[Lardman]

Christmas cooking will be my job.  Brunch will be turkey sausage gravy with home-made biscuits (biscuits here are a simple flaky bread; my understanding is that what we call "cookies" here, you call biscuits there?).

Back when I used to be bothered to cook, I regularly did biscuits and gravy with pork sausage meat.  They haven't caught on over here, probably the closest thing we do would be stew and dumplings.

I've put some pork on the shopping order but I won't be making a particular effort, not really much point for one.

[New shoot]

I've put some pork on the shopping order but I won't be making a particular effort, not really much point for one.

If you are doing one of your slow cooker fork tender piggy roasts, then that will be a good standby for a few days.  Maybe some good bread and a few jacket potatoes to add to your order to make sure you have the necessary supplies for the leftovers 

I’ve bought a frozen rib of beef joint from work and stashed it.  It is not massive, as I don’t want it hangIng around in the fridge for days, but big enough to for us both to be already looking forward to cold roast beef sandwiches on Boxing Day 

There's a turkey crown in the freezer for us.  I'm not that keen, much prefer the curry, pie etc made with the leftovers.

Totally agree.  Christmas leftovers are the best 

[Lardman]

Maybe some good bread and a few jacket potatoes to add to your order to make sure you have the necessary supplies for the leftovers 

Thanks for the reminder - baking spuds now added, bread flour was already there.

[snowdrops]

Maybe some good bread and a few jacket potatoes to add to your order to make sure you have the necessary supplies for the leftovers 

Thanks for the reminder - baking spuds now added, bread flour was already there.

What about the ingredients for hm coleslaw or a tub of bought, I love it with cold meats & a jacket potato, in fact I’ve just planned the menu up to Christmas Eve & will have gammon,jacket potatoes & coleslaw that evening, one of my favourite Christmas Eve dinners as then I’ve got all the twiddly bits already sorted .

[Christine]

Twiddly bits? If you are invited round to my daughter's for Christmas lunch you either join in the working kitchen circus or starve. 

[Lardman]

I find coleslaw like gherkins, I'll have a run on it where I can't get enough, then go off it for a months. Speaking of twiddly bits - I might add some twiglets as a treat.

[snowdrops]

Twiddly bits? If you are invited round to my daughter's for Christmas lunch you either join in the working kitchen circus or starve. 

Twiddly bits = various salads, coleslaw, pickles & chutneys & maybe nibbles 

Yes if you’re invited here you’re expected to fully participate. If I go elsewhere I still end up in the kitchen

[mumofstig]

snowdrops:  What about the ingredients for hm coleslaw or a tub of bought, I love it with cold meats & a jacket potato,

SNAP. I've always got a tub of HM in the fridge, seems right even just with cheese n crackers 

[Subversive_plot]

with home-made biscuits (biscuits here are a simple flaky bread; my understanding is that what we call "cookies" here, you call biscuits there?).

From the recipes/pics online, they are much the same as our 'scones' but minus sugar in the mix, so guess your recipe may have arrived with the Scots/Irish 
Biscuits here are mostly quite flat and dry, but we do have thicker cookies, nowadays as well - just to complicate things 

I like scones, but southern biscuits are different from scones.  You can see a perfect southern biscuit, and the 3-ingredient recipe (flour, butter, buttermilk) here: https://www.whitelily.com/recipes/white-lily-three-ingredient-biscuits-99107/  The secret ingredient is the flour, which must be a self-rising soft winter wheat flour, which is lower in gluten, allowing it to rise and produce a flaky biscuit (if you use another kind of flour, higher in gluten, you won't get this result; the biscuits will be harder). This type of flour is found in our region, but very hard to find in the northern or western states.

The resulting biscuits are pillow-soft and flaky inside (not like pastry is flaky; biscuits are steamy and moist when freshly made).

I will admit to using a shortcut for the last few years.  There is a mix here called Bisquick that produces decent biscuits, but not great.  I may go back to completely from-scratch this year.

Although biscuits are wonderful with milk-and-flour based sausage gravy, another way they are wonderful is opened up while hot, buttered and drizzled with just a little honey. Or apple butter, peach butter, or your favorite jam or jelly.

[mumofstig]

Our cakes and scones are also made with  soft wheat flour though. https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/hints-&-tips/types-of-flour
and we have old recipes for buttermilk scones with the same ingredients as yours (except sugar) - I can however, happily accept that you believe yours are something different and better.

Meanwhile this year, I am again attempting a decent Panettone - despite promising myself every year, that I WILL stop trying  *cue manic laughter*.....

[Subversive_plot]

Our cakes and scones are also made with  soft wheat flour though. https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/hints-&-tips/types-of-flour
and we have old recipes for buttermilk scones with the same ingredients as yours (except sugar) - I can however, happily accept that you believe yours are something different and better.

Meanwhile this year, I am again attempting a decent Panettone - despite promising myself every year, that I WILL stop trying  *cue manic laughter*.....

Personally, I find "cue manic laughter", coupled with my "I break for hallucinations" bumper sticker, to be the perfect solution to rush-hour traffic, or parking for holiday shopping.    Good luck with the Panettone!

Something I miss is home-made fruitcake.  I used to make it from a variation of my mother's recipe every year, but we have few family around that like it, and it's not worth making for one person (a few hours of mixing and baking, followed by a month of aging and drizzling with rum or bourbon).  Definitely not diet-friendly, but delicious IMO.  I take a pass on most store-bought fruitcake.

[Goosegirl]

Owing to illness and stuff our Christmas has taken rather a back seat this year. No decs or tree done but don't really care. We got our food orders done a couple of weeks ago, and are doing some meat joints cooking on 23rd with help from our niece so we can make sarnies on the day. Fish pie for Christmas Eve just needs topping with mash. It kind of brings it home that, even with our health problems etc, we have a lovely house and can keep warm, there's food if and when we want it, we have our dear family and friends either here or on the end of the phone, and have some presents to open on the day even though I bought mine - who cares! There's a lot to be thankful for here plus I have you all to chat with.