I recall playing conkers in Sept/Oct (ish) when i was very small. Never occurred to us that we could have actually eaten them instead
I buy Xmas Cake and Xmas Pud from Aldi and they are lovely. Gave up making my own some years ago. also buy shop bought mince pies since my Mum died as she always made us loads.
I think everything else we have is homemade/cooked by me. Turkey and proper turkey gravy, own breadsauce, own stuffings, glazed carrots, red cabbage with red onion and apples, cheesy leeks, roasties, sprouts with bacon, beautiful trifle.
Please explain recipe.
My understanding is that conkers actually belong to the acorn family.
Something for the interesting facts thread perhaps?
Then again perhaps not.
Really? I thought they were horse chestnuts. They sure looked like them. (spikey husks on outside, and we got them from the park opposite Turnham Green station) Guess I should have eaten one to make sure.
PS, there was none of that Blue-Peter-get-an-adult-or-use-extra-care when we stuck a skewer through those conkers for the shoe lace hole. No sireee. We was brave little soldiers.
delete…way off topic. Park for another day.
A few weeks ago i made mince pies to eat now, altogether i did 48
We don’t have many snacks but we have chocolates but one a day. No pics but I’ve made pigs in blankets, roasted the parsnips in Turkey fat and stock and the roast potatoes. To make the sage and onion stuffing I’ve done the breadcrumbs with the sage, also cooked the onions, all in the freezer. Today I’m making baked potatoes, mash the potatoes and add sweetcorn and chopped up cooked bacon, they go in the freezer. I’ve chopped up a lot of glac’e cherries to make the special mince pies for over Christmas.
They look delicious ,Logan, what pastry did you use?..
I always have toast and a nice pate for breakfast on Christmas Day. This year I’m trying this Drunken duck one from Tescos.
Thank you Pauline, it’s a short crust pastry but i use self raising flour instead of plain and i add extra fat to make it more softer.
Just made the baked potatoes with chopped bacon and sweetcorn, did 15 of those, 2 each
Plain mash with butter and milk for the boys, they have half each.
I just wash and trim the leeks. Par boil for a few mins so they stay intact. Then I lay them in a dish and add a little salt and pepper and sprinkle grated cheese on top and put them in a hot oven for about 20 mins. If I have any spare cream I bung a bit of that in too.
We like a mature cheddar but you can use anything. I did it once with cream cheese with herbs and chives in it and that was nice too.
It looks delicious!
What about Brussel sprouts? I know that some people loathe them, they are pretty grim if they’ve been cooked to mush but I always have a few at Christmas.
You can buy them on the stalk these days, I might have to get a bit experimental.
I gave up on Christmas some years ago after spending a lifetime having a ‘Christmas’ to please others. I finally plucked up the courage to say ‘no more’.
I still make loads of mincemeat and mince pies for the family .
This year I will probably have a very hot home made chilli on Christmas day.
Try Brussels sprouts, bacon and chestnuts, will definitely be following that recipe this Christmas,
We always have sprouts with every cooked meal and on Christmas day, i use a pressure cooker for all the veg and they cook fine and taist better.
Indeed they do imo,Logan, 3 mins in my instant pot, absolutely delicious,