2 w. ago Bonnie Blue's bleak Christmas after jail stint from sad cold meal to dad 'in tears'

Fresh from her legal difficulties in Indonesia, Bonnie Blue enjoyed a far more quiet Christmas with her family, complete with roast potato mishaps and a characteristically divisive breakfast choice

Events

2 w. ago Leftover roast potatoes recipe makes them crispier days after Christmas feast

Roast potatoes are a Christmas dinner essential, and if you've got leftovers, there's an easy trick to make them even more delicious in the days following December 25

Politics

2 w. ago Rick Stein’s expert tips for cooking the perfect roast potatoes

The beloved chef offers his tips for cooking everything from turkey to the sprouts

Politics

2 w. ago Inside the Wright family’s Christmas as Strictly star Jess reveals row over potatoes and brother Mark ‘getting the hump’

WHEN it comes to a big family Christmas, no one does it better than the Wright family. But much like us regular folk, the Towie stars also have their fair share of chaos over the festive season. The Wright family burst onto the scene back in 2010 when Mark Wright became a star on The...

Politics

2 w. ago Sprinkle one ingredient on roast potatoes for perfectly crispy Christmas dinner results

Roast potatoes are a Christmas dinner staple, and a nutritionist has shared a simple trick to help ensure they come out perfectly crispy on the outside to impress your guests

Events

2 w. ago Rick Stein's simple roast potato trick ensures they come out crispy every time

Celebrity chef Rick Stein has urged home cooks to save time by skipping a popular method and focusing on a crucial preparation step when making the perfect roast potatoes

Politics

3 w. ago Rick Stein’s tips for cooking the perfect roast potatoes – and other Christmas classics

The beloved chef offers his tips for cooking everything from turkey to the sprouts

Politics

3 w. ago Roast potatoes will be perfectly crispy at Christmas when using a fat loved by chefs

Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett shared her top tips for making the perfect roast potatoes, and it's all about the type of fat you use

Politics

3 w. ago Following 1 cooking method this Christmas makes roast potatoes extremely crispy

A chef has shared his secret to making the perfect roast potatoes every time, and it's all down to one simple step you can do in advance of your Christmas dinner

Politics

3 w. ago My weirdest Christmas: I took a family friend to A&E – and he went from peaky to barely responsive on the way

He insisted he was OK, but he didn’t look it, and when he tried and failed to eat Christmas lunch we knew it was time for a mercy dash to hospitalOur family friend has always been a larger than life figure. Witty, unsentimental – and not one to say no to another brandy. At family parties, he’s the one gossiping about the latest scandal to catch up with a local MP, or regaling us with tales of the outrageous philandering of various Sheffield Wednesday players over the past 40 years. He could make anything – a jacket potato, a broken relationship – funny, somehow.We would often spend Christmas morning with him and his family, before going our separate ways. But, one Christmas, about 10 years ago, when he was supposed to be meeting family abroad, he fell down the stairs, whisky in one hand, suitcase in the other, and broke his ribs. The hospital had patched him up and told him not to fly. So, here he was back with us in Sheffield, making the best of it, but looking increasingly peaky. ...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘I’m going to scream!’: how to survive (and maybe even enjoy) your family Christmas

From preparing safe topics to taking silly games, we ask the experts how to avoid falling out with your nearest and dearest – before, during and after the big day• I threw a potato. Mum brandished a knife – would whole-family therapy save our Christmas?Plan breaks in your schedule Spending time with difficult family members requires careful planning, says Katie Rose, a therapist registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and the founder of TherapEast. “If you’re going to stay with somebody for three or four days, find ways to politely give yourself a break. Go for lunch with friends who live locally, or book a ticket to a museum or a National Trust place so that you have ways of getting yourself out of the house.” Tamara Hoyton, a senior practitioner for Relate at Family Action, agrees that scheduling breaks is a good strategy. “Arrange a trip out, or offer to cook so that you’re away from the living room where everyone else ...

Events

3 w. ago A vegetarian Christmas: Chantelle Nicholson’s French mushroom pie, caramelised pear pud and more

Blue cheese and honey gougeres, roast squash soup with melting brie, mushroom and celeriac pithivier, roast miso brussels sprouts, and a caramelised pear and rosemary puddingChristmas for me began as a summertime celebration in New Zealand, with long days and warm evenings. Twenty-plus years on, the wintry cosiness of a UK Christmas has taken hold. Now, my essentials include perfectly crisp roast potatoes with plenty of gravy, and sprouts (non-negotiable). Even my young niece and nephew love them, which is a small victory I’m quietly proud of. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Eight chefs agree on essential step for perfect roast potatoes this Christmas

While there's debate about oils and fats, expert chefs all agree on one often-forgotten technique that ensures restaurant-quality crispy roast potatoes for Christmas dinner

Politics

3 w. ago Michelin restaurant chef shares the perfect recipe for your Christmas roasties

Liam Dillon says he has a cheat code for the ultimate roast potatoes - for both Christmas dinner and family roasts

Society

3 w. ago The UK's top chefs share 10 trips and tricks for the perfect Christmas lunch — including chuffing potatoes

From brining the bird to adding MSG to the gravy, 10 of Britain’s leading chefs share their wisdom with Josh Barrie

Politics

4 w. ago The Christmas dinner classics you can prepare well in advance

Yorkshire puddings, Brussels spouts and cranberry can all be made ahead of the big day

Politics

4 w. ago A potato is for life, not just for Christmas | Emma Beddington

Yes, we love our roasties – but have we really explored the spud’s potential as a gift, an aesthetic, a mood?All I want for Christmas is the Nairn Museum potato flask. Showcased as part of the Highland museum’s virtual Advent calendar on Instagram last week, it’s a late-18th-century Staffordshire pottery flask – to be filled with strong drink and used to toast a safe journey for a traveller – shaped like a very realistic, knobbly spud, complete with green bits. The benefactor who donated the flask apparently explained it was so ugly that no one in his family wanted to inherit it.More than 15,000 Instagram likers beg to differ, including me: I desperately covet this beauteous and useful tuber, surely the ideal emotional support accessory for the season’s more trying social engagements. As the museum’s representative explains, the potato was “seen as a very fashionable vegetable” back then, and I think we need to think hard about that: why isn’t it now? It might be the most valuable p...

Politics

last month How to cook the perfect roast potatoes this Christmas, according to science

To help you dazzle your guests this Christmas, scientists reveal how to cook the perfect roasties - and the common mistakes that many home chefs make.

Politics