Heston's Christmas Feast

One to watch... Bloomin' Heston Blumenthal cooks up a festive feast inspired by days of yore on Channel 4, tonight at 9.00pm...

Only 7 days to go!

Are you excited yet?

I am. Can you tell?

Anyway, to help get you in the mood, here's Al Ewing's Pax Britannia-inspired very Abaddon Christmas...

Enjoy!

Christmas Pizza!

As I sit at my computer this morning, looking out at houses and gardens iced with snow, my thoughts turn, once again, to food...

Fed up with the traditional turkey for Christmas or just wondering what to do with the leftovers the next day? Then why not make yourself a Christmas pizza?

Christmas Turkey Pizza

For the Dough
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Sauce
250ml whipping cream
4 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 strips crispy bacon, chopped

For the Toppings
1 lb. roast turkey or chicken
3-4 golden fingerling potatoes
1 small red onion
4 tbsp. whole cranberry sauce
1 sprig fresh rosemary

Preparation
1. Prepare dough – Mix all ingredients and let it rise until dough doubled in size, about 1 hour. Dust a pizza stone with flour. Roll out the dough to fit stone. Let rise for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

3. Prepare sauce - melt butter over medium low heat. Add garlic and saute lightly - don’t burn the garlic! Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Add bacon and simmer until desired consistency is reached.

4. Spread sauce thinly on dough then arrange the remaining toppings as desired.

5. Bake in the center of the oven until the dough is golden at the edges, about 35 minutes. Remove, let sit for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.

And here's a recipe for a sweet Christmas pizza

Sweet Christmas Pizza

Ingredients
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pound white almond bark divided
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup rice cereal
1 cup peanuts
16 ounces red maraschino cherries, quartered
3 tablespoons green cherries
1/3 cup coconut
1 teaspoon oil

Melt chocolate with 14 ounce almond bark in large saucepan on low heat, stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, cereal and peanuts. Pour into greased 12 inch pizza pan. Top with cherries. Sprinkle with coconut. Melt remaining almond bark with oil over low heat. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over coconut. Chill. Store at room temperature.

And here's a Christmas pizza the Franklin family made earlier...

A personal video message from Santa

If you know of someone who deserves a personal message from Santa this year, you should log on to Portable North Pole TV.


I particularly like the option of having Santa record a message for the adult or teenager who's been bad...

What is Myrrh Anyway? The Ultimate Christmas Quiz

Test your friends, challenge your family, it's the Ultimate Christmas Quiz!

Christmas (w)rap

Maybe it's because I've spent too long at home with two small people for the last three years, but I like this...

Lasting posting dates before Christmas

Remember if you're yet to get your Christmas cards in the post or you still need to send a certain special someone a gift, you haven't got long left to do it in. Last recommended UK posting dates for Christmas:

Second Class: Friday 18 December 2009

First Class: Monday 21 December 2009

Special Delivery: Wednesday 23 December 2009

The postal service is something we take for granted (although possibly less so after the strike action of recent months), but without it there would be no convenient way of sending sack loads of cards every year. As a result, the greetings card as we know it didn't appear until the Victorian era when a reliable (and, more importantly, affordable) postal service was created.

The first true commercial Christmas card went on sale in 1843 and was designed and printed at the behest of Sir Henry Cole, a businessman and philanthropist, who had played a key role in introducing the Penny Post in 1840. Thanks to the Penny Post, it was possible to send a letter or card anywhere within Britain. Cole was also the director of the newly founded Victoria and Albert Museum in London and it was his idea to give stamps perforated edges.


Did you know...?
By the late 19th century, there were between six and twelve mail deliveries per day in London, permitting correspondents to exchange multiple letters within a single day. Sounds a bit like email!

You can read more about the history of the Christmas card in What is Myrrh Anyway? and remember, it's not too late to order your copy online and have it sent to you in time for the big day!