Saturday Kitchen Season 2025 Episode 51

Terra.Anatolia

Saturday Kitchen Season 2025 Episode 51  #SaturdayKitchen #RealityInsightHub   🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️ 👉 Official Channel:  />👉 THANK YOU ⭐❤️❤️❤️⭐

Transcript

00:00:00This is with all the festive cheer you could wish for.

00:00:03This is Saturday Kitchen's final countdown to Christmas.

00:00:27And welcome to the show.

00:00:28We're gifting you some fantastic festive favourites today.

00:00:32Theo Randall's got a dreamy Italian dish.

00:00:34Ravne Gill's got your dessert dreams sorted.

00:00:37And we're getting twice as merry in the drinks department

00:00:40with Ollie Smith on wines and Carmen O'Neill on cocktails.

00:00:44Now there's a double dose of comedy brilliance in the guest seat today.

00:00:48The BAFTA winning mind behind Taskmaster and the show's reigning champion.

00:00:52Between them they've conquered stand-up stages and won awards.

00:00:55Please welcome Maisie Adam and Alex Horne.

00:00:57CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

00:00:59How are you both?

00:01:02Christmassy.

00:01:02Very festive.

00:01:03Excellent, good to know.

00:01:04Lovely to have you both here.

00:01:07Current champion of Taskmaster.

00:01:08I know, how did that happen?

00:01:10Yes.

00:01:11I think Alex was quite shocked as well.

00:01:13Yeah, we all were.

00:01:14We all were.

00:01:15We're going to do a recount.

00:01:17And Taskmaster, very, very busy over Christmas.

00:01:20Yes, we've got our champions, a champions special.

00:01:22So she's only going to be a champion, potentially, for a couple of weeks.

00:01:25No!

00:01:25A short-lived champion.

00:01:27We don't know yet.

00:01:28We don't know.

00:01:28Let's keep it down.

00:01:28We don't know.

00:01:29Oh, no.

00:01:30Right, we're going to talk lots about that in just a bit.

00:01:34Let's see what's on the menu today.

00:01:35Theo, Italians go all out with seafood at Christmas.

00:01:38Is that right?

00:01:38Absolutely.

00:01:39So I've got a beautiful lobster tagliatelle with, like, a rich tomato sauce.

00:01:44All of the lobsters sort of popping out of the sauce with a little bit of parsley, a bit of chilli, a little bit of garlic.

00:01:49Very nice.

00:01:50Very decadent.

00:01:51Very decadent.

00:01:52Very Christmas.

00:01:53And, Rav, Christmas pudding, it's not for everyone.

00:01:55You've got a good alternative for us.

00:01:56Yeah, I'm showing you what I make every year, which is just a classic sticky toffee pudding.

00:02:00Oh.

00:02:01Very nice.

00:02:01And you're going to make the custard.

00:02:03I always make custard.

00:02:04Yeah, and this time you're going to do it properly.

00:02:05That's the last time you came on, you make me custard.

00:02:07And then you split it.

00:02:07Yeah, OK, fine.

00:02:08And I split it.

00:02:09Thank you very much for that.

00:02:10All I want for Christmas is booze.

00:02:12Oh, I thought it was going to be me.

00:02:14No, it's not in your brown suit.

00:02:16It's not brown.

00:02:17It's gently rust, I think you'll find.

00:02:18And this is a party shirt.

00:02:20Anyway, I've got a lovely festive wine for you.

00:02:23I've got, actually, a wine for Theo.

00:02:24It has to be Italian, of course.

00:02:26It's spot on with shellfish, and it's a relatively recent denomination from Italy.

00:02:30Something a bit new, a bit exciting, fragrant and scrumptious.

00:02:33For Rav, I've got a Pedro Jimenez from Spain.

00:02:35Nice.

00:02:36It is so opulent.

00:02:36Yeah, it's one of those...

00:02:37I like it when you drop those in.

00:02:38They're good.

00:02:39They're Christmas treats, aren't they?

00:02:40Also, smaller bottle, perfect for a stocking filler.

00:02:43Stocking filler?

00:02:44Yes.

00:02:44Really?

00:02:45I might nip round to yours and just drop it in his sock.

00:02:47That's perfect.

00:02:48And just when you thought it couldn't get any merrier, Carmen O'Neal is going to show us

00:02:52how to batch make cocktails.

00:02:54What have you got, Carmen?

00:02:55We're going to get everyone out of the kitchen and have them drinking some great booze that

00:02:59you've made ahead.

00:02:59Uh-huh.

00:03:00And good tasty things.

00:03:02Treats, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert.

00:03:05Tasty things.

00:03:06Yeah.

00:03:06Okay, keep it vague.

00:03:07Right, as it's Christmas, and I want to stay on the nice list, we are going to choose between

00:03:13two of your heavenly dishes.

00:03:15Really?

00:03:15So there's no hell dishes today.

00:03:17So, Maisie, tell us about your idea of food heaven.

00:03:20I mean, I'm very much leaning into the stereotype here, but I do love a pie.

00:03:24Of course.

00:03:25You can't go wrong with a pie, and I think my favourite of all time would be chicken and

00:03:31chorizo.

00:03:32Oh, okay.

00:03:32I just love it.

00:03:34I really love it.

00:03:34But there's a bit of a debate in my household about whether or not my pie constitutes a real

00:03:39pie, because...

00:03:40There's no bottom.

00:03:41Yeah, my husband says it's a casserole with a lid.

00:03:43Where do we stand on that?

00:03:44Exactly what I'm doing today.

00:03:46Oh, this is a pie?

00:03:47It's just a lid.

00:03:48There we go.

00:03:49I think that's fine.

00:03:50Right, well, there we go.

00:03:51That's solved it.

00:03:52If my husband's watching, it's a Saturday kitchen ruling.

00:03:56And what about you, Alex?

00:03:57I am also going to stereotypes, so it's Chinese food for me.

00:04:01Why is it a stereotype?

00:04:03You know me.

00:04:04Chicken chow mein is my favourite food.

00:04:06I would have it every day.

00:04:07And I discovered recently what it means.

00:04:08Do you know what chow mein means?

00:04:09No.

00:04:10It's quite poetic.

00:04:10It means fried noodles.

00:04:13Okay.

00:04:13Okay, good to know.

00:04:16They've just got away with work, haven't they?

00:04:17Yeah.

00:04:18They're both delicious options, but sadly, I can only cook one at the end of the show.

00:04:23Will it be Maisie's Food Heaven, a comforting pie with all the Christmas trimmings?

00:04:26If so, I'm going to slow-cook chicken thighs in a warming chorizo and with special sherry topped

00:04:32with lard pastry and served with classic braised red cabbage and apples and roasted parsnips.

00:04:38Oh, my God.

00:04:39Nice.

00:04:40You OK?

00:04:40Don't you dare win.

00:04:41Happy?

00:04:42Or will it be Alex's Food Heaven, a classic Chinese with a festive twist?

00:04:46If so, I'm going to make a New York City, Hong Kong-style chow mein, where I'm going to fry the noodles until they're nice and crisp,

00:04:52going to top it off with lots of veggies tossed in yellow bean sauce and flakes of fragrant Christmas spice ham hock.

00:04:58Right, there's no vote today, so you're going to have to keep watching to find out how we're going to decide who gets their dream dish at the end of the show.

00:05:05Is that all clear?

00:05:06Clear as a bell.

00:05:07Excellent news.

00:05:08Ding dong.

00:05:08Let's get on with lobster.

00:05:10Hey.

00:05:10Look at the size of that claw.

00:05:12It's got lovely claws.

00:05:13So, you can actually get these from supermarkets frozen, and you've got to defrost them for like four hours,

00:05:19but you can make this dish from one of those, and it's a much more affordable way of doing it.

00:05:23Obviously, fresh lobster is from the fishmonger's the best.

00:05:27What we're going to do is we're going to take the claws off, and we're going to take the head off,

00:05:31and I'm going to make a stock, or you're going to make the stock.

00:05:33Right.

00:05:33And we're going to basically crush the head in a hot pan, a little bit of olive oil, and we're going to make a stock.

00:05:40So, think about lobsters.

00:05:41It doesn't actually have that much flesh, that much sort of meat,

00:05:45so you want to get as much flavour out of it as possible by using, making a stock.

00:05:49So, we'll put those in, and we're going to just smash the head, and...

00:05:53..to get as much flavour out of it as possible, and then we're going to add some...

00:06:00Merry Christmas.

00:06:01Yeah, Merry Christmas, everybody.

00:06:03Merry Christmas.

00:06:04And we're going to smash that, and add some celery, some leek, and some carrots.

00:06:10OK, no onion, interestingly.

00:06:12No onion.

00:06:12I prefer leek to onion.

00:06:14OK.

00:06:14It's much nicer.

00:06:14And then I'm just going to break up this lobster,

00:06:17and then while I'm doing that, I'm just going to make a quick sauce as well.

00:06:20So, we'll just crack these lobster shells.

00:06:23I remember talking to you in rehearsals about the sort of...

00:06:27..the state of lobsters at this time of year.

00:06:29You think they're much better, don't you?

00:06:30They've got much...

00:06:31As you can see, they've got a much thicker shell

00:06:33because the lobster goes much in deeper water.

00:06:37So, you get this very, very rich flavour in the flesh.

00:06:41I actually think it's the nicest time to have them.

00:06:43They're kind of harder to get, and unfortunately, they're quite expensive.

00:06:46But in the summer, their shells are much thinner.

00:06:48Right.

00:06:49And they don't go down as deep, so they're easy to catch.

00:06:52That's why they're cheaper.

00:06:53OK.

00:06:53But they've got such a lovely...

00:06:56I mean, look at the colour of that.

00:06:57It's just wonderful colour, the flesh.

00:06:59So, they're thicker shells?

00:07:00Much thicker shells.

00:07:01You can see, look how thick that is.

00:07:02I mean, it's really...

00:07:03OK.

00:07:04Is there any particular place you think does really good lobster, Theo?

00:07:07Like, any country or any area?

00:07:09We've got the best lobster in the world.

00:07:11Dorset Blue is probably the best lobster you can get.

00:07:13And a lobster actually is blue-green before it's cooked.

00:07:17And the reason it goes orange, or red, rather, is because of the coral.

00:07:21So, when you cook the lobster, the coral changes the colour.

00:07:25So, that's why you get that sort of amazing colour of the lobster.

00:07:30So, I'm just going to...

00:07:31What's the best way to cook a lobster?

00:07:33I think the best way to cook a lobster is to steam it.

00:07:36You get a much nicer flavour.

00:07:39OK.

00:07:40The reason is because if you boil a lobster, you tend to get all of the...

00:07:45It becomes a little bit waterlogged, so diluting the flavour.

00:07:49By steaming it, you keep that lovely, fresh flavour.

00:07:51OK.

00:07:52Me and Alex were just wondering, how do you know which bits...

00:07:55Alex and I.

