Olive Magazine Christmas 2017

I remember us having our eureka moment for this year’s Christmas cover sat in a pub garden close to Olive HQ in the heat of midsummer, while drinking a pint of cold cider. We were all discussing what we loved most about Christmas, and the traditions that have been passed down through our families. For me it’s making (and eating) sausage rolls, and mince pies with a Viennese whirl topping (the recipe for which is now on Olive magazine.com) with my mum on Christmas Eve. It’s pouring sneakily-strong bloody marys for everyone on Christmas morning before we take the dogs for a long walk. It’s standing, fridge door open, on Boxing Day and dunking cold roast potatoes in horseradish sauce. It’s about eating my own (ever increasing) body weight in Ferrero…

Chocolate & hazelnut profiterole stack 2 HOURS + COOLING | SERVES 10 | A LITTLE EFFORT CHOUX PASTRY plain flour 140g golden caster sugar 1 tsp unsalted butter 115g, cut into small pieces eggs 225g (about 4½ large eggs, 5 medium), beaten CHOCOLATE SAUCE soft light brown sugar 75g cocoa powder 40g golden syrup 75g Green & Black’s Velvet Edition 70% dark chocolate 150g, roughly chopped HAZELNUT BRITTLE ready-chopped hazelnuts 2 tbsp white caster sugar 150g FILLING Nutella 75g Frangelico 150ml icing sugar 24g double cream 600ml • Sift the flour onto a sheet of baking paper. Put the sugar, butter and ½ tsp fine salt into a large pan with 240ml of water. Heat very gently until the butter has melted, then increase the heat and bring the liquid to the boil. As soon as it’s bubbling, lower the heat, tip in the flour (use the baking paper as…

It's easy to find these award-winning products – just look out for this label in the supermarkets! HOW WE CHOSE THE WINNERS: The Olive team chose 23 categories, based on extensive research, of products you would want to buy to make Christmas entertaining hassle-free. The supermarkets selected the products they wanted to put forward in each category (we only allowed them one entry per category, so they had to choose carefully). Our expert panel tasted them, without knowing where they came from, and rated each individually. The standard this year was of such high quality that we awarded several joint winners. 1 THE CHRISTMAS CAKE EVERYONE WILL WHAT TO BUY WINNER M&S The Collection Six-Month Matured Snowflake Bauble Christmas Cake (£20/1.6kg). With traditional flavours of marzipan, fruit and booze, yet a flamboyant modern…

Camembert and cranberry pithivier 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES | SERVES 6 AS A STARTER EASY | Cut this open at the table for maximum oohs and aahs. puff pastry 500g block plain flour for dusting camembert 1 (about 250g) egg 1, beaten CHUTNEY frozen cranberries 200g onion 1, grated Granny Smith apple 1, grated dried cranberries 50g, chopped soft brown sugar 100g white wine vinegar 100ml sea salt ½ tsp • Put all of the chutney ingredients into a pan with 50ml of water and simmer gently for 30 minutes until thick. Cool completely. • Cut the puff pastry block into two pieces. Roll one out on a lightly floured worksurface until it forms a rough 22cm circle. Use a plate to cut out a circle, ensuring it is about 3cm bigger than the camembert. Put onto a baking tray lined with baking paper and spread…

Pecan chocolate-chip cookie sandwiches with no-churn mincemeat ice cream 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES + FREEsING + CHILLING MAKES 10 | EASY | sweetened condensed milk 397g tin vanilla bean paste or extract 1 tsp mincemeat 200g (the boozier the better) double cream 600ml PECAN CHOCOLATE-CHIP COOKIES buckwheat flour 130g oat flour 50g (see cook’s notes) cornflour 30g bicarbonate of soda ae tsp flaky sea salt ½ tsp unsalted butter 125g, softened light brown muscovado sugar 200g egg 1 egg yolks 2 vanilla extract 1 tsp pecans 100g, toasted and finely chopped dark chocolate 200g, chopped • To make the ice cream, mix the condensed milk, vanilla and mincemeat. Put the double cream into a large bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Add the whipped cream,1/3 at a time, to the condensed milk mixture, folding gently to combine. Scrape the finished mixture into a large container and freeze for…

Cooking Christmas lunch can fill even the most competent of cooks with dread, but the key is in the preparation. Use this handy guide and adapt it to your own needs to make the day as stress-free as possible. SANITY-SAVING TIPS • Plan what time you want to sit down to eat and work backwards. • Decide what you can do the day before to make your life easier (see box below). • Don’t underestimate prepping or cooking times – with the oven packed, bigger quantities and the oven door being opened frequently, things will cook more slowly than usual. • Get the potatoes, carrots and parsnips cooked early, then cover and keep warm for later. *This timeline is based on a turkey weighing 5kg (serving 6-10) with Christmas lunch being served at 3pm. 9.30AM Remove the turkey…