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Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Sat Oct 06, 2018 9:37 am

And we are now having discussions about Christmas Eve.
Last year we went to the cinema, and came back to trays of Vietnamese/ Thai style wraps.

But Tony wants to go out for an Italian pizza. Okay ............... I'll go with it.

We always used to have an Indian meal, but it's too filling really.
Making Christmas Day breakfast awkward, as you wake up not hungry.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Oct 24, 2018 9:14 am

Well our current conversations are veering towards fish.

Fish for our Christmas meal.

I'll work with the idea for a while.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby DEB » Thu Oct 25, 2018 6:50 pm

Being married to the church warden, Christmas Eve is not good for food, Sunday 10am, followed by run though of the crib service. Christmas Eve get church ready staging up for 10am last run thought of Crib around the flower guild. 5pm Crib service with live baby and donkey, then remove staging and put church back for midnight, end usually approx. 7pm, back to church for 11pm. The answer is usually a side of salmon, new potatoes and veg.posting.php?mode=reply&f=3&t=3861#

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Wic » Thu Oct 25, 2018 7:02 pm

Last year I cooked a ham on Christmas Eve. It was so nice we didn’t bother with the turkey crown we had for Christmas Day. We think we’ll do the same this year. It still goes v well with roast potatoes and all the trimmings.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Thu Oct 25, 2018 9:47 pm

We had ham as the main event one year as well, and it was wonderful. I do, however, cook a joint of ham every year, but it normally has a supporting role. Not that year though!

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Fri Oct 26, 2018 9:29 am

You have got it busy DEB,

I did a citrus glazed ham. Doused in lemon grapefruit lime orange. Tony's favourite meal is Boxing Day pickles. Of the year.
So I leave that sort of thing be.
And don't dabble with the expectations.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby karadekoolaid » Fri Oct 26, 2018 1:50 pm

Tony's favourite meal is Boxing Day pickles.


Hahaha! Must be a Kentish thing.
My dad always made a ham for Xmas, and on Boxing Day out came pickled onions, pickled cabbage, pickled beetroot and a jar of pickled walnuts :thumbsup :thumbsup

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Sat Oct 27, 2018 8:12 am

Must be :P . His brother is exactly the same.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Suffs » Sat Oct 27, 2018 3:58 pm

Cold meat and pickles is my favourite bit about Christmas food ........ and I'm Bedfordshire/Cambs and Suffolk 8-)

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Binky » Sat Oct 27, 2018 5:42 pm

Having looked at a couple of recipes here for mincemeat, alcoholic or otherwise, does no-one use suet any more?

I can remember making great basin loads of mincemeat and it always called for suet (real or vegetarian) in the recipe. Why has it disappeared? Why was it there in the first place?

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby jeral » Sat Oct 27, 2018 9:00 pm

On suet, I imagine it was used as a filler due to high fat (energy) level. I wondered if it is absorbent (to soak up fruit juices) but don't think it is, although Wikipedia says it has a high smoke point - and possibly strategically - a low congealing temp, so maybe it acts as a glue.

Why not used now? I'm guessing too "poor" when supermarkets can use equally cheap disguised fillers and still claim snob labels of Finest, Best etc.

On pickles, to my dad's year-round list, deduct walnuts, add pickled cauliflower and piccalilli. He tried pickling eggs but they must have failed as it wasn't a regular on his list as I recall.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby DEB » Sun Oct 28, 2018 7:20 pm

Here is a recipe for fat free mincemeat. Note that this does not mean low calorie

400ml medium/dry cider
450g dark drown sugar
1.8kg cooking apple- Peeled, cored and chopped
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
450g currents
450g raisins
150 g glace cherries
125g chopped blanched almonds
grated rind and juice of lemon
150 ml brandy or rum
:tiptoesanta
1. Put cider and sugar in a large saucepan and heat gently and stir until sugar dissolved.
2. Add apples and stir in the rest of the dry ingredients.
3. Bring to the boil, stirring all the time.
4. Lower the heat, half cover with lid and simmer for 30 mins until a soft pulp.
5. Remove from the heat and leave until cold.
6. Stir in brandy or rum.
7. Place in clean dry screw-topped jars and cover with waxed circles before putting on lids.
8. Store in a cool dry place until Xmas.