00:07:56Alex and I were just wondering.

00:07:57Come on, Maisie.

00:07:59You're a champion.

00:08:00Which bits do you bash?

00:08:01How do you know which bits to bash?

00:08:03Well, I mean, you've got...

00:08:04It's kind of obvious.

00:08:04You've got the tail.

00:08:05Is it?

00:08:06You've got the head.

00:08:06Well, I mean, you've got the two claws.

00:08:08That's where the meat's going to be.

00:08:09And then you've got the body.

00:08:11That's where the meat's going to be.

00:08:12And then the head's in there.

00:08:14And anything else extra left over, you pop into the stock.

00:08:18And that just gives you this lovely, sort of intense flavour.

00:08:20So, the stock's not going to be on long.

00:08:22You've got to oil it up for about 30 minutes.

00:08:2430 minutes, yeah.

00:08:25And, you know, if you've got anything left over, you can make a lovely lobster soup from it.

00:08:29It's got lots of uses.

00:08:30And, you know, honestly, the shell is the best thing of the lobster.

00:08:34The shell is?

00:08:35The shell is.

00:08:35I mean, as far as for flavour.

00:08:37Because if you crush the shell down, you get such a lot of flavour.

00:08:40I'm going to put all of this in.

00:08:41OK.

00:08:41And that's just going to make all the difference.

00:08:43That's my jumper.

00:08:44Oh, watch it, sorry.

00:08:45Yeah.

00:08:46Loving my jumper.

00:08:47OK, right, now, let's make the sauce.

00:08:48So, we're going to make a very simple tomato sauce.

00:08:51If you could just chop it some parsley, that'd be great.

00:08:52So, we're just going to slice some garlic.

00:08:55A bit of olive oil and a bit of chilli.

00:08:57You have to do that.

00:08:58And we're going to...

00:08:59What we're going to do is we're going to add some of that stock to the sauce.

00:09:04And then we're going to add the lobster at the end.

00:09:06So, just literally just throwing the lobster right at the end.

00:09:08OK.

00:09:09So, you don't cook it too much.

00:09:10Because the flavour of lobster is so sweet.

00:09:14As I said, you know, you don't get that much meat.

00:09:16So, it's very important to use the shell as the stock.

00:09:18OK, so let's put a little bit of olive oil in there.

00:09:21So, nice hot pan, large pan, olive oil.

00:09:24And then we're going to add garlic and a bit of chilli.

00:09:29OK.

00:09:30Maisie, you wanted to learn a new pasta dish.

00:09:32Is this something you'd try?

00:09:33Yeah, I'm not very good at doing a good pasta.

00:09:37I don't know when to stop it and get it al dente.

00:09:42Right.

00:09:43So, it's the cooking of it rather than a sauce or a...

00:09:46I just think I'm still at the student pasta phase.

00:09:49OK.

00:09:49Like, I'm really...

00:09:50Tuna and sweet corn?

00:09:50Yeah, well, just tomato pasta, really.

00:09:53Have you done alphabetti spaghetti?

00:09:55Alphabetti spaghetti, that's a lovely one.

00:09:57That's a nice one.

00:09:57As the locals say.

00:09:59Yeah, that's a nice one.

00:10:00No, I just like to get better at posh pasta.

00:10:02Right.

00:10:03But it doesn't get posher than...

00:10:04This is quite posh.

00:10:05...mobster.

00:10:05This is quite posh, yeah.

00:10:06The thing about pasta is, it doesn't matter what you have with it.

00:10:08The point is, it's how you cook the pasta.

00:10:10If you want it to give it a nice sort of taste,

00:10:12you want to cook it in the sauce.

00:10:14So, I'm going to cook the pasta here for about a minute less

00:10:16than it should be when it's fully cooked

00:10:17and finish the pasta in the sauce.

00:10:20And that makes all the difference.

00:10:21So, the pasta absorbs the flavour of the sauce.

00:10:24I feel like I need a pen.

00:10:25Yeah.

00:10:25What's your take?

00:10:27I've seen chefs who cook pasta from scratch in the sauce.

00:10:31Yeah, I mean, you can do that, but it can be very starchy.

00:10:35I mean, it's...

00:10:36Right.

00:10:36Yeah, it's good, but you've got to keep adding the water

00:10:38and everything becomes very sort of dense.

00:10:41I mean, it's a nice way of doing it,

00:10:43but I think something like fresh pasta like this,

00:10:44it's simpler just to cook it in boiling salted water.

00:10:47Make sure you've got loads of salt in the water.

00:10:49The water should taste like the sea.

00:10:51It should almost be that salty.

00:10:52The thing is, the salt remains in the water.

00:10:54So, you're not adding the salt to the food.

00:10:56The salt remains in the water,

00:10:57and when you take it out, the pasta's absorbed the salt.

00:11:00Sure.

00:11:00You're not actually using that much salt.

00:11:01It's far better to cook with salt

00:11:03rather than adding at the end.

00:11:06You don't want to start putting loads of salt at the end.

00:11:08Because it's not going to be...

00:11:09Well, you're not seasoning.

00:11:11It hasn't absorbed.

00:11:11It's like when you make potato, like mashed potato.

00:11:13If you don't put salt in the potatoes when you cook them

00:11:16and you mash them, you've got to add loads more salt.

00:11:18Yeah, yeah.

00:11:18It just doesn't taste quite right.

00:11:19Got it.

00:11:20Got it.

00:11:20All that parsley I've chopped, that's all you're using?

00:11:23You're so good at chopping parsley.

00:11:25I can use a little bit at the end, don't worry.

00:11:27Just for the sake of it.

00:11:28Just a little bit at the end.

00:11:29So, talk about Italian Christmases.

00:11:31Seafood is big.

00:11:32Seafood is big.

00:11:33Seafood pasta is really big.

00:11:34Generally, on Christmas Eve, you tend to have like a vegetable pasta

00:11:37like a lasagna or maybe a vegetable ravioli.

00:11:40But on Christmas Day, it's everything you can, you know.

00:11:43I mean, any kind of seafood pasta with mussels, clams, lobster, for instance,

00:11:47langoustine.

00:11:48Look at that.

00:11:48It's a beauty.

00:11:49Theo, if you couldn't get lobster easily,

00:11:52what could be a substitute that you could use in this restaurant?

00:11:55Well, you could use prawns exactly the same way.

00:11:58I would get the prawns in the shell, though,

00:12:00and I would use the shell to make the stock

00:12:03and then just do exactly what I'm doing here,

00:12:05but probably put them in raw and then just cook them

00:12:07because the prawn's obviously going to cook very, very quickly.

00:12:11Or, I mean, the frozen lobsters are actually easy to get hold of,

00:12:14so it shouldn't be difficult not to do this.

00:12:16Are frozen lobsters OK?

00:12:18They're fine.

00:12:19Fresh is best.

00:12:20Yeah, yeah.

00:12:20It's that in a thing.

00:12:21But it will still give you a nice flavour.

00:12:23And as I said, it's the stock that really makes a difference.

00:12:26Right, let's get a bit of that stock in.

00:12:27So we've reduced this one, don't we?

00:12:29I mean, usually at this time of year,

00:12:30they do start appearing in supermarkets.

00:12:32I know very often you'll see a Canadian lobster, for example.

00:12:35Yeah, then they're... I mean, no disrespect.

00:12:37Sorry.

00:12:38Oh.

00:12:38Yeah, no disrespect.

00:12:39Sorry about that.

00:12:40No disrespect.

00:12:41You now have to finish that sentence.

00:12:43Yeah, yeah.

00:12:44They're...

00:12:45The native lobster's got a sweeter taste.

00:12:47That's all I'm going to say.

00:12:49And should it not be sweet?

00:12:51It should be...

00:12:51It's nice, it's sweet.

00:12:53It's got that sort of...

00:12:54It's like a prawn.

00:12:55A prawn's got quite a sweet taste.

00:12:57Same sort of thing.

00:12:58I mean, shellfish is sweet.

00:13:00Yeah.

00:13:00So...

00:13:00Maybe it's just our cold water that we don't...

00:13:03No, I think it's...

00:13:03Yeah.

00:13:04A native lobster hasn't come that far,

00:13:06so it hasn't travelled that far.

00:13:07And, um, so it's going to be...

00:13:09Have a much sort of...

00:13:11I don't know, I feel really awkward now.

00:13:13Yeah, sorry about that.

00:13:14If you want to spoil your guests this Christmas

00:13:16with Theo's delicious lobster pasta,

00:13:18you can find the recipe at bbc.co.uk forward slash set in the kitchen

00:13:21or scan the QR code below and it'll take you straight to this dish.

00:13:24I'm using more of your parsley.

00:13:26Okay.

00:13:26What about these bits?

00:13:27What's going on here?

00:13:28So we're going to use this little bit of a garnish

00:13:29because it looks so pretty,

00:13:31so we're just going to pop that on the side.

00:13:32Mm-hmm.

00:13:32And then we're going to...

00:13:34Because it's such a beautiful colour, look at that.

00:13:35I mean, it really is stunning.

00:13:36And you try and get every little bit out.

00:13:38What are you doing for Christmas?

00:13:40Well, I'm actually working.

00:13:41We're open on Christmas Day.

00:13:43Are you?

00:13:43Yeah, but it's fun, you know.

00:13:44I've got the whole team there.

00:13:45And, you know, I've got to be there.

00:13:46You can't not be there.

00:13:47Yeah.

00:13:48And we have a lot of regular customers

00:13:50that come to the restaurant on Christmas Day.

00:13:52Uh-huh.

00:13:52And it's nice.

00:13:53We start...

00:13:54It's a nice fun atmosphere.

00:13:55We start lunch at 12,

00:13:56last order's at 4.

00:13:58It's a really relaxed atmosphere.

00:14:01And, yeah, we then, you know,

00:14:02we're closed for a couple of days afterwards.

00:14:04Mm-hmm.

00:14:05Nice.

00:14:06Right, OK, so we're just going to toss it all together

00:14:08so all that flavour comes in.

00:14:09OK, you finished off.

00:14:11A little bit more salt.

00:14:12I'm going to have a little...

00:14:13A bit of black pepper.

00:14:13Snack.

00:14:14A little bit of snack, yeah.

00:14:15I mean, that, just a little bit of mayonnaise,

00:14:17it's one of the most delicious things in the world.

00:14:19Or just olive oil.

00:14:19And it's a nice olive oil.

00:14:21And then we're going to plate this up.

00:14:25The thing about using, like, tagliatelle,

00:14:27it's so quick to cook

00:14:29that actually you can make this dish really last minute.

00:14:32How do you know when the pasta's ready?

00:14:35What are you feeling for?

00:14:36I saw you giving it a little pinch earlier.

00:14:38I mean, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to describe it.

00:14:40So I'm going to put it in my mouth and...

00:14:43It's got a bite.

00:14:46It's got a bite.

00:14:47The word al dente is to the tooth.

