Leftovers The Hairy Bikers Home for Christmas

Christmas! We love this time of year!

Yeah, wrapping presents, decorating the tree,

and generally making merry!

And nothing beats a bit of Christmas home cooking

shared with family and friends!

Delicious festive food for all occasions!

Packed with flavour and full of love!

Ding, dong, merrily on high!

And we'll be joined by some familiar faces

to get us all into the festive spirit.

-Oh, my goodness!

-That is preposterously wonderful.

Merry Christmas.

We'll also find out how to make someone's day

with delicious home-made foodie gifts.

So, hang up your stockings, tweak your tinsel...

Turn on your fairy lights and relax!

-BOTH:

-We're home for Christmas!

HORN HOOTS

So, the big day's over.

You've spent a small fortune and loads of time in the kitchen.

Every time you open the fridge door,

it's bulging with leftovers and you simply can't face another buffet.

Fear not! Nothing need go to waste.

With our recipes,

all the ingredients that stare at you forlornly

every time you open your fridge door,

can be given a new lease of life and zing.

We're cooking tartiflette, a delicious potato dish.

And gougere, that deals with your leftover cheese.

And a fabulous turkey pie with bubble and squeak.

Plus, Gloria Hunniford shares her Christmas joy with us.

Hm. I tell you what, I can see why those would disappear quickly.

I tell you what, Gloria,

you're eating them quicker than I can make them.

-CORK POPS

-Yay! We like a pop.

-There we go.

-Marvellous.

-Cheers!

-Cheers.

-Merry...merry everything!

-Merry Christmas.

But first, Christmas pudding trifle.

Ah, it's all about leftovers today!

-It is.

-So what we're going to do is

we're going to show you how to make a Christmas pudding trifle

out of the leftover Christmas pud and bits of cake.

Yeah, we can't have trifle without custard.

-No.

-That custardy layer.

We could just have bought custard,

but, really, home-made custard is absolutely fantastic.

And it gives your Christmas pudding and your cake

that little bit of festive reverence it deserves.

It does. So I'm going to separate some eggs,

we're going to whisk the egg yolks with some cornflour and some sugar

until light and fluffy.

And that's going to form the thickening base for

our creamy custard.

Now the body of the custard, we start by heating up some milk,

some cream, and infusing with orange zest.

As a cook sometimes and a greedy person,

I enjoy the leftovers more than the main event!

-I do.

-I certainly enjoy this better than Christmas pudding.

HE GASPS I love Christmas pudding, dude!

Everybody's always got Christmas pudding left over.

-But tonight, Cinderella...

-BOTH:

-You shall go to the ball!

I think the thing is, once you get into the festive spirit,

that's it - you're off! You see love and glory everywhere!

Talking of which, we've got Gloria coming in in a bit.

I know, kind of weird! Actually, I love Gloria.

I think she's brilliant.

Listen, what we're going to do, we're going to whisk these together.

So there's our egg yolks, and there's our sugar.

That sounded like a sleigh bell, then.

And then, we've got some cornflour.

-Whisk until light, fluffy, and aerated.

-Yah.

I went all Delia there, did you see that?

There's nothing wrong with that, you never get a duff Delia.

-You NEVER get a duff Delia.

-Never get a duff Delia.

We've always said that.

The orange zest has done its work.

Oh, look! Yeah, it's actually, it's hewn a colour through the milk,

-David!

-It has, it has!

Righto. Just dribble in, and my friend cannot stop stirring.

Because what you want to do is you want to make sure

that it's as smooth as it possibly can be.

And then we've got to just gently heat that, stirring continuously

until it starts to thicken.

Now stir with a wooden spoon, not the whisk.

Home-made custard is brilliant for this.

It's such a lovely treat, and it's a lovely thing to do.

And look, people think it's scary.

Look, you've just seen how we do it, it's not that scary.

But, the secret is that bit of cornflour.

What's your favourite leftover, Kingy?

You know the Yorkshire puddings?

-Yes.

-A little bit of gravy on the Yorkshire puddings.

-Cold?

-Yeah. With a devil on horseback in the middle.

-Rolled up.

-Little sausage in its thingy?

-What's yours?

-I look forward to white bread,

quite a bit of butter,

turkey breast,

salt and white pepper.

I remember when I was a little kid, we always used to say

that white pepper was better with chicken breast.

I don't know why, but I think it is.

It is! I'm going to give you a top tip about the custard.

What will happen is, as you continue to stir,

you'll feel the bottom of the pan go really slippy

and that's a good sign that it's just about starting to thicken.

-Oh, it is, it's thickening.

-It is, there we go.

And as soon as that starts, take it off the heat

and there you have beautifully smooth and lovely custard.

