My dear Dear Readers:  Don’t be misled by the title of this chapter!  The Ordinary Family Supper indeed.  As you all know by now, nothing at The Bucket Residence is ever ordinary.  But upon the advice of my Editor, I’ve called this chapter The Ordinary Family Supper to distinguish it for you from The Candlelight Supper.  In the event that you’re in a hurry to produce one or the other after a hectic day of being swamped with charitable duties, you’ll want to see at a glance which one it is you’re doing (or so my Editor says). However, he is correct:  It would be a social error of the highest magnitude to produce The Candlelight Supper to which you’ve invited your special friends, Guest of Honour, and other important persons in your community only to have turn up on your door step a group of socially unfortunate relatives (if you have them; if you haven’t, you’re lucky!)  This has happened to me more times than I care to count.  And I want to spare you any unforeseen disasters to your social entertaining (and to your wallpaper). So.  Rest assured that Hyacinth doesn’t think for one moment you can’t tell the difference between The Ordinary Family Supper and The Candlelight Supper.   My goodness me, no.  You wouldn’t be reading this book, would you, if you didn’t have a strong natural appreciation for knowing the difference between The Ordinary Family Supper and The Candlelight Supper.

    Now we’ve got that out of the way (and I hope my Editor is satisfied!) we shall commence with our instruction for producing The Ordinary Family Supper, which is, as I have said above, never really ordinary at The Bucket Residence.  And with a little practise, your family can enjoy the extraordinary experience of  The Ordinary Family Supper too!
 

The Everyday Supper

Here is my menu for an Everyday Supper for when I’ve just got Richard and myself here sitting at the table.  (Later on, I’ll show you how to go all out with a really superior Everyday Supper  if you’ve an academicially gifted son and you're on holiday!)
 
 

SHEPHERD’S PIE

Shepherd’s Pie is an old standby recipe that every British housewife knows how to make.  And of course Hyacinth Bucket is no exception.  (I save my really exceptional recipes for my special friends and important guests who are invited to my Candlelight Suppers -- see Chapter Six: THE CANDLELIGHT SUPPER.)  Still, I know my duty.  And I do not stint when it comes to cooking supper for the family, in this case, Richard.  He loves SHEPHERD'S PIE the way I make it.  Here’s what you need and the procedure for putting it all together:

1 lb. Minced lamb (you’ll likely need to get this from your quality butcher because there’s not enough on the crown roast you had for your Candlelight Supper in the first place, let alone for the leftovers necessary to make a Shepherd’s pie)
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 Tablespoon oil
pinch of marjoram
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
salt & pepper
3/4/ ounce flour
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
5 ounces lamb stock (get this from your quality butcher; you don’t want cooking time consuming suppers when it's only for your husband)
1 lb.potatoes, mashed
a little milk
a little butter

Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized chunks.  Transfer them to a saucepan and cover with cold water.  Add ½ teaspoon salt and boil for about 20 minutes or until tender.  Whilst the potatoes are boiling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Add the oil to a frying pan and fry the chopped onions and carrots over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until they soften.  Add the lamb to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the lamb mince browns.  (In the unfortunate event that some persons were unable to come to your Candlelight Supper, (see Chapter Six: THE CANDLELIGHT SUPPER) you will be using leftover lamb; in which case, don’t fry it).  Stir in the flour and lamb stock; add the parsley, marjoram, and salt and pepper to taste.  (You should have become quite expert at cooking ‘to taste’ by now!)  Blend in the Worcestershire sauce and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.  Drain the potatoes and return them to the saucepan.  Mash, using a potato masher whilst adding a little milk and butter.  Continue until the mixture is smooth.  Transfer the mince mixture to an ovenproof dish, smooth the mashed potatoes over the top and fluff the surface (When Sheridan’s home, he loves fluffing the surface for me) with a fork to give the surface a crispy texture when it’s baked.  Place the dish in the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the potato topping turns golden brown.  If this is made with beef, it’s called COTTAGE PIE.  (I make COTTAGE PIE at the weekends when Richard and I are at our country cottage (Marson Hall, Grade II-listed mansion) – unless we’re having SIR EDWARD to sherry, in which case see Chapter Ten: MOMENTS MISCELLANEOUS AND MUSICAL: SIR EDWARD (!!) for a menu guaranteed to dazzle the Aristocracy.
 

