Spiced Cider Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

4 to 6 medium-sized Bramley apples
300ml cider
Tablespoon of vinegar
Butter
3 cloves
Half teaspoon mixed spice
2 to 3 teaspoons sugar (more or less to taste)

Method:

Step one:

Core, peel, and roughly chop your apples.

Step two:

Over heat, add the cider, a knob of butter, the cloves and the mixed spice.

Step three:

Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the apples collapse.

Step four:

Add the sugar to taste. Around 2 or 3 teaspoons should do it. Serve alongside your Christmas feast.

Espresso Sorbet Shots

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons ground coffee

6 tablespoons sugar

Whipped cream

Cocoa powder

Step One:

First make a strong pot of coffee using 4 big tablespoons so you don’t lose flavour in the freezer. A 1 litre cafetiere should fill around 20 shots.

Step Two:

Spread 6 large tablespoons of sugar across a baking tray.

Step Three:

Pour on your coffee, give it a little stir and once the mixture is cool enough to dip your finger in, pop in the freezer until your guests arrive (make sure the coffee is cooled right down before putting in the freezer).

Step Four:

When you are ready to serve simply scoop from the tray and put in shot glasses, with a spoonful of whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.

Baileys fudge

500g golden granulated sugar
500ml whipping cream
50ml Baileys (there was a free mini bottle on the freebies board a while back, this was the exact right size - you might like to try there before you rush out for a bottle )
150g white chocolate (cheapest available)

1. Butter and line a 22cm x 22cm tin, leaving a small overhang. Put sugar, cream and Baileys in a large pan and, stirring slowly, bring it to a simmer. Make sure the sugar is dissolved (it will stop feeling grainy on the base of the pan), then turn the heat up to a rolling boil.
2. Adjust the heat until the mixture bubbles without getting too near the top of the pan. Keep bubbling, stirring occasionally, until a small amount of mixture dropped into a glass of cold water will form a soft ball that you can pick up on the end of a teaspoon.
3. At this stage, the bubbles will have gone from being large and unruly to smaller and more even. Stir in the chocolate and pour the mixture into the tin. Cool and cut.

I cut mine in different sized triangles, dripped with white chocolate and covered in milk chocolate stars. Wrapped in a little cellophane, with some ribbon and you're good to go

Jamie's mince pies

Makes 12

INGREDIENTS

• 100g good-quality mincemeat
• 25g dried cranberries or blueberries, chopped
• Zest of 2 clementines
• A splash of sherry or brandy
• Flour, to dust
• 250g good puff pastry
• 1 pack filo pastry
• 50g melted butter
• 1 free-range or organic egg, beaten
• 50g flaked almonds
• Icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6. Scoop the mincemeat into a mixing bowl and mix in the dried berries, the clementine zest and the sherry or brandy.

2. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the puff pastry into a big rectangle about 20x40cm/8x16 inch and the thickness of a pound coin. Thinly spread the mincemeat over the pastry, leaving a 1cm/½ inch gap around the edges. Tightly roll up the pastry, lengthways, like a Swiss roll, place it on a floured tray, and pop in the fridge to firm up.

3. Take two cupcake trays (for 12 cupcakes each) and butter each one lightly with the melted butter. Place one layer of filo pastry over the tray (you may need more than one sheet to cover each tray depending on the size of the sheets) and ease the pastry into each hole. Brush with the melted butter, then cover with a second layer of filo pastry. Brush with butter again.

Tip: You can freeze the cooked, cooled mince pies in their trays (just wrap the lot in cling film) or in a plastic container. Just reheat them in a hot oven straight from the freezer.

4. Take the puff pastry roll out of the fridge and, with a sharp knife, cut it into 24 slices. Place each slice, flat-side down, into a filo-lined hole. Brush with the egg and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top of each little pie, then pop both trays in the oven for about 25 minutes, until cooked and golden brown.

