The Gravy Boat.

When we speak about Christmas and all the trimmings there is alsways something wrapping around everything to make the Meal sing happily and these are the Sauces and Gravies. One Gravy I do love which is not officialy festive but rater more classic and traditional on a day to day basis is the Onion Gravy.

Large Brown Onions.

I usually do that Gravy with large Brown Onions, Chicken or Pork Stock and some nice Cider. Of course it goes well with Poultry or Pork, Gammon or Ham. However you can twist that Gravy around to accomodate or let us just say suit Red Meat such as Beef, Lamb or Venison. Instead of Onions, choose Shallots, the Escallion or Banana Shallots. Instead of slicing them, chop them in little dainty pieces.

Escallion Shallots.

For that Gravy the Stock has of course to be a Beef one. As for the Booster, the Alcohol within it could be as Festive as Port or a very decent Red Wine such as a Chateau Neuf du Pape... Falalala, it is Christmas!

Port and Shallots Gravy reducing.

When it comes to Sauces, the Festive Season is the perfect one to unleash an array of Sauces for many Courses and Dishes. One Sauce that is perfect with white Meat like Turkey, Chicken or Pork is the Cranberry Sauce. It has the right tartness and sharpness to it. I do mine with a little Port but also some Orange Zest.

Cranberry and Port Sauce Ingredients.

There are a fair few Fruits which can remind us of Winter in some way or another. Cranberry is one of them but so is the Orange. There is something utterly Festive with the colour Red. If a Cranberry Sauce is welcome upon a Christmas table so is a Redcurrant Sauce or Jelly.

Redcurrant Jelly.

Redcurrant Jelly goes very well with a platter of Cheese, glossy, sweet but sharp. This Jelly also pairs very well with the delicate but strong taste of Venison.