00:14:49Yes.

00:14:50It's got a bite.

00:14:50It's slightly chewy.

00:14:51Now, when you eat al dente pasta,

00:14:54you kind of really crave it.

00:14:56And when you have overcooked pasta,

00:14:58you kind of know the difference.

00:14:59So it's sort of like, when it's really soft, it's not so...

00:15:02I always think it's like a steak.

00:15:03You have a fillet steak, it's always really tender.

00:15:05But when you have something like a...

00:15:06Something like a ribeye or a sirloin,

00:15:09it's got a lovely kind of bite to it.

00:15:11It's chewy.

00:15:12It tastes nicer.

00:15:12So texture is almost as important as flavour.

00:15:15OK.

00:15:15So it's not throwing it up against the wall and it's sticking.

00:15:19If it sticks at the wall, it's definitely good.

00:15:20It's like children.

00:15:21OK.

00:15:22But we could still do that.

00:15:24Yeah.

00:15:24Not with that beautiful pasta.

00:15:27Right.

00:15:29See that big toe on there?

00:15:30That biggie one, that.

00:15:32Yeah.

00:15:32OK.

00:15:33You've finished serving.

00:15:34Remind us what you call it.

00:15:36This is my lobster tagliatelle

00:15:38with tomato, chilli and parsley.

00:15:41Beautiful.

00:15:42OK.

00:15:48Oh.

00:15:49There you are.

00:15:49Wowee.

00:15:50It's served.

00:15:51Thank you, Theo.

00:15:52Let us know what you think.

00:15:53Oh, he's a meaty boy.

00:15:55Cheers.

00:15:55Me?

00:15:55Yeah.

00:15:57Go straight into the claw.

00:15:58What have we got here, Ollie?

00:15:59Well, we've got an Italian white wine.

00:16:01Of course it had to be.

00:16:02And I love serving quite fragrant styles of wine with lobster.

00:16:06As Theo said, it's quite a sweet meat.

00:16:08So you need something that's got a bit of presence in the glass.

00:16:09This is actually from a relatively new appellation.

00:16:11This is Fior d'Alancio Colli Huguenay.

00:16:14Ten pounds in Waitrose from the Veneto from volcanic cones that rise up from the plain.

00:16:20So it's really dry.

00:16:21When you smell it, it's got sort of blossom on the label.

00:16:23It's very pretty label, actually.

00:16:24It smells like orange blossom.

00:16:25Yeah, it's very fresh.

00:16:26Yeah, the grape always smells like that.

00:16:28But then when you taste it, super zippy, whistle-clean fresh, hark the Herald, ding-dong merrily on high.

00:16:34You get the drift.

00:16:35It's that in a glass.

00:16:37It's very Christmassy.

00:16:37I mean, it really tastes orangey.

00:16:39Yes.

00:16:39But like in a nice way, subtly.

00:16:41Exactly.

00:16:41Like a nice orange wine?

00:16:43No.

00:16:44I don't think you're saying an orange wine.

00:16:46Orange wine, just orange-y.

00:16:47Orange-y, like, you know, orange wild water.

00:16:50Yeah.

00:16:51Great value for money.

00:16:52Yeah.

00:16:52And I think any shellfish it would go beautifully with.

00:16:55But I think with lobster especially, because it has that slightly aromatic intensity, that's what you need.

00:16:59Delicious.

00:17:00It's been fun, isn't it?

00:17:01How is your lobster pasta?

00:17:02It's so nice.

00:17:03Yeah?

00:17:03It tastes really nice.

00:17:03It's so lovely.

00:17:04Look at it.

00:17:05Yeah, I wouldn't normally order lobster, because it's fiddly.

00:17:08Yeah.

00:17:08But it feels like you've done a lot of the fiddle for me, Theo.

00:17:11So thank you for that.

00:17:12Absolute pleasure.

00:17:12Do I need to...

00:17:13What do I need to do with this guy?

00:17:15You need to put your knife in there and sort of...

00:17:16Or your fork and...

00:17:17Oh, really?

00:17:17Get the tip.

00:17:18Get it out, yeah.

00:17:19So pick it up with my fingers, do you mind?

00:17:20No.

00:17:22So initially, they give you a bib when you have this pasta.

00:17:26Oh, really?

00:17:26Yeah, I can see what...

00:17:27Do you just pull this out?

00:17:28Yeah.

00:17:29Oh, look.

00:17:29There you go.

00:17:31All that?

00:17:32Glorious.

00:17:33Look at that.

00:17:33Do you like any of this?

00:17:34Yeah, yeah.

00:17:35No, you go.

00:17:36You've got to dine in.

00:17:36You dive in.

00:17:37It's all your Christmas trees.

00:17:38He's not giving up, EZ.

00:17:40Very jealous of that.

00:17:40Rav, remind us what you're doing in a bit.

00:17:42I could be making a sticky toffee pudding.

00:17:44Very nice.

00:17:46And how will we be rounding off today's festive feast?

00:17:48Will Maisie win her heaven, a chicken and chorizo pie with all the best Christmas veggies on the side?

00:17:54Or will Alex be tugging into his food heaven a chow mein loaded with delicious ham hock?

00:17:59Stay tuned to see how we decide our winner.

00:18:01Right, let's catch up with Rick, who started thinking about his Christmas leftovers six months ago.

00:18:07I love Christmas, so much so that I didn't even mind putting up the Christmas decorations in the middle of summer in order to film this programme.

00:18:27It's one of those strange little eccentricities of working in television.

00:18:31Christmas specials being filmed in June.

00:18:34But I'd just returned from filming my latest series all around the Far East.

00:18:40An odyssey which inspired me to come up with the answer to that big cooking dilemma facing us all at Christmastime.

00:18:48What to do with that cold turkey?

00:18:50Well, I think that's it, really.

00:18:55It's looking really quite Christmassy.

00:18:58It's looking really quite Christmassy now.

00:19:00Can we start?

00:19:02Yeah.

00:19:02Well, come on, it's Christmas!

00:19:04So I'm just slicing these up to go in the salad.

00:19:13I hope you like my decorations.

00:19:15I mean, you might think they're a little over the top.

00:19:17I went mad in the supermarket.

00:19:18It's not quite nigella.

00:19:20I think hers is a bit more sort of faultless and understated.

00:19:23But I like them.

00:19:24I'm using Chinese leaves to make up this salad.

00:19:31But any crisp type of lettuce will do the trick.

00:19:34You want to end up with a bit of a bite to it.

00:19:37Shred it or chop it fairly finely and chuck it in with the turkey meat.

00:19:41So now I'm going to cut up a couple of bits of carrot using the mandolin here.

00:19:47The mandolin's an easy way to cut the carrot into thin strips called julienne.

00:19:52That's better than grating it.

00:19:54It looks better.

00:19:56Then onto that put a handful of crisp bean sprouts,

00:20:00a similar amount of finely chopped shallots and some chopped peanuts.

00:20:05One of the things that really distinguishes these salads from Vietnam

00:20:08is the enormous amount of herbs that go into them.

00:20:11I mean, they grow the most wonderful aromatic herbs,

00:20:15some which you find quite difficult to get here,

00:20:17particularly one called Vietnamese mint.

00:20:19Although I have grown it in my garden,

00:20:21but it was killed off in a savage winter.

00:20:24But this time I'm just using mint and coriander and basil

00:20:29to sort of approximate that Vietnamese mint flavour.

00:20:32And it does really quite well.

00:20:37To get a piquant dressing,

00:20:39add some red chillies to some chopped garlic in a bowl.

00:20:42Put in a good amount of sugar.

00:20:43It doesn't have to be palm sugar,

00:20:45but that would be best.

00:20:47Then some fish sauce

00:20:49And a splash of rice wine vinegar and a lot of lime juice.

00:20:53Perhaps use a couple of limes.

00:20:56A quick whiz round to dissolve the sugar

00:20:59and dress the salad as normal

00:21:01to get everything well and truly coated.

00:21:04It should look all wet and glistening.

00:21:08Don't forget that it's one of those salads

00:21:10that is best made immediately before going to the table.

00:21:13That is so nice.

00:21:19And one of the things about turkey meat,

00:21:20it is quite strong.

00:21:21And that's one of the things I'm really not sure I like

00:21:24about leftover turkey dishes.

00:21:26But this works a treat

00:21:28because there's lots of other robust flavours with it.

00:21:31You've got chilli, you've got lime

00:21:33and you've got lots and lots of herbs

00:21:35and the turkey meat.

00:21:37It's in harmony.

00:21:40The rice fields of Bali

00:21:42are works of art in their own right.

00:21:44They go back over 2,000 years,

00:21:47creating these wonderful terraces

00:21:49where the water cascades down as many as 30 levels.

00:21:53And rice, like everywhere I went in the Far East,

00:21:56is the key to life

00:21:58and never more so

00:21:59than in this dish called nazi goreng.

00:22:02This will be an excellent dish

00:22:04to have on New Year's morning for breakfast.

00:22:06And here's how you make it.

00:22:15So having got my wok really hot,

00:22:17I'm just adding two or three tablespoons of oil,

00:22:20ordinary vegetable oil,

00:22:21some garlic

00:22:22and two types of chillies.

00:22:24First, just some medium hot ones

00:22:26and then just a little hit of bird's eye chillies

00:22:28and some sliced shallots.

00:22:31Now just stir-fry those together.

00:22:34And nazi goreng, it just means fried rice

00:22:35and you get it all over Indonesia

00:22:37and Malaysia as well as it happens.

00:22:39And if you're me,

00:22:40you get it all over your shirt as well.

00:22:41And now some carrots.

00:22:43You just want to take the crispness off them,

00:22:45but they still want to have a bit of al dente-ness to them.

00:22:48There we go.

00:22:48And now the spice paste.

00:22:50In that goes.

00:22:51Lovely, lots of spice paste

00:22:52because that's where all the flavour comes from.

00:22:54And if you want to know how the paste is made,

00:22:57wait for it.

00:22:59Black pepper, sesame seeds, nutmeg,

00:23:02macadamia nuts, shallots,

00:23:03lemongrass, ginger, galangal, garlic,

00:23:06fresh turmeric, chillies, palm sugar,

00:23:08shrimp paste, lime juice

00:23:09and a little oil all mashed together.

00:23:13And now a little bit of tomato puree

00:23:15just to bring the colour up like that.

00:23:17And very important in Indonesian cooking,

00:23:20some ketchup manis.

00:23:22Obviously where the word ketchup comes from,

00:23:24not an American word, Indonesian.

00:23:27Just stir that in a little bit.

00:23:29And now for the rice.

00:23:30And it is a way of using up lots of leftovers with rice.

00:23:36And obviously in that case,

00:23:37this is a perfect dish for turkey.

00:23:39So in that goes.

00:23:41I'm going to put some prawns in there as well

00:23:43just to give it a bit of deluxe-ness,

00:23:45make it a really special dish.