5. Leave to cool, then crack the individual pies out of the trays. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

Jamie's get-ahead gravy

INGREDIENTS

• 2 celery sticks, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly sliced
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 5 fresh bay leaves
• 5 fresh sage leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 2 star anise
• 2 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, the best quality you can afford
• 8 chicken wings
• Olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tbsp plain flour
• 60ml sherry or port (optional)
• 2 heaped dessertspoons cranberry sauce, for finishing

Method

How to make Jamie's get-ahead turkey gravy

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Put the veg, herbs and star anise into a sturdy bottomed roasting tray. Scatter the bacon on top.

2. Break the chicken wings open then put them onto a board and bash the bones up with the end of a rolling pin; this will release more of their flavour. Put them in the pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over a few pinches of salt and pepper then toss everything together and put the tray in the oven to cook for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.

3. Take the pan out of the oven, and put it on a hob over a low heat and use a potato masher to really grind and mash everything up. Keep mashing, moving and scraping all the goodness from the bottom of the pan as you go. Gradually mix in the flour to thicken the mixture. The longer you let everything fry, the darker your gravy will be. When the flour is combined pour in 2 litres of hot water, turn the heat up and bring to the boil for 10 minutes, till thickened, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want to add 60ml sherry or port for flavour, do that now.

4. When it's reached the consistency you're looking for, check the seasoning then push it through a sieve into a large bowl. Really push and mash everything through so you get as much flavour as possible. Discard anything left behind. Once it has cooled down to room temperature put it into containers or freezer bags and pop it in your freezer. You'll finish it off on Christmas Day.

Finishing the gravy

5. To finish the gravy, take it out of the freezer when you're ready to cook your turkey. That way, it will defrost as your turkey cooks. When the turkey is perfectly cooked, put a carving fork inside the cavity and use that to pick the bird up and tilt it over the pan so all of the juices inside run out.

6. Spoon away as much of the fat as possible, then pour your pre-made gravy into the pan with the rest of the turkey juices. Bring it to the boil over the hob and scrape all those flavourful bits and pieces from the bottom of the pan. Have a taste then add the cranberry sauce. It won't taste sweet but it will add a wicked background flavour.

7. Once your gravy is piping hot, strain it through a sieve and into a pan. Leave that on the lowest heat to tick away until you're ready to serve. Skim away any fat that rises to the top and add any extra resting juices from the turkey before serving.

Hugh F-W's Ginger Beer

There's lashings of Hugh's famous fizz all round on River Cottage Every Day

Hugh: "For this, you will need screw-top, 2-litre plastic bottles, which you have cleaned thoroughly using sterilising tablets."

Makes 2 litres

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ tsp brewer's yeast
• 225g caster sugar
• 1½-2 tbsp finely grated fresh root ginger
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 good tbsp honey

METHOD

How to make ginger beer

1. Add the yeast to the bottle. With a funnel, pour in the sugar.
2. Mix the grated ginger with the lemon juice and honey.
3. Pour the ginger mixture through the funnel into the bottle. Now fill the bottle about ¾ full with water, put the cap on and shake the bottle until all the sugar is dissolved.
4. Top up the bottle with water, leaving a 2.5cm gap at the top, to allow for production of gas. Cap the bottle tightly, then place it somewhere warm. Leave it for about 48 hours. Once the bottle feels very hard and has no give in it, your beer should be ready.
5. Place the bottle in the fridge for several hours to stop the yeast working. Once the beer is thoroughly chilled, pass it through a fine sieve and serve.

Tim's Bloody Bastard

This is Tim’s twist on a Bloody Mary, named after a line in the cult film ‘Withnail & I’ on River Cottage Christmas

Makes 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 75ml gin
• 200ml beetroot juice
• 200ml tomato Juice
• ½ tsp celery salt
• 2 tsp freshly grated horseradish
• 2-3 drops Tabasco
• 10-12 shakes Worcester sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 50ml red wine
• Celery sticks, to garnish

Method

1. Fill a jug with ice and pour in the gin, beetroot and tomato juices. Add the celery salt, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcester sauce, black pepper and red wine. Give everything a good stir with a celery stick and taste, adjusting seasoning if needs be.

2. Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in the Bloody Bastard and garnish with a celery stick.