OVEN ROASTED POTATOES

4 lbs baking potatoes
½ cup butter, melted
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ cup chicken stock
flour for dusting, if desired
 

Peel the potatoes and quarter them lengthwise.  Place them in a 13x9 inch baking dish or on a sheet pan.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the chicken stock.  Turn the potatoes to coat them evenly.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour.  Add the chicken stock and bake for one hour longer, turning the potatoes a few times during cooking.  You may also like to dust the potatoes with a little flour toward the end of the cooking time and place them under the broiler for a nice browned effect.  (If I’ve got time, I do this; if not, I don’t.)
 

PEAS AND CARROTS

4 New Carrots (cored with a column cutter, then cut in thin slices and stewed in consomme till tender)
Green Peas (boiled in salted water with a handful of fresh mint, strained off when done)
Mix the Peas and Carrots together and there you have it:  PEAS AND CARROTS
 

BAKED CUSTARD

1 pint milk (You may need to order extra from your Milkman on the day you make this pudding.  I always get mine from the exemplary herd on the Earl of Crawford’s estate.)
3 eggs
1 Tablespoons caster sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence
a little nutmeg
a knob of butter

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and add the sugar.  Add a few drops of vanilla essence and beat the mixture.  Heat the milk and then stir the hot milk SLOWLY into the egg mixture, whisking all the time.  Spread the butter around the top of an ovenproof baking dish and pour the custard into the dish.  Sprinkle the top of the custard with a little nutmeg.  Place the dish into the oven and bake the custard for about half an hour until the custard sets.

There it is then:  An EVERYDAY SUPPER you will be proud to serve to your family, even it is only your husband at the table. In fact, this is an especially good supper for cold days when your hubby’s been out gardening strenuously all afternoon.  And it’s easy for you to prepare, too, even if you’ve only just returned from a hectic afternoon sorting things out at the Charity Shop.  You can have your neighbour Elizabeth over to Tea (See Chapter Five: TEA) and enjoy a little chat with her about her brother’s latest Amateur Operatics Production whilst you mince the lamb.
 

The Casual Holiday Supper

Now we’ve got you a dinner you can serve the family at home.  But if you’re like The Buckets, there will be times in your life when suppertime rolls around and you won’t be at home.  You’ll be away.  On Holiday.  When Sheridan was small, Richard and I loved taking him on holiday.  We have three entire albums of snapshots dedicated to our holidays on the Cornish Riviera, catalogued carefully, year by year.  It’s a wonderful record of Sheridan’s growing up, starting with his dawdling on a donkey at Dawlish with his Daddy.  And there’s a very nice photograph of Richard (one that I find particularly athletic looking) with his pantlegs rolled up, shrimping with Sheridan on the seashore one summer.  Here’s my recipe for CORNISH PASTIES.  You can make them for your family and pretend you’re on the Cornish Riviera with The Buckets!
 

CORNISH PASTIES

Shortcrust Pastry:
1 lb. plain flour
½ pound fat (mixture of lard and butter) Place this in your freezer.
Pinch of salt
Iced water

The Filling:
1 lb. steak cut into small cubes
4 large potatoes
½ of a large swede
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper

Sift the flour with the salt.  Grate the fat into the flour stirring with a fork to coat the fat.  Add the iced water and mix to the consistency of pastry.  Roll out half the pastry into a round about ¼ inch thick.  Peel and slice the potatoes thinly onto the centre of the round to form a base for the rest of the filling.  Slice the swede thinly over the potato, then spread the beef on top.  Add the onion and season with salt and pepper.  Dampen the edge of the pastry circle with water to help seal it; bring together the edges and make a parcel with the filling in the centre.  You should have a very neat pastry parcel now.  If you get any holes, patch them with a little extra pastry.  You can make the pastry tidier by crimping the edges.  Fold over the edge to make it slightly thicker, then squeeze it tightly every ½ inch to make a pretty pattern along the edge.  Put the pastry on a piece of buttered paper, make a small slit on the top.  Brush the top with a little milk, and put it on a greased baking tray.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.  You can make individual pasties if you like, by making them individually and smaller.  Use a saucer as a pattern to get the size correct.  I like making 3 individual pasties when there are Richard, Sheridan, and myself enjoying our holidays abroad.  Just be sure you make all three the same size or squabbles may break out amongst your family members over whose CORNISH PASTY is the larger.
 

