can always change the colour monthly/seasonally/whenever you're in the mood for tinkering ... It'll be appreciated by those of us who notice!
Love the idea of the celeriac and bacon and the shrub especially. And while I am no good at doing Christmas ahead, I do love to *think* about it early...
When you've written for a food magazine and year after year been asked to find something new to say about Christmas, no stones, plum or otherwise, are left unturned. I have had a proposal for a get-ahead Christmas cook book lurking in my computer for decades but have never been able to summon the enthusiasm to get it published. Bravo to Jane Lovett for actually doing it.
Over the years I’ve noticed younger family members eschewing Christmas pud in favour of something chocolate-laden and older members preferring custard to brandy butter. So here’s a clever wheeze for using up leftovers of the latter:
Weigh the softened brandy butter, then add the same weight in plain flour, half the weight in more softened butter and half the weight in semolina. Knead into a smooth dough, roll out to about an inch thick and spread into a greased baking tray. Prick the dough with a fork before cooking at 150C (140C fan) for an hour. Remove from the oven, slice immediately into desired shapes, then leave to cool thoroughly in the tin.
Now I am going to pretend it’s not happening, Christmas, that is.
I might have known you'd have some marvellous thing up your sleeve! How clever, also yum, thank you. Very much re chocolate rather than raisins etc - my lot clamour for a bûche de Noell every year (but then happily eat Christmas pudding). I'm not making one, and the place I've identified as selling good ones is in Hammersmith, which really doesn't help me - bringing giant log on train without it getting jogged feels improbable. Maybe in car with seatbelt?
Sorry, WAY TOO EARLY and frankly weird. Slow down! I am all for being organised and planning ahead but also aware that often the best laid plans go awry and the further ahead you plan the more likely life is to get in the way. What has become of us! It’s just Christmas! The idea of making things now to put in the freezer for Christmas is awful and the root of ALL the stress!
Fair enough, but for some of us the planning and deciding recipes etc is part of the fun of it. It's only one day and it goes by incredibly quickly - I like to eke out the enjoyment, like getting ready for a party. Often the most fun bit!
My copy arrived on Thursday and I agree it’s brilliant. I made the sausage roll wreath for a dinner party on Friday night to have with drinks instead of a starter. Great fun to make in a Blue Peter sort of way, looks impressive and not a crumb left! Definitely recommend. The croquettes look amazing and I will be making.
I have the book and it is with me in Ireland for a week, so that I can mark up the recipes I really want to do with Bookdarts. There is to me one glaring lacuna, which is Cumberland sauce, to accompany ham. It may possibly be there but masquerading under a different name? The ingredients are redcurrant jelly, blanched shreds of orange and lemon peel, orange juice, mustard, and port. There’s a sequence to its preparation but you ought to find a recipe online to tide you over until Jane perfects her own version!
Delighted with the this post, thank you. I have ordered the book and look forward to some inspiration. It's a perfect gift for my early bird friends xx
Ohhh India, I am so horribly and rudely late in joining the merry Christmas throng here and in thanking you for such a very kind and very generous review of my new book - but my feet haven’t touched the ground since publication day and I didn’t want to rush off a comment for such a lovely thing!
Despite the fact my tardy interaction might seem otherwise, I am completely overwhelmed and over the moon that you like the book so much, and have been walking on air since this time last week ☺️ Thank you, thank you, thank you so much 😊🥰🎄
An inspired use for leftover bread sauce!! Must make double this year.
Isn't it genius? Me too.
I always make far too much on purpose - as mentioned in the book. In my eyes, it's a side!!
I bought the book on your recommendation, it arrived this morning just before leaving for holiday and this afternoon I have devoured it in the holiday cottage we’re staying at in North Norfolk. It’s the perfect book to read in such a cosy cottage and there are so many delicious recipes I will be making as soon as I get home that are seasonal rather than purely festive.
Hello Elaine - thank you so much for buying the book and I'm delighted you like the recipes - yes, not all of them festive by any means. Hope it was just the job for curling up with in your cosy cottage! Happy cooking!
