Delia Smith: My love of Christmas
My own memories of Christmas over the years begin with my grandmother and mother cooking puddings, cakes and mincemeats. Canapés were unheard of then, but large oval meat platters were piled high with bite-sized sausage rolls and offered to all and sundry. Friends, tradesman - anyone who called would be plied with them, along with a Christmas tipple. (Looking back, I'm sure that because of this there were more callers than there would otherwise have been!)
There were huge turkeys that fed up to 20 people and, in the absence of TV, there would always be a sing-song round the piano in the evening, while my grandfather took huge delight in filling everyone's glass to get them merry. Today, I still love everything that's traditional about Christmas, and that includes all the preparation and cooking.
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