Oh, that's brilliant!

Now we've put clingfilm onto the top of the custard.

That will stop the skin forming.

You see this bit, I'm not quite sure. Some people, including myself,

think the skin on the custard is the best bit!

However, we're being technically perfect, aren't we?

-We are.

-We are. There'll be no skin on this custard.

-Sadly.

-Now, put it in the fridge to cool down,

I'll go and get one we've already done.

And there we are. Skinless custard.

And of course, you need your trifle bowl of choice.

Look at that fine object.

Right, I'll crack on with the pineapple chunks.

Right, I'll start the cake. Me Christmas pudding,

and me leftover,

slightly stale Madeira cake.

What you can do if you're feeling really naughty...

-This is bad.

-This IS bad. It's even bad for us...

But it's great!

You fry this in butter and sugar.

So you get caramelised toffee Christmas pudding.

But that's one step too far, we feel.

Now, we put our chunky pudding into the bowl.

Actually, even that old pudding is beginning to come to life now.

And we just layer the Madeira, m'dear...

..on top of the pud.

And we're building it up with mango and fresh pineapple.

But first, it's a Christmas trifle, a Christmas pudding trifle,

so we've got green ginger wine.

Now, you can see that Christmas pudding's going,

I shall go to the ball!

The slipper will fit me!

It's probably going "hic", the amount I'm putting in!

But never mind!

Onto the top, we'll lay some slices of fresh mango.

Nice slices there. So we get a strata of orange.

-Can I take your chunks?

-Yeah, you can.

And just scatter your chunks with gay abandon...

over your mango.

Are you, when you wrap presents, are you a glue or Sellotape?

-Sellotape.

-Same. Do you go to the bother of buying the Sellotape

that you can't see? Or is it just the normal Sellotape?

-Whatever I can find.

-Same.

Do you put bows on the top that have a sticky backing?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Sometimes.

-I do, too.

Unless it's for the one I love, and then I make a bit more of an effort.

Right! Time for the custard-ification!

And we can pop this back into the fridge until we need it.

I die for Rome!

I'm Spartacus.

No, I'm Spartacus!

No...I'm definitely Spartacus.

In the meantime,

all I'm going to do is I'm going to make a sugar syrup.

We want to pare off some lovely zest of orange,

and then we're going to julienne it.

Put it in our sugar syrup so it goes lovely and crystal.

As my mother used to say, on the top

you need to have billowing clouds of cream.

-Indeed.

-So, we'll get on with the billowing clouds of cream.

Double cream into a bowl and some icing sugar.

I think that's enough, because we don't want it too stiff.

We can kind of finish off now, can't we?

-We can, mate, yeah.

-To the fridge.

-How are we doing?

-Ah, it's an event, this, it's lovely.

Put the clouds that will billow.

Loosely whipped cream.

-Oh, nice.

-Yeah, you've got to have little peaks, haven't you?

Oh, nicely done, Mr Myers.

The almonds first, and I think we should give pride of place to that

lovely crystallised orange.

-That's beautiful, mate.

-Absolutely, absolutely.

-And just sprinkle.

-Provocatively...

Exotically. In a festive fashion.

-Yeah. Say when.

-When.

-You didn't look.

-I did.

-You didn't. Liar, liar, pants on fire.

I've got eyes in the back of my head.

You have to, after knowing me for 25 years, it's probably best.

I think I'm there, Kingy.

-You're there, dude, you're there.

-Yes!

I'm now going to...

Provocatively...

-Exotically.

-And festively.

Yes. I have to admit, in my life,

I've thrown quite a lot of Christmas pudding away.

-Not any more.

-Not any more, no.

-I think that...

-You can't have too much of this.

Is ample sufficiency, as me mum would say.

No, "elegant sufficiency," MY mother would say.

-Would she?

-Yes. Call it elegant or ample,

that is a fantastic way to use up your leftover cake

-and Christmas pudding.

-Look.

Right. There's mine.

What are you having?

-Leftover Christmas pudding.

-I think there's enough for two.

-Right.

-Got to go to the star, haven't we?

-Yeah.

Oh, oh.

-I love home-made custard.

-I love trifle.

-Ah, lush.

-I just remember the hero Christmas pudding,

it's so full of spice and flavour to start with.

This has taken on a whole new level, a whole new dimension.

-Mm-mm.

-That could become a staple

for Christmas-pudding haters everywhere.

-It's more than just a mere trifle.

-It's a keeper.

Christmas pudding trifle.

It gives leftover cake a new and delicious home.

It won't last long!

If you're still looking for that special Christmas gift,

why not try and make them yourself?

