The Christmas Chronicles: Notes, stories & 100 essential recipes for midwinter

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In this episode we’ll talk about the art of choosing and decorating a perfectly-cut Christmas tree – the lights, jewels, and baubles that festoon the branches – and its importance as a symbol of the season. I’ll also give you my recipe for a fine, fruity chutney to accompany you through the winter months and brighten those stews, casseroles, and pies that sustain us in the cold. Please note that there is a mistake in the recipe for Mince Pies. The quantity of flour in the pastry should read 300g, not 175g.My apologies. dried and vine fruits, the brandy and citrus zest and juice. Now mix the baking powder and flour together and fold them lightly into the mix. Join the strips by pressing lightly with your thumbs, bearing in mind that the sides will be covered with icing.

Nigel begins his Chronicles proper on 1st November, but there is a lovely, quite lengthy introduction we can dip into during the second half of October. From the BBC1 presenter and bestselling author of Eat, The Kitchen Diaries and Toast comes a new book featuring everything you need for the winter solstice. The remaining fruit – bundles of joy, soft as a pillow, juicy as a xiaolongbao dumpling – should not be wasted.Pot of gold: roast partridge with parsnips and smoked garlic. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of baking parchment to fit neatly into the base. Now cut a long, wide strip that will fit not only around the inside of the tin, but a good 9cm above it. Place it around the inside of the tin. It is a pleasure to announce thatIn May 2018, The Christmas Chronicles was named winner of the Food Book of the Year in the2018 Fortnum and Mason Awards. Bake the pears in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then turn them over. At this point they will look decidedly uninteresting, but carry on anyway. Let the pears bake for a further 20 minutes, then watch them carefully. The sauce will be bubbling now, the colour of amber and rising up the pears. Test them for tenderness – a small knife should slide through them effortlessly. They should be translucent and soft as butter. If they aren’t quite ready or if the sauce isn’t syrupy, give them a further 5 minutes.

Mary Berry says you need 675g of paste to cover the top and sides of the cake. My love of marzipan requires a slightly more generous layer. It takes 300g of almond paste to ice the top of a 20cm round cake. Less if you want a thin layer. The sides take a further 500g. Only you know how much you like almond paste. Bookaholic73 you're very welcome! I just post each chapter heading in bold on the relevant date, and then we all read/share/try the recipes/be a silent reader. For anyone who has not already had the pleasure, the annual Nigel Slater Christmas Chronicles read along is a real time annual MN tradition. N O T E S, S T O R I E S A N D R E C I P E S F O R M I D W I N T E R. I have always loved the winter months, with their crisp mornings, candlelight and promise of snow. The Christmas Chronicles is the story of my adoration of the cold months, my fondness forthe winterlandscape with itspale blue skies and bare trees; forautumn and winter baking and the season's rituals and feasting. At theheart of the book is Christmas, its fables, folklore and of course, its food. Covering the top: Roll out the remaining almond paste with a rolling pin on a work surface lightly dusted with icing sugar. Using the base of the cake tin as a template, cut a disc of paste that fits the top of the cake.