Excellent - I'm so pleased you like it. I think it's a genius book. And yes, perfect spot to read it in. PS not sure where exactly you are but the best coffee is in the village stores in Stiffkey, also their butter flapjacks.
Inspired by this piece to make something from Lovett’s Just One Pan - so I made the brownies with raspberry and sea salt. Very very easy to make and incredibly satisfying. Also - and at risk of blowing my own horn - they actually look about 80-90% as good as the image in the book, which is incredibly satisfying.
Ha ha - bet they looked just good, if not better! Delighted to hear you like the recipe 😊
I've made those! They're so nice. V pleasing re brownie aesthetics.
Haha - brownie aesthetics!!
I need this book! Seeing if it’s available here in the US. Definitely making the celeriac bacon bites 🥓
It's really good - new Christmas bible for me!
Gosh, what a wonderful thing hear 🥰😌😊
Can’t get it here yet, I’ll keep watching to see when I can!
Jolene, I will speak to my editor and see what's what re the US and be back when I have an answer...
Jane, thank you so much, it looks so wonderful, congratulations! 🎄
I have never made or eaten bread sauce. What’s the appeal? It sounds so…….boring! What have I been missing?
It sounds so gross, doesn't it. But it's fragrant and scented and spiced and DELICIOUS and I will stop now because I see Ruth has given you the perfect recipe!
Thank you! I will, for the first time, make this for Christmas. Which will surprise the family but it’s time to shake things up.
Quite right, shake things up a bit! I love bread sauce with gravy and peas (alongside turkey or chicken) and it's vv good with sausages too...
It’s so good, although I quite see that the words themselves don’t hold much appeal. And, it’s often made so badly that it probably reinforces any prejudice.
This is essentially Jane Grigson’s recipe to which I’ve made minor adjustments. You must use good quality white bread and don’t stint on the dairy products, either - this is not the place for skimmed milk. It serves eight and will keep in the fridge, cling filmed, for up to 24 hours.
425ml full cream milk
1 small onion, peeled
6 whole cloves
7-8 scrapings of nutmeg, or a pinch of ground mace
A pinch of hot chilli powder or cayenne pepper
100g fresh fine white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp double cream
Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan. Stud the onion with cloves and add it to the milk with the spices, salt and plenty of ground black pepper. Slowly bring the milk to just below boiling point then push the pan to one side and let the milk infuse for 30-45 minutes.
Scoop out the onion (and discard), put the pan back over a low heat, stir in the breadcrumbs, and keep stirring until the sauce is a rich, thick cream; it should be thick enough to just hold its shape, but not so thick you could make a snowman out of it.
If you are going to serve the sauce straight away, stir in the cream. Otherwise, refrigerate, reheat very gently, stirring frequently, and add a little more milk if the sauce is too thick. Stir the cream in just before serving.
I write my Christmas present list in August and start shopping in September . I’m obsessed with Christmas! I have ordered the book. What I’ll do is read it in its entirety and get used to it and then implement next year. Thank you so much for the recommendation . Can you recommend Christmas tableware (as if you weren’t busy enough) I seriously need to upgrade!
Thank you so much for buying the book Larissa - I really hope you will find it useful and enjoy cooking from it!
Thank you Jane for a sane roadmap through the chaos of Christmas. I’m definitely getting your Get ahead book too now, you write such clear instructions that it makes it so easy to follow and I am recommending it to all my friends
Yes, will do, have made a mental note. I very much like the idea of letting the contents percolate and implementing them next year.
I too love bread sauce. Turkey is a vehicle for it and the shrub sounds delicious. We can make all these things for Thanksgiving too though my grown family prefers steak and I prefer salmon along with traditional fixings. Thanks for this. will be ordering the book too.
Thank you Maggie!
I am really not interested in turkey but the children mutinied the one year I tried a rib of beef. They said it was untraditional and went on and on about it. I sort of see their point though, and the bread sauce makes everything okay.
Yep, bread sauce always makes everything OK!
One of the best things about living in The Gambia is that I can skip Christmas altogether. I get the day off, but since the country is 98% Muslim, no one really cares. I am going to make a fabulously strong iced egg nog and spend the day on the beach. That's my advance planning.