I have kept it for 18 months or so.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:20 pm

I have now made my Christmas cakes, one for us and one for Mr Strictly's supervisor at work. The best thing was that the one mix made both cakes. The reasons being that:

a. The cake tine I used was a little shallower than the one stated in the recipe, although it was the same diameter.

b. The ingredients used both plain and self raising flour. As I only had SR flour in, I used that, realising it would rise a bit more.

I therefore had enough left over after filling the round tin to make a loaf cake for his supervisor. This is because she is the only one who likes fruit cake in her family, so doesn't need a big one. Kerching!

I used the fruit cake recipe from Mary Berry's 'Cooks the Perfect' book.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Tue Nov 06, 2018 9:33 am

You're ahead of the game, Stricters.
Tony adores fruit cake.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Badger's Mate » Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:26 pm

I do a Caribbean black cake for Christmas, the fruit has been soaking in rum & sherry for a couple of weeks, I'll probably make the cake in a couple more. It's a recipe from a Latin American and Caribbean cookbook but is very similar to the Blessed Delia's Creole cake. We rarely have it at Christmas, but it keeps very well and is lovely early in the New Year, especially in the chill of the late afternoon, with a flask of tea in the hides at Amwell, waiting for bitterns.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Wed Nov 07, 2018 8:48 am

Gillthepainter wrote:You're ahead of the game, Stricters.
Tony adores fruit cake.


Hi Gill

I'm having to be ahead of the game. I feel that I'm going to be holding the fort at work due to staff shortages this Christmas. Christmas 2018 is definitely going to be easy/prep ahead as much as possible food-wise. I still won't do ready-made though, apart from panettone and lebkuchen, and maybe one of our Strictly Final canapes. I haven't fully decided on the latter yet, so some breadcrumbed scampi may end up being served alongside the other things I have chosen to do :lol: .

Badger's Mate - We usually eat our Chistmas cake in the run up to New Year as well. It normally becomes pudding once we've finished the trifle!

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Gillthepainter » Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:03 am

So you're a twitcher are you, Badgers.
Up early then, like us. (5:30 - 6am)

You are really organised. Which reminds me, to make freezer space. I was thinking this morning how my habit is to put things in there, but rarely take things out.

& for the last 2 years, my baking and cooking has been easy. So this year, I plan to make more effort.
Although I did make a turducken for the family New Year Doncaster visit, which takes about 3 hrs deboning and sewing.
A hard act to follow, as it was declared the best meal they've ever had.

Twas good.

But I've done it a couple of times now, so it's old hat ;)
As is steak frites.

I'm on the look out for a new show stopper and inspiration .........................................

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby Badger's Mate » Wed Nov 07, 2018 6:36 pm

So you're a twitcher are you, Badgers


I met Mrs B through the RSPB :newhuggy

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby strictlysalsaclare » Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:40 am

There is one other thing that I have bought this year, a tin of Sainsbury's Scottish Shortbread, mainly because of the beautiful tin decoration. It is of a red deer stag surrounded by a horseshoe shaped garland featuring festive berries. It has a bit of a watercolour effect so it is very delicate looking. I will also buy some Polish chocolate confectionery from one of our local Polish supermarkets. Its basically their version of Cadbury's Double Decker but with a bit more finesse. They are little round discs of deliciousness that look a little bit like jaffa cakes but in a different league. Mind you, their version of jaffa cakes are insanely good because they doe a variety of different flavours.

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Re: Booze free mincemeat & Christmas Delights

Postby mark111757 » Wed Nov 28, 2018 1:01 am


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