Reviews
The ultimate Christmas wine guide
If you're after a bottle for under a tenner or a fancy English bubbly, look at this list for the lowdown on the best vinos this festive season.
Christmas gift guide
The lovely people at BBC Good Food have put together a whole range of gift ideas from £2.50 stocking fillers to £100+ hampers. Something for everyone you could say. My picks would be the Brindisa charcuterie hamper (best chorizo ever), the training chopsticks (they are meant for children but I'm in desperate need of these), spaghetti measurer (no more tangled leftovers) and the Eat Chic nut butter cups (a thousand times better than Reese's).
The best subscription gifts for Christmas
Click on this link if you are struggling to find a present for that person who has everything. You'll find not only foodie subscriptions but also stuff for kids, art and crafts, and health, beauty and fitness gifts. Would anyone you know love to receive craft beers every month, or the finest Sicilian olive oil, or Chococo's box of cocoa goodies?
Christmas taste test: the best mince pies on the market
The go-to list for the best crumbly, rich little pastries from the supermarkets. A few winners here.
Recipes
Cranberry jewelled mincemeat
If you have a spare couple of hours this weekend in between the last minute shopping, have a go at making your own mince pies from scratch with this fab mincemeat recipe from James Martin. I made it last year but had a nice surprise last week when I realised there were a couple of jars hiding in the back of the cupboard. This Lorraine Pascale recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry is so easy (just bung it in the food processor if you don't want to get your hot mitts involved) and really short and buttery. The recipe made about 50 mini mince pies.
Cabbage with bacon & roots
If you have cabbage and roast potatoes/parsnips/carrots leftover after Christmas, jazz them up with bacon, wine and a bit of butter and thyme. Alternatively this makes a perfect side dish for the main event.
Thomasina Miers: how to take the stress out of Christmas cooking
There are some great tips and recipes here from Masterchef contestant, Thomasina Miers. Cointreau chocolate truffles, grapefruit and tequila cured salmon, and a tender smoked ham make a pretty special end to the year.
Sausage rolls with harissa and roasted peppers
If you're anything like my family then sausage rolls are a big fat must at Christmas. I made these for a party last weekend and they were so tasty - crisp puff pastry, a spicy kick from the harissa, sweetness from the peppers and salty, delicious savouriness from the saus. They have Boxing Day written all over them.
How to make perfect mulled wine
Again Felicity Cloake comes through with a fantastic recipe: this time mulled wine. You first make a syrup which will keep for ages so you can make it in advance for your festive party. Fruity, spicy and a secret dose of ginger wine to up the booze factor. It is good.
It's been a while, sorry about that. Crazy few weeks. But I'm back with a Christmas special: mince pies and mulled wine and gift ideas and sausage rolls and all-sorts of festive shizzle. Hope it's a brilliant one for you all, see you in 2016!