[New shoot]

I've had my head in the clouds pretending its still autumn, but todays weather has woken me up and made me realise how little time there is now to go    and I've done nothing except start some fruits soaking in alcohol to make drinks for pressies 

This is where you all make me feel bad, because you are all organised and have done loads of cooking 

[Mrs Bee]

Yep, dead right. 

Chocolate and orange cake done, 14 dozen mince pies, cheese and mustard oatcakes, black pepper and walnut oatcakes, mustard oatcakes to go with the cheeseboard, baguettes, sourdough bread, cheese biscotti all made and in the freezers. Well matured Christmas puddings in the overflow fridge.

Coffee and walnut, mixed spice and dried fruit and white chocolate chip, hazelnut and cardamom biscotti mad to the first stage and frozen.

3 dozen mini mince pies and 2 dozen macaroon mince pies in the freezer.

Chutneys made: red onion and red wine, peach and orange and carrot.

Stuffing loaf, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls. Toulouse sausage and  pancetta stuffing, apple and chestnut stuffing prepared and frozen.

Liqueurs stepping and waiting to be filtered and bottled: crème do cacoa, quince, blackberry, raspberry, cassis, spiced rum, marmalade gin, arancello.

Quilled table place cards and goodie baskets are being finished tonight.

New crimson table cloth ordered to go on the new 12 seater dining table along with table protectors.
Crackers with the racing elves and snowmen in the cupboard. The pot grown tree that we bought last year is in  its pot in the garden ready to be brought in on the 16th.

And the whip is out for Mr Bee to finish painting the hall doors so I can have my dining room back and put the decorations up on the 30th.

Hampers finished and made up, presents bought, wrapped and stashed away along with a silly Christmas board game.

Turkey is ordered; we get a free one this year for being loyal customers.

Still to do: choose the beef to be hung, make the stolen, and Dutch Christmas rings and order the cheese from Devon for the cheeseboard, make a gingerbread house. 

[snowdrops]

Mrs Bee, what day was it you invited me to arrive, will it be alright if my mum comes too,she doesn't eat much 😄

[Mrs Bee]

Mrs Bee, what day was it you invited me to arrive, will it be alright if my mum comes too,she doesn't eat much

The table sits 12 and so far we only have 9/10 people coming.

Will be doing the usual prep all veg and par cook the day before and reheat in individual roasting bags in a really hot oven, one bag for each person.

Still need to make some chocolate truffles to go with the coffee.

Might make a chocolate log although there are not that many people to eat it as we have 2 diabetic and 2 slimming world guests. So will make a sugar free slimming world trifle.

I have got a lovely chocolate log mould that I want to use to make a black forest chocolate log, but if there aren't that many people to eat it I may be tempted, so the jury is out on that one.  May do that for the birthday bash.

[surbie100]

I've got a Sainers pudding from 3 years ago and half a pot of mincemeat. 

[Fairy Plotmother]

WOW! Mrs. Bee. I am very impressed. I am intrigued about your roasting bags for each individual. Would you tell me what you do. It sounds as though that could be very helpful to me. There are 15 of us for dinner as usual and I have struggled in the past with the serving of veggies.

[Mrs Bee]

I have to get ahead with it all or I would be dead on my feet by the day. I find it is all in the preparation and organisation.

My friends ask for mince pies for gifts and I have some for customers.

It is a chef's trick that I picked up years ago and adapted using small roasting  bags. I get mine from Lakeland.

You cook your veg until it is only just cooked with a little bite to it. Plunge it into a bowl of cold water with ice cubes in to stop the cooking and drain. Then portion all the veg into small roasting bags with a small knob of butter and seal the bags with the ties that come with the bags.

Put the bags on a baking tray in the fridge until the following day.

You cook your turkey and leave to rest while you cook your roasties. When all is ready turn the oven up very high and put the tray with the veg bags into a very hot oven for about 10 minutes until very hot.

Then you can either give each person a bag of veg to open and put onto their plate or as I do dish up the turkey and trimmings, then cut off the top of the bag and pop the veg onto each plate. That way it all gets to the table hot, hot, hot.  If you are doing frozen peas as one of the veg, defrost the peas and put them raw into the bags and they will be perfectly cooked after their time in the oven.

