Category: Recipes
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Chicken, Pear and Prune Casserole
This chicken, pear and prune casserole was an old favourite in Sabrina’s family.
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Custard Fruit Cake
This custard fruit cake comes from a card written out by my father Tom. Its origins are unknown, but the method is unmistakably of its time: butter rubbed into flour, eggs cracked into a well, and boiling milk stirred with soda before being poured straight into the mix. The dried fruit was always soaked first…
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Sago Fruit Pudding
A lighter Christmas steamed pudding from Rom’s kitchen, made with sago, brown sugar and dried fruit, gently spiced and finished with a quiet splash of rum. Soft, comforting, and best served hot with cream, this was the other pudding that always belonged at Christmas.
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Broccoli and Orecchiette with Yoghurt and Peas
A simple, generous pasta built around vegetables and a soft yoghurt dressing. Orecchiette, broccoli and peas are folded together while still warm, finished with basil, pine nuts and olive oil—an easy dish for sharing, from the wonderful Hetty Lui McKinnon.
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Rom’s Christmas Pudding
A traditional New Zealand Christmas plum pudding from Rom’s family notebook — made weeks in advance, soaked generously with brandy, and finished with a properly reckless table-side flambé. Served hot with Edmonds custard, it’s as much ritual as dessert.
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Rom’s Christmas Cake
A dense, dark Christmas cake handed down from my mother Rom — deeply moist, quietly rich, and made to last. Perfect with custard on Christmas Day, or enjoyed later with a cup of tea, a glass of sherry, or a wee dram on a quiet evening.

