With Christmas fast approaching, the talk in the office has turned to our favourite festive foods. From tips for making the perfect bread sauce to nostalgic memories of Christmas puddings gone by, sharing our beloved Chrimbo foodie treats went down such a storm that we thought we’d share them with you too. **Do not read on an empty stomach**
Cat loves a homemade Yorkshire pudding
One of my favourite Christmas foods are homemade Yorkshire puddings. If cooked right, then they should be well risen, golden brown with a crisp exterior, and a soft, fluffy middle… and filled with gravy! A few Christmases ago, I even mastered the art of making these myself, which I was really happy about as my mum had always told me they were notoriously hard to make, which is why we always had shop bought! (My secret… buttering the baking tray rather than oiling it and cranking the oven right up!) Christmas wouldn’t be the same without them.
Jennifer loves bread sauce
Bread sauce is an absolute Christmas dinner accompaniment must in our family but not any old bread sauce … no offence to the packet variety but the festive feast’s bread sauce must be made with lots of love, time and great ingredients. Best made at least a few hours before the main event, onion, bay leaf, fresh thyme and parsley and a few peppercorns, should be steeped in warm milk then strained. Day-old white breadcrumbs are then stirred in and the sauce gently heated before serving. Not only is bread sauce the perfect accompaniment for the Christmas roast, you need to make plenty to go with all the turkey sandwiches on Boxing Day and beyond!
Calvin loves stuffing
My favourite part of a Christmas dinner is the stuffing. I get excited when my mum begins cooking her delicious sage and onion with pork sausage meat stuffing, which I think is the most flavoursome part of the meal. I always keep an eye on how many there are to try and snatch as many as I possibly can! Sometimes, my mum works on Christmas day, so when we are lucky enough to be in her company it is definitely special.
Emma loves Christmas pudding
My absolute favourite festive food is Christmas pudding! Apparently, I have loved it ever since I was small and I have to say, Christmas lunch wouldn’t be the same without it! I know the dessert isn’t for everybody, and apparently less than half of us enjoy it on Christmas day[i], but for me Christmas Pudding, covered in plenty of cream, is a festive must-have!
Taryn loves homemade pork pies
It’s got to be a homemade pork pie! Ever since I have been about 8 years old, every Christmas I would ask for one of those really big pork pies, that were the size of my head, and I would then carefully portion it out on Christmas Eve to eat across the three festive days. As I’ve got older, the tradition hasn’t changed, however my taste buds definitely have! Now it’s not only a traditional Pork Pie on our Christmas buffet table, but also ones laced with truffle, cranberry, chestnuts… last year I even had one with figs in and it was fantastic. It’s become of a bit of joke within the family now that each year I get my own pork pie to enjoy … in fact, last year, I even received a hamper full of homemade pork pies (and cheese!) that lasted me way into the New Year.
David loves a Boxing Day curry
I love Christmas dinner as much as the next person – and which which I am now the chef for each year and, so far, not to tempt fate for this year, they have all been a success. But when I think of Christmas food it’s Boxing Day curry that I really look forward to – cooked by my mum! It’s a fantastic recipe (that I tried and failed to master) that is great with leftover turkey (or additional turkey bought specially for the curry itself in recent years!) and served with a selection of fruit. While we eat it at other times of the year – somehow, like most things, it just tastes better in the festive season!
[i] https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2018/december/is-the-xmas-pudding-on-its-way-out/