Christian Bigland has the perfect festive suggestion

that would brighten anybody's stocking.

The reason why I'm poaching pears in sherry is, well,

because it's Christmas, and, for me,

and probably for a lot of other people,

sherry and Christmas go hand-in-hand.

What I want to try and entice is a little comfort

when I give a gift, you know, and also a little warmth.

I think sherry might have a little bit of a bad rep as being that warm,

dusty bottle in your granny's booze cabinet,

which has been there for years.

However, what's been happening is that sherry's been gaining

in popularity, and there are some beautiful sherries available.

I've chosen oloroso, which has been aged,

so it's got a beautiful, nutty flavour.

The colour is really attractive.

It's got a kind of chestnut colour to it.

So, we've got lemons, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf.

And slightly spoilt is how I feel when saffron is on the table.

So, I thought I'd chuck that in

just to give it that extra Christmas feel.

And the flavours that I'm adding are all absorbed and soaked up

into those pears, so that every bite of that pear

just reminds you of the season, the time of year.

Poached pears can be made and eaten immediately.

Or, because that syrup is high in sugar

and has the spice flavour, you can cover the pears with the syrup,

jar it in a beautiful jar.

The pears are there, shining like little jewels.

Everyone's favourite time in the meal, arguably, the pudding.

So, I'm bringing pudding to the party this Christmas.

A nice luggage label telling the recipient about the pears,

and there's a beautiful gift.

Well, I think it's fair to say that we've got one of our favourite

guests coming in today to eat with us and to cook with us and to chat.

-And a national treasure.

-Yeah.

-We absolutely adore you,

-it's Gloria Hunniford.

-Gloria Hunniford.

Thank you very much, lovely to see you, boys.

-Welcome to the kitchen!

-It's lovely to see you.

-Very nice to see you too.

-And you.

Well, it's lovely, thank you. I'm really looking forward to this.

-I love watching people cooking.

-Great.

Oh, we enjoy cooking too.

We're going to do a turkey stuffing and ham pie for you, Gloria,

as I know you're fond of a pie and I know your mum was a

flipping good pie maker and a good cook.

My mum, actually, it was funny,

she used to go to technical college one night a week,

to learn more about cooking. She was a brilliant cook.

I always said that she was far better than Mary Berry on her cakes.

-Well, I'm pastry.

-And I'm filling.

-As you know!

-I don't know what I am, I'm a leftover.

-You're definitely no leftover.

-No.

-Definitely not.

So, all I'm going to do, take a leek,

cut that in centimetres, put some butter in a pan.

When the butter starts to bubble, put in your leeks.

Do you have to cook them really slowly?

It helps, because it's softens it, and that's what we're after, Gloria.

-It's a nice braise, isn't it?

-It is.

-Yeah.

I'm just going to put the wine in,

and just braise these off a little bit.

So, what's Christmas like in the Hunniford household now?

Last Christmas, by the time night-time came, we had karaoke,

we were 26 people.

-Wow!

-And they were doing karaoke until four o'clock in the morning,

because, of course, all the grandchildren are now teenagers,

and so they're up half the night.

Which is actually great fun, because, by that stage,

you've had a few bevvies

and everybody just does their bit,

it doesn't matter whether you're wildly out of tune,

but they love it.

And, of course, I was a singer anyway when I was growing up, so,

give me a microphone and I'm happy, Christmas Day or otherwise.

-Brilliant.

-That sounds great round yours, Gloria.

-Any chance of an invite?

-You're always welcome,

-provided you do the cooking!

-OK.

-Now, for the pastry,

I'm going to use a food processor

because I do believe the less you handle pastry, the better.

The flour goes in, some butter, some salt.

And what I believe is the best thing for savoury pastry - lard.

Now, we'll just pulse this until we get crumbs.

I'm just going to add some cold water

until a ball of pastry appears.

And that's it. Yes, we have pastry in the house!

-You see, I would call that a lazy way to make it.

-So, Gloria.

-It's coming up to Christmas.

-Yes?

What's it like in your house at Christmas?

I love, love, love Christmas.

I think it stems from not having had much money.

We were never shoeless or without food.

But there was no spare money so, therefore, when I was a child,

Christmas was so special.

But my dad was also very good at hiding presents

that he would be giving me.

And maybe... Let's say I was going to get a second-hand bike,

but by four o'clock in the afternoon I was really disappointed.

And he'd say, "You're so sad because you didn't get your bike?"

And I'd say, "I really am. But anyway, I got my doll."

And he'd say, "Have you looked under the shed outside?

"Maybe it's there." So he'd hide things.

-Oh!

-And then at four, five o'clock in the afternoon,

you would get what you really wanted.

