Christmas Day

With heavy bags, hearts and stomachs, Dad and I said goodbye to the Sinclairs and caught our final train to London, where we were to meet up with Nans, my granddad Brian, my aunt Natalie and uncle Jon. Before coming to London, I had sent Nans a list of recipes she had to share and show me. Although Nans didn’t show me everything, she did share her collection of recipes filed over the years and even gave me my great-grandmothers recipe book; which holds the key to many family favourites!

 

In between our expeditions of taking the underground here-there-and-everywhere, shopping trips from one side of London to the other, and morning Top Golf sessions; we always made time for food. The main food day, of course, was Christmas! Yes, I am not going to skip over this day of pure food indulgence. 

Christmas day started a bit differently than normal; firstly it was a lot colder as the weather was threatening to snow! We started the day off with a warm breakfast spread of scrambled eggs, bacon, baked beans and toast made by Brian. Once the kitchen was freed up, and we had unwrapped our pressies, the Christmas evening cooking extravaganza begun. This was also the time when Natalie gave us tasks; mine was to peel the shallots, while Brian peeled potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. When the main cooking started the kitchen was out of bounds, so Nans and I crept upstairs and kept ourselves occupied.  

When we came back downstairs the smell of the turkey was starting to fill the lounge, and even though our bellies were still quite full from breakfast; the intense wafts of deliciousness started building our appetites up for the main dinner. Dad and I made chicken livers peri-peri for starters, which the crowd seemed pretty happy with. When the time came to eat, I can definitely say it was well worth the wait. It was a feast fit for the Queen!  

It truly was a special Christmas with the family; filled with what I would imagine a typical English Christmas to be made up of; presents being unwrapped, snacks, board games, a few bickering moments, small kitchens being put to the test, ovens working overtime, cold-crisp weather, Christmas TV programmes, family and an abundance of food! My one Christmas treat was meeting one of my biggest blog fans, Camilla O'Sullivan, who really made me feel 'famous' even if it was for a few minutes.

For a succulent and flavourful Turkey…

Ingredients:

2 Large onions, sliced

½ Block Butter

Salt & Pepper

3 – 5 Fresh sprigs Thyme, chopped

3 – 5 Fresh sprigs Rosemary, chopped

1 Handful Basil, chopped

1 Lemon, cut into wedges

Instruction

• In a pot, melt the butter.

• Once butter is melted, fry the onions until soft and translucent.

• Add the chopped basil, rosemary and thyme. Mix into butter and onions thoroughly.

• If the mixture looks dry add more butter, you want the mixture to be wet.

• Allow to cool.

• Once cool, pull apart the Turkey skin from the breast to form a pocket between the skin and breast.

• Use a spoon to scoop as much of the butter mixture and fill the pockets (you will need to get a bit hands on here, as you try get the butter mixture as deep down as possible).

• Place lemon wedges in the pockets and turkey cavity.

Note: While roasting, the butter will ‘self-baste’ the turkey.