Winter railing, a jam Advent calendar and brownies with gold leaf

2 December 2024

Diana Henry’s ritzy chocolate brownies.

Introduction

The papers were full of Christmas food, gift lists and party fashion tips this week which left me feeling a tad worried and overwhelmed. No, I don’t like sprouts and cooking them in marmalade is not going to make me change my mind.

My Christmas food started with a plate of food for our street party which actually took place in a nearby club. Contrary to reports of Londoners being unfriendly, I live in a lovely, community minded street with an inimitable WhatsApp group. I took along Jenny Linford’s cheese Marmite walnut coins. which was the ‘Friday biscuit’ from Rosie Sykes’ Instagram. I wore my jeans and a nice top and so did everyone else, men included.

Eat, drink and be merry with Jenny Linford’s cheese Marmite walnut coins.

One of my objectives in writing this newsletter is to try new things and the obvious choice for a recipe was Diana Henry’s ritzy chocolate brownies which have a paste of mincemeat and marmalade swirled over the top. They are then decorated with gold leaf and I bought some from Amazon for £4.99 as directed, and took out a trial free week of Prime so it arrived in time. I have never decorated anything with gold leaf before and used three sheets out of the ten in the very small envelope. I am saving the rest for who knows what. ( edited to say, I might put on more gold leaf as I bring them out to serve them to various friends.) As the most cackhanded person imaginable, they don’t have the finesse and delicacy of the ones pictured in the paper and I think I coud have cooked them a bit longer but they taste excellent, rich and fruity and festive.

I loved the other showstopper recipes she featured, which included Certosino, an adaptation of a Bologna Christmas cake, and a layered spiced apple and cranberry cake although I’ll probably be eating chocolate for breakfast on the Day and not making her Christmas morning buns. I’m going to save some of my different coloured jams, see below) to make put in the middle of the thumbprint cookies. I’m also going to make Nigel Slater’s roast vegetables with burrata and crispy crumbs from the Observer later in the week.

Easy Christmas party recipes in the Observer including Georgia Levy’s Mac’n’cheese canapés which you bake in mini muffin tins and you can make more and have it for your supper the night before. Also cheesy crabby nachos from Helen Graves which I am now planning for a pre-Christmas weekend lunch.

The Bonne Maman Advent calendar is a hot commodity, according to the New York Times. My elder daughter and I had both bought one ages ago so we could discuss the flavours each day, which is just the kind of detailed food-related WhatsApps communication we enjoy. First up, Cherie Denham’s honey and oat bread from the Irish Bakery with apricot and orange flower water jam. Day 1. We couldn’t taste the orange flower water. I’ll spare you our ongoing judgments.

And now I’ve planned all that out, I feel a whole lot better, unless anyone tells me I will like sprouts, if only I eat them with chorizo or Gorgonzola or some other expensive ingredient. There’s enough going on the plate already, guys.

Cherie Denham’s honey and oat bread from the Irish Bakery with apricot and orange flower water jam.

PS Gregg Wallace comments on middle-class women ‘inappropriate and misogynistic’, says No 10 in the Guardian

PPS. He’s just apologised for his comments. Too late, Gregg. Far too late.

Restaurants

Some of the restaurant reviewers seem to have had a tacit agreement not to write an article which confused me when I kept looking for them. That’s why there’s more food this week.

In the Observer, Jay Rayner went to Desi Yew Tree in Wolverhampton which he loved.

In the Standard, David Ellis went to AngloThai, the first permanent restaurant in London W1 from John and Desiree Chantarasak, and said ‘when John lets loose, AngloThai can astound. Perhaps it took a while to get there — but then, so did the restaurant. All together now: better late than never.’

In the Sunday Times, Charlotte Ivers recommended the best restaurants for the Christmas period.

Travel

UK

Herefordshire in the Telegraph which must be more of an unspoilt destination than some more crowded UK destinations. ‘The best way to see the county is to take Herefordshire’s Black-and-White Village Trail, a 40-mile round trip from Leominster that winds through some of the prettiest places you could imagine.’

Cornwall in winter in the Times with a trip to the Gurnard’s Head

The best foodie hotels in the Independent with cookery classes, vineyards and some foraging.

The twelve best restaurants in Edinburgh in the Scottish edition of the Times

Europe

Spain’s best seafood which is apparently in Galicia according to the Times with mussels, tuna, octopus and more at source.

Winter rail adventures in Europe in the Guardian with the joy of winterrailing and favourite off-season trips by train to France, Germany, Austria and Italy. and railway hotels

I can’t help thinking it might all be just a bit chilly… or rainy… or foggy and there won’t be any views out of misty, steamed up windows. If I’m wrong, let me know.

Please do like this newsletter as then it might go further.

Reading the papers

People ask me how I read all the papers. I believe in paying for quality journalism and my husband and I have digital subscriptions to the Times and to the Telegraph.

The Times gives you two free articles a week as a registered user and the Telegraph gives you access to one free article each week if you register an account. The FT gives a certain number of free articles

Local public libraries often have Pressreader which gives access to over 7,000 newspapers world wide for free or you can subscribe to it.