00:23:47Right, now just going to put some green beans in there

00:23:50just to bring up the colour.

00:23:51And again, you know,

00:23:52Indonesians like all Southeast Asians

00:23:54looking for texture as well as lovely colours.

00:23:57And now the turkey.

00:23:58I've cut it into sort of inch slices.

00:24:01This goes in right at the end

00:24:02because you don't want to break the turkey up.

00:24:04It's already cooked, of course.

00:24:05And a good lot of spring onions

00:24:07just to go in at the end

00:24:08so you've got that slightly raw taste of the onions.

00:24:11Some soy sauce, a tablespoon or so.

00:24:14Just stir that in very gently.

00:24:16And that's it, except for my fried egg.

00:24:20This is what I had for breakfast nearly every day.

00:24:23The fried egg seems to make it just right.

00:24:27Oh, by the way,

00:24:28you sprinkle some slightly crispy fried onions

00:24:31on top of the egg,

00:24:32almost like a seasoning.

00:24:34And then you add a bit of tomato and cucumber as a garnish.

00:24:43Thanks for that, Rick.

00:24:44Some great ways to use up your leftovers there.

00:24:46Right, vegetables,

00:24:47usually reserved for delicious side dishes.

00:24:49This is more of a kind of a centrepiece.

00:24:50So this is a lovely little recipe

00:24:53from a restaurant in Florence, actually.

00:24:55So here I've got some blitzed spinach.

00:24:58So just some spinach, which I blanched,

00:25:00and then squeeze out as much of the water as possible.

00:25:05And then that gets put into a processor

00:25:09with some ricotta.

00:25:12Was Popeye meant to be on?

00:25:14What?

00:25:15That's a lot.

00:25:16That's a lot.

00:25:17I know it's a lot.

00:25:18Do we have to eat this one or not?

00:25:19Yeah.

00:25:20What?

00:25:20Do we have to eat this?

00:25:21Yes, you do have to eat it.

00:25:22I don't want to eat top vegetables.

00:25:23I don't want to eat it, no.

00:25:25Right, so it gets quite a lot of ricotta as well.

00:25:28Yeah.

00:25:29Which, people will know,

00:25:30is one of my favourite things ever.

00:25:32Right.

00:25:33And then quite a lot of parmesan.

00:25:35OK, this I like.

00:25:36OK, so is it getting better?

00:25:38Yep.

00:25:38And then I'm going to put some eggs in it,

00:25:40some olive oil,

00:25:41and then it gets baked till it sets.

00:25:45So that's your kind of the main event.

00:25:47And then I've got some mushrooms I'm going to saute.

00:25:49Oh.

00:25:50Which I know you don't like mushrooms.

00:25:51Yeah.

00:25:52But we're going to push through this.

00:25:53OK.

00:25:54They're all different types of mushrooms.

00:25:56There's lots of them, yes.

00:25:56Maybe I've just not met the right mushroom yet.

00:25:59Maybe not.

00:26:00Maybe.

00:26:01And then I've got some pumpkin,

00:26:03which is going to be roasted.

00:26:05I've got some pumpkin seeds,

00:26:06a bit of texture.

00:26:07And then a little cream,

00:26:10sort of dressing of gorgonzola, parmesan,

00:26:14a little touch of cream.

00:26:16The cheese is mouldy and the pumpkin's dirty.

00:26:18OK, good.

00:26:20You're loving this.

00:26:21How are you with vegetarian dishes?

00:26:24No, I'm not very good with...

00:26:26I'm not very good with vegetarian dishes.

00:26:28Yeah.

00:26:30Matt?

00:26:31Right.

00:26:32Well, give this a try.

00:26:33OK.

00:26:33I do like pumpkin.

00:26:34That's a nice bit of sweetness, isn't it?

00:26:36Yes.

00:26:37So this...

00:26:37This is looking, frankly, minging.

00:26:39Yes.

00:26:41As you said it, I was thinking it.

00:26:43But I trust you.

00:26:44I trust you.

00:26:45It's horrible, isn't it?

00:26:46OK.

00:26:46Yeah.

00:26:46Right.

00:26:47So I'm going to get on with this.

00:26:49Let's talk about series 20 of Task Force.

00:26:52Congratulations.

00:26:53I can't stop looking at it.

00:26:55Sorry, yes, I won.

00:26:56Yay!

00:26:57Bear with.

00:26:58Bear with.

00:26:59So, yeah, how was it?

00:27:00Winning.

00:27:00Was that exciting?

00:27:01I didn't think Alex was expecting you to win.

00:27:03I don't think any of us were expecting it.

00:27:05And it was very, very tight, wasn't it?

00:27:07It was against all odds.

00:27:08Yeah.

00:27:09I started all right.

00:27:10Then the wheels completely fell off.

00:27:12Where's he gone?

00:27:13He's coming back.

00:27:14But was it fair to say you found Alex quite frustrating?

00:27:17Oh, so frustrating.

00:27:18Because he just...

00:27:18You're doing it now.

00:27:19Yeah.

00:27:19He just stands there with that face.

00:27:21I can't not have this face.

00:27:22No, but you have this sort of, like...

00:27:24It's quite deadpan.

00:27:25It's very deadpan.

00:27:26And it feels sometimes, at best, I'm sorry, gormless.

00:27:30And at worst, judgy.

00:27:32Yeah.

00:27:32And when you're under pressure and trying to run around doing things,

00:27:34and he just stands there with his little clipboard...

00:27:36Yeah, little clipboard.

00:27:37..not offering any help.

00:27:38No.

00:27:38We do get on, actually, but just talking about it now,

00:27:42I'm getting flashbacks, and I hate you.

00:27:46It was fun, though, wasn't it?

00:27:48It was fun.

00:27:49But you managed to get...

00:27:50You got a little bit of a revenge in the final with the water.

00:27:54Yeah, you did spray me.

00:27:56She didn't remember anything.

00:27:57I can't remember.

00:27:57You looked like you were the happiest child spraying him

00:28:01with that little gun.

00:28:04Yeah, you sprayed me in my face over and over.

00:28:05I think you had them everywhere, and you kept spraying them.

00:28:07Yes, yeah.

00:28:07Sorry, this was a running theme of the series, wasn't it?

00:28:10I've got terrible memory.

00:28:12Yeah, so we're all worried about your brain properly.

00:28:14Yeah, yeah, loads of the viewers have written in

00:28:17and told me to get my memory checked.

00:28:19That's a bit harsh.

00:28:20Yeah, I know.

00:28:20But also, like, it's fair enough.

00:28:23Yeah, we would do a task in the morning

00:28:24and then finish off in the afternoon,

00:28:26and you'd have no idea that anything had happened in the morning.

00:28:28No.

00:28:28You'd been on the show.

00:28:29Yeah, yeah.

00:28:31It's, um, yeah.

00:28:32And was it a fun show to do?

00:28:33A lot of comedians, uh...

00:28:35I can't remember.

00:28:36But were also very excited to do taskmaster.

00:28:38Oh, listen, it's the big one.

00:28:40It's the big one.

00:28:41You want to get the call for taskmaster.

00:28:43Is that right?

00:28:43Yeah, yeah.

00:28:44And it's so fun, and, like,

00:28:45so much of it obviously depends on who you're going to be with,

00:28:48and we were so lucky.

00:28:50We had such a great bunch, didn't we?

00:28:52Yeah, yeah.

00:28:53Like, really varied and...

00:28:54But there really isn't a script either,

00:28:55so the comedians have no idea what's going to happen,

00:28:57and I think it gets...

00:28:59It's a chance for you to show off your funny bones.

00:29:02Yeah.

00:29:02And you've got very funny bones, Maggie.

00:29:03Well, thank you.

00:29:04It's all right.

00:29:05Cheers.

00:29:05And, Alex, does it get hard to keep coming up?

00:29:08I mean, Serious 20, keep coming up with all these tasks?

00:29:10Well, honestly, no.

00:29:11I guess it's like this show.

00:29:13You have to keep coming up with recipes,

00:29:14and you seem to do it every week, and...

00:29:16Yeah.

00:29:16Well, no, some of them go better than others.

00:29:18Yeah.

00:29:18But, no, it's just sort of...

00:29:19There's kind of a variety on a team.

00:29:21Some of your tasks were better than others, I won't lie.

00:29:23There was a few I told you to your face.

00:29:25You did, yeah, you did.

00:29:26No-one's ever done that before,

00:29:27but, yeah, you told me when it was good or bad.

00:29:29Yeah.

00:29:29But, no, I really enjoy the challenge of coming up with new ones,

00:29:31and it's going fine, thank you, Matt.

00:29:35Good.

00:29:35Yeah, yeah.

00:29:36The well is not dry.

00:29:37Welles don't dry up.

00:29:39There's a natural spring, I think, in my...

00:29:41What are you talking about?

00:29:42I don't know.

00:29:43What?

00:29:43So, let's go talk about Champion of Champions.

00:29:46Oh, yeah, yeah.

00:29:47So, you're up against some big names.

00:29:49Oh, some big dogs.

00:29:50Some big dogs.

00:29:51People who won by a country mile and not by a three-way tie...

00:29:55John Robbins and Matt Bainton are your quite big rivals.

00:29:58They're the ones who were very competitive.

00:29:59But then Sam Campbell...

00:30:00Sam Campbell's very funny.

00:30:02He's very funny, and he looks at things so differently.

00:30:04He thinks really outside the box, so that will be...

00:30:07Yeah, so Maisie doesn't know how she's done yet.

00:30:09Oh, yeah, sorry, I don't know.

00:30:11You don't know.

00:30:11You know how I've done.

00:30:12Well, I've seen all five of them do the task,

00:30:14but we haven't done the studio bit yet, so it's coming.

00:30:16Blink twice if I've won.

00:30:18No, but I don't know if you've won.

00:30:19We haven't done the studio, remember?

00:30:20Oh, yes.

00:30:20Yeah, yeah.

00:30:23But also, I might blink twice anyway...

00:30:25Yeah, that's true.

00:30:25...because of the heat of the...

00:30:27...the mushrooms.

00:30:27So what have you put with the mushrooms?

00:30:29Right, so I've got a little bit of butter in the mushrooms.

00:30:31We're just going to sauté those, sweat them down,

00:30:34cut them a little, and then I've got some garlic

00:30:36and some shallots to go in there,

00:30:37and a splash of Madeira.

00:30:39And then did you put the spinach gunk in the oven?

00:30:41The spinach gunk is in the oven.

00:30:42The full title is on the website,

00:30:45should you wish to cook it.

00:30:47That goes into the oven, low oven,

00:30:48about 150 for about sort of 40 minutes or so.

00:30:51So what, will it be solid?

00:30:53And then it sets, yeah.

00:30:54And what is that?

00:30:55So that's the base of it.

00:30:57So this is like a spinach and ricotta kind of cake.

00:31:01A cake?

00:31:01So that...

00:31:02Yeah.

00:31:03And then the mushrooms go on the top.

