… i’ve recently discovered a new Lincolnshire based fashion blog called Stella and Alf… it’s written by two young uber-cool designers called Paris and Charlotte and they write about this wonderfully cool world of fashion and art that I used to be part of more than 20 years ago… they’ve very kindly asked me to write a guest post on their blog based on one of the twelve days of christmas… I got Day Six and here’s what I did…
… yes dear friends, even though it seems like only yesterday, here comes christmas once again… don’t panic… take a deep breath… you should be having fun, tis’ the season of good-will, after-all and if you happen to have friends and family popping in unannounced over the next few weeks you should be so fabulously prepared that nothing will phase you… and you know we’ll all get through it together if we follow these three simple rules…
one… calm down and have a little something to drink, I promise it will all seem better through the fog of a swift thimble of whisky
two… try and let go a little… if you’re anything like me, your kitchen is your special haven and nobody messes with your sacred space… this is all very well at any other time of the year but this is christmas and people like to wonder around and help… let them in… again I promise it will be ok
three… buy puff pastry, it will save your life – Sainsbury’s sell two types of ready-rolled puff pastry, their regular one is perfectly nice but their all-butter one is wonderful for a little naughty luxury… and this is where it’s ok not to bother making your own… keep 3 or 4 rolls in the fridge and between the door-bell ringing and the first bottle of champagne downed you’ll have a collection of glorious piping hot mince pies ready to serve…
… oh and whilst making your own mincemeat is pretty simple, one other time saving little tip I would add is to jazz up shop-bought mincemeat by adding a dash of your favourite christmas liquor, a sprinkling of almond slithers and some grated orange or lemon peel…
I think jazzing up shop bought mince meat is a great idea and so is buying puff pastry. Life is too short etc. etc. I like the idea of cream cheese pastry
So glad you advocate the shop-bought route! My girl and I have just made a batch of sainsburys pre-rolled short crust pies, using a jar of their mincemeat:: turns catering into child's play (literally) and still tastes yummy 🙂
I am also a sucker for mince meat. Though I have never made my own homemade, the store bought jars are delicious enough for me. I love how you gave so many choices for serving them. YUM!
These really brings in the Christmas cheer..beautiful setup 🙂
I particularly love the look of the “martial arts death star” variety – if anyone gets on your nerves at a function … wheeeee-thwunk! Death by mince pie lodged in the forehead. Appetising and with a practical use too, what more could one ask for?
Mincemeat pie is a childhood favourite Dom. There are so many excellent choices here.
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OMG! This is such a gorgeous show-off of mincemeat! I love love love the puffy little mince pies and your pinwheels make mine look dowdy! So fancy up top – just beautiful! Happy putting up the tree day! Am thinking of you and Viking man!
PS … too many typos in earlier delete… oops!
Nice selection of mincies – I'm loving that cream cheese pastry.
I love the fruit mince-meat, and these look delicious! What a great treat for holiday visitors!
Great selection of mince pie ideas … I really want to try the palmier version!
Shop-bought puff is the best tip at Christmas! I love mince pies and might try a couple of these, although I tend to stay traditional. I also saw a recipe this year which has marzipan involved (I can't remember it completely!) but it sounded lovely…
Some brilliant ideas here, Dom, and I especially love the use of ready made pastry. The last thing you need when you have unexpected guests is to be panicking about what to feed them. Love your pictures as well – have just been putting up our deccies and am absolutely loving the festive vibe! 🙂
Lovely selection of mince pies Dom, so much more interesting than just having a big platter of the same kind, although I wouldn't say no to that either!
Some lovely ideas here, and some of them look even quicker than making traditional mince pies – just what I need this year!
NICE collection of mince pies Dom! LOVING the filo ones ones for less calories…..yeah, do you believe me?! Karen xxx
Fabulous selection of little pies Dom! You can never ever have enough mincey pies this time of year…
The frozen puff pastry looks absolutely perfect for those pinwheels. They are on THE LIST the list grows by the day. But for my traditional mince pies I never mess with the beautiful orange pastry that I have been making since 1987 a Josceline Dimbleby Christmas Book bought in Sainsbury's – give it a try if you have time: http://magnoliaverandah.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/mince-pies-de-luxe.html
Well, Dom, I certainly have to admit that you have taken the humble mince pie into a new dimension! They look fabulous. I particularly like the pinwheel ones – something very different.
Thanks Ian. I actually used your name for these at a recent cooking demo and the audience chuckled merrily. So thank you x
Ooooh love the orange pastry!
Wow, you've been seriously busy!! Love all your mince pies…I really need to crack on with making some as they're my favourite! Not sure which style I'd pick as my favourite though! 🙂
Can't decide which to start with out of the six, all look delicious! I'm with you about buying puff pastry, pure masochism to make your own when the bought stuff is this good.
I just knew you would.
I absolutely love mince pies. It saddens me that we don't eat them all year. These all look gorgeous and you've given me some great ideas for the next two weeks of mince pies 🙂
A friend handed me a recipe for pear and ginger mincemeat which I really need to try out as well.
I love your pinwheel mince pies. Thanks for your tips and advice x