I made a lobster, scallop, haddock and cod fish pie, without eggs, based on this recipe for Xmas Eve.
We are having a plum pudding with brandy butter and caramel sauce tonight, after our Xmas duck (more of a German duck, with Silesian potato dumplings from a mix, American-style bread/mushroom/apple/celery/sage stuffing, raspberry red cabbage, lingonberries from a jar, and salad).
No.
She’s updated her recipe from her original book and now has individual pies, rather than a single large one but you’ll get the idea
Looks great - thanks!
Standing rib and Yorkshire yesterday. (No pics. Looked like rare standing rib and Yorkshire!)
Guess I should post Christmas Dinner here; wasn’t really thinking British when making it, otherwise would have made some smooshed up peas to accompany, or something like that.
Time to ring in 2021 with some new nominations! Winter 2021 (Jan-Mar) Cuisine of the Quarter - NOMINATIONS
Well, I couldnt let this one pass without mention of our upcoming last dinner of the year which is pretty much bang on for being British.
To start - a smoked salmon, beetroot & fennel salad
Then - roast rib of beef, roast spuds & parsnips, steamed Hispi cabbage, Yorkshire salad, gravy.
Cheese - we have Gubeen , Montgomery Cheddar, Appleby’s Cheshire and Sparkenhoe Red Leicester. OK, a lapse here - Gubeen is Irish but we love it. We’ll have that with crackers, chutney and celery
Dessert - fruit compote using dried fruits - apricots, figs, sultanas, prunes - mixed with chestnuts in a spiced sugar syrup. Now, that might not sound very British (and, indeed, the original recipe I have is Spanish - compota de Nochebuena) but dried fruits are a traditional mainstay of our winter cuisine.
And finally, coffee and chocolates.
Happy New Year.
One thing that strikes me about this is that in the US, we don’t seem to get but a few British cheeses here. Looks like we’re missing out on some good stuff.
On the other hand, I cannot recall ever seeing an American cheese available in the UK. And I’ve eaten some very good, mainly Vermont, cheeses when I’ve been “over there”.
The second world war decimated British cheese making. All milk production was taken by the government and cheese became mass produced (and sales rationed) into the handful of generic regional cheeses that are still with us - Cheddar, Cheshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, etc. It’s really only in the last 30 years or so that there’s been a return to farmhouse production and I believe we now produce a greater number of individual cheeses than the French.
@tomatotomato Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge has always had a really interesting selection of British cheeses. Hopefully that remains the case when we get back to being able to do that kind of shopping.
Hi Gretchen. I see they stock Montgomery Cheddar which, to my mind, is the finest Cheddar you’ll ever come across. And Kirkhams Lancashire which is probably the best Lancashire you’ll find outside the UK (although if you happened across Shorrocks Lancashire Bomb, snap it up quick for a real treat)
Super tip, thank you @GretchenS. As I only managed to go into Formaggio Kitchen on the weekend during The Before, the cheese case was mobbed during my visits.
You’ve given me another to-do for my list when It’s safe to return to that kind of in-store shopping again. 
John, it all sounds delicious. We’re having a very non British beef shin ragu with pappardelle. A happy new year to you.
Here is the recipe for the apricot chutney our English expat friend gave us for Xmas.
Squeaking in here on the last day of the year…
Fish pie for dinner last night - scallops, shrimp, and white fish (yellowtail) in a seafood stock-based sauce, topped with buttery mashed potato. I threw in some peas because we usually have them on the side with this. Sauce looks runny but that’s because I have no patience. It settled by the second helping.
I’ve been craving this all year, and it certainly hit the spot!
Looks delicious!
I’d forgotten that one. My notes tell me I’ve only made it once - in August 1994. That’d be making it for Christmas use. The recipe comes from Delia’s Christmas book which was first published in 1990 and is still used in the house as a reference point. The notes tell me that it’s intended to have quite a thin consistency - much thinner than a normal chutney. Flavour was good but maybe it was the consistency that didnt quite work for me, hence no repeat. But enjoy - it’s hard to go wrong with a Delia Smith recipe.
Our friend makes it, and it has the thickness of a regular chutney. She might’ve /must’ve altered the recipe.
I’ve not ever made chutney!
Wishing you and your wife a happy and healthy New Year, @Harters!
