Christmas cooking

[Gemini]

What have you done, if anything? I want to know how behind I am LOL, as I have done nothing.

I will make a Christmas cake for us, and a smaller un-iced one for my mum.
I may or may not make mincemeat, I am undecided. I will definitely make mince pies. I like to make them and freeze them uncooked, to be popped into the oven when needed.
Other things like baking a ham, icing and decorating the cake and making mulled wine are jobs for Christmas itself.

[Clover]

I’m planning on making the cake next week.I don’t make mincemeat or pud. I sometimes make a chocolate log but that can wait.

[Daisy]

I used to make a cake, but now I buy an uniced one and decorate it myself.

OH made industrial quantitites of mincemeat last year, so I shall use that for my mince pies. I put them in the freezer cooked, then I've only got to defrost them and sprinkle them with icing sugar. I usually make a couple of batches of GF fairy cakes and a Victoria sponge and a chocolate sponge and freeze them.

We've got no idea what's happening this Christmas yet, so there's no point in even thinking about it, as it could all change.

[Nanto2girls]

Imake some fruit loaves,but we prefer them uniced. i will probably make them next week. Mince pies and coconut tarts will be made probably on the 23rd.

[Avo]

I made the Christmas pudding on Monday and have baked the cake today . I have to make the Almond paste on Monday (it’s the Portuguese cake I told you about last year) you cover in the paste and decorate with paste stars eggwash and bake for 20 Minutes. Will make mincemeat and mince pies nearer the time.

[Oma]

Wont be making any this year , FIL no longer with us so no use making a cake , only me to eat it , will just buy Mince pies too , we, well I say we I really mean B always makes he deserts for Christmas day .I do like to make a Barra Brith but again only me eats it so I portion it up and freeze some .

[Plantaholic]

I have made mincemeat to make mince pies nearer the time, we usually eat them before Christmas, there is so much to eat over the Christmas time. I have made one medium Christmas pudding and about 6 small ones, not sure who will want it, they seem to prefer other puddings but I love it. I don't make a Christmas cake now as it was only my OH who ate it, used to take him about a month.

[Qwerty]

Nothing lol you can’t be much behind me Gem, like others we don’t like Xmas cake I am the only one that likes mince pies so will just buy a dozen from our local very nice bread shop when I order my scufflersNan 2 , intend making Xmas cookies with the kids especially eldest who I will have at some point when school finishes, we have found out we are going to Dd xmas day so that’s ok, having DS Boxing Day Dd wants a day to themselves which is fine .

Morrisons , Tesco and Sainsbury’s will be my friend this year 😂

[ZIZI]

Not cooking a flipping thing! Going away Christmas Eve until Boxing Day and when they all come to me on the 2nd January it will be an on line buy as it will be early evening buffet tea. I used to always make the dils a Christmas cake and I always did chutneys and pates etc. to give away as gifts but don’t do that any more. I used to make chutney etc. For sale at work with the proceeds going to charity until I stopped having a desk in an office. In those days which is only four years ago or so 20 pots of chutney and tons of pate would all be gone in 5 minutes. I quite miss it really.

I used to always make my own blinis, biscuits etc. Although never mince pies, husband hates the smell.

[Oma]

B has had a baking afternoon and already made lots of Corned beef pies and pasties , Apple pies and Chicken pies that will go in the Freezer today , He finds he cant stand as long as he did , he has a perching stool but doesn't like it much ,
We were just talking about how much we would cook and make in years gone by , especially when we did Xmas day and new years day , now we go to DD's for Christmas day , SIL;s Parents the day after Boxing day and everyone comes to us New years day but we cook very little for that we now buy in .

I remember when my children were young and I did all the cooking ( yes I cooked and baked then )
I would spend days making Sweet Mince pies, Xmas cake , assorted fruit pie filling , tarts , Quiche , Steak pies , Mince pies, and so on for the freezer ,
I made all my own puff pastry ,all abutter pastry ,etc
Now you can buy such good quality pastry that apart from short crust we buy likes off Puff Pastry ,

My FIL loved my Christmas cake and little jars of Pate Oh and my Sausage rolls

Sadly I do none of that now we don't have the big family gathering we once had in the big house , and to be honest I cant be bothered these days .
We had a massive deep freezer then to keep it all in .

Zizi my DS said Christmas cake and Sweet mince pies are the food of the Devil he hates the smell too

[Mimi]

Won’t be baking anything again this year as we won’t be home for Christmas.

In the past when the DC were actually children I used to make almost all of Christmas from scratch. As DD had so many allergies it was the only way she could eat festive food. Christmas cake was made with no nuts in the recipe, the icing was put straight on to the cake as I couldn’t use almond marzipan. Christmas pud , again home made with no nuts. Mince pies were also made but I managed to find a local health store that did mincemeat nut free, at a cost I should add ! Chocolate logs, sausage rolls , pickled onions were also done by my own fair hands. I even got the DC to make snowmen sweet jars. I saved empty jam jars, washed , obviously, and cotton wool was wrapped around the jar , held on by glue. A good size roll of cotton wool was used for the head and eyes, nose , mouth and hat was made from white cardboard which DC coloured in.
When it was all complete sweets from Wollies pick ‘n’ mix was put inside the jars . Theses snowmen stood alongside the Christmas decorations.
I miss all this preparation, it all adds to the excitement of it all

[Gemini]

One of my DDs is nut allergic Mimi, so we have have mince pies, Christmas cake and puds nut free.

[granma2aj]

Just off to make second Christmas cake just one more to do l do sticky cranberry cocktail sausages( nigel slater recipe) have to be careful what we buy as gd (3 month) has dairy egg & soya allergies dd is feeding so she cant have anything as well hopefully she will grow out of it the same as her brother

[Gemini]

Nice to see you Granma2aj
Well done on getting 2 cakes done, I have yet to begin!
I hope the baby does outgrow the allergies, they often do don't they?

[granma2aj]

Hope so as have family for boxing day tea uncle has diabetes my db is celiac then dd3 & baby with the dairy eggs & soya there is a 16 week waiting list for gd to see dietician good job we know what to expect just worry about new mum's 16 weeks is a long time for them