Turkey or goose?
If gastronomy was the point of the festive celebration, turkey might get to make an appearance on our plates more than once a year. Instead, we sit down to heavily laden Desperate Dan-style servings offering a disparate (and unlikely) combination of dishes that is more akin to the buffet at an all-inclusive resort. You have to ask yourself, therefore, if the subtle textures and flavours of goose would sit in this gastronomic free for all. And the answer, if you are honest, would probably be 'no'.
Early or late lunch?
Sticklers who like the turkey sliced on the dot of 1pm ensure that Christmas morning is a mad dash through presents, church and lunch preparations to get there on time. Next, momentum is maintained to ensure the dishwasher is stacked before The King's speech and guests efficiently dispatched before a cup of tea and a slice of Christmas cake. More laid-back types amble through the day to the languid beat of their own drum, with the result that the festive meal tends to be a collective effort served 'some time', rather than the work of some lone soul who is up at dawn to get a head start.
Champagne or non-Champagne?
'When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid' is true not only of the girl with the curl, but all fizz, from Champagne to Prosecco. On the whole, you get what you pay for and, if it's value you are after, head not to northern Italy or Spain, but the Loire Valley or Burgundy, where Crémant de Loire (et Borgougne) is truly the crème de la crème.
Bordeaux, Burgundy or 'something from the southern hemisphere'
Denne historien er fra December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