Now we’ve had our Holidays Abroad, let’s return home where I shall instruct you how to prepare a family supper when you’ve plenty of time and how to prepare a family supper when you’re too busy to cook.  (Don’t despair, dears!  Busy or not, you can always find the time to prepare a proper supper for your family.)
 
 

A Family Supper for When You've Time to Prepare

These are suppers you can do when you’ve nothing on the agenda for the day.  My social calendar is booked years ahead but I do like to reserve certain days for recuperating from the hectic social whirl.  On these days, I rise early as always, of course, and prepare Breakfast for Richard (See Chapter Two: BREAKFAST).  And then when the Breakfast things are cleared away, barring any unforeseen emergencies, I love sitting companionably with my husband on our three-piece suite (an exact replica of one at Sandringham House!) in our house beautiful lookalike lounge.  Richard attempts to do The Times crossword and after he’s given up on that, he likes to read the current selection of his History Book Club.  I like to browse through back copies of Majesty and see what the Queen Mother is wearing.  It’s always so inspiring to my wardrobe to see what the Queen Mother is wearing.  I especially love her stylish hats!

Here are two menus for the sort of suppers I like to prepare when Richard is quietly occupied and I’m having a day “off”.  You can enjoy spending the whole afternoon doing it in your kitchen!
 
 

PORK PIE

Jellied Stock:
About 3 lbs. Pork bones including marrow bones, pig’s trotters, knuckles, etc. -- of only the highest quality!  (If your quality butcher is like mine, I'll bet he loves seeing you come into his shop by now.)
1 large carrot, sliced
1 medium onion stuck with 4 cloves
Parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Water to cover

Place all ingredients in large saucepan and simmer for 3 hours.  The pan should be covered.  Strain off the stock into a clean pan and reduce it until about 1 pint of liquid remains.  Adjust the seasoning.  The stock will set to a firm jelly.  If it shows signs of reluctance to do this, chill it in the refrigerator.  If the stock still doesn’t set, and only if, use gelatin.

Filling:
1 lbs. Pork, about 1 part fat and 4 parts meat
½ lb unsmoked bacon
1 teaspoon dried sage or thyme or a mixture of both
½ teaspoon each cinnamon, alspice and nutmeg
2 anchovy filets, chopped finely
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chop the pork into small cubes about ¼ inch square.  Put aside enough bacon to cover the base of an 8 inch spring form pan in which the pie will be baked.  Slice the remainder of the bacon finely, mix it together with the chopped pork and seasonings.  Fry a spoonful to check the taste to your liking.  Set aside whilst you prepare the raised crust.

Raised Crust:
7 ounces of water
6 ounces of lard
4 cups of flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten

Bring the water and lard to a boil.  Measure the flour and salt into a heat-resistant bowl.  Pour the boiling water and lard into the flour, quickly mix to a dough with a wooden spoon.  Add the beaten egg and mix thoroughly.  As soon as the dough can be handled, cut off a quarter to be used as the pie lid.  Put the remainder into an oiled 8 inch spring form pan.  Lightly push the pastry across the base and up the sides of the pan.  Be careful not to leave any cracks.  Cover the base with the remaining bacon.  Spoon the pork filling into the pastry case.  Roll out the top crust.  Make a ¾ inch hole in the center, and place the crust on top of the pork mixture.  Brush the edge with beaten egg.  Fold over the sides of the pastry and pinch firmly to seal.  Decorate the pie with leaves made of any leftover pastry.  Make a rosette to hide the steam hole.  Bake separately.  Brush the top with beaten egg.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Reduce to 325 degrees and bake for 2 more hours.  Cover if the crust browns too much.  Remove the pie from the oven and remove the spring form pan.  Warm the stock and pour into the steam hole to fill any spaces formed by the meat shrinking.  Leave the PORK PIE for at least a day before serving.