So, Christmas was always full of surprises.

It's magic, isn't it?

Do you still find you have magic in Christmas,

as the magic you had when you were a child?

Well, I think a lot of it, of course, is commercialised now.

But I'm all about family.

If you come from an Irish family at all, Christmas is all about family.

It gives you permission, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

-Permission to celebrate.

I'm going to start to strip this turkey.

So, we've got all the elements that we need

to make the filling and make the pie.

So, keep the chunks pretty big.

You want a good gobful of turkey, as they'd say in the north-east!

We want the sort of pie that you see

in nursery rhyme books, a proper, well-packed pie.

-Oh, yes, I know.

-Anyway, I'm going to pop this into the fridge

and leave this to relax.

Well, I'm going to get on with making the sauce.

So, we've got 50g of butter, and 50g of flour.

And then you mix that together.

Do you have to really keep that on the move

so that it doesn't go lumpy?

Do you know what, Gloria?

I've never had a roux go lumpy.

If you use those equal quantities, it just works every time.

Bit by bit, I'm going to add our turkey stock.

Until you get a lovely, nice, smooth paste.

I'm just now going to add some cream, just stir that in.

So, Gloria, what's the food that you look forward to,

that you really love at Christmas, what's that?

I'm afraid I'm very traditional.

I have a great butcher where I live in Kent,

and I do tend to do the bird within a bird within a bird.

Oh, do you? I'm going to try that this year.

Yes, because it just slices through, looks beautiful on the plate.

And then, a lot left over, actually, for sandwiches and things.

So, I do like that very much.

But, actually, what you're doing today is terrific,

because, myself included, I think a lot of people just

don't know what to do with the leftovers.

-Yeah.

-It's so nice to get ideas.

So, we're there, that's our sauce.

-Fantastic.

-Look at that, beautiful.

-This is the pie filling.

This is the pie filling.

So, what we're going to do is we're going to put all of this back into

here, coat it in that beautiful bechamel sauce.

-One question, though, I have for you.

-Yeah?

When you're doing a really sort of substantial meal like this,

do you bother with starters and things,

-or do you just go straight to this?

-Yes!

-Starters, yes.

Gloria, that's part of the reason why we're this shape.

-We love a starter.

-A light starter.

-A light starter.

So, that's the turkey going in. That's the ham going in.

-That looks delicious.

-And our lovely stuffing.

-Now, that's a pie filling.

-Now, take the pastry over a rolling pin,

lay it down and just press that thoroughly and firmly into the base.

So, we'll just load this into the pie dish.

I know what you're thinking, "That's not going to fit."

-It is.

-A lot of people ask, myself and Si, when we cook together,

who decides who does what?

I kind of always do the pastry,

it's just something I've always done.

But there's one part that Si always does do.

He is the king of crimping.

Now, me lid.

That looks magnificent.

So, we get it to this point. I'll trim it off.

-Now, we pass this to King Crimp.

-Right.

-The crimping station.

-That's quite something,

-to be known as King Crimp, isn't it?

-So, like that.

You just go around...pinching.

Pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch, oh.

-So artistic.

-Egg all over.

And just pop this into a preheated oven, 180 Celsius,

between 35 and 40 minutes,

which gives us more than enough time for a nice cup of tea.

-Oh, lovely, I love tea.

-So do we. So do we.

So, what are your memories of Christmas when you were a child?

Well, I think, simple, but incredible.

Because we didn't have that much money as a family.

As I say, we weren't poor in that sense that we didn't have shoes

and we didn't have food, but there wasn't spare money around,

which meant that anything that you got as a present,

particularly at Christmas, was fantastic.

And my grandmother gave me a beautiful little fairy doll

that was only about that size, and she had flaxen hair.

And my aunt, who was a dressmaker,

she had made a beautiful satin dress with wings.

And I always remember holding this doll which I thought was so precious

and it twinkling in the lights and in the frosty night,

and then finally it went on the top of the tree.

So, I loved that, it was great.

-Oh, lovely.

-Oh.

-Well, it's funny you should say that, you know,

because Christmas is all about giving presents, isn't it?

-Yes, I guess it is.

-And Dave and I...

-Oh!

-..have got you a little something.

-Oh, a nice stocking.

Oh, wow. That's very, very kind of you, thank you.

-Not at all, you're very welcome.

-Wow. I have to rip it open now,

that's the other thing about Christmas,

-you've got to rip all of the paper.

-Oh, you do, it's great, isn't it?

-Yeah, none of this ironing the paper for next time.

-Oh, look!

Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. Oh, look at that.

That's gorgeous. Thank you so much for that.

It may not be exactly the same one, but we've tried our best.

-That's lovely.

