As it’s the festive time of joy RIGHT NOW and I'm eating yet another slice of Christmas Cake - it’s delicious FYI and it contains fruit so I'm being healthy! - I thought I’d share my family's festive food traditions with you all. Because you know these are two of my favourite things. Who doesn't love food and who doesn't love Christmas? Weird people that’s who. For my family food and Christmas are pretty much inseparable. Plus we’re big on tradition, so we tend to have the same festive favourites each year.
The Sherry/Ginger Log – my job (ever since I was about 10) is to make this for our Evans family gathering on Boxing Day (or this Sunday for this year only). It’s weird that I generally hate cream and alcohol yet this dish I could eat all day. You basically soak ginger biscuits in sherry, smother in cream and form a log shape - easy! It’s somewhat of a family tradition as it used to be my Grandpa’s favourite and now all the cousins choose this no matter what else is on the table. Recipe here.
Dad’s Sausage Rolls – these are amazing and I ate six of them in one day. Sunday to be exact. Oops. (recipe here)
Christmas Cake – Since my Grandma died six years ago I'm the only one in our family who likes this cake. But my Mum is so awesome (and I'm such a pain) that she makes a huge one just for me. It’s also a modified recipe as I don’t like peel or cherries, so it’s a very basic fruit cake that’s been spiked. (She really is the best).
Mum’s Mince Pies – star shaped tops because otherwise that would be weird (recipe here). This year I had a go at making the mince pies and sausage rolls (not for the Evans Christmas that wouldn't be tradition, but for my friends) and they were soooo good. I’ll definitely be making those again!
The Full Roast Turkey – the turkey needs to be ready to feed 12, even though only 5 of us eat it on the day. It’s accompanied by all the trimmings, plus two huge bowls of bread sauce and home-grown huge parsnips. Obvs.
Potato Salad – this (with leftover turkey) is the Boxing Day meal, and the meal on the 27th, 28th and 29th. We might mix it up on the 27th and add in home made chips and warm bread sauce, but then again we might not.
Biscuits! – We always have shortbread, Hungarian biscuits and gingerbread because you know they’re classics and you don’t have enough to eat without them, even with the boxes of M & S biscuits. This year we made the gingerbread biscuits into a 3D tree – because my sisters and I are just that awesome.
Even though I'm a traditionalist I did add some new bits and bobs to this year’s festivities. First up I made fudge, yes actual scrumptious fudge, not once but twice. Go me! First up I tried this mince pie recipe (delicious indeed) and then I made this recipe for my Mum’s present. I’ll definitely be making fudge again as, apart from the aching arm, its super-easy! Any flavour suggestions? Plus we made our Reindeer cupcakes for the actual day rather than just having them at the start of December – they’re just so cute.
What are your Christmas favourites when it comes to food? What do I need to add to next year’s Christmas table? Come on people, share the Christmas love!
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