I cook my sprouts separately the day before and microwave and add to the pan.  I use a recipe in which I cook sprouts until only just cooked and mix them with a sauce made from the cooking liquid, cream, lemon and mustard with bacon cubes. It reheats beautifully.

[New shoot]

I've got a Sainers pudding from 3 years ago and half a pot of mincemeat. 

I knew someone would be in the same boat as me    We shall be preparing using the age old tradition of 'winging it' and some speedy cooking slotted in round work, plot and other distractions

[surbie100]

Am making a slightly panicky list while OH speeds us down the M5. Eeeep!

[Mrs Bee]

I am afraid I really hate last minute.com. It just means I get to be exhausted by the day, and I don't see any fun in that.

When I was teaching I received a deal of good natured teasing and in some quarters a little envy about my forward planning. At one staff meeting about Christmas organisation someone piped up, 'don't be daft Di is organised already and is doing her Easter preparations now.'  A slight exaggeration but only slight.

And to be fair the parties we had in year 4 were legend. Every child made and decorated a Christmas cake, they made all the food for their party, in the shape of Christmas items; we had proper table cloths, candle centre pieces that they made and we lit. We made our own crackers.

We discussed good manners and that we should make sure our friends had what they needed before they thought about themselves and offered the plate to their friends, and how to have polite conversations and eat nicely.

[mumofstig]

It's stir up Sunday today, so should have made my cakes by now - let alone the pudding.

Oh well  Guess that, as I decided to do mini loaf cakes, for a change - they don't need doing as early. As long as I leave time, so that I'm not icing them on the Eve again 

[RJR_38]

I've  made my puddings but that's about it! There is no point making lots of sweet stuff as there aren't enough people who will eat it all.

I have been looking for a good stuffing recipe though as I will need to adapt into make it gluten free - I tried one this wkend that was labelled as gluten free and it was genuinely disgusting and the whole house stank of liquified microwaved onions.... Where do you get your apple and chestnut one from Mrs Bee?

Your class parties sound like great fun! Mostly teaching y1 or 2 ours weren't quite as extravagant (but we did make our own gingerbread and ice it and one year made a couple of gingerbread houses (never again with that many children!) they also made this town placemats and hats. Will feel a bit sad not having a class party now I no longer have my own class

[Mrs Bee]

I have to admit to feeling a sense of loss at Christmas because I no longer have children to make all the festive baking and crafts. Looking forward to doing it with Louisa when she is old enough. But I will have to be patient.

The apple and chestnut recipe was in this years Good Housekeeping Christmas book, but in all honesty I wouldn't use it again it was rather a nothing recipe and I had to fiddle with it to make it taste a lot more zippy. And it had breadcrumbs.

If I were you and needed a gluten free recipe I would invent one. I would start with a couple of pound of my butchers gluten free bratwurst or Toulouse, and then add a large onion, chopped and fried and cooled. A large bramley apple, chopped fairly small and tossed in lemon juice to prevent discolouring.  Then use anything between 8oz to 1lb of frozen chestnuts which you simmer in chicken stock until cooked, then chop roughly. Or use the merchant gourmet ready cooked, vacuum packed ones.  And then add a goodly amount of chopped fresh sage and parsley.

Season and then fry a tiny amount and taste to check your seasoning. Then freeze.

I always try a couple of new stuffing recipes every year and usually find that the ones I invent myself are favourites.

I use a wild boar and fruit sausage as a base and add onion, sage and cranberries which is popular.

[Fairy Plotmother]

I know that we have a pudding....my son in law always makes it on stir up Sunday!

[Debz]

The children and I made the Christmas pudding yesterday although none of us actually eat it.  My mum, dad and brother in law take care of that for us.  I love to do some of the really traditional activities with the children.  We've also made one of the Christmas cakes (another one to make for a friend) and the mincemeat is in the fridge.  We'll make mince pies together on Christmas Eve.  Some will be for Santa Claus and some for my dad.