Chef Adrienne O’Callaghan made a welcome cameo appearance last week (4 small children keep her out of the shop far too much these days) to celebrate our annual holiday tradition. Our lucky guests (some repeats, some new faces) enjoyed a feast of treats prepared by Chef Adrienne from Delia’s Happy Christmas. The evening started with Finland Celery Soup with Stilton, followed by a Tomato Tart with Swiss Cheese and Rosemary. Rather than the traditional stuffed turkey with all the trimmings, Adrienne cooked up the more practical and especially tasty, Turkey Roulades with Pork, Sage and Onion Stuffing (leftovers were gleefully gobbled up by staff the next day) with Cranberry & Orange Relish accompanied by a Medley of Roast Vegetables. For sweet endings she served Little Mincemeat Soufflé Puddings with Chilled Rum Sabayon. (You can even make these gems in advance, freeze them and reheat them the night of your dinner). All went home happy and brimming with ideas for creating their own holiday feasts. Mark will have to wait till next year for his beloved Sausage Rolls – or he can make his own using Delia’s recipe passed down from her own mum, Etty’s Sausage Rolls.

Missed the event? Not to worry, we still have a few copies of Delia’s Happy Christmas in the shop so please come by to pick up a copy and create your own holiday traditions. There are still 11 more cooking days before Christmas, plenty of time to plan and make ahead some of Delia’s festive dishes.

Delia’s Happy Christmas by Delia Smith