I love this time of the year, when the excitement for Christmas builds, the tree is decorated with all the special baubles we’ve collected over the years from various Christmas Markets and travels, and I can start planning the all-important Christmas lunch.
In preparation for the momentous occasion I (of course) had to go to the Bath Christmas Market. Happily, I was able to stay true to our tradition at home and do it on the 1st of December which is the only reasonable time to start listening to Christmas music, decorate the tree, eat the first Christmas Fruit Mince pie and wear a silly festive hat (a pointy knitted elf hat with elf ears in my case!).
Luckily the 1st was a beautifully cold and crisp day with no rain and I was able to get to Bath before all the crowds descended and have a quick walk through to orient myself, get an overview of all the stalls, and have a coffee and some mini hot cinnamon rolls from Wholesome Hub to set me up for the day.
We normally go to an early morning Church service on Christmas day where we have Christmas mince pies (the breakfast of champions on this special day), and then have a charcuterie and cheeseboard waiting for when we get home to nibble on while the actual Christmas lunch is being cooked.
I managed to pick up some delicious mince pies for the church service and any other moments when I might need them, from the Wild Flour Cake Co. The fruit is so soaked that they literally pop in your mouth like grapes. Incredibly delicious.
My cheeseboard will be benefiting from a Bath Blue (creamy and tangy) from The Bath Soft Cheese Co. and I will be adding a Sharpham Rushmore (award-winning mixed milk cheese with a subtle floral sweetness), a Sharpham Cremet (decadent soft mould ripened cheese with added double cream), a Lynher Dairies Cornish Yarg (nettle wrapped, fresh and lemony) and to finish off I’ve been dying to try the new Kaldi – a collab from RAVE and Paxton & Whitfield (coffee washed rind goats cheese).
I picked up a Mulled Cider Salami from Somerset Charcuterie, along with their Somerset Cider Nduja for my charcuterie board and will be adding some Herbes de Province Salami from Heritage Cure along with their Coppa and Bresaola.
No cheese and charcuterie board is complete without a Waterhouse Fayre fruit paste mouse. I got a Damson Mouse and I’m so excited about putting this cutie on the board! I also have some Pear & Walnut Chutney from Go Wild Preserves.
I’ll have two warm drinks on the go to serve with the cheese and charcuterie – a mulled cider from Harry’s Cider, and we’ll be mulling some of Hullabaloos Ginger beer for the kids (although there will be a bottle of Beckford’s Spiced Rum to add a drop for the adults!)
After all that shopping I was in desperate need of sustenance so, while I went in search of food, I lined my stomach with a hot mulled wine, then stumbled upon the Feast Brothers food truck. I’ve been dying to try their viral cheese wheel pasta and it didn’t disappoint. I had a spaghetti cacio e pepe with added chilli and chorizo, sat on some steps nearby, and watched the people go by. What a moment. That pasta (even apart from the theatre of it all) was fantastic.
Before leaving the market I managed to pick up a Classic Christmas Pudding from Georgie Porgies, which I’m planning on serving with some homemade Rum Butter instead of brandy butter, for dessert.
The rest of my feast I’ll have to pull together closer to the time.
I get a weekly veggie box delivered to my door by Riverford, so my veggie sides will be determined by what is in my Christmas delivery box. I’m hoping for some red cabbage, parsnips, Chantilly carrots, potatoes, fine green beans and brussels sprouts.
I bake my red cabbage layered in a dish with apple slices, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, caraway seeds and Winter Spiced Cider from Sheppy’s. I can make that in advance and freeze, but tend to just prep it the day before and stick it in the oven at a low temperature before going to church. All ready by the time we get back, freeing my oven up for my fluffy hasselback, roasted potatoes in goose fat, and mixed roasted parsnips and carrots with a drizzle of Black Bee Honey and some rosemary sprigs. I finely shred my brussels sprouts and sauté them in lots of butter with a little bit of garlic (from The Garlic Farm of course) and fresh lemon zest. The beans I steam, refresh and then heat up again in browned butter with chopped toasted hazelnuts.
You might be wondering what my main dish will be this year. I’m deboning a turkey crown and rolling that with a cream cheese, onion and sage stuffing, wrapping it in pancetta and roasting it in my Weber BBQ Kettle, before serving it with homemade turkey gravy with a hint of Dijon mustard. We’ll also have heaps of pigs in blankets with sausages from our local butchery Cobbs of Cheddar.
Since it’s really only 4 of us this Christmas it’s going to be small and intimate and looking at everything I’ve got planned, I think we’ll be eating left-overs ’til well into the New Year! Upon reflection, maybe I should just do some toasted cheese sandwiches and settle in for a Christmas movie marathon…
I hope everyone has a wonderfully warm and blessed festive season celebrating with friends and family and enjoying all the wonderful products that we are lucky enough to get here in the South West.
