Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities

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CONTENTS

LIST OF RECIPES

LIST OF CHRISTMAS DAY RECIPES

COCKTAILS, CANAPÉS AND MANAGEABLE MASS CATERING

SEASONAL SUPPORT

SOUPS, SALADS, SAUCES AND SERVE-LATER SIDES

COME ON OVER …

STRESS-FREE SUPPERS

THE MAIN EVENT

JOY TO THE WORLD

CHRISTMAS BAKING AND SWEET TREATS

ALL WRAPPED UP

EDIBLE PRESENTS AND PARTY PRESERVES

A CHRISTMAS BRUNCH FOR 6–8

A BEVY OF HOT DRINKS

DR LAWSON PRESCRIBES …

STOCKISTS

Christmas is a time for family and friends, for tradition and treats. But, let’s face it, when the pressure to feed and entertain builds up, the festive season can begin to lose it’s sparkle…

That’s where Nigella comes in. With her no-nonsense approach, her inspirational ideas and empathy for the practical realities of the season – combined here with reliable, easy-to-follow recipes and reassuring advice about planning and cooking ahead – Nigella Christmas is guaranteed to bring comfort and joy and make sure the season of good will stays that way.

Here is everything you could wish for to make your life and your Christmas easy and enjoyable: from party canapés, cocktails and manageable mass catering to scrumptious Christmas cakes and puddings; from no-fuss brunch to quick and easy homemade presents (chutneys, preserves and other delectable standbys) and edible tree-decorations. There are mouthwatering recipes with a seasonal twist and simple menus for feeding friends and family over the extended holiday season with minimal stress and maximum enjoyment. And of course, exciting and inspiring variations for the Main Event itself – from her traditional superjuicy turkey with all the trimmings, to the festive ginger-glazed ham and the ultimate Christmas Pud; from goose, rib of beef, stuffed rolled pork, all the way to a special vegetarian Christmas feast, a chocolate pudding for Christmas pudding haters, a French Yule Log, Australian Christmas Pud and the boozy British Trifle.

Nigella’s cakes, as always, gladden the heart – and, like many of her recipes here, are at home all year round – but her ’At-a-Glance Christmas Dinner Countdown‘, together with make ahead and freeze ahead tips throughout, can help take out the stress and strain out of the season. With its glorious illustrations, Nigella Christmas will surely be a perennial favourite, the book we will all reach for – for inspiration and reassurance – as soon as Christmas comes around every year.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nigella Lawson is the author of bestselling books – How to Eat (‘may just be the best cookery book ever’ Daily Telegraph), How to be a Domestic Goddess (British Book Awards 2001), Nigella Bites (WHSmith Award 2002) Forever Summer (‘images of warmth and Mediterranean climes’ Time Out), Feast (‘a voluptuous and delicious piece of food writing’ Guardian), Nigella Express (no. 1 bestseller with over 1 million sales), Nigella Christmas (‘everything to make your Christmas sparkle’ Independent) and most recently Kitchen (‘another blockbuster – hearty and wholesome’ Daily Express) – which, together with her successful TV series and the Nigella Quick Collection app, have made her a household name around the world. She lives in London with her family.

