I'm happy to try different methods of cooking the various elements, and often I'll have to substitute something for something else depending on how organised my shopping has been. We did try goose once (it was fine), and when we've been to my brother in law's, we've had beef as the main event, but if I'm in charge, it will be turkey and all the trimmings gracing the Junkie table, thank you very much.
Nigella does Christmas in a big way. I don't have her Christmas book, but Feast has a massive chapter devoted to all things Christmas related, and her recipes now form the core of my approach to my Christmas meal - although nothing, I repeat NOTHING is going to convince me that sweet potato and marshmallows is a good idea. Sorry, Nigella.
As part of my 'clear out the freezer to fill it again' campaign that I always end up undertaking in the run up to Christmas, I found a bag of cranberries left over from last year lurking at the bottom of the bottom drawer this morning. In a very quick turnaround, I have knocked up the cranberry sauce that will grace our table, based on the method in Feast. It's hardly challenging, and what I love about making the sundries like this is that you can make them to your taste. I think Nigella has a sweeter tooth than me, and I also often find shop bought sauces too sweet, so I have reduced the sugar and added the zest and some juice of an orange.
300g cranberries
zest of an orange
juice of half and orange
150g caster sugar
50ml water
Put everything in a pan. bring slowly to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Bubble away for 10-15 minutes till you have cranberry sauce. Keep an eye on it, and splash in some more water if needed.
Simples.
It's basically cranberry jam, but rather than storing it as jam, I am putting it in the freezer.
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