Picked up our Xmas cake yesterday from our local baker - he’s been carefully feeding it and nurturing it for several months, chiefly with brandy. Un-iced cos neither of like too much sugar, and weighs a reassuring ton. Seriously looking forward to making some of this go away with some nice Wensleydale 
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Love the side veg so roasties, parsnips, foo carrots and sprouts will be in abundance. Current plan is to make a layered spicy pie including sweet potato, mushrooms, chestnuts and possibly haloumi. I’ll make a gravy/ sauce from onions, port, red wine and cranberries. If I get time in the kithen then a mint and balsamic jelly/ sauce, and possibly a redcurrant jam to go with it.
Starter I’m thinking will be either a homemade mushroom pate, or a spicy soup - again depending on time available on Christmas Eve - obviously that’ll be buggered if we get invited out as usual.
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I can give you a steak to take with you on Friday 
aren’t you missing something?
All sounded good until haloumi. Just went further and further downhill.
If you dont like Haloumi, you are cooking it wrong or not at all.
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Nowt wrong with haloumi.
But there is a time and place.
Well I suppose if you are going to shoot yourself in the foot by being veggie then Haloumi at Christmas may have it’s place…
I shall be going to Cyprus in April. I shall have haloumi then. Seems more appropriate.
pah to the meal, have been without cheese for six fucking months now.
this
http://butlerscheeses.co.uk/blue-cheese/blacksticks-blue
this
this
Some unpasturised Brie and a selection of others from the local cheese shop. A jar of pickled gherkins, pickled onions, chutneys various and a bottle of 20 year old Tawny, a 2011 vintage Fonseca with a few sips of a distiller special Dalwhinnie and Talisker Port Ruighe.
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My mum makes the christmas cakes for the family and uses whiskey (Irish not that scottish shite) and has so far gone through 5x bottles of the stuff over the previous months.
If anyone likes Irish whiskey the writers tears from M&S is very good, she only bought it from M&S as she has a staff discount card but it’s actually very nice.
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Nope.
Those are some pretty detailed cheese - related plans.
I approve
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You may already know this, if so, please forgive, but NEVER be tempted to err from the excellence that is Blacksticks Blue to the soapy, waxy, pallid, lardy horror that is Blacksticks White - it is fucking rank. How the same company can produce something so nasty is beyond me.
All about tradition here, Turkey and over cooked sprouts. My brother makes a fantastic Christmas pudding using my Gran’s old recipe.
A traditional pint in the local with my Dad and Father in Law to kick things off …
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Is that like a baker’s dozen, only more so (childhood memories of my aunt trying to extract my uncle from the local boozer while half the family sat around the table waiting to tuck in) ?
VB
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some Smalahove
Long standing of tradition of three years: turkey is for the evening, lunch is Persian/middle eastern stuff. Fish in tamarind sauce, pomegranate salad, borek, probably baklava-ish stuff, possibly some naan if we have time.
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We will be having our usual three meat feast - goose, gammon and turkey with all the trimmings 
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I’ve been hesitating about admitting this.
Normally, as a committed Abattoirist it is my duty to provide and prepare meat. Especially at this time of year.
But, somehow, without my permission, Claire bought something called a turkey parcel for tomorrow, I mean what the actual fuck?