Festive Food!

@JoOfVengerberg Duck always goes down well. I haven't tried it with marmalade sauce and will look in to that one.

JoOfVengerberg said:

Steve_in_The_City said:

Waitrose do a lovely cinnamon bun. I don't want to be a complete Xmas spoil sport, but I am not keen on Xmas pud or Xmas cake! I eat these buns year round 'cos a bun, like a dog, is just not for Xmas! I go the whole hog, split them in half, butter them in a way that my doctor would not approve of, and then I don't have to wish it was Xmas everyday, because it truly is.  

I'm not really keen on xmas pudding or cake either, mostly because so many of them have alcohol and I don't like the taste (and the cake is like a brick...) I should get back into baking really, though I'm not particularly good at it. Much more of a 'chuck things in a pot and see what happens' person than a precise baking person.

I'm not particularly good at baking either, but I bake bread regularly (not in a bread maker) and the results are very good. Bread making is part of my regular routine, so I don't really think about. I do use a table top mixer to knead the dough, otherwise it is too much like hard work. I make a couple of cakes every month, and I think the best way to describe them would be say they look different but taste nice!

@JoOfVengerberg I love experimenting in the kitchen, too. I Googled Duck with Marmalade Sauce and there were lots of links. I think you are a better cook than you are telling us! I have never had duck with marmalade myself, so can't comment. Two seasonings I do love are Smoked Sea Salt Flakes and Porcini Mushroom Powder. The powder seems expensive, but a little goes a long long way. I always put a pinch on top of a fried egg, it seems to transform the flavour. I also like Szechuan Peppercorns. 

@JoOfVengerberg I wish I could come and have Xmas lunch with you, 'cos I am sure it would be perfect! This year I am just going to have smoked salmon with radishes and homemade Melba toast to start. Then a fillet steak and oven chips because I really can't be bothered, now that I am by myself, to do sprouts, turkey and roasties. My neighbours who lives upstairs came down to visit me on Wednesday. I had a few Xmas bits and bobs for them, as I knew they were coming. But they brought down the full Xmas dinner. Turkey and all of the trimmings. I had never used my dining table before, it was just something to make my flat look lived in. But fortunately I had all I needed to lay the table and make it look beautiful. So I managed to get a proper Xmas dinner after all, without cooking. They even did the washing up! I was one happy bunny. After they left I thought the meaning of Xmas is to make things nice for other people.