00:31:04I don't think that's cake, Matt.

00:31:06Spinach and ricotta cake with mushrooms on top.

00:31:08Do you know how long I've waited to come on this show

00:31:10and that's what you're giving me?

00:31:12Yeah, I mean spinach cake.

00:31:14Spinach cake?

00:31:15Yeah, spinach cake.

00:31:17It could take a lot longer than 45 minutes.

00:31:19Are you serious?

00:31:20It's what she's like in the show, honestly.

00:31:22She's like this on the show.

00:31:23No, that is rubbish.

00:31:24Spinach and ricotta cake.

00:31:26That's a punishment.

00:31:28Try it.

00:31:29OK, I'll try it.

00:31:30Try it.

00:31:30What's your sort of go-to food, then?

00:31:33Well, just normal cake.

00:31:34Normal.

00:31:34Normal, nice, sweet cake.

00:31:36Not spinach cake.

00:31:37Not spinach and ricotta cake with a top layer of mushroom.

00:31:41Because I want to enjoy my life.

00:31:44But I'm open.

00:31:46But you're open.

00:31:47You're open, apparently.

00:31:49Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:31:50Quite close.

00:31:50What are you popping in there?

00:31:51That's a big old chunk of gorgonzola.

00:31:53OK, that's a big chunk of gorgonzola.

00:31:55I'm going to melt that down with some parmesan.

00:31:58I think that looks really nice, Matt.

00:31:59Just so you know.

00:32:02Right.

00:32:03Let's just persevere.

00:32:05OK.

00:32:06Is that the motto of the show?

00:32:07I think it's going well.

00:32:07Yeah, just keep going.

00:32:09When the host says, shall we just persevere?

00:32:11Yeah.

00:32:14So, Alex, how do you not crack up on Taskmaster?

00:32:18I mean, some of the things that Greg comes out with, for example, or these guys sat in the chair.

00:32:23I used to be deadpan the whole time.

00:32:24I used to never laugh.

00:32:25And I've started laughing when I find it funny.

00:32:28That's good.

00:32:29Yeah, I think it's good.

00:32:29So about twice a series I laugh now.

00:32:31Twice a series?

00:32:32Yeah, yeah.

00:32:33Devastating.

00:32:35No, I do laugh if it's fine.

00:32:36Actually, you'll probably admit this.

00:32:38The camera crew quite often laughed, don't they?

00:32:39Yeah, they are gigglers.

00:32:41But they laugh at you rather than with you.

00:32:42Yeah, yeah.

00:32:43No, it is bullying in the workplace.

00:32:45Yeah.

00:32:46No, they do giggle.

00:32:48They do laugh.

00:32:48And then it's that thing of, like, when one of you goes, it's like a domino effect, isn't it?

00:32:53Greg, like, I didn't realise how many takes Greg takes to do his two-camera bits because he just gets the giggles, doesn't he?

00:33:00Yeah, very bad presenter.

00:33:02Does he sort of dream up those little monologues on the spot, or will he?

00:33:06Well, so I don't know what he's going to say and he doesn't know what I'm going to say.

00:33:08Right.

00:33:10He didn't necessarily dream them up on the spot, but I wouldn't say he's been writing them for months.

00:33:14But your little top of show bits where you come in with your...

00:33:17Yeah, he doesn't know...

00:33:17He genuinely doesn't know.

00:33:19No, we used to.

00:33:20We used to have meetings, but now we've realised it makes no difference.

00:33:25Matt, million-dollar question.

00:33:27How good do you think you would be on Taskmaster?

00:33:29Oh.

00:33:30That's a glasses-on question.

00:33:31Yeah.

00:33:32Yeah.

00:33:32Do you know what?

00:33:33I don't know, but then after seeing how...

00:33:36I mean, everyone acts so differently.

00:33:38Yeah.

00:33:38Don't they?

00:33:39And they come out with even some basic...

00:33:41Because I obviously play along at home.

00:33:43Yeah.

00:33:44And then you look at things, you know, I go, I don't know.

00:33:46And then it's quite heartwarming to know that you guys don't know either.

00:33:49And you...

00:33:50It's really eye-opening to what side of you exists.

00:33:54Like, I didn't realise I was such an angry person and aggressive.

00:33:58I think you are quite angry.

00:33:59You are obviously getting the heat of this.

00:34:01Now, this should have just been a task.

00:34:02Eat this.

00:34:03No, I'm sure it is delicious.

00:34:09Look at all that mushroom.

00:34:11Still got the little seeds to go.

00:34:13Oh, still got the seeds to go.

00:34:14The little birdseed.

00:34:16Yeah.

00:34:17He hadn't even told us what the orange...

00:34:19Oh, is that the pumpkin?

00:34:20That's the pumpkin.

00:34:21Oh, when did you cook that?

00:34:23It just happened.

00:34:24Yeah.

00:34:25I've given up.

00:34:26Very magic.

00:34:27But I would say on the show, failure is funny.

00:34:30So, it's funnier than success, really, isn't it?

00:34:32Yeah.

00:34:32When you come last, it's brilliant.

00:34:33Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:34:34You ever watch the tasks and then, after you've seen it back, go,

00:34:38God, that was really easy, but in the moment, because of the pressure...

00:34:41Yeah, yeah, like ten thoughts running...

00:34:43You open the envelope and it is in real time, of, like,

00:34:46it finishes with the words, your time starts now,

00:34:48and you've just got to go into it.

00:34:50And watching it back, you're like, oh, it was really obvious.

00:34:53And also, you get to see what everybody else did, of course.

00:34:55So, you're like, oh, clearly that was the way you do it.

00:34:57And then it shows you, yeah.

00:35:00Now, look at this.

00:35:01Here we go.

00:35:01Ooh.

00:35:02Right.

00:35:03You're having extra mushrooms.

00:35:05OK.

00:35:06We're quite liking the look of it from the table.

00:35:08I think it...

00:35:08Really?

00:35:09Well, don't...

00:35:10Well, you...

00:35:11There'll be plenty to go around.

00:35:13I think Maze is about to say.

00:35:14I think the topping looks excellent.

00:35:16Yeah.

00:35:16It smells really good.

00:35:17It does smell good, doesn't it?

00:35:18Yeah, yeah.

00:35:18Right.

00:35:19That's a very small piece for you.

00:35:21Yeah, we can just smell it, maybe.

00:35:22A little piece for you.

00:35:23Listen, I could love it.

00:35:24OK.

00:35:25I could love it.

00:35:26Yeah.

00:35:27Bury it in cheese.

00:35:28Yeah.

00:35:29There you go.

00:35:30Very nice little sense, please.

00:35:32Thank you so much.

00:35:33Should you be a vegetarian, you dive into that.

00:35:35How we'll be rounding off today's show.

00:35:37Will it be Maisie's Food Heaven, pie and Christmas veg?

00:35:40If so, I'm going to slow-cooked chicken thighs with warming chorizo

00:35:44and a splash of sherry topped with lard pastry

00:35:47served with a classic braised red cabbage.

00:35:49Oh, my God, it's lovely.

00:35:50I don't think it's nice.

00:35:51Ask them.

00:35:52How have you done that?

00:35:53Is it?

00:35:54How have you made some it look minging?

00:35:56But it tastes delicious.

00:35:59Really cheesy.

00:36:00Or will it be Alex's Food Heaven, a Chinese takeaway staple?

00:36:03It's genuinely great, isn't it?

00:36:03So, I'm going to make a New York City, Hong Kong-style chow mein,

00:36:06where I'm going to fry some noodles and then a crisp.

00:36:08We're going to top them with veggies tossed in yellow bean sauce

00:36:11with flakes of fragrant Christmas-spiced ham hock.

00:36:14We're making Alex and Maisie play a game.

00:36:17We've cooked up, inspired by Taskmaster Tiebreaker.

00:36:19Stay tuned to see how it plays out.

00:36:22So, out of ten...

00:36:23What I would say is you will need after-dinner mints.

00:36:27It's a honker.

00:36:29No, it's a honker for the nose, isn't it?

00:36:31It's a honker for the nose.

00:36:32Is it a honker?

00:36:33Gorgonzola and spinach.

00:36:34You're going to want some chewing gum.

00:36:36Out of ten, it's a honker for the nose.

00:36:37Excellent, excellent.

00:36:38That's clear.

00:36:39Right, time for a Christmas treat now

00:36:41from Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse,

00:36:42who have swapped their humble bankside teas

00:36:44for something a little more indulgent.

00:36:53Well, that's the fishing done.

00:36:55One last thing to do,

00:36:56and that's have a right, posh French meal.

00:36:58Oh, wow.

00:36:59So I've hired a top French chef...

00:37:03Have you?

00:37:03..to cook us something tonight.

00:37:05It's going to be something regional, something classy.

00:37:08Oh, lovely.

00:37:08Let's see what they can...

00:37:10You know, can they take Greg's on?

00:37:12It's going to be tough, isn't it?

00:37:20OK.

00:37:22Chef's here, so I'm going to go say hello to her.

00:37:24OK.

00:37:25I don't mean to be antisocial,

00:37:26but I'll have a little mosey around, all right?

00:37:28A little nose around.

00:37:29Yeah, a little nosing around.

00:37:31See you later.

00:37:32See you in a bit.

00:37:36Bonjour.

00:37:37Patricia.

00:37:38Yes.

00:37:39Wow, it smells gorgeous.

00:37:42Ah, formidable.

00:37:42Merci, Pianne.

00:37:43Que vous participez aujourd'hui avec moi en cuisine.

00:37:46Ah, can we speak English, if that's OK?

00:37:48With apologies.

00:37:49To participate with me?

00:37:50I would love to.

00:37:51To cook?

00:37:51I would love to.

00:37:52Yes, please.

00:37:52That's a nice one.

00:38:08Oh, that's a nice one.

00:38:10Nice one.

00:38:12Now, that's a nice one.

00:38:14In England, I'm known as one of the great bankside chefs.

00:38:21So it's a pleasure to meet someone like-minded who cooks fresh, local, and quite traditionally,

00:38:28to be honest.

00:38:29Is it cut?

00:38:30No.

00:38:30No?

00:38:30No, we're going to present it.

00:38:31No?

00:38:32You cut in two parts, in diagonal, and two, this part.

00:38:38Maybe I cut a carrot.

00:38:40OK.

00:38:40oh oh oh oh oh ah le pont de la vingt

00:38:54ah la lumière ah oh magnifique that's a nice one oh that's a nice one that's a nice one

00:39:03Google Translator only does so much.

00:39:31Excusez-moi, votre fenêtre est très jolie.

00:39:34Ah, merci.

00:39:35Formidable.

00:39:36Merci.

00:39:39Mon ami, mon ami Paul est très particulière, angry.

00:39:46Le walnut, il visage de noix, Walnut.

00:39:54Don't be afraid.

00:39:56He's okay.

00:39:58D'accord.

00:40:01Paul?

00:40:02Yep.

