Live 24-Seven -Wining & Dining Betty gets Christmassy and creative
Every September I vow to organise my time and quietly source the Christmas gifts for those I love.
I start off well and it usually goes like this: I am wandering about in, say, The Range, (looking at artist materials for the next priceless work of art to be created in my studio) and I spot an extremely gangly giraffe, made remarkable by the fact that it is a bean bag and it is soft and cuddly to the touch, and I have to buy it. In my head a voice is saying ‘but who will you give this to?’ I ignore the inner voice and I purchase the giraffe. Then December arrives with its dark evenings and misty dark mornings. I start to think about wrapping paper to encase all the mounting strangeness of my impulse buys. I decide that glitter and tinsel is not on my agenda, so I buy a very interesting collection of old newsprint paper which has not been printed on. I proceed to write all over it in black felt tip pen, things like the wording from a Christmas carol or some lines from a favourite poem. Sometimes I tie the package up with string. I think I am against the extreme form of hyper-consumerism, but I am also aware that I could come across as being slightly eccentric! I convince myself that I am being very creative, and at the same time, I am saving money. This is a good thing... A mantra then delivers itself to my brain and it says – ‘give useful stuff a second chance’, so I start to riffle through my mounting collection of ‘stuff I will never use again but cannot throw away’ and decide that some of it is wonderful, and it does deserve to be given a second chance. I end up wrapping unusual things like 1950’s costume jewellery and 1950’s silk scarves that my Auntie Jessie used to wear. It is a difficult job deciding who will be the lucky recipient!
I have to say, the long and lasting recession has made us become more creative and less likely to squander our hard earned money.
I do, however, like to rustle up a good Christmas lunch and so I thought that it would be timely to share some quite useful cooking tips which
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I have gleaned over the years. For instance, did you know that you can roast parsnips and potatoes the night before, take them out of the oven and leave them covered with a cloth overnight? About 15 minutes before you serve that huge great turkey, (which has been dominating the oven space for hours) you can refresh them before you dish up. They will be none the worse for wear!
Another great tip is to make the gravy well in advance, because this can cause the most relaxed of hostesses to throw a wobbly. Roast your turkey with an onion in the base of the tin to give flavour to the gravy. Drain off some of the turkey fat and juice into a large frying pan, stir in some flour and seasoning, cook for a couple of minutes and then add some chicken or vegetable stock. Whisk vigorously, until it is looking a bit like gravy, and then add some gravy browning. Strain through a sieve if there are a few lumps, and pour into a jug. Keep warm in the bottom oven and remember - gravy can make or break a roast lunch.
Another good tip is to have a glass of wine, which will make you feel very relaxed and devil-may-care.
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