-Just a little replacement.

Over the years, I've lost it.

So, this one will definitely forever go on the top of my tree.

And I do believe in angels.

I don't care that people are sceptical about it,

I don't care because I believe that when you find a white feather,

a single white feather, maybe, say, in a hard technical area

like this, where there are no

particular feather cushions or anything.

And my daughter Caron used to say

that that was an angel's calling card.

And, of course, I now believe that is Caron's calling card.

-Yes.

-And I think also when you have children of your own,

and you're busy getting presents ready,

like painting garages for your son

or making curtains for doll's houses at three in the morning,

and then everyone's up at five,

I think that those memories of children,

whether as a child yourself,

or whether for your own children,

I think they're really important.

And then, of course, I transgress to my grandchildren.

And so it's really important to me

that over the Christmas period I see them.

And that's the lovely thing about Christmas, isn't it?

That you have those traditions and cares

that are only particular to your family.

-Do you smell something?

-It's the turkey pie.

I can certainly smell the stuffing burning.

-Ho-ho.

-The pie is browning up beautifully.

-Is it happening?

-It's happening.

-Good.

-I'm going to do bubble.

-And I'm squeak.

-Bubble and squeak.

How many times have you looked into the fridge and that's stared at you?

-Oh!

-There is always that moment, isn't there?

Your wrinkly carrot, look at that.

Your pallid parsnip.

And your sensational sprouts.

-Oh, shall we do it in goose fat?

-We've got butter as well.

-A bit of both?

-Why not? It's Christmas.

-Indulgent.

-It will give you a lovely crisp thingy

on your bubble and squeak.

Oh, aye. First thing I'm going to do is to slice the sprouts.

The sprouts are like the green star turn on this.

I mean, traditionally, bubble and squeak is always potatoes

and cabbage, isn't it?

But we haven't got cabbage, because it's Christmas.

Isn't it funny about Brussels sprouts, though?

My mum hated them but she always cooked them at Christmas.

And so we only ever got them once a year.

And I'm a bit the same.

Although I really like them, I never buy them through the year,

I never think of serving anything with Brussels sprouts except at

-Christmas.

-That's wrong, really.

It is wrong, because it's a lovely, lovely veggie.

I like the look of them when they're on the stem,

I think they're quite artistic-looking, really. Yeah.

So, would you keep the heat very low on that?

You want the onion to wilt, you want it

to wilt like your uncle on Christmas Day,

after his dinner when he's passed out during the Queen's Speech.

Now, it's time to put me sprouts in. And I want a bit of colour on them.

For the bubble and squeak, I've got leftover roasties.

-Have you had a couple of these?

-I haven't.

-Make that one.

-Yeah, he's passed the fridge, isn't it?

But, anyway, that's fine, it's a leftover.

I'm just going to give these a rough mash.

I'm not going for mash, I'm going for, like, potato crumble.

And would you actually make bubble and squeak

with roast potatoes rather than mashed potato,

or are you just doing it because they're left over?

-Whatever.

-Do you know what, Gloria, that's the great thing

-about bubble and squeak, you can do it with whatever.

-Yeah.

I'm just going to chop

these quite finely, I think, before I mash them.

It's funny, I don't do it, but my mum used to make...

..used to do like roast beef the day before Christmas,

on Christmas Eve, because she liked the gravy from the beef

mixed with the turkey, rather than just the turkey gravy.

So, what else happens on Christmas Day

when you've got your house full, Gloria?

-Do you have games?

-We tend to maybe go hopping from house to house.

-Yes?

-You know, seeing friends. Having the odd... I love mince pies.

I mean, I've been ogling these ones the whole time.

But, so particularly in Ireland,

you'd go for a drink and a mince pie in the morning.

And then we tended not to have our dinner, per se,

until about five o'clock.

-Yes.

-And so, by the time that's over,

then there would be games afterwards.

As I mentioned earlier, the fact that the kids are now much older,

they want to do karaoke on Christmas night.

You know, if you're lucky enough to have the family around,

that day, it's just the best thing in the world,

you really appreciate what you've got.

So, the parsnips go in.

And me carrots go in. Just mash all this together.

It's the one time when you don't

worry about folding or breaking the stuff,

you want to amalgamate it as much as you can.

-In we go.

-Oh, yeah!

-I think you fancy that, Si.

-Oh, yeah.

-One of your favourites?

-It is, I love it.

-Oh, the pie!

-How's it going?

-Look at that.

-I think it's there.

-Oh, wow.

We should pipe "you win" or something with that,

-that's gorgeous.

-There we go.

-Lovely, shiny pastry.

-Yep. That's beautiful, Kingy, and we haven't

lost anything from the sides.