00:40:03Dinner is served.

00:40:04Oh, wow.

00:40:05Thank you so much.

00:40:06C'est magnifique.

00:40:07C'est terminé.

00:40:08C'est terminé.

00:40:09C'est terminé.

00:40:10C'est terminé.

00:40:11C'est terminé.

00:40:12D'accord.

00:40:13C'est terminé.

00:40:14Oh, wow.

00:40:15Thank you so much.

00:40:16C'est magnifique.

00:40:17C'est terminé.

00:40:18C'est terminé.

00:40:20Merci.

00:40:21There you go.

00:40:22Look what Patricia has knocked up.

00:40:24Merci beaucoup.

00:40:25Merci beaucoup.

00:40:26Wow.

00:40:27Round of applause for Patricia.

00:40:28En vous souhaitant un bon appétit.

00:40:30Yes, à vous.

00:40:31Thank you very much.

00:40:34Wow.

00:40:35God, look at this, Paul.

00:40:36Look at that.

00:40:37Beautiful, isn't it?

00:40:38You having wine, are you?

00:40:39Yeah, I'm going in.

00:40:40Is that all right?

00:40:41Yeah.

00:40:42I'll have a beer.

00:40:43What a day.

00:40:44What a day.

00:40:45For today.

00:40:46Oh, thank you.

00:40:47And tomorrow.

00:40:48Wow, what a trip.

00:40:50Have you eaten any of this year?

00:40:52I've eaten a bit of the chicken.

00:40:53Oh, it's good, isn't it?

00:40:55Fabulous.

00:40:57Some magic has been sprinkled on that.

00:41:00Oh, it's brilliant, isn't it, Bob?

00:41:02You know the carrots you're having there?

00:41:04Yeah.

00:41:05I've prepared them carrots.

00:41:06Did you?

00:41:07Kept the tops as well.

00:41:08God, that's a rustic look, isn't it?

00:41:11I don't know what you think.

00:41:12What's a guy got to do to get a break round here?

00:41:15Stare at someone's windpipe?

00:41:17Do you know what?

00:41:18What?

00:41:19Christmas wouldn't be Christmas

00:41:20if you didn't put some food in your eyes.

00:41:23Exactly.

00:41:24Exactly.

00:41:25Exactly.

00:41:26Cheers.

00:41:27Cheers, my dear.

00:41:34Ah, the trip is coming to an end, Bob.

00:41:35I know.

00:41:36But it's not over yet, Bob.

00:41:38I've got a little something for you,

00:41:40a little present downstairs.

00:41:41You got me a present?

00:41:42Uh-huh.

00:41:43Well, I was hoping maybe you might have, to be honest.

00:41:50I've got three wines for you, Bob.

00:41:51Also, no, I like this.

00:41:52This is like, I have to identify which is cheap, not...

00:41:53Yeah?

00:41:54Yeah?

00:41:55Yeah.

00:41:56Right, Bob.

00:41:57I really like this.

00:41:59It's fun, isn't it?

00:42:00Thank you very much.

00:42:01Thank you very much.

00:42:02Yeah, I know, it's great.

00:42:03Go on in, off you go.

00:42:04I reckon that's darker, so that might be either expensive or cheap.

00:42:07I don't know?

00:42:08Might be more concentrated, might be rib-ehö.

00:42:09Well, you can let me know.

00:42:11Anyway, you can let it in.

00:42:12Take it easy, yeah.

00:42:18That might be more concentrated, it might be rib-ehö.

00:42:36let me know yeah you need to do all three of them before you make a choice middle one okay

00:42:46mm is that good or bad did you use this for paint brushes blimey

00:42:57do you know what i made my mind up okay most expensive middle cheap the paint one cheapest

00:43:06okay cheap medium expensive so i got that one right you sort of got two wrong it's been an

00:43:14incredible experience thank you very much cheers mate happy christmas happy new year to you

00:43:26so ollie what are you making that wine tasting there well they were having a lot of fun weren't

00:43:29they i mean it was more of a wine drinking maybe than a wine tasting what's now what it's all about

00:43:32well i mean i do a lot of spitting when i'm tasting you know but there was obviously

00:43:36you know there's more swallowing yeah they were just two men having a professional trip out

00:43:41thank you exactly that exactly that still to come carmen o'neill is showing us some brilliant

00:43:46cocktails that you can batch make ahead so they're easy to grab for all the celebrations

00:43:51and stresses over the next week and how will we be rounding off today's christmas party will it be

00:43:56maizey's food heaven a chicken and chorizo pie with red cabbage and honey parsnips or alex's idea of food

00:44:01having a chow mein loaded with delicious ham hock stay tuned to see how we decide his fate right

00:44:06sticky toffee pudding yes i'm going to show you how to make a really easy one absolute classic i love

00:44:11this dish me too it's actually always on my christmas table instead of a christmas cake instead

00:44:17yeah or instead of a christmas pudding we always have sticky toffee pudding every year

00:44:22is it on in the restaurant it's on in the restaurant we serve a lovely restaurant

00:44:25gina thank you for coming in i had the best time everybody was so happy guests and chefs to have

00:44:32matt tebbott in the building

00:44:35tom why are you laughing just out of interest don't laugh don't laugh at that

00:44:39rab did did have they met him i think i think you know what the amount of people that were like

00:44:44is that matt tebbott in chingford i was like yes it is yeah you caused quite a star i think in the

00:44:52the food was delicious absolutely just food you really want to eat and it's like the perfect

00:44:58neighborhood restaurant thank you so much if you haven't been go we shall where is it

00:45:03it's in chinkford chingford i didn't even know where i was welcome to matt tebbott world

00:45:09right sticky toffee pudding where do we begin i mean sticky toffee pudding is such an easy simple

00:45:17pudding to make it's very forgiving and i wanted to show a very small version today because you can

00:45:22scale this recipe up it's absolutely tiny okay um you can scale it up or down depending on how many

00:45:30guests you have it also freezes so well i love making sticky to everybody but i always make it three

00:45:36days in advance i don't make it on the day because there's so much sugar in a sticky toffee pudding

00:45:41that it stays moist for a while okay and then you freeze it and then how far in advance i don't

00:45:46even freeze it in three days it will be fine and i actually just shove it in the microwave

00:45:51pour my sauce on and serve it do you do it with ice cream or custard which side are you on i like to do

00:45:59a bit of both oh come on you happy about that yeah a lot big fan you've redeemed yourself i think

00:46:09it's even nice with just cold cream yeah i love cold cream yeah just a bit of cold cream right so

00:46:16what's in here so these are my dates just boiling away and these are normal days these are not posh

00:46:21no they're dried dates yeah you can use the posh ones but this is really inexpensive and delicious as

00:46:28well the only thing you need to make sure that you do with a sticky toffee pudding is just make

00:46:32sure that you don't over boil at this stage okay because then you can get a really claggy mixture

00:46:38but because it's a small batch i'm going to mash these with a fork if i was making a massive batch

00:46:43i'd blend this but i want to show you that you can do it with no fancy equipment because in a lot of

00:46:48christmases you might be in a family home you don't have your stand mixer don't have a blender so you can

00:46:53do everything with just a bowl and a wooden spoon and a few pots so why is this on your christmas table

00:46:57every year because i just love it is it down to you or is it matty your husband it's it's a matty

00:47:03request actually he really enjoys ticky toffee pudding and we always have it instead of and

00:47:07mince pies it's a course before the mince pies yeah does matty not eat it in the three days

00:47:14when you shouldn't be eating it that's my worry about eating it making it three days leaving it

00:47:18unattended for three days yeah well we we're big we're big mince pie people so we have a mince pie

00:47:24every day up until christmas okay wait when do you start you start on the first of december and you

00:47:29have a mince pie every single day and sometimes it's not just one it might be two or three and i like

00:47:34to buy from every single supermarket and cross compare can i move in with you

00:47:38my thing you don't make your own mince pies i of course i make my own and i'm going to be

00:47:44making them at the restaurant but i love to buy supermarket mince pies okay and i cross compare

00:47:49all of them any favorites mns usually do a really good one i love the brown butter ones that waitress do

00:47:55as well okay but surprisingly aldi's have banned every single year really yeah i did try i'll do some

00:48:01is that right yeah delicious yeah this is public service information i love this i always find them

00:48:06too sweet though there was like too much sugar in them you need to have it warm with a bit of cream

00:48:10yeah yeah so really simply in here i've got my i'm just waiting for this to you're not going to split

00:48:17it today i'm not going to split um in here i've got my flour so just a really simple cake butter sugars butter

00:48:23flour and an egg right okay so that's really simple and my sauce is even more simple you can

00:48:32make the sauce for a sticky toffee pudding by making a direct caramel going to all that fuss or you can

00:48:37just boil together dark brown sugar butter and cream and in about three minutes you have a sticky

00:48:42toffee sauce so that's really easy and then that will keep you can make that as you want to serve it or

00:48:49just put it in the fridge and then warm it down so in here my dates have boiled away nicely anyway

00:48:55what's wrong with christmas pudding hands up if you like it yeah yeah hands up if you feel compelled

00:49:00to have it yes yeah i mean i do like it no i don't like it it's the last thing you want after a massive

00:49:07dinner it is but it tastes so good and with cold cream it's one of the most delicious things when it's

00:49:13hot and it's you know and it's you put cold cream on top yeah christmas pudding is delicious it is a bit

00:49:18like having christmas without the tree really yes no i think you could if you or if you take it and

00:49:23put it into a whole bottle of gin and let it sit for a couple days that's the better way to do that

00:49:28sounds don't you own a gin distillery yeah isn't that convenient well i'm saying alcohol and you

00:49:35should just macerate it and then you make your own but i think that's the only way you should have it

00:49:39with a lot of food you know i like it had brandy just dump brandy brandy butter um christmas anyway

00:49:45rav's not doing that no make a sticky toffee pudding a top tier dessert i think so i put my

00:49:52bicarb in with my dates why and it causes a bit of a reaction so bicarb um with the dates so it helps

00:50:01you to break down those tough skins yeah and then we get them and you don't even really need to bother

00:50:06that much they will break down even further in the oven and in the mixture you just put them into your

00:50:12cake batter and again if i was making a really big version i would blend these down i'm not going to

00:50:17do that and you just stir them through and you were asking me before what's the difference between

00:50:22baking powder and bicarb and why we use both you always have to use bicarb to sort of neutralize

00:50:27things that are too acidic and it causes a reaction immediately but with baking powder the reactions

00:50:32already happened so it's bicarb and cream of tartar mixed together it's reacted already in its little thing

00:50:37so then in the oven it will cause it to rise we put both very interesting yeah but if you were to use

00:50:42all bicarb which some people do you're going to get that fizz on your tongue yeah yeah so you have to

00:50:47use a bit of both that's a really good explanation really good can i just ask yeah can i ask maizey to

00:50:51recap the explanation yeah the bicarbonate with the flour on the tongue is good good yeah yeah

