croissants with scrambled egg and pancetta

Pure Boxing Day indulgence - flaky, moist croissants stuffed with crispy pancetta and baveuse scrambled eggs. Slightly sickly but wonderful.

cheese straws

Something of a Christmas tradition for these, me. I used to pore over Mum's "Cooking for the Freezer" book and most years on Christmas Eve produce a batch of cheese straws. I'm sure the process would take about three hours and there would be that dreadful Dudley Moore Christmas film on in the background.

One year, after preheating the oven I set to sifting, pressing and grating. About 30 mins later I smell burning plastic. Upon opening the oven, I find a turkey stuffed in a plastic bag attempting to defrost and instead getting shrink-wrapped. The bird skin carried a tattoo from that point on, emblazoned with the legend "TESCO". Tasted fine though.

I did the exact same thing next year.

Not this year though, I fizzed up the recipe for 2008. I rubbed butter (lots) and flour together with a smack of mustard, then piled the cheese in: lots of parmesan and cheddar. Rolled out, cut into fingers and sprinkled with yet more cheese, one bake later they were bubbling and oozing pure cheesomity. They lasted about four minutes.

And not a tattoo in sight.

christmas pudini bonbons

The glorious Nigella strikes with these utterly sublime treats. So much fun, and must've constituted at least three gifts!

So easy too: cooked Christmas pudding (Sainsbury's cheapest), mixed with booze and melted chocolate. Add melted white chocolate and top with cut glacé cherries (fiddlesome), and ther eyou have it. Cute!

revenge of ham

The ham was ready. Now for smoking.

I took the idea from various recipes to put it on to the BBQ and cover it over, providing a crude smoker. I was able to use some Apple Wood Chips from Colorado thanks to my good friend Dominic.

I was continually prodding it with my probe thermometer, waiting for the magic 76C to appear. This took about two and a bit hours with my small piece of meat. The window cleaner looked at me very strangely, playing with the BBQ in late December.

This piece was actually too strong, too briny. I tasted a piece and stamped the floor like a Tex Avery cartoon. I soaked it a little but it went too far. However I prepared a second joint the same way and that was very tasty indeed.

The photos make it look more pink than it did in real life - I didn't add saltpetre (nitrite) to the mix, which encourages that rosiness.

sausage casserole

There must be a million of these types of recipes. And this one's pretty straightforward: pork sausages fried quickly until browned, then a splash of Marsala for fun. A tin of tomatoes, cannelini beans and a jar of bacony pasta sauce, and after some bubbling away, that's it.

Ladies and gentlemen, winter has arrived.

(PS. the ham wasn't ready yet - another two days here I think)

stroganoff

A handsome, rich and satisfying meal. I'll admit that's one of the worst photos of food in the world, sorry. Tastes good though, promise.

I start by dusting strips of steak in flour and paprika, then frying quickly and leaving to one side. Then I fry an onion, garlic, thyme and sliced mushrooms until softened. Then a nice bit of flambé with brandy (although I used whisky tonight), some scary flames, and then the meat goes back in to warm, accompanied by some sliced gherkin. Some creme fraiche now, and after a touch of seasoning it's there. Perfect with rice.

I must have made this with eight or nine different recipes, and it tastes the same every single time.

ham

Wow, how exciting is that title?! You're desperate to read on, aren't you.

I wanted to make my own ham. I think all these home preserving techniques are getting lost, and the results you get are so unique and personal compared to vacuum-wrapped plasticky salt logs.

I've started here with pork leg, very inexpensive. I then made an 85% brine solution and added juniper berries, peppercorns, bay leaves and a couple of cloves. But these could be any number of aromatic things. Now I'm leaving the pork submerged in this liquid for a day and a half per pound (that's four and a half days for me). See you on Saturday for the results!