So you see how this works?  On the day you have lots of time to cook, you’ll want to be preparing things for the days when you don’t.
 

PEASE PORRIDGE

Remember the old rhyme we all recited when we were children?  “Pease porridge hot; pease porridge cold.  Pease porridge in the pot; nine days old!”  Well that’s just a little joke.  I always make my PEASE PORRIDGE hot and we eat it the same day I make it.  Sometimes we have it later on but never so long as nine days!  Some people call this “Mushy Peas” but Sheridan prefers PEASE PORRIDGE and he always recites the rhyme at the table when I present the family with this dish.  Here's how you make it:

2 cups dried green split peas, rinsed and picked over
2 ½ cups water
salt to taste
butter
pepper

Place the split peas and the water in a pan with a lid.  Add a little salt and bring the peas to a boil, stirring.  Simmer them, covered, until the whole thing turns to mush, about one hour (You may have to add a little water – be careful not to burn the peas!)  Stir the peas often.  When a nice mushy consistency has been reached, add a little butter, a little salt, and a little pepper, to taste.
 

RASPBERRY CUSTARD

6 Tablespoons raspberry preserves
36 fresh raaspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 cups light cream

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place 1 Tablespoon of the preserves, then 6 berries in each of six ¾ cup custard cups.  Whisk the sugar, eggs, yolks, vanilla and salt to blend in a medium a bowl.  Heat the light cream over medium heat until tiny bubbles form around the edge of the pan.  Gradually whisk the light cream into the egg mixture.  Evenly divide the custard mixture amongst the cups with the berries.  Set the cups into a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.  Pour enough hot water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the cups.  Place the pan with the custards into your oven.  Bake until the custards are just set in the centres, about 35 minutes.  Remove the custards from the water and cool 10 minutes.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  (If you intend serving these tomorrow with the rest of your supper, cover them and keep them refrigerated.)
 

Another Family Supper for When You've Time to Prepare

Another tasty family supper for the days when you’ve lots of time is one that is my father’s favourite.  Whenever I want to give Daddy a little treat, I send Richard over to my sister Daisy’s to get Daddy and bring him home for supper.  I wouldn’t dream of asking Onslow to drive Daddy as it’s bad enough my Burmese rug gets all over Horlicks’ whenever Daddy’s here.  My expensive wallpaper doesn’t need brushing against besides!  If you have a Daddy you might like preparing Hyacinth’s Daddy’s Favourite STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING.  Of course I can only do it when Sheridan’s not at home as Daddy tends to make rude noises at the table and he brings Sheridan out in a rash.  Sheridan doesn’t like STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING anyway.
 
 

STEAK AND KIDNEY PUDDING

8 ounces self-rising flour
4 ounces shredded suet
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lamb’s kidneys
1 ½ lean beef steak
3 Tablespoons plain flour
¼ pint good beef stock
¼ pint red wine

Put the suet and flour into a mixing bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix with sufficient water to form a firm dough.  Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a greased two-pint basin.  Cut the meat into small cubes and thinly slice the kidneys, tossing them in seasoned flour.  Arrange the meat and kidney in layers in the basin.  Mix the stock and wine together and pour over the meat to ¾ of the way up the basin.  Roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid, sealing well round the edges with water.  Cover with a double thickness of greaseproof paper, pleated in the middle, and secure this with a string.  Lower it into boiling water and cook for 4 hours, topping up with hot water as necessary, to ensure the saucepan does not boil dry.
 

Bring out the MUSHY PEAS from before.  Daddy likes them quite well.

And put out the little CUSTARD CUPS for pudding.  If you’ve made it properly, you’ll have six of them and therefore, enough for two suppers of three persons each.
 

Suppers for When you Don't

Now here’s a menu for a Family Supper when you’ve no time to prepare.  (It’s one of Richard’s favourites.  I invariably make him SAUSAGES AND MASH when we’ve been out tramping round the fields in search of Iron Age Remains, mounds, depressions, and barrows and things.  Educational daytrips give us quite an appetite!)
 