-Oh, great, good, good.

-Beautiful.

-Right.

We've just got to form a crust on this.

-And then what do you do with it?

-We flip it.

-Flip it?

Oh, I see. You know what we have to have on Christmas morning as a

routine. We always have to have a big Ulster fry-up.

-Ah.

-Ah.

-With potato bread and wheaten bread and soda bread.

-Ah.

-Oh.

-And then, of course,

you have your sausage and your egg and everything. I love that.

That's just like tradition on Christmas morning, I love it.

What do you think, Kingy?

I think we should go, dude, I think it's crispy.

Should I have a go or do you want to have a go?

It's up to you. I tell you what, let's toss for it.

-Let's toss for it. Let's toss for the toss.

-Heads.

-Tails.

-Crack on.

-I wouldn't even do a pancake, never mind this.

This is going to be terrible.

Oh! Pretty good.

-That's what we want.

-I was expecting that

to be complete and utter carnage, but it wasn't.

-Oooh.

-It would have been a good laugh, though, wouldn't it?

-It would, yeah!

-No! We've been there before!

Do you drop hints, Gloria, about what you'd like from

your husband for Christmas or do you leave it to him?

-Does he know you well enough?

-Do you know, he's pretty good.

He knows. Now, it's anti-wrinkle cream!

Get away, you look gorgeous.

As long as they get that in the stocking, I'm all right.

You're all right, yeah.

I don't think I've got the courage to do that with Michelle.

I'd be terrified. I don't know what I'd say.

It's a bad hint sometimes, yes.

I think it's time to have pie and bubble and squeak.

What a treat this is.

-Oh, that pastry.

-And, as you say,

this would be very good cold as well.

-Oh, it would be perfect.

-It would cut out very well.

-Mr King.

-There we go.

-That looks absolutely fantastic.

-Well, Gloria.

-Thank you so much, what a treat.

-Not at all.

-It's a treat having you here.

It's the greatest of pleasure.

Hm. Trouble is, I might eat all of it and you might get none.

We have plenty.

We could feed the 5,000 with it.

-Mm. That's gorgeous.

-Good?

-Hm-mm.

-Happy?

You have the other side, yeah.

-That pastry is nice.

-The pastry is beautiful.

-It's so substantial and gorgeous.

-Isn't it?

Well done, come and stay with me at Christmas time.

If the karaoke is coming out, we are definitely there.

-This pie...

-It's delicious.

I love the way the flavour of the stuffing has come through.

It's very much a turkey, ham and stuffing pie.

The trouble is I can't stop eating it, it's so good.

-Well, don't.

-I won't.

Say goodbye to leftover turkey

and hello to this fabulous pie

with delicious bubble and squeak.

Tasty gifts are just the best, especially for people who love food.

Lisa Cad shares with us a tasty treat

from her native home country - Italy.

So I grew up in an Italian family and no Christmas

would be Christmas without a panforte.

It was always there on a table,

ready to be eaten, whether people dropped in

or whether you wanted it with your pudding

or just a cup of coffee.

It would even make a great addition to a cheese board

or a fantastic gift.

My kids love it too, actually.

One son who doesn't like nuts had some and he was like,

"This is delicious, Mum." "You know it's got nuts in!"

So even he liked it.

So it's a gift that would be great for all families.

Already this smells like Christmas to me

and all the nuts and fruit look absolutely amazing.

It's got the cocoa powder, a little bit of flour,

it's got cloves, it's got nutmeg, it's got cinnamon -

so all those flavours you associate with Christmas.

It's a very dry batter, it's not runny like a cake batter.

There's so much in there, but it smells absolutely amazing, really,

really feeling the Christmassy vibe from this panforte.

I'm actually bending the copper spoon whilst I do this.

There's no point trying to do this with a wooden spoon,

you're better off just getting your hands wet,

and just pushing it in with your knuckles.

Make a nice, flat top.

It smells beautiful when it's cooking in the oven,

it fills the kitchen with that aroma of Christmas, it's beautiful.

The easiest way I have found to do this for a gift

is to chop it into quarters...

..and then just work on making small slices,

almost like a sawing action, because it is really hard.

So you cut it really, really thin,

and if you pop five or six of these in a little gift bag,

it will just make a beautiful gift for somebody.

I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

It's quite sweet. You can't eat too much of it.

You can try, but a few slices is quite a lot to eat in one go.

Right. You can't have Christmas without a little bit of bubbly.

-CORK POPS

-Yay! We like a pop.

-We do. There we go.

-Marvellous. Oh, thank you.

-Cheers, Gloria. Happy Christmas.

-Happy Christmas.