00:50:58yeah yeah yeah because you don't want a dry date and i've always said that you have thank you maizey

00:51:05at christmas tis the season for a moist date

00:51:12so that's the batter really simply and michaela the food tech made me try it on my tongues before

00:51:18and it they do taste distinctly different so that one goes into the oven like that okay how long for um

00:51:24about 25 minutes uh-huh every time you put a cake in no matter what it is you just test it by

00:51:31putting a skewer in it comes out kind of clean you're good to go okay um i've just tried your

00:51:36custard it's not overly sweet yeah is that deliberate always because sticky toffee pudding is so sweet

00:51:44yeah you don't want an overly sweet custard and i always add a nice pinch of salt into it to balance it out

00:51:49so here is what you would be left with it's a lovely cute sponge but what i like to do at home and

00:51:56especially on christmas is i make it in a pie dish or any sort of casserole dish if you're confused about

00:52:01like i don't have this size or i don't have this vessel as long as your mixture comes up a bit more

00:52:06than halfway it will bake out fine if it's less than it's going to be a bit too shallow and if it's more

00:52:11than just don't do it because it will explode oh yeah good tips always got the tips haven't i where

00:52:19with the tips if you want to swap out your christmas pudding for rab's ultimate sticky toffee offering

00:52:23you can find the recipe at bbc.co.uk forward slash saturday kitchen or scan the qr code below

00:52:28to take you to straight to this recipe right happy so i am happy it's just nice to see a cake that's a

00:52:34reassuring colour can we drop it now are you saying you didn't enjoy that one well let's not go there

00:52:42what have you done now you've taken some i've actually added a bit of custard to it what you can

00:52:46do you can put your sauce on and you can put it under the grill to really let it seal into the cake

00:52:53but i'm going to do it as a pouring sauce and i wanted to add just a bit of custard to it where i

00:52:58might add cream and then your sauce just goes all over the top stop it so what you might do at home

00:53:09is pull it out of the microwave or out of the oven cover it in sauce at the table and then just put

00:53:14jugs of custard cream or ice cream oh yeah right that looks amazing right we'll serve up two of those

00:53:23and the custard just pouring over the top we'll serve it on the side

00:53:30my mouth's water that looks so good it's like happy food yeah

00:53:36thank you and then a bit of custard over the top yeah yes

00:53:44right well it's been so long i've forgotten what's it called sticky toffee pudding with some lovely custard

00:53:50delicious

00:53:55even got it down the side of the bowl as well i know old school way

00:53:59right there you are put that key with my cake were you oh yeah yeah where's the mushroom

00:54:07right it's coming i want to try this you have to ollie what have we got here px

00:54:13sharing nice one of my all-time favorites it's such a great all-rounder at christmas time

00:54:16let me pass it out alex thank you sorry sorry um because it goes with literally any pudding but

00:54:21because it is one of the world's sweetest wines it is absolutely scrumptious with sticky toffee pudding

00:54:26if you imagine like a vortex of figs and dates and sultanas and raisins all the festive flavors in one

00:54:32that's what this is and it's an absolute bargain yeah it's so sweet it's a total steal seven pounds in

00:54:38the co-op uh this is that irresistible pedro jimenez yeah and it stays in yeah and it's fractionally

00:54:43blended for years and years and years once they've fortified it so an extraordinary astonishing value

00:54:48thing and just like a sort of liquid chocolate raisin this time it tastes like raisins yeah yeah just

00:54:53raisins good isn't that naughty yeah that warms your eyes off doesn't it yeah a pedro jimenez that is

00:54:59this good at that price point does not come around often it's true it really is very good exactly

00:55:06really textual so it's a bit like the sauce uh you know it's exactly that um yeah i just think

00:55:11this spanish treat you can also pour it over vanilla ice cream for a little oh yes i mean that's yeah

00:55:16yeah perfect best possible way how's the sticky toffee pudding sensational you too what about us

00:55:21we have no it's ours this is ours yeah we normally do you like some yes i wouldn't mind yeah all right

00:55:27well i'll plate some up you guys watch nigella there are so many eating opportunities at this time

00:55:38of year it's not all about the meat feast let's get some heat under there warm up the olive oil just a

00:55:45little bit of it and my moroccan vegetable pot sweet with carrots and parsnips and tangy with preserved

00:55:53lemons and dried apricots is just the perfect relaxing warming supper when it's cold outside oh i love bowl

00:56:02food first in go the leeks that mellow sweet allium flavor now some cinnamon

00:56:15cumin the moroccan spice i think

00:56:24ah ground ginger

00:56:29beautiful warming spices just right and christmasy too

00:56:36now the carrots i like carrots cut into chunky batons but

00:56:41i really am not going to interfere with you if you want fat coins

00:56:46and parsnips different way to have christmas parsnips this year

00:56:54and i've got some chunked up potato not much but it will absorb all the spices

00:57:02beautifully slightly thicken the juices too

00:57:05and aubergine well it too drinks up the flavor whatever it cooks with

00:57:16i'm gonna give these vegetables a chance to become better acquainted they can mingle in the pot

00:57:25so garlic

00:57:38so after the sweet garlic

00:57:43some salty green olives pitted there we are in they go tumble in

00:57:52ah apricots

00:57:55just gonna snip them in everyone can get more that way

00:57:59better when they're halved so that as you eat you can get sharp fruity bursts

00:58:11ah preserved lemons once you discover these your life is changed forever and for the better

00:58:22there's something about them unlike anything else well yes they're like lemons but they've got such

00:58:29intense sourness with such intense fragrance too they just enliven anything they're in

00:58:36i have to say i use the juice from a jar of preserved lemons to make my dirty lemon martini just mixed with vodka

00:58:47and then it was whisper vermis

00:58:53i'm going to be a bit slovenly and just leave in the old pip perhaps i shouldn't but i am

00:58:58scrape up every last bit of this perfumed pulp

00:59:04fragrance is just heady

00:59:07and now some chickpeas i like jarred chickpeas they're often spanish jarred chickpeas they're much

00:59:13softer and squishier now there's so much flavor in the vegetables and the spices and of course the

00:59:19preserved lemons i don't need stock merely water this is cold water

00:59:28saffron these precious strands with a wonderful rich flavor and bringing that glint of gold as well

00:59:37i'm going to salt generously it's good to do everything generously

00:59:43so

00:59:49there is quite a bit of peeling chopping i mean not that much

00:59:52but this is so relaxing to make because everything goes into the pot and then comes

00:59:57to a bubble simmers gently until it's tender and that's all there is to it

01:00:04and i do love as well that the spices which are north african and the dried fruit

01:00:10are also the flavors of medieval christmas feasting

01:00:17so now that it's cheerfully bubbling away i have plans lid on

01:00:25and i'm going to make some couscous to go with it

01:00:28i've already toasted some pine nuts and i'll need them later

01:00:31i love wholemeal couscous it's slightly nuttier than regular couscous and fluffs up wonderfully

01:00:38to this i add some dried dill i'll be adding fresh dill on serving and i also add some vegetable bouillon powder

01:00:48i mix it all together it's like playing in a sandpit before pouring over some just boiled water

01:00:59finally finally i drizzle over a little olive oil and once i've covered it i just let it stand

01:01:14just before serving the couscous i toss through those toasted pine nuts and a few fronds of fresh dill

01:01:26i have a small token of my esteem and affection

01:01:44when i have a ladle it just always reminds me of my custard monitor days

01:01:47i would dole out the customs it's quite it during lunch time time as well it's the only it's the only

01:01:56position of authority i've had

01:02:01here you are

01:02:15from custard girl to nigella she's come a long way right carmen we've spoken in the past about fridge

01:02:21door sort of whites and you know you open the fridge you you go to it you've got something ready

01:02:25prepared this is what you're all about today you can do this with cocktails you can pre-batch make

01:02:30them the night before even a couple days before or months before we even have one and this is showing

01:02:36that you can have it all ready keep everyone out of the kitchen with a nice boozy drink and fridge door

01:02:41cocktails fridge door cocktails all right there's a lot it's a busy we've got breakfast we got pre-lunch

01:02:47we got dessert and we've got getting the party started or maybe by the fireplace in your pants at the

01:02:53end of the night i like that image that's very much me oh god okay all right we're going to start

01:03:01off with a breakfast martini which is what you guys have in front of you and i'm going to show you how

01:03:05easy this is to pre-batch now you're going to put this into a big jug before and we're going to start

01:03:11off with uh gin we've got that going in we've got some runny honey now because we're pre-batching

01:03:17normally you would shake this you are going to whip this around with a little spoon to get that

01:03:24honey to dissolve into the drink okay okay then we are going to come in with our breakfast tea we've

01:03:30got an earl grey tea going into there as well that is still mixing we've got a little bit of lemon juice

01:03:37so all of our breakfast staples and then a little bit we're going to go in with four spoons

01:03:44of marmalade hence the breakfast marmalade now this one in a cocktail breakfast and it's being

01:03:52served with a little piece of toast that is buttered with some salted butter so we've got breakfast in

01:03:59a glass now usually you would shake this to dilute it you can add a little bit of water to dilute it

01:04:06down and have that pre-batched in the fridge ready to go that's delicious it's breakfast isn't it

01:04:12it needs to be ice cold ice cold yes shaking it or have it in the fridge ready to pour

01:04:17into your guest's glass when they walk in the door in the morning what do you guys think very happy

01:04:22very happy yeah it's just breakfast plus booze breakfast plus booze and there's three drinks to

01:04:28go still that's that is delicious it is i love that sort of that marmalade sort of sourness marmalade is

01:04:35again orangey lemons slightly bitter marmalade really and you could depending on your marmalade

01:04:41it gives your sweetness yeah now what do you think of the toast i know you always give me a hard time

01:04:45just put it on the side we'll eat it why don't you try i don't need a piece of eat it matt why don't you eat

01:04:49eat the sauce i just don't think it's necessary sorry we had spinach cake i'm not sure any of this is

01:04:57necessary that's delicious all right toast i'll leave it okay we are on to pre-lunch punch oh good

01:05:06thanks thanks um lunch punch now is this is a little trick because a lot of people have a cake stand at

01:05:11home but you could easily do this recipe pre-batched in the fridge in a big jug but here's a cake stand

01:05:17you're gonna flip it upside down into a punch bowl now we're going festive very clever uh yeah a lot of

01:05:25them do and so i've decorated it with some cinnamon some dehydrated limes and some dried cranberry it's a

01:05:36great way to if you have any leftover limes that are about to go bad put them in keep them to the

01:05:42side yeah now already looks festive festive it does it looks festive now we're going to build our punch

01:05:48this is really good because it's pre-batched easy and we're using a full bottle of rum so guys crack

01:05:54what's this full bottle of rum little trick with your rum when you're dumping a whole bottle into a

01:06:01punch bowl if you dump it over and spin it it's going to make kind of like a tornado it's going to

