Next Week's Essentials: The Ham and The Trimmings

And some sweetly spiced, sticky and generally excellent 'get ahead' carrots

I plan to down tools over the Christmas-New Year period. You?

Asking partly because, well, I hope you’re also looking forward to a break of sorts (even though it’s not a rest if you’re the cook, is it?).

But also to note that, to allow for that breather, I’m doubling-up on newsletter content this week.

In reverse order, look out for an absolute belter of a recipe coming on Sunday – for a dish that’s ideal between Christmas and New Year. Or, failing that, at any time between now and the arrival of Spring.

Before that (so in this missive), you’ll find nods towards two recipe posts from last year, both of which should be a real help right now. Plus a fresh, carrot-shaped recipe you might like to consider if you are the kind of cook that likes to delegate or ‘get ahead’.

See you again in a few days

Ed

p.s. a reminder of this 2025 Cookbook roundup, in case you’re after gift ideas.

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The Ham

My favourite meal of the Festive season is glazed ham, served with braised red cabbage and Boulangere potatoes. It follows that, to my mind at least, the most useful recipe post of the last two years of this Rocket & Squash newsletter provides the method and more for all of those things.

Rather than write a festive post with unnecessary twists on the classics, here’s a reminder that everything you need for The Ham is in this post:

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The Trimmings

Also important and in need of another spin – but no new twists – is my treatise on the topic of trimmings.

I’ve been writing Christmas side dish related copy and recipes on an annual basis ever since publishing On the Side back in 2017. Last year’s Christmas trimmings post collates and is perhaps the culmination of much of that work.

What are the essential trimmings? How might they vary depending on centrepiece? What can be done ahead? What’s the best sprout recipe? etc etc.

TLDR: the meaty centrepiece is the most expensive but also the easy and least important part; it’s the trimmings (and the balance of them) that make a good meal. Everything you need to know is in this post:

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The Stick

Both of the aforementioned posts are for paid supporters. The carrot recipe below is too. Gotta pay for some Christmas presents and a kilo or so of Brussels sprouts, haven’t I …

Would love for you to join – you’ll find an annual subscription the most cost effective. Perhaps consider it a Christmas gift to yourself?

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The Carrot

Cooking for loads of people and struggling for oven / hob space? Want to get ahead, or to delegate something? These twice-cooked all spice and maple carrots are an excellent option. Sweetly spiced, slightly sticky, soft, succulent and crowd-pleasing … and not just for Christmas.