Rhys Bowen - The Twelve Clues of Christmas

Shortcrust Pastry

In the old days, pastry was always made with lard. Today it’s more likely to be made with chilled butter or shortening.

4 oz butter

8 oz all-purpose flour

Ice water

Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs (you may also do this in a food processor). Gradually stir in ice water until the mixture binds together. Roll out on floured board.

Sausage Rolls

English sausage meat is not identical to US meat, as rusk filler is used (i.e. the sausage meat has some kind of starch added to bind the meat and retain the fat). The closest I can find is Jimmy Dean Premium Pork Sage Sausage.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make shortcrust pastry as before. (You can also substitute sheets of puff pastry from the grocer’s freezer, but shortcrust is more authentic.) Roll out thinly. Make thin rolls of sausage meat. Wrap with pastry dough. Cut into segments about 2 inches long. Bake 15-20 minutes.

Bread Sauce

Goose used to be the traditional Christmas fowl, but today it is usually turkey. The stuffing for either bird is made either with sage or chestnuts, and is accompanied by a bread sauce.

12 cloves

1 large onion, peeled

1 1⁄ 4cups whole milk

3 ⁄ 4cup chicken stock

1 ⁄ 4cup light cream

1 ⁄ 4tsp nutmeg

1 bay leaf

5 peppercorns

Salt and pepper

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 ⁄ 4cup (one half stick) butter

Stick cloves into the onion. Add milk, stock, cream and the other spices. Bring to boil. Remove and let rest for 1 hour. Strain the liquid through a sieve. Add bread crumbs. Cook, uncovered, until thick. Before serving, melt butter, stir sauce into it.

Christmas Pudding

(or Plum Pudding)

This is the highlight of any Christmas dinner. You can buy ready-made Christmas puddings, but some people feel it is a point of honor to make their own. It really has to be made several weeks before Christmas and left to mature. For this reason, the last Sunday in November used to be called Pudding Sunday.

PREP TIME: 45 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 8 HOURS

MARINATING TIME: 12 HOURS

TOTAL TIME: 20 HOURS, 45 MINUTES

SERVES 8–10

Butter to grease bowl

1 lb dried mixed fruit (such as golden raisins, black raisins and currants)

1 oz mixed candied citrus peel, finely chopped

1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

Juice of 1⁄ 2large orange and 1⁄ 2lemon

4 Tbsp brandy, plus a little extra for soaking the finished pudding

2 oz self-raising flour, sifted

1 level tsp ground mixed spice or pumpkin pie spice mix

1 1⁄ 2tsp ground cinnamon

4 oz shredded suet, beef or vegetarian meat substitute

4 oz soft, dark brown sugar

Grated orange and lemon zest

4 oz fresh white bread crumbs

1 oz whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped

2 large fresh eggs

Lightly butter a 2 1⁄ 2pint pudding bowl. Place the dried fruits, candied citrus peel, apple, orange and lemon juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave at room temperature to marinate for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.

Stir together the flour, mixed spice, and cinnamon in a very large mixing bowl. Add the meat, sugar, lemon and orange zest, bread crumbs and nuts, and stir until all the ingredients are well mixed. Finally add the marinated dried fruits and stir again.

Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl then quickly stir into the dry ingredients. The mixture should have a fairly soft consistency. Now it’s time to gather the family for the Christmas Pudding tradition of taking turns stirring, making a wish and adding a few coins.

Spoon the mixture into the greased pudding bowl, gently pressing it down with the back of a spoon. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then a layer of aluminum foil, and tie securely with string.

Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level frequently so it never boils dry. The pudding should be a deep brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but is instead a dark, sticky, dense sponge.

Remove the pudding from the steamer and cool completely. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer and pour in a little extra brandy. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and re-tie with string. Store in a cool dry place until Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day, reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour. Serve with brandy or rum sauce, brandy butter or custard.

Note: The pudding cannot be eaten immediately. It really does need to be stored and rested, then reheated on Christmas Day. Eating the pudding immediately after cooking will cause it to collapse and the flavors will not have had time to mature.

Brandy Butter

1 ⁄ 2cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 Tbsp light cream

4 Tbsp brandy

With an electric mixer, whisk butter until light and fluffy. Whisk in sugar. Whisk in cream. Whisk in brandy. Cover and chill. Delicious on top of Christmas pudding or mince pies.

Wassail Bowl

(or Smoking Bishop)

There are many hot punches associated with Christmas. The Smoking Bishop is mentioned in Charles Dickens’s

A Christmas Carol

. The recipes all involve spices and some include citrus. The simplest include beer or sherry; the more expensive include spirits.

The Bishop involves citrus brandy and fortified wines, but does not favor the addition of eggs. Citrus was considered an expensive ingredient. Wine and brandy would also be more accessible for the resident of a large hall.

One unpeeled orange

12–18 whole cloves

Brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch powdered cloves

Pinch mace

1 ⁄ 2 tsp allspice

1 ⁄ 2tsp ground ginger

1 strip lemon peel

1 cup water

1 quart port wine

1 quarter cup brandy, heated

Nutmeg

Stud orange with whole cloves (you may also include a whole lemon baked and studded in the same manner). Place in dish and pack thickly with brown sugar. Roast in 350 degree oven until sugar caramelizes and forms a crust on the orange. Cut orange in quarters and place it in a punch bowl. Simmer remaining spices and lemon peel in the water until water is reduced by half. Heat the port wine until hot, but not boiling. Combine spiced syrup, wine and heated brandy in punch bowl with the orange, and sprinkle with nutmeg to taste.

Note: Some recipes delete the brandy and nutmeg. To make this an Archbishop, substitute claret or table wine for the port.

Round Games Around The Table

THE MINISTER’S CAT

A clapping rhythm is established. The chant begins, “The minister’s cat is a . . . cat.”

The first person chooses an adjective beginning with A . The next B .

The minister’s cat is an active cat.

The minister’s cat is a beautiful cat.

The minister’s cat is a cheerful cat.

It continues until someone cannot come up with a word in time. That person is then out and the game continues until one person remains. If the whole alphabet has gone through and there are still players in contention, then of course it starts over . . . or they agree to move on to another game, as below.