Cooking up an International Christmas

Our radio show tonight on Radio Northumberland and EGH Media is about festive cooking from across the world and through time.

Please tune-in tonight at 8pm UK by following this link (you can listen online from wherever you are):

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eghmedia/2013/12/10/cooking-up-an-international-christmas

One of our regular listeners and friends from Florida, Suzanne Gotro, will share her own recipe for Collard Greens. Suzy will be making it for her Christmas in Florida and will be sharing her secret touches.

I shall provide a festive favourite from Tudor and Jacobean England, a real minced pie made with meat and fruit. Sam Pepys invariably enjoyed it at Christ-tide.

This recipe for Minced Pie was written by Gervase Markham, the Nigella of 1615!

Take a Legge of Mutton, and cut the best of the flesh from the bone, and parboyl it well then put to it three pound of the best Mutton suet & shred it very small; then spread it abroad, and fashion it with Salt Cloves and Mace: then put in good store of Currants, great Raisins and Prunes clean washed and picked a few Dates sliced, and some Orenge-pils sliced ; then being all well mixt together, put it into a coffin, or into divers coffins, and so bake them and when they are served up, open the lids and strow store of Sugar on the top of the meat and upon the lid. And in this sort you may also bake Beef or Veal, onely the Beef would not be parboyld, and the Veal will ask a double quantity of Suet.

We will also learn about Christmas food enjoyed on Pitcairn, a tiny island in the Pacific, from Nadine Christian, one of only 48 residents. All the islanders are descended from the crew of HMS Bounty and their retinue and their heritage is both C18th England and Tahiti.

Nadine has described Christmas on Pitcairn in her blog: 

http://nadinechristian.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/a-mutineers-kresmas.html

Please join in by leaving your comments here, at Facebook or Twitter. We do hope you enjoy the show and find inspiration for your own feast!