Yes. And I guess we should drink to the New Year as well.

-Merry Christmas.

-Yeah. Not only do I get to watch cooking and get to eat

it, but I get to drink it as well.

You deserve it.

The thing is, Si, as happy as we are...

-Indeed.

-..look at this sad, sorry sight - the cheese board.

You've spent a lot of money on this.

Somebody's hacked at it, just thrown it back in the fridge.

We're going to do two dishes where we can use up that leftover cheese.

But with style and finesse.

-Oh, yes.

-We are going to construct the tartiflette.

-Which is?

-Potatoes and cheese.

Yeah, it's kind of like potatoes and cheese in the oven.

And with that, we're going to do some gougere.

That's cheesy puffs with a soft centre.

-I am glad you interpreted.

-I have to get on.

-First, the tartiflette.

-Yes. I've got a lot of...

You have to dice, you see, with skins on, potatoes.

So that's mostly what I'll be up to.

And why do you leave the skins on? Just for taste, Gloria.

First, I've got to cook down an onion,

make some bacon crispy in some olive oil and butter.

Now, we are just going to boil these

for about three to four minutes.

There's a bit of colour on the onions, the bacon is colouring up.

Time for two sliced cloves of garlic.

I am going to strip some thyme into this.

I can put the stalks in as well,

because it is that kind of soft thyme.

Add the wine, boil it up and watch it reduce by half.

-Do you always use a white wine?

-For this, yes.

-Yeah.

-When you put the cream in, you could use red,

but that would give you an unearthly colour,

it would look like indigestion medicine.

You have had one of the most amazing careers I have ever read about.

What would be the highlight for you?

I was approached by what was London Weekend Television

and they gave me a chat show to do.

And Sunday Sunday was a chat show that had, honestly,

the best Hollywood names you could come across.

What I call real Hollywood men and women, of course.

You know, the Charlton Hestons, the Tony Curtises,

the Jimmy Stewarts, Audrey Hepburn, all those massive Hollywood names.

I was a real movie buff,

because in my small town in Northern Ireland,

there is nothing to do but go to the pictures, as we called it.

-Yes.

-So all these people were my heroes and heroines,

so to eventually get to interview them was amazing.

You know when you were doing those interviews,

because they are quite pressured, did you ever dry up?

Irishwomen never dry up, do they?

It may be rubbish that you speak, but you speak something.

The only time that I kind of remember being really put off

was with Omar Sharif.

Because he has those amazing, those pools of eyes.

And I remember sitting looking at them thinking, "Oh, my goodness,

"this is Omar Sharif and those eyes are marvellous."

And then I have a stock phrase if I forget anything,

I go, "Well the thing is..."

I heard myself going, "The thing is..."

Which just give me that breather to get off the eyes

and look at the next question.

Now this is rebluchon, which is the traditional cheese for this.

It's one of those super-sticky oozy cheeses.

You could use brie, camembert, Pont l'Eveque.

I know, it's hard not to, isn't it, really?

-Oh.

-It's fabulous, isn't it?

And you want it runny like that?

You do. Yes. So one lot I am going to try and dice,

which is going to be mixed into the mixture.

The other is going to be sliced on the top.

This probably isn't great for your cholesterol.

I was just going to say, "This is absolutely indulgent."

It is. But it's an excuse, because it's Christmas.

-Yes.

-Potatoes go in.

Then me lovely intense bacon, thyme, garlic.

-Oh-oh.

-And onion?

I like one-pot things as well.

Yeah. Or the tray bake.

I think the tray bake is the trendy one-pot wonder at the moment.

I'll just put me chunks of cheese in there as well.

Half the cheese, and you do need a lot of cheese.

-Oh, yes. Oh, yes, come on.

-Now we're there.

The cheese is melting. Some seasoning now.

Top up with cream.

We bake this probably for about half an hour at 180 Celsius,

until it's really golden and bubbly.

My mother would say, "This will certainly stick to your ribs."

So when would you serve this over Christmas?

I think it's one of those nights where you haven't got company.

You maybe...just want to have something in front of the telly.

-You want something comforting.

-Tasty.

-Bit of a one-pot wonder.

-Tasty.

-Yeah.

One of those nights... It is a film night, isn't it?

-Sure.

-That's when Bette Davis is on.

And you watch a rerun of Baby Jane.

-Yeah.

-It could be one of those nights as well

when you don't think you have any food in

and you think I've got that rotten old cheese board,

I'll knock up something fancy.

I quite like fridge suppers, actually.

We call them picky plates,

where you get everything out and you just have

a go and this is perfect.

Perfect for one of those nights.

We've still got plenty of cheese left.

-We have.