Oh wow, how amazing to live in the Gambia! Delicious fish?
Such a privilege to live here. And yes, delicious fresh fish and seafood, usually in a spicy tomato and onion sauce, eaten on the beach watching the fishermen bring in the next catch.
Oh, the green background has vanished from your logo (if that's the correct word). I rather liked it!
Christmas doesn't get mentioned chez moi until it's practically too late, but I have started watching Gilmore Girls, a show which had entirely passed me by. I'm enjoying it very much but do occasionally want to give Lorelai a sedative. Am I unique in this?
No. That is the correct response. But what green background? I never had one! How mysterious.
From the time you amended the heading lettering on your front page to the current version the logo on the top left corner of the front page has been showing with a solid mid green background on my tablet screen. Most mysterious!
Oh the logo! Yes, I made it green and I loved it, but it's so fricking small that I decided it was illegible. It may yet return...
Oh it was most def big enough to be noticeable. I really liked the green. And if you colour the logo in again you can always change the colour monthly/seasonally/whenever you're in the mood for tinkering ... It'll be appreciated by those of us who notice!
Love the idea of the celeriac and bacon and the shrub especially. And while I am no good at doing Christmas ahead, I do love to *think* about it early...
Agreed, I think thinking about it is all part of it - the joy is in the thinking and planning beforehand; it's so much more than just the one day...
Me too, it gives me a warm feeling. I made the c&b earlier in the week - it is perfection.
I'm so pleased. One those recipes that's greater than the sum of its (two!) parts! Always weird when that happens, but happen it does occasionally.
When you've written for a food magazine and year after year been asked to find something new to say about Christmas, no stones, plum or otherwise, are left unturned. I have had a proposal for a get-ahead Christmas cook book lurking in my computer for decades but have never been able to summon the enthusiasm to get it published. Bravo to Jane Lovett for actually doing it.
Over the years I’ve noticed younger family members eschewing Christmas pud in favour of something chocolate-laden and older members preferring custard to brandy butter. So here’s a clever wheeze for using up leftovers of the latter:
Weigh the softened brandy butter, then add the same weight in plain flour, half the weight in more softened butter and half the weight in semolina. Knead into a smooth dough, roll out to about an inch thick and spread into a greased baking tray. Prick the dough with a fork before cooking at 150C (140C fan) for an hour. Remove from the oven, slice immediately into desired shapes, then leave to cool thoroughly in the tin.
Now I am going to pretend it’s not happening, Christmas, that is.
Thank you Ruth - and loving the leftover wheeze! Noted...
I might have known you'd have some marvellous thing up your sleeve! How clever, also yum, thank you. Very much re chocolate rather than raisins etc - my lot clamour for a bûche de Noell every year (but then happily eat Christmas pudding). I'm not making one, and the place I've identified as selling good ones is in Hammersmith, which really doesn't help me - bringing giant log on train without it getting jogged feels improbable. Maybe in car with seatbelt?
Sorry, WAY TOO EARLY and frankly weird. Slow down! I am all for being organised and planning ahead but also aware that often the best laid plans go awry and the further ahead you plan the more likely life is to get in the way. What has become of us! It’s just Christmas! The idea of making things now to put in the freezer for Christmas is awful and the root of ALL the stress!
Fair enough, but for some of us the planning and deciding recipes etc is part of the fun of it. It's only one day and it goes by incredibly quickly - I like to eke out the enjoyment, like getting ready for a party. Often the most fun bit!
My copy arrived on Thursday and I agree it’s brilliant. I made the sausage roll wreath for a dinner party on Friday night to have with drinks instead of a starter. Great fun to make in a Blue Peter sort of way, looks impressive and not a crumb left! Definitely recommend. The croquettes look amazing and I will be making.
🙌 🙌 🙌 Hurrah! And thank you for buying.
'...in a Blue Peter sort of way' - it really is, isn't it!
That was the other one I was going to extract! But then I thought I'd better have a drink. Will be making it asap. The croquettes - I cannot wait.