Winter Fodder

The snow has gone, for now. I didn't do much good cooking when my world was a crunchy sugar-coated doughnut, the only thing I did make was some sage and onion stuffing for Mike and Dan's Christmas dinner. I added bits of chopped apple to it, which worked rather well.

There were plans to mull some beer at said dinner, which never materialised. It's still not too warm to mull drinks, I hope to quaff some of this wassail (yes, mulled booze) before the cold spell is out.

Christmas was spent in the West Midlands with my parents. My mother made this while I was there. 

Cheesy, oniony mashed potato in a pie crust. Very comforting indeed. The only thing we were puzzled about was what kind of sauce to serve it with. Would gravy be acceptable here? I'm not too sure. 

Dan gave me this for Christmas:

Niki Segnit's Flavour Thesaurus. With this to consult, I no longer have any excuses for making bad-tasting food.

The taste of citrus salt (sea salt baked with grated orange, lemon and lime rind) to me tastes of the sea. The preserved lemons are ready and are perfect to nibble on alone. But I should really use them in a recipe.

There are still rinds of cheese in the fridge, which will be perfect for soup, but most of the rest has been scoffed down with crackers and fruit.