-A nice hunk of gruyere, a nice hunk of Parmesan.

Perfect thing for the gougere.

-Cheesy puffs.

-The bit that would worry me

is making the choux pastry. That's difficult, isn't it?

Do you know what? Everybody says it's difficult and it's not.

-Really?

-We promise you, it's not.

As long as you get the temperatures right, you're laughing.

-Right.

-Firstly, put water in a pan.

-You put the butter into the water.

-And you let it melt.

And some salt, because it's a savoury eclair.

We add the mustard now, English mustard.

It makes the cheese even cheesier.

Now we add the flour.

And you beat it and beat it until it kind of...

You just keep going. Right, that's it.

-There you go.

-Gosh, that was quite quick.

It is. And, look, it's a beautiful, thick, thick, smooth dough.

-Lovely.

-There you go. Give this dough time to cool.

Like, really cool?

Not really cool, you want it warm, but not hot.

I've got 75g of Gruyere. And about 25g of Parmesan.

I'm going to reserve some more here for the top,

but they're the quantities you want,

it's 100g in total of grated cheese.

-And four eggs.

-One egg at a time.

Just wait until it all comes together

to a nice, soft, thick paste.

-There we go, mate.

-Right. Cheese!

It's time to start piping.

-It should be a laugh.

-Look at that.

-And is that the perfect consistency?

-Absolutely perfect.

-Silky.

-Beautiful.

-Yes.

And just start to fill your piping bag.

Let me start, not too close, cos they will swell up.

Right, see that bit there?

Dip your fingers in some water and just do that.

The reason we take those bits out and flatten them down,

we want them to form a beautiful ball as they rise.

We top it with cheese.

Now, these need to go in a preheated oven, 200 Celsius for ten minutes.

Then we turn the oven down to 180 and

leave them for a further 20 minutes and when they are done,

they're like this. They are little clouds of flavour.

What we've done is we're just going to punch a hole in the bottom,

because we need to pipe in the filling.

Right, I am just going to lightly whip this cream.

There we go.

Then I'm going to add the mascarpone

to the cream.

Fold it together.

-Now, Mr Myers.

-Truffle oil.

Should I hold, Mr Myers, while you pipe?

Right. You squeeze gently, there you go.

And that's it.

These do go down an absolute storm.

And they disappear very quickly, so

I reckon you'd better do a couple of dozen.

While you're doing one, can I not have one to taste

-while you're doing it?

-You can't wait, can you?

No. I have to have it now. I know, I'm so greedy, terrible.

Mm. Mm.

-Good?

-I see what you mean.

These are just so yummy.

-Mm.

-With a glass of fizz as well.

I tell you what, I can see why those would disappear quickly.

Tell you what, Gloria, you are eating them quicker

-than we can make them.

-They are very nice, very nice.

-I think that's enough, do you?

-Absolutely.

We can always do some more.

Yeah. You get the tartiflette, I'll put these out the back.

I knew you would be calling it tartiflette eventually.

It's a cheese and potato bake!

-Look at that.

-Oh, yes.

That looks fabulous.

-This is it, mate.

-It is.

The tartiflette.

-This is the moment.

-This is it.

That is cooked perfectly.

Seeing I was so greedy with the first one...

As you can see, my mother brought me up to like my food.

She did that. Do try a gougere, Gloria.

I will. Can't resist a second.

Right. I'm going to have this as it should be,

with a glass of champers.

-Cheers.

-Cheers, boys.

-Merry Christmas.

Shouldn't speak with my mouth full, but...

OK, Gloria.

-The tartiflette.

-Mm.

Cheese and potato bake, here we go.

-Potatoes are cooked perfectly.

-It's hot.

Straight out the oven.

I'm not just saying this because I'm here, but...that

is so moreish, so gorgeous.

It's so good, I have to have a bit more.

Would you say the ingredients are relatively simple?

-Mm-hm.

-But the mixture is just quite exotic - when it's all baked.

-Absolutely.

-Like most of the classic dishes,

it really is quite straightforward.

The next time I'm in France, I'll be looking out for this one.

-Deeply savoury.

-Gorgeous. So lovely.

It makes you want to look forward to your leftovers.

This is the high days and a holidays treat.

It definitely is that.

Tartiflette, a truly delicious dish.

And gougere, a perfect way to revitalise the tired cheeses

in the fridge.

Ah. Well, Gloria Hunniford, OBE. Let's cheers to you for Christmas.

-Thank you very much indeed.

-You've been the most wonderful company.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be on the programme today,

I've loved watching you cook. I really have.

I do like watching a man cook, I have to say.

And my husband, if you're watching, keep on doing it.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

-Merry everything.

-Merry Christmas.