Don't be a ping chef this Christmas

Will this be the Mass of your choice this Christmas?

Picture: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Not that I would suggest for one minute that those few who read this blog are, in anyway, ping chefs.

I am certain that good, orthodox Christmas fare is an integral part of the beliefs of all who visit here, and so it should be.

Now, what do I mean by 'ping chef'?

I mean, of course, those cooks who purchase their frozen, pre-packed grub at the Temple of Tesco or the Shrine of Sainsbury's and pop it into a microwave until it goes....yep, you are there ahead of me....ping!

Such food barely nourishes, it lacks flavour, the ingredients may come from diverse parts of the globe and, it probably contains enough chemical additives to fuel a nuclear submarine.

The end result is a meal lacking in substance and flavour.

Can you see where this post is going?

Good, because I'm hanged if I can.

Where was I?  Ah, yes, if you would like to try the following Nigel Slater recipe that Mrs Linen has perfected several times in the past few weeks (it being so delicious), you will not be disappointed.

Eat it with a crisp green salad or, as a fork supper with a loaf of crusty bread - it has a real taste of Christmas about it.

It's called, Sticky Cranberry Sausages and it may also be used as an accompaniment to the turkey....

Exraordinary Christmas fare...

Ingredients

• 2 red onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g/14oz uncooked cocktail sausages
• 1 heaped tbsp cranberry jelly
• 200g/7oz fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 clementine, zest only

Preparation method

1. Fry the sliced red onions in a pan with the oil for five minutes or so until softened. Add the sausages to the pan.
2. As the sausages start to brown, add the jelly and cranberries
3. Cook on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelised and sticky.
4. Grate over the clementine zest and serve.

And, if you also hunger for something more than a Ping Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, then hunt down a Mass in the Extraordinary Form (what I like to call a Latin Mass, 'cos that's what it was pre 1969).

You did see that one coming did you not?

No? Well, no plum pudding for you this year!

The Latin Mass Society listings for England and Wales are HERE

While, the SSPX (shock, horror!) listings are HERE