 

SAUSAGES AND MASH

6 large potatoes
1 ounce butter
a little milk
salt and pepper
1 lb pork sausages

Peel and roughly cut up the potatoes and cook them with a little salt in boiling water until tender.  Drain well and then mash, mixing in the butter, a little milk, and the salt and pepper.  Arrange the sausages on a grill pan and cook, without the addition of any fats of any kind, under a medium heat, turning frequently until golden grown.  Arrange the sausages and mashed potatoes on a warm serving dish.  Best served with fresh green peas.
 

FRESH GREEN PEAS

Simply cook them in salted boiling water until they’re done – not mushy!
 

SUMMER PUDDING

1 ½ lbs. mixed soft fruits (raspberries, black currants, and gooseberries are good)
8 ounces granulated sugar
8 slices white bread

Pick over and rinse the fruit, removing any stalks.  Then cook with the water and sugar until just soft.  Cut the crusts off the bread and arrange the slices in a 1 ½ pint pudding basin (retain a couple of slices for the top). Put the remaining bread to top the pudding, trimming to fit.  Put a saucer on top of the pudding, and weigh it down with a large tin on top.  Refrigerate overnight.  (You see you’ll want to have done this the night before you drive out in search of Neanderthal Barrows).  To serve, loosen round the edges with a palette knife, turn out onto a serving dish and decorate with whipped cream and more fresh fruit.

Now we’ve come to the time I know you’ve all been waiting for in this Chapter Seven: THE  ORDINARY FAMILY SUPPER  – one of them.  And that is:
 

The Special Occasion Family Supper

I serve this when I’ve got the whole family over.  Yes, that’s right.  It happens rarely (or as rarely as possible) but it does happen.  I know my duty.  And there are times, usually once a year on Daddy’s Birthday, when I invite Onslow and Daisy, my sister Rose and whoever her current gentleman friend is that day, my sister Violet (large house, sauna, room for a pony) and her husband Bruce.  And of course Daddy, who is the Guest of Honour.  My Richard is there of course, as always.  And myself, as hostess – that’s a “given” if ever there was one!  (Richard agrees.)  I always invite my Sheridan and his very suitable friend Tarquin but fortunately they’re too altruistic and are always off saving Rumania on Daddy’s Birthday.  It’s just as well.  Sheridan doesn’t need another rash.

Here’s my menu.  Get your aprons on – light your fire – here we go!
 
 

ROAST BEEF

This is the traditional Sunday roast everywhere in Britain.  Go to your quality butcher and buy a 6-7 lb sirloin of beef on the bone (and brook no nonsense from him about Mad Cow disease!)  Simply rub a little salt over your joint and you'll be all right.  Then place it in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.  Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and roast for another hour, by which time you will have well done beef on the outside and medium on the inside.  Reduce or increase the times depending upon whether you like a really really well cooked joint or one done like I do it, which is just exactly right.
 

YORKSHIRE PUDDING

2 ¼ cups plain flour
1 ¼ cups milk
a little salt
1 teaspoon oil
2 eggs

Combine all the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and, using an electric whisk, whisk until mixed to a smooth batter.  Let this stand for one hour.  Spoon 2 Tablespoons of the fat off your roast beef and put a little into each hole of a 12-hole bun tin.  Divide the batter between the bun tins (do not overfill!) and put in the oven, once you have cooked the beef and raised the heat again to 425 degrees.  Cook the Yorkshire puddings for about 15 minutes or until they are well risen and golden brown.
 

BAKED STUFFED POTATOES

This is something I learnt how to do as a school girl in Domestic Science class.  And it has stood me in good stead all these years.  Of course, little did I dream back then when I was a starry eyed teen I would grow up to be Hyacinth Bucket, The acknowledged Queen of the West Midlands Social Circuit Scene!  I tremble to think of all the girls learning to make BAKED STUFFED POTATOES in comprehensives all over Britain today who may have socially superior stellar futures in store!

