Mr Saturday Night’s Christmas Pudding.. utterly yum!
And breathe…
Another Christmas day over, and thanks to more than a little help from my family and friends, yet again I’ve lived to tell the story.. 
St Stephen’s Day/ Boxing Day/ 26th December – call it what you will – In our house it’s generally a day for eating cold turkey, stuffing and trifle at whatever time of day suits you; for properly perusing the gifts which you only had time to gaze at briefly yesterday, and for catching up with the Christmas Day TV viewing. Or in my case, turning my mind towards using up all those leftovers, and touching base with Eating for Ireland after a 2-day break..(missed you, darlings!)
You’ll be glad to hear that I didn’t burn the sprouts this year – rather, I steamed them briefly before frying them off with some crispy Chorizo – and there were NO leftovers!
The Turkey and Ham behaved themselves; the roasties were perfectly crispy; the parsnips got doused in Maple syrup last minute – so sweet and crunchy! As usual, there was a space issue in my tiny kitchen – but my excellent hand-picked staff (ie: Mr Saturday Night and Little Miss EfI) jumped in to save me as I almost became swamped with the sheer volume of meat/vegetables/sauces/ serving spoons etc. etc..
The card below shows my permanent Christmas ‘Mission Statement’ 😉
I bought this card from a talented artist called Christine (www.offone.co.uk) whose work is amazing, and can always make me laugh!
However, that was yesterday – now it’s time to think up some clever ways of disguising that enormous turkey – which seemed like such a great idea when you ordered it back in November, right? – and how to use up the ham, and all those leftover vegetables.. did I mention that I had no leftover Sprouts? 😉
Yes, that is a decorated Sprout tree!
What I’m really going to do here is point you in the direction of a few recipes that are already on the Eating for Ireland website. These will make a complete change from the traditional Christmas flavours which can become repetitive in the days running up to the New Year.
One of my new recipes last year was Chicken Tartiflette, which helps use up both Turkey and Ham for you –
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/chicken-tartiflette/
– this is a great family and friends comfort-food dish which is topped with cheese-covered potato slices. Once you’ve tried this, it will be come an all-year favourite – guaranteed!
My Pasta Surprise is one of our perennial family favourites at home, and will use up your left-over Ham beautifully.
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/spaghetti-surprise/
At this time of year, it’s lovely to add a little crumbly stuffing to the breadcrumbs and cheese for the topping
My sister-in law Dorothy introduced me to Mexican Gammon many, many years ago, and while it certainly does have that 80’s vibe, it also has a universally popular range of flavours – this again will use up your Ham – and, as a real change for this time of year, is served with boiled Basmati Rice
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/spicy-mexican-gammon/
Other possible recipes include a delicious Chicken (for Chicken, read Turkey 😉 ) and Leek Pie, which also has the extra advantage of using up that roll of Puff Pastry in the Fridge, and a little ham too.
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/chicken-and-leek-pie/
Speaking of pies, there’s another pie on the website – it’s called Christmas Dinner in a Pie – and has all the ingredients you’d expect (including sprouts! ) Don’t let the 2017 embellishment put you off!
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/christmas-dinner-in-a-pie/
Using up Mincemeat and Cranberry Sauce is easy with a roll of ready-made Puff Pastry.
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/cheats-mince-a…ranberry-rolls/
Puff Pastry is also used in my Goats Cheese and Red Onion marmalade roll-ups..
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/goats-cheese-and-red-onion-marmalade-roll-ups/
Which look remarkably like the Cranberry and Mincemeat Rolls above, but taste completely different!
The second picture below is made using my own Shortcrust pastry made into little tartlets
I hope that this has given you a little, if you’ll pardon the pun, food for thought!
Think of all your own favourite recipes and see if you can adapt them for this time of year. I’d love to hear your suggestions over on the Eating for Ireland Facebook page.. Enjoy these relaxing few days – I’m off to check out my Christmas presents!
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx