Destination Christmas in July

They say Christmas comes but once a year, but I’m here to tell you they’re wrong. Here in Chez Tracey, we also have Christmas in July. It’s a great excuse to have friends over, light some tealights, and cook a roast dinner without it being stinking hot outside.

Even though we love to have people over, neither Grant nor I can be faffed with the palaver that is the Dinner Party. As such we rarely serve a seated starter course when entertaining. Instead, we like to have some nibbly bits with drinks which we’ll serve at the kitchen bench while we chat and get on with finishing whatever needs finishing.

The nibbly bits on the menu for our Christmas dinner were some seasonally spiced nuts (recipe below) and baked feta with lemon, olives, thyme, oregano, and rosemary. You’ll find the recipe (such as it is) here. Because it was winter and because it was Christmas we’d prepared mulled wine in advance and decanted it to a thermos (both to keep it warm and so I could wash up the saucepan) and poured it into glasses when our friends arrived. We cheated and used a mulled wine syrup we brought back from Queenstown last trip…

A roast pork loin (with crispy crackling), roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and brussels sprouts comprised the main course – along with apple sauce and jugs of gravy. As for pudding? Christmas, even in July, wouldn’t be Christmas without Grant’s trifle.

Nigella’s Seasonally Spiced Nuts

It’s been ages since I made any updates to my Nigella Diaries (my personal quest to cook my way through How To Eat), so I was determined to make one of her recipes for the first time tonight. This one is from Nigella’s Christmas – if you love Christmas this one (as well as Delia Smith’s Christmas) must be on your cookbook shelf – and is one I suspect I’ll be making over and over in the lead-up to real Christmas this year.

What you need

• 500g mixed nuts
• 1 ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 2 x 15 ml tbsp olive oil
• 2 x 15 ml tbsp soft light brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
• 3 sprigs rosemary finely chopped to make about 3 tsp, plus 2 sprigs for garnish
• sprinkle of sea salt

What you do with it

• Put a large frying pan on medium heat.
• Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and have it close to the stove.
• Tip the nuts into the warm pan and toss about for a few minutes until they are lightly toasted.
• Add the garam masala and celery salt and push the nuts about some more so they are evenly coated.
• Add the oil, sugar, and rosemary and, you guessed it, push it all about some more. When the nuts have darkened a little and slicked with the sugary spice mix, tip them out onto your prepared sheet and sprinkle with salt to taste.
• Arrange in small bowls and tuck in a sprig of rosemary.