4 even sized large potatoes
4 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
2 firm ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1 ounce butter
a little milk
sea salt

Scrub the potatoes well, dry them and prick them all over with a fork.  Then rub a little sea salt into the skins (this will make them lovely and crisp).  Bake them near the top of the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.  Remove them from the oven and use a clean tea towel (Daisy!  Take note, dear.) to handle the potatoes.  Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise.  Using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the potato into a bowl, leaving the skin intact like a shell.  Mash the potato lightly, then mix in the cheese (reserving about a Tablespoon), the onion, butter and a little milk.  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Mix really well, then spoon the mixture back into the potato cases.  Top each half potato with a little grated cheese and a slice of tomato.  Pop under the grill and cook until the cheese has melted and is golden and bubbling.
 

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

1 large cauliflower
1 ½ ounces of butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 ¼ cups of milk
3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and white pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon grated Cheddar cheese
12 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Trim the cauliflower, carefully break it into florettes and cook them in lightly salted boiling water until just tender.  Drain well and transfer to a shallow ovenproof dish.  Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, mixing well, and cook for 2 minutes over a medium heat.  Gradually stir in the milk, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens and is smooth.  Stir in the mustard and 3 ounces grated Cheddar cheese.  Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.  Pour the sauce over the cauliflower.  Mix the breadcrumbs and the remaining grated cheeses together and sprinkle evenly over the cauliflower.  Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees until the topping is golden brown.  This is similar to the DEVILED CAULIFLOWER you made for your CANDLELIGHT SUPPER  (See Chapter Six: THE CANDLELIGHT SUPPER) when you’ve a Major as the Guest of Honour.  But CAULIFLOWER CHEESE is much less trouble than a Major.
 

SHERRY TRIFLE

This is Daddy’s absolutely all-time favourite dessert!  And so I always make it for him when it’s his Birthday.  As the eldest daughter, I have always felt it my duty to have Daddy and the rest of the family to dinner on Daddy’s Birthday no matter the cost to my social status.  Violet’s my only sister with any social standing in the community besides myself but I could never trust her with the making of SHERRY TRIFLE.  It was only last week she telephoned me to say Bruce had been at the decanter again and had drunk all of their sherry.  What a waste of sherry.  Just think of all the TRIFLE she could’ve made!

Custard:
3 eggs ¼ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk, scalded
½ teaspoon vanilla

Trifle:
1 lb raspberry jam
4 cups strawberries, washed
2 Tablespoons of sugar
½ cup sweet sherry
1 cup double cream, whipped
1 packet of strawberry jelly
1 vanilla sponge cake

For the Custard:  Beat 3 eggs lightly.  Add ¼ cup sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt.  Add the milk, stirring constantly.  Cook, stirring, in the top of a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water until the mixture coats your spoon, about 7-10 minutes.  Add the vanilla and set aside.  Do not refrigerate.

For the Trifle:  Slice cake in halves horizontally.  Spread each half with jam and reassemble.  Cut into 1 inch cubes.  Put a layer of sponge on the bottom of a cut glass crystal bowl and top with a layer of strawberries.  Continue layering until all the sponge and strawberries are used up.  Drizzle the sherry over the sponge evenly.  Prepare the jelly and pour over the mixture in the bowl.  Let this sit for 5 minutes and then refrigerate.  When the jelly has set, pour the custard over the whole thing.  Cover and refrigerate.  When the custard has set, pipe on the whipped double cream and top with sliced strawberries.

There you have it:  a lovely SPECIAL OCCASION SUPPER for the family and particularly, if you’ve got a Daddy, it makes a nice Birthday treat!
 

Now.  At last.  We’ve come to the most important family dinner of the municipal year:
 
 

Hyacinth Bucket's Boxing Day Candlelight Supper (for the family)

Words can't possibly do my Boxing Day Candlelight Supper justice.  So we shall simply proceed to the menu straightaway.
 
 

HINT:  I always make a double portion of the MULLED WINE and extra HOT MINCE PIES for inviting important guests and special friends to drop in anytime it suits them during the Christmas Holiday. And I always make it a point to invite Richard’s Head of Department (Department of Finance and General Purposes).  Even though Richard has been early retired for years now, I see that as no reason why we shouldn’t have Reggie Thorgunby and his wife Fiona here to partake of my MULLED WINE and HOT MINCE PIES.  Even if she does have a mousy little voice.  It’s all right.  I like to lead in the Christmas Carol singing anyway.
 

MULLED WINE

3 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
12 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 lemon peel, grated
1 bottle of hearty red wine
¼ cup brandy
two oranges, sliced

Simmer 3 cups of water with the sugar, cloves, cinnamon sticks and lemon peel in a stainless steel pot for 10 minutes.  Add the wine and heat (Do not boil!)  Then add the brandy.  Strain and serve hot with the orange slices. There.  That’s easy, isn’t it?  Sometimes the best things in life are.
 

CHRISTMAS TURKEY

This can be tricky.  So pay attention, Readers!  It wasn’t all that long ago I was discussing my CHRISTMAS TURKEY with Elizabeth over Tea (See Chapter Five: TEA)  or was it Coffee?  (See Chapter Three: COFFEE).  My goodness me it all runs in together at the Christmas Season.  I have so many things on my plate!  My hectic social calendar would daunt the casual hostess.  But I shan’t trouble you with my problems, except to warn you against serving anything at an Ordinary  Family Supper in your antique heirloom fine china.  I had a complete set of Grandmother's Royal Doulton with hand-painted periwinkles before my brother-in-law Onslow got hold of one of them.  And of course before I realised Elizabeth was born clumsy.  But that is neither here nor there.  What I want to make sure you watch out for at this Ordinary Family Supper is a clumsy relative!  Onslow got the short end of the CHRISTMAS TURKEY at my BOXING DAY CANDLELIGHT SUPPER I can tell you!

Roast your Christmas Turkey (13 pounds is ideal) with a piece of butter muslin soaked in melted butter and draped over the breast of the bird as this will keep it moist during cooking.  Salt and pepper the turkey, place it on a rack in the oven and roast it at 350 degrees for about 2 ½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the leg comes out cleanly and the juices run clear.

Chestnut and Sausage Stuffing:
1 lb sausage meat
1 lb chestnuts
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the sausage meat in a bowl and season it well with salt and pepper.  Make a cut around the sides of the chestnuts and place them in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Peel them whilst still warm, then mince in a food processor (You treated yourself to one of these already, if you recall.  Now’s the time to take it out of the box and use it.)  Mix the chestnuts in with the sausage meat and use this mixture to stuff the turkey (before roasting!)
 

BREAD SAUCE

½ pint milk
2 ounces fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion stuck with whole cloves
1 blade mace
1-2 peppercorns
1 ounce butter
salt and pepper
 

Put the onion with the cloves, mace and peppercorns into the milk.  Bring slowly to the boil. Cover and leave to infuse over gentle heat for about ½ hour.  Strain the milk over the breadcrumbs.  Butter and season to taste.  Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes.  Serve in a gravy boat.
 

POTATOES AU GRATIN

3 Tablespoons butter
6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 ounces Cheddar cheese
½ cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  In a 12x8 inch baking pan, melt the butter in the oven.  Remove the pan from the oven, add the potatoes and salt.  Toss together and arrange the potatoes in an even layer in the baking pan.  Sprinkle them with the cheese and bread crumbs.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes more until the potatoes are tender.

If you prefer you can make ordinary ROASTED POTATOES as I’ve described up above.  Richard prefers them.  However, when Sheridan is home, he adores my POTATOES AU GRATIN and so I always make them for Sheridan.  Richard says Sheridan would be appalled if he knew they were Something Continental but I don’t think it hurts once a year at Christmas.  Besides, I shan't tell Sheridan and Richard knows well enough not to tell him either!
 

CREAMED ONIONS

1 1/3 lb. small onions
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cut off the tips and root ends of the onions.  Peel, quarter, then separate onion layers.  Cook the onions in boiling salted water to cover in a 2 quart saucepan until they are tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Drain them in a colander.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over moderate heat.  Add flour and cook, whisking for one minute.  Add the cream in a slow steady stream, whisking, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Add the onions, cloves, and salt and pepper to taste and gently simmer for 5 minutes.  Stir in the parsley.
 

