Christmas in the Shire

And by the Shire, I do mean England...London to be precise.  Though, I can imagine some of Tolkien's hobbits would have loved the Christmas we've been whipping up in the kitchen these last days.

Justin, inspired by a need to feed the masses at a carol service, signed his name on the line for two dozen mince pies.  I did the shopping, made many helpful suggestions, and rolled up my sleeves to help on the assembly line...but Justin took charge of finding recipes, mixing the mince by hand, and then mixing the crust.  The proof of the pudding is in the pictures!

 

The pies turned out splendidly, though dwarfed the other mince pies they found themselves next to...We blame it on our North American dietary habits...Justin also mixed up some brown sugar brandy butter, after hearing one of our favourite cooking show hosts (Mary Berry) rave about her love of brandy butter.  Nice combo, but you'll start to see a pattern with Brits and their brandy...

 Today, in preparation for tomorrow's Christmas dinner with friends, we were assigned two more dishes that we were completely unfamiliar with:  bread sauce and brandy sauce.  The jury is still out, but we're hoping that what we've made is what is expected to be brought... :)

Bread sauce on the left; Brandy sauce on the right

Justin getting back into green coffee bean roasting!

 Merry Christmas to all!