Also by Nigella Lawson

HOW TO EAT

THE PLEASURES AND PRINCIPLES OF GOOD FOOD

HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS

BAKING AND THE ART OF COMFORT COOKING

NIGELLA BITES

FOREVER SUMMER

FEAST

FOOD THAT CELEBRATES LIFE

NIGELLA EXPRESS

GOOD FOOD FAST

KITCHEN

RECIPES FROM THE HEART OF THE HOME

NIGELLA CHRISTMAS

FOOD • FAMILY • FRIENDS • FESTIVITIES

NIGELLA LAWSON

PHOTOGRAPH BY LIS PARSONS

Chatto & Windus

LONDON

List of Recipes

Beef

Choc chip chilli

Leftovers

Roast rib of beef

with port and stilton gravy

Bread

My mother’s bread sauce

Panettone and Italian sausage stuffing

Panettone pudding

Cakes and biscuits

Christmas chocolate biscuits

Christmas cornflake wreaths

Christmas cupcakes

Christmas morning muffins

Christmas-spiced chocolate cake

Cranberry and white chocolate cookies

Edible Christmas tree decorations

Incredibly easy chocolate fruit cake

Gleaming maple cheesecake

Gold-dust cookies

Gorgeously golden fruit cake

Panforte

Plain dark fruit cake

Scarlet-speckled loaf cake

Spruced-up spice cake

Spruced-up vanilla cake

Star-topped mince pies

Sticky gingerbread

Tiramisu layer cake

Traditional Christmas cake

with icings and topping

Yule log

Canapes

Chilli cheese crostini

Crab crostini

Cranberry and soy glazed cocktail sausages

Double-blue crostini

Drunken devils on horseback

Party Parma ham bundles

Seasonally spiced nuts

Smoked salmon soda breads

Wasabi crab cakes

Cheese

Chilli cheese crostini

Double-blue crostini

Fully loaded potato skins

Macaroni cheese de luxe

Marinated feta

Party Parma ham bundles

Pumpkin and goat’s cheese lasagne

Triple cheese and onion strata

Chocolate

Chestnut chocolate pots

Chocolate peanut-butter cups

Christmas chocolate biscuits

Christmas chocolate pudding

with hot chocolate sauce

Christmas puddini bonbons

Christmas rocky road

Christmas-spiced chocolate cake

Cranberry and white chocolate cookies

Girdlebuster pie

Hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Hot schnocolate (drink)

Incredibly easy chocolate fruit cake

Tiramisu layer cake

Yule log

Christmas Lunch

Allspice gravy

Australian Christmas pudding

with hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Bacon-wrapped chipolatas

Beetroot orzotto

Butternut orzotto

Chestnut stuffing

Chocolate pudding

with hot chocolate sauce

Christmas sprouts

Ed’s victorious turkey hash

Eggnog cream

Gingerbread stuffing

Gingery tomato sauce

Hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Italian roast potatoes

with garlic and thyme

Light goose gravy

Maple-roast parsnips

My mother’s bread sauce

Panettone and Italian sausage stuffing

Panettone pudding

Perfect roast potatoes

Port and Stilton gravy

Quick cassoulet

Redder than red cranberry sauce

Roast goose

with pear and cranberry stuffing

Roast rib of beef

with port and Stilton gravy

Roast stuffed pumpkin

with gingery tomato sauce

Rolled stuffed loin of pork

with rubied gravy

Rubied gravy

Spiced and superjuicy roast turkey

with allspice gravy

Turkey and glass noodle salad

Turkey pilaff

with pomegranate and dill

Ultimate Christmas pudding

with eggnog cream

Wild rice, turkey, cranberry and pecan salad

Chutneys, pickles and jellies

Beetroot and ginger chutney

Chilli jam

Christmas chutney

Cranberry and apple chutney

Olives ‘n’ pickled things

Prosecco and pomegranate jelly

Rich fruit chutney

Desserts

Australian Christmas pudding

with hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Boozy British trifle

Chestnut chocolate pots

Chocolate pudding

with hot chocolate sauce

Christmas puddini bonbons

Christmas-spiced chocolate cake

Eggnog syllabub

Girdlebuster pie

Gleaming maple cheesecake

Panettone pudding

Pecan-plus pie

Prodigious pavlova

Prosecco and pomegranate jelly

Pumpkin pancakes

with sticky maple pecans

Quickly scaled Mont Blancs

Rhubarb and strawberry compote

Spruced-up vanilla cake

Tiramisu layer cake

Ultimate Christmas pudding

with eggnog cream

Vanilla sugar

Yule log

Drinks and cocktails

Amaretto sour

Black Forest martini

Blissful blueberry

Christmas Fizz

Cornish champagne cocktail

Espresso martini

Hot honeyed vodka

Hot schnocolate

Lychee fizz

Lycheeni

Marteani

Mistletoe

Moscow mule

Mulled Cider

Poinsettia

Pomegranate martini

Pussyfoot

Santa’s little helper

Seasonal breeze

Tuscan champagne cocktail

Vin Chaud

(mulled wine)