LEMONY CREAMED BRUSSEL SPROUTS AND CELERY

4 stalks of celery, cut diagonally into 1/3 inch slices
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon celery seeds
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 ½ lbs Brussel sprouts, trimmed, blanched for 12 minutes in boiling salted water until tender
 

In a heavy saucepan, cook the celery in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring for 3 minutes or until it begins to soften.  Stir in the celery seeds and the flour and cook the mixture, stirring for 3 minutes.  Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer the sauce, stirring, until it is smooth and thickened.  Stir in the zest, the lemon juice, and the Brussel sprouts and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the Brussel sprouts are heated through.  Transfer the Brussel sprouts to a heated serving dish.  Enjoy!  We always do.  (Make a double portion if you’ve  an Onslow at the table.)
 

CHRISTMAS PUDDING

1 1b shredded suet
8 ounces self-rising flour
8 ounces fresh breadcrumbs
1 lb raisins
1 lb currants
1 lb sultanas
rind and juice of a lemon
8 ounces mixed peel
small tin crushed pineapple, drained
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 ounces soft brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 lb golden syrup, warmed
2-3 Tablespoons rum or whisky
a little milk

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stir in the crushed pineapple, beaten eggs, rind and juice of a lemon and mix well.  Add syrup and whisky or rum and mix thoroughly.  Add a little milk and mix again.  Put into prepared basins, seal with a double thickness of foil and boil for 6 hours.  Serve with a boat of CUSTARD SAUCE on the side.
 

CUSTARD SAUCE

3 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the egg yolks slightly in the top of a double boiler and add the sugar and salt.  Scald the milk and stir it SLOWLY! into the egg yolk mixture.  Stir this constantly until it begins to thicken.  Add the vanilla.
 
 

HOT MINCE PIES

(Remember:  you’ll want to make extra for special guests who pop in over the Christmas holidays!)

MINCEMEAT (makes enough for about 140 pies)

1 lb currants
1 lb sultanas
1 lb raisins
8 ounces dark soft brown sugar
12 ounces cooking apples, peeled and finely chopped
8 ounces mixed candied peel
8 ounces grated vegetable suet
3 ounces walnuts, coarsely crushed
8 ounces single malt whiskey
finely grated rind of two oranges
finely grated rind of two lemons
juice of two lemons
2 teaspoons mixed spice

Mix all the ingredients together.  Store in an airtight container for 1 month before use.
 

SHORTCRUST PASTRY  (makes enough for about 50 pies)

1 lb plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces butter
10 Tablespoons iced water
egg wash (1 egg beaten with ¼ cup milk)

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.  Add the butter, cut it into the flour with a knife, then rub in with your fingertips until it looks like fine breadcrumbs (you’ve seen those often enough by now!)  Add water, a little at a time, and mix to a stiff crumbly paste.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead quickly until smooth.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
 

Now:  make 50 little balls of pastry dough, roll them out into little circles on a floured work surface and spread each one into a little tart tin.  Into this, spoon your mincemeat mixture nearly up to the top.  Put a pastry lid on it, seal the edges, cut a small hole for the steam to escape and bake at 425 degrees till the crust is golden brown – have your hubby keep a watch on these!  Of course you will want to triple the SHORTCRUST PASTRY recipe in order to make all 140 pies.  You can serve these with mulled wine to your special guests.  And also you may wish to invite your relatives over for MULLED WINE and HOT MINCE PIES along with your neighbours as I did after that fiasco at the church with everybody dressing up as Father Christmas and all that kissing beneath the mistletoe.  Rose kissed my neighbour Emmet and then she kissed the Vicar!  Rose is so fickle, poor dear.  I think it’s hormones. Some residue of  Rose's conversation seemed to have affected Richard as I caught him kissing Elizabeth (!)  She’d already been kissed once by Onslow but of course she was dressed as Father Christmas at the time so he couldn’t be expected to know who he was kissing (or should that be whom?)  Anyway, it was a mercy, because no sooner had I dressed as Father Christmas than Onslow kissed me!  Daddy was overwrought and Sheridan would’ve been appalled. And poor Daisy was left out of the kissing entirely.  But anyway, I expect that’s what Christmas is all about.  It’s too bad it only comes once a year.

Merry Christmas to all my Dear Readers!

Now turn the page and we’ll leave all this till next Christmas.  It's time for some decidedly BETTER CLASS BARBECUES.  (See Chapter Eight:  Better Class Barbecues).