Christmas Chez Dulcima

Well Christmas wasn’t actually held in Dulcima’s Kitchen, it was in Dulcima’s Mother’s Kitchen this year.  I’m still not wholly sure why as I do all the cooking, anyway and being a cookware snob ended up travelling down to my mother’s house on the south coast complete with my own knives, knife sharpener, electric scales, two roasting tins, cookbook and two shopping bags of ingredients.

The menu

Yes those really are Peppa Pig crackers - bit of a family joke

Roast goose Mary-Claire (Leith’s recipe) the stuffing took a fair amount of time to make, but oooh it was tasty (apricots, pistachios, apple, chicken breast)

Roasted potatoes, parsnips and onions, all done in the goose fat naturally

Pigs in blankets (think the lovely fiancé would call off the wedding if I had deprived him)

Mashed carrot and swede (with lots of lovely black pepper)

Spiced red cabbage with pomegranate seeds (having the pomegranate makes a nice fresh addition to a heavy meal)

I was in charge of the goose, cabbage and pigs, with my mother who was referred to as ‘sous’ for the day handling the rest. 

We had goose as my sister can’t stand turkey - the last few years have featured duck, beef, venison, lamb  -  this year was goose’s turn.  Or indeed Lucy Goosey as the bird was christened for reasons I don’t really understand (I wanted to call it Gregory).  I’m pretty sure Leith’s wouldn’t be best pleased with me if I published the recipe for the goose so go buy yourself a copy of the Leith’s Cookery Bible, no cook should be without it.

Red Cabbage

Red cabbage, done well is one of my favourite accompaniments to a roast.  The trick is to not have too much liquid but make sure it never gets dry.  I did one medium sized cabbage, finely shredded (without the core), a sliced red onion and a couple of grated apples with a good glug of red wine and red wine vinegar.  Cook over a low heat for an hour, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t catch on the pan then add dark brown sugar and spices (nutmeg, cloves) and cook for another half hour. Once cooked sprinkle over a handful of pomegranate seeds.