Tag: #December

The Broad Palate – Dec ’25

Two hearty cold-weather recipes to round off 2025. Wishing you a merry, peaceful and healthy Christmas! A xx


Tartiflette – serves 4

A simple, slightly decadent treat. Serve with crusty bread, plus a green salad if desired.

  • 1kg waxy potatoes;
  • 3 bay leaves;
  • 1 large onion, sliced into half moons;
  • 1tbsp olive oil;
  • 250g smoked bacon or lardons;
  • 1 large clove garlic, crushed;
  • 75ml white wine;
  • 100g Emmental or Gruyère cheese, grated;
  • 1 x 250g round of Camembert;
  • 1 x 300ml tub crème frâiche or double cream;
  • salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.
Cook the potatoes in boiling, well-salted water along with the bay leaves until just cooked. Set aside to cool a little, then slice into thick rounds.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan then add the onion and cook until softened but not browned (around 10 minutes).
Add the bacon and continue to cook over a medium heat until the bacon is starting to turn golden.
Drain off some of the fat (to taste), add the wine and allow to bubble for a minute, then the garlic.
Take off the heat. Add the potatoes and gently fold through the bacon/onion mixture, then add most of the grated cheese and the crème frâiche or double cream.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Butter a medium ovenproof dish and pour in the mixture.
Level the surface and cover with the remainder of the grated cheese.
Slice the Camembert into 5-6 thick slices and arrange over the top.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the tartiflette is golden, bubbling and has started to catch a little on top.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.

Christmas Crumble – serves 5-6

Great for dispatching any leftover mincemeat and marzipan – even good enough as a substitute for Christmas pudding, I reckon. Serve with custard, ice cream, cream or all three 🥳.

  • 250g mincemeat;
  • 3 apples and 3 pears;
  • 125g marzipan;
  • a good squeeze of lemon juice;
  • 70g caster sugar;
  • juice and rind of 1 orange;
  • 40g dried cranberries;
  • 1 teaspoon mixed spice.

For the crumble topping:-

  • 240g plain flour;
  • 60g butter;
  • 50g caster sugar;
  • 50g flaked almonds

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4.
Peel, core and roughly chop the fruit and place in a bowl of water with the lemon juice.
Chop or tear the marzipan into grape-sized nuggets.
In another bowl, place the mincemeat, 70g caster sugar, juice and rind of orange, cranberries, marzipan and mixed spice, and mix well.
Drain the fruit well and add to the mincemeat mixture.
Stir well to combine and place into your favourite ovenproof crumble dish.
For the crumble, rub the butter into the flour until you have a breadcrumb consistency, mix in the 50g caster sugar and flaked almonds. Scatter this mixture over the fruit mixture and bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Bon appetit!

Ann’s previous recipes:

#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #Christmas #Festive #Tartiflette #Christmas #Crumble #TheBroadPalate #Recipe #December #Food #HomeCooking #YumYum #FeedMe #BeTempted #CookWithKids #Enjoy #BeSafe #StaySafe #BeKind

The Broad Palate – Dec ’24

Thank you for reading and/or trying out my recipes this year – much appreciated! Have a great festive season and a peaceful, healthy 2025. A x

Prawn Linguine with Crispy Bacon – serves 4

We have this one on a regular basis as it’s quite quick and easy, and very forgiving. Substitute the prawns with any seafood or fish of your choice.

  • 150g smoked streaky bacon
  • 400g cooked king prawns (or other seafood/fish)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped;
  • 2 -3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • ½ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
  • 500ml fish stock from cubes (veg or chicken will do)
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce (if using veg or chicken stock)
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • juice of half a lemon
  • Small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
  • 1-2 teaspoons sugar
  • Black pepper to season
  • 1 packet linguine or pasta of your choice.

Method:

In a deep frying pan, heat the oil. Fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside.
Pour the fat into a small bowl and clean out the pan with some kitchen paper. Add a tablespoon or two of the oil & bacon fat to the pan and add the onion, gently fry until softened but not browned (around 15 minutes).
Add the garlic and chilli flakes and fry for another couple of minutes.
Pour in the stock and fish sauce, if using. Bring to a lively simmer and allow to reduce for around 10 minutes. Then add half the chopped parsley and the tomatoes and simmer gently.
Put the pasta on to cook. 5 minutes before the pasta is ready, add the prawns/other seafood to the sauce to warm through.
Season with sugar and black pepper to taste (you shouldn’t need any additional salt). Drain the pasta when cooked, reserving a little cooking water.
Stir the pasta through the sauce and add a little of the pasta water if needed.
Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.

Mince Pie Strudels – makes 12

These make a lighter change from the usual shortcrust pastry version. They work well as a dessert, served warm with ice cream, cream or custard. Leave out the mandarins if you prefer. Best eaten on the same day.

  • 6 sheets filo pastry
  • three-quarters jar mincemeat
  • 1 can mandarin oranges (drain off the liquid and place the segments on kitchen paper to dry out a little)
  • finely grated zest of 2 large oranges
  • 120g butter, melted
  • icing sugar for dusting (optional)
  • You will also need 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5.
Divide the mandarin segments into 3 equal piles (one pile per four strudels).
Place one sheet of filo on your work surface, brush with melted butter and spread a third of the orange zest over it as evenly as possible.
Cover with a second sheet of pastry. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into four rectangles.
Take one square, long side nearest you, and brush with more butter. Place a line of the mincemeat mixture, around 1cm from the bottom edge, leaving room at each end for folding.
Top with some of the mandarins from one of the piles. Roll up into a long parcel (cigar-shaped), tucking in the ends, ensuring that the mincemeat is completely enclosed.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat the process until you have 12 little strudel rolls, evenly spaced on the tray(s).
Brush them all with melted butter and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp.
Allow to cool sufficiently (you don’t want any trips to A&E this time of year!) and dust with icing sugar.

With thanks & festive greetings to Ann Shaw 🙂

Bon Appetit!

Ann’s previous recipes:

#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #December #TheBroadPalate #Recipe #PrawnLinguine #CrispyBacon #MincePieStrudel #Food #HomeCooking #FestiveFood #YumYum #BeTempted #CookWithKids #Enjoy #BeSafe #StaySafe

Broadwindsor Film Club – Friday, 20th December

At 7.30pm at the Comrades Hall Friday, 20th December, Broadwindsor’s Community Film Club will be showing…

The Holdovers (15)

(Running time: 2hrs 13mins)

Directed by: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Da’Vine, Joy Randolph & Dominic Sessa

A Comedy Drama, from acclaimed director Alexander Payne, THE HOLDOVERS follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

Watch the official trailer on YouTube at bit.ly/3ABaIIx.

  • Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm.
  • Film Club members – Free entry
  • Guests – £4 (cash please)
  • Not essential but to help estimate numbers, please book your ticket(s) in advance by contacting: Alex Cook, Admin and membership secretary,
    broadwindsorfilmclub@gmail.com
  • Cash Only Bar – Drinks & Refreshments

If you haven’t paid already, please remember to bring your cheques/cash for membership when you attend the film. 🙂

Contact:

 


#Broadwindsor #Blackdown #Burstock #Drimpton #Hursey #Kittwhistle #Seaborough #Dorset #WestDorset #Community #Village #December #Community #FilmClub #TheHoldovers #NightAtTheMovies #OffToTheFlicks #TheComradesHall #BeKind #BeSafe #StaySafe

Broadwindsor Film Club – Friday 17th December

December’s offering from Broadwndsor Community Film Club is The Courier (12).  This will be shown at 7.30pm at the Comrades Hall on Friday, 17th December.

Directed by Dominc Cooke and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Merab Ninidze, Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley, this film is a true- life cold war spy thriller.

Unassuming British businessman Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) becomes entangled in one of the greatest international conflicts in history.  Recruited by MI6 and a CIA operative (Rachel Brosnahan), Wynne forms a covert partnership with Soviet officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze) and both men risk everything in a danger-fraught race against time to provide the intelligence needed to prevent nuclear confrontation and end the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • Film Club members – Free entry
  • Guests – £4
  • Refreshments available, including a bar.
  • Please wear your mask when moving around the hall.
  • Seats MUST be booked in advance by contacting:
    Emma Myers – broadwindsorem@gmail.com or
    Margaret Wing – 01308 867252

#Broadwindsor,#Blackdown,#Burstock,#Drimpton,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Dorset,#WestDorset,#Community,#Village,#December,#2021,#CommunityFilmClub,#TheCourier,#WearYourMask,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

Festive Drinks & Nibbles At Post Office – Friday, 10th Dec.

The Post Office Users Group will be spreading some Christmas cheer next Friday when they will be serving festive drinks and nibbles alongside the Post Office OutReach service.

Raffle tickets will also be on sale with the draw taking place at 12 noon.

#Broadwindsor,#Blackdown,#Burstock,#Drimpton,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Dorset,#WestDorset,#Community,#Village,#December,#2021,#WearYourMask,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

 

Where To See Broadwindsor’s Advent Windows

Windows should be lit at 4pm until at least 9pm or later if possible.  Thanks to everyone taking part!

#Broadwindsor,#Blackdown,#Burstock,#Drimpton,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Dorset,#WestDorset,#Community,#Village,#December,#2021,#BeaminsterTeamChurches,#AdventWindows,#JoinIn,#TakePart,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe

Last Call To Take Part In Advent Windows!

In Lockdown last year, there was no hesitation to take part and there were no gaps in the month of December when it came to ‘Choose a Christmas carol and dress your window accordingly‘.  Everyone enthused and enjoyed “getting out” to walk around the village as Christmas approached, encouraged by the creativity of those who took part. (Last year’s gallery can be viewed HERE.)

The theme this year set by our Rev. Jo is ‘The Heart of Christmas‘.  Perhaps not as definitive but for whatever the reason, there are still 10 dates left unused for next month – this Wednesday being the 1st of December.

Please contact Rev Jo in the first instance at: revneary@gmail.com or tel: 01308 867816 to be involved. You’re not too late to be included on the map if you contact Rev. Jo very soon. An up-to-date list will also be online at Broadwindsor.org.

By taking part, it is taken as permission that you are happy for the date and name/number of your house to be published so people can come and view.

#Broadwindsor,#Blackdown,#Burstock,#Drimpton,#Hursey,#Kittwhistle,#Seaborough,#Dorset,#WestDorset,#Village,#December,#2021,#BeaminsterTeamChurches,#AdventWindows,#JoinIn,#TakePart,#BeKind,#BeSafe,#StaySafe