Winter-spiced vodka

Xmas xinger

Yule mule

Fish and seafood

Crab crostini

Parsleyed fish gratin

Smoked salmon soda breads

Wasabi crab cakes

Fruit and dried fruit

Antioxidant fruit salad

Apple and onion gravy

Australian Christmas pudding

with hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Christmas Chutney

Cranberry, almond and honey granola

Cranberry and apple chutney

Cranberry and white chocolate cookies

Cranberry-studded mincemeat

Dried cherries in cherry brandy

Glossy fruit and nut topping

Golden sultanas in Grand Marnier

Gorgeously golden fruit cake

Honeyed fig vinegar

Incredibly easy chocolate fruit cake

Mixed fruits in Pedro Ximénez

Prodigious pavlova

Rhubarb and strawberry compote

Rich fruit chutney

Scarlet-speckled loaf cake

Spiced and superjuicy roast turkey

with allspice gravy

Traditional Christmas cake

Lamb

Lamb and date tagine

Nuts and pulses

Chestnut chocolate pots

Chestnut soup

with bacon crumbles

Chestnut stuffing

Christmas rocky road

Christmas sprouts

Cranberry, almond and honey granola

Hot chocolate-chestnut sauce

Panforte

Peanut brittle with art and soul

Pecan-plus pie

Quick Cassoulet

Seasonally spiced nuts

Sticky maple pecans

Wild rice, turkey, cranberry and pecan salad

Pork

Aromatic Christmas ham

Bacon-wrapped chipolatas

Bourbon-glazed ribs

Bourbon-glazed sausages

Choc chip chilli

Cranberry and soy glazed cocktail sausages

Cuban cure black bean soup

Drunken devils on horseback

Effortless home-cured pork

Ginger-glazed ham

Pancetta Brussles sprouts

Panettone and Italian sausage stuffing

Party parma ham bundles

Piselli con panna e pancetta

Rolled stuffed loin of pork

with rubied gravy

Sausagemeat-bosomed turkey

Spinach and bacon salad

Poultry

Chicken Soup

Ed’s victorious turkey hash

Leftovers

Light goose gravy

Party poussins

Quick cassoulet

Roast goose

with pear and cranberry stuffing

Sausagemeat-bosomed turkey

Spiced and superjuicy roast turkey

with allspice gravy

Tortilla soup

Turkey and glass noodle salad

Turkey pilaff with pomegranate and dill

Wild rice, turkey, cranberry and pecan salad

Salads, snacks and sides

Antioxidant fruit salad

Boston baked beans

Chargrilled peppers with pomegranate

Christmas coleslaw

Christmas salad

Christmas-spiced salt

Christmas sprouts

Corn chow-chow

Festive couscous

Guacamole

Red onion and pomegranate relish

Red salad

Spinach and bacon salad

Spoonbread

Turkey and glass noodle salad

Wild rice, turkey, cranberry and pecan salad

Sauces and gravy

Allspice gravy

Apple and onion gravy

Beetroot and horseradish sauce

Christmas ketchup

Gingery tomato sauce

Light goose gravy

My mother’s bread sauce

Port and Stilton gravy

Redcurrant and wholegrain mustard sauce

Redder than red cranberry sauce

Rubied gravy

Wholegrain honey mustard mayonnaise

Soups

Chicken Soup

Chestnut soup

with bacon crumbles

Cuban cure black bean soup

Roast squash and sweet potato soup

with buttermilk blue cheese swirl

Tortilla soup

Stuffings

Chestnut stuffing