01:06:05empty the bottle really fast so you've got that turning around kitchen trick or an old college

01:06:13party trick as well that's one too okay now we've got our rum we are going to go in with our cranberry

01:06:19juice that gets dumped in we are going to go in with a spiced cinnamon syrup so we've got to get a

01:06:26little bit of sugar and we also need to have that kind of christmasy flavors now what's in here

01:06:31we've done brown sugar and water on the hob with a slice of orange a little bit of clove some cinnamon

01:06:37sticks we've got all of those christmas flavors coming out as well so i also have some orange liqueur

01:06:44that's going to go into there as well kicking up that little bit of booziness and we have some

01:06:49pomegranate juice that goes into it there's a lot going in this this is this is going to feed 14 people

01:06:56orange juice and some lime juice we've got our citrus we've got balance and a bit of bitters

01:07:03the key is balance some bitters that's going to go in now you guys have ice in it this can now be

01:07:11pre-batched and put into the fridge for overnight but you don't want to dilute it down with all of

01:07:16your ice so i've got some slices of orange and you're going to pop them into an ice tray like a square

01:07:23ice tray that you'd use for like whiskey blocks or what we're about to do an old-fashioned and you

01:07:28fold your oranges into a flower look at this is like arts and crafts it is arts and crafts boozy arts

01:07:35and crafts adult arts and crafts okay you're going to fold that in so you can see that now you could

01:07:43put a little bit of ice a little bit of water to turn it into ice that goes into the freezer

01:07:48you've got someone there now pop those into the

01:07:57frozen fruits a great way to

01:08:00so the idea being you're not diluted we're not diluted

01:08:05i like the way you say orange orange orange i'm going to dump in some cranberries as well

01:08:10or is it just like that it's all juice oh yeah all juice so that's that's where you're bringing down

01:08:15the alcohol now are you guys ready for our boozy santas which i know some of you they are starting

01:08:22mine's had a meltdown yeah okay now it's hot in here but how we're going to build this is after

01:08:27dinner drinks so crack into this this is santa which is melting whipped cream but what goes into

01:08:33him we're going to make boozy boozy it's great you've lost your mind you could do this um nice and cold

01:08:40in a glass or heat it up but obviously don't put hot boozy drinks hello this is dessert so what's

01:08:46going into it it is minty so we've started off with some cold espresso and we've got a coffee liqueur

01:08:54that's going to go into there as well as well as chocolate liqueur so there's a lot of chocolate

01:08:59liqueur out in the supermarkets right now now i've also got some peppermint liqueur that goes into there

01:09:05as well and milk that gets pre-batched mixed up in the glass and popped in the fridge and that can

01:09:13be overnight so you have this for dessert at the end of the evening or when you like a sleepy bedtime

01:09:19or brett it could be breakfast as well whatever you know it's christmas it's christmas we're we

01:09:24clearly anything we start off early we're drinking a breakfast dinner breakfast dinner and lunch and then

01:09:30you've got whipped cream on topping that and then some crushed candy canes as well he's warm he's

01:09:35melting but that's why you need to drink up and then you just eat your glass and then yeah you chomp

01:09:40down on on santa thoughts on the table delicious delicious the pudding of power is delicious they're

01:09:46all delicious i love this one it's just like yeah the breakfast martini is scrumptious all right i'm

01:09:52going to show you guys the last little trick now this is a freezer door cocktail this is a bottle of bourbon

01:09:59i have dumped out 150 mils of that so keep that and use that for different drinks this is a pecan

01:10:05syrup so i've done maple syrup brown sugar on the hob with a nice handful of pecans and let that sit

01:10:11you get that really nice kind of maple christmas feeling how did you make that simple syrup so you've

01:10:16got sugar water pecans and a little bit of maple syrup and then blitz it no no just put it on the hob

01:10:22and let it infuse and then you get so colorful yeah and you take the pecans out and then use those

01:10:28which i've made obviously pecan brittle with it as well so that is the 150 out goes 150 of sugar

01:10:35a little bit of orange bitters goes into the glass oh there we go that gets shaken oh

01:10:44oh and popped in the freezer favorites from the table rumptious oh it's so difficult all four

01:10:51breakfast martini but all four great yeah really yeah i just think the old-fashioned does it for me

01:10:55though please my breakfast breakfast one the breakfast one yeah i tend to i think breakfast yeah just

01:11:00tastes like breakfast it does and it's yeah it's such an enlivener as well punchy they are punchy

01:11:06also when you're doing freezer doors you need that high alcohol content so that's why with the pecan

01:11:10you're not adding any water because we don't want it to freeze but those are boozy they're fun

01:11:14and they're small serves that's only 50 mils in that glass uh yeah but we've got a lot of them

01:11:19um these are delicious yeah breakfast lunch easy you can do it at home all pre-batched very good yeah

01:11:26lovely like that uh don't forget if you want to make any of carmen's cocktails at home you can find

01:11:30her recipes over on our instagram page at saturday.kitchen right we're going to soon find out whether

01:11:36maisie or alex will be tucking into their food heaven but first we're joining mary berry and a

01:11:40christmas elf who looks suspiciously like nick grimshaw

01:11:49a stone's throw away is the local rnli every year they host christmas carols for their volunteers

01:11:58i'm thrilled to have been invited and as a thank you i'm going to make one of my special gift

01:12:04recipes for them dj nick grimshaw has come to help me for the day when dame mary berry calls you answer

01:12:14hi mary nick i'm so glad you're here nice to see you how are you i'm fine i know you like your food i do

01:12:23christmas food especially oh well that's good because we're gonna bake something special for

01:12:28all the rn i crew and don't they deserve it oh my god they sure do i'm ready i'm prepared i've even got

01:12:34my christmas helper hat it suits you well you're going to be busy come on all right let's go mary

01:12:42have i got to keep this on all day we're batch cooking plenty of my special ginger flapjacks

01:12:48to feed a crowd and package them up beautifully too we're going to give them to all the crew of the rn

01:12:55and i when they're having their christmas concert i'll be careful i'll be a very good student today

01:13:01mary i'll tell you that at the end i love where we are this is not your standard christmas cooking

01:13:08location i didn't know today i'd be making flapjacks next to loads of wellies well i watch saving lives

01:13:15at sea oh yeah and you hear that alarms going and i get quite excited oh my god yeah that could be

01:13:21watch it let's hope not let's hope not so immediately when you think of flapjacks you

01:13:26think of golden syrup and it is very difficult to weigh accurate so i find the best way is to

01:13:32use digital scales put that on there we'll do mine first okay we're going to add 250 grams of golden

01:13:41syrup okay so just pour straight in that's it it reminds me of being a kid this does it yeah it really

01:13:49does because i always remember the struggle to try and get the lid off and then also my mum's

01:13:54struggle trying to get the lid back on what i do is i wipe around the actual edge the lid on and then

01:14:01i gently stand on it oh i'm sure health and safety it works a treat i love that yeah just stand on it

01:14:09it's really easy okay 230 oh 250 on the nose okay so i've done mine how about doing yours okay so 250

01:14:21should i go for a free pour i think i've got it oh no 257 a little bit less a little bit less a little bit

01:14:32right then add an equal measure of butter i'm liking this recipe already syrup butter two of my

01:14:41staples and don't use a spread because if you spread it's got water in it would alter the balance

01:14:46and onto the heat to bubble have you got a spatula got a spatula it is isn't it yeah i like it mary

01:14:56oh that looks good smells fantastic as well turn off the heat and add the final ingredients

01:15:04starting with the oats keep your own side now

01:15:08and then just mix it all in yeah yep and then you've got some powdered ginger

01:15:18and i'm ramping up the flavor even further with chopped stemmed ginger

01:15:25so do you like cooking with people at christmas i do yeah i give everybody a job a job yeah and

01:15:30because otherwise i'm alone in the kitchen yeah you don't want that i take the turkey and the boot

01:15:34of the car in the sleeping bag oh yeah how did you know you told me that before because every time

01:15:39you see a sleeping bag or a turkey i think of mary berry

01:15:45give that a jolly good mix until it's all one color and it's ready do you like to taste it at

01:15:50this stage or not yeah shall we what do you think well i'll have a go should we have a little go it's

01:15:55sort of rather a sweet porridge oats in the morning isn't it this is the christmas breakfast i deserve

01:16:01isn't it good mm-hmm that is delicious the ginger is so good tip into 35 by 25 centimeter tins

01:16:13this smells outrageous oh yes and then you just press it down firmly okay evenly so it's not difficult

01:16:23is it really no not at all this would be like good to make with the rest of the family wouldn't it

01:16:27pop them into a 150 fan oven for about 30 or 40 minutes until golden as soon as these flapjacks

01:16:37come out of the oven mark into 24 squares then leave them until cold and firm before taking them out of

01:16:44the tin nick and i still have a lot of work to do they're arriving and we've got to have them all made

01:16:52we're ready to go we certainly black jacks are ready bags are ready we can do this we better be quicker

01:17:02this is a good one mary look at that that one's textbook oh no oh oh sorry

01:17:13ribbons ribbons flapjacks ribbons ribbons flapjacks well this is an assembly line come on you're all of a

01:17:19fumble and i'm rushing i'm rushing actually you are doing well

01:17:26are you going to sing carols with i am going to sing carols i will let you know mary i have

01:17:30the worst voice ever it's even more annoying unbelievably than my speaking voice have you got

01:17:36a nice voice mary dreadful okay i want them to be really special for them when you think about it

01:17:42the job that they do for us it's absolutely amazing so this will put a smile on their face

01:17:48hopefully there's a tray down there bring them up mm-hmm pop them on here these look great just to

01:17:54make sure just to make sure just to make sure they taste like christmas they're good aren't they very

01:18:03good merry christmas mary thanks for your help thank you happy christmas to you thank you for having me

01:18:07come on let's take them see if they like them please welcome dame mary berry

01:18:18and nick the very best helper merry christmas unfortunately i made some but mary made most of them

01:18:29here you go merry christmas

01:18:31thank you so this is what you need when you come in oh thank you amazing yep pretty good

01:18:43i'll eat this all day in any day

01:18:52thanks mary and nick right it's time to find out whether it's food heaven for maizey or alex so it

01:18:57could be macy's idea of food heaven which is pie chicken chorizo christmas veg all that goings on

01:19:04or it could be alex's food heaven uh which is chow mein crispy noodles and ham hock right there's no

01:19:11vote today so we've had a cracker coming up with a taskmaster inspired question whoever is the closest

01:19:17to the right answer wins their food heaven you have until our crew finished singing their christmas carol

01:19:23to write your answers on the festive whiteboards you have in front of you i can't get my little is

01:19:28this clear yeah you don't know the question yet calm down stop being competitive oh no and don't get

01:19:35angry well don't get festively angry she's already don't like the just ask the question

01:19:43right uh the crew will begin singing as soon as i finish the questions so pens at the ready

01:19:49are you ready crew yes good at 10 a.m on the