Wifely Steps

Christmas decorations are up in malls. Christmas songs are playing all over. Christmas crafts books and cookbooks are on display in bookstores. Last week, I felt the Christmas spirit creep up on me and I’ve been super giddy about Christmas since!

And then I went online to watch these awesome Nigella Lawson holiday recipe videos. After viewing them, I wanted to string my kitchen with fairy lights and wear red. Seriously. Now go watch these videos. These are part of her Nigella Express series, so the dishes don’t take ages to prepare. Christmas dishes that are amateur-friendly and easy on time? If they don’t stir even the littlest bit of Christmas excitement in you, I don’t know what will!

Nigella’s Holiday Hotcakes with Eggnog Cream
Kick off the holiday morning with these hotcakes! For the kids, the hotcakes can be topped with whipped cream. For the grown-ups, some eggnog cream would give that breakfast a little kick. I’d like my hotcakes with an extra serving of eggnog cream please.

Nigella’s Snowball
Every party needs a little alcohol, and this one looks perfect for the holidays. It’s a frothy cocktail of Advocaat, lemonade and lime. I didn’t know what Advocaat was so I looked it up — “a rich and creamy liqueur made from eggs, sugar and brandy.” (Thank you Wikipedia!) Looks like a great drink for guests to have while you prepare the Christmas dinner table.

Nigella’s Party Popcorn
This reminds me of my Mom cooking popcorn the “old-fashioned way” way back in my childhood. And hmm… while it won’t have the same holiday magic, I wonder if microwave-cooked popcorn mixed with the spices will work just as well. Guests can feast on this pre-Christmas dinner. And oooh, this looks like a great snack for a Christmas-themed movie marathon!

Nigella’s Spiced Peaches
I’ve always seen peaches as a dessert, so this was a pretty eye-opening video for me. Canned peaches in syrup, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorn, salt… sounds savory! This looks pretty easy to make, and would be a perfect match with Christmas ham.

Nigella’s Butternut Squash with Pecans and Blue Cheese
This golden dish looks so festive! I can already imagine the sweetness of the squash and the tartness of the cheese blending so well. I wonder if butternut squash is available in local groceries here in Manila.

Nigella’s Ginger Glazed Ham
My late grandfather rocked Christmas ham with his pineapple glaze. Ah, memories. This ginger glaze from Nigella looks very tasty! And as she says in the video, if you don’t have ginger preserves for the glaze, you can opt to use orange marmalade mixed with dried ground ginger.

Nigella’s Chocolate Pistachio Fudge
Bring the evening to a sweet close with this chocolatey, nutty dessert. I think this is one of those snacks that make you forget how many pieces you’ve eaten already. You keep reaching into the bowl and before you know it, you go “uh-oh!”

I hope you have a little Christmas spirit with you now! If you’ve got the spirit, say Merry Christmas! If you’re thinking of trying out any of the above recipes yourself, say Merry Merry Christmas and let me know which one you want to try!

In my case, it’s Merry Merry Christmas! I’m thinking of preparing the Spiced Peaches and Chocolate Pistachio Fudge! They look like they’ll make great Christmas presents, don’t you think? Chocolate is loved by all, and a new way to love peaches is a great thing.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. And thanks to Nigella Lawson and her awesome holiday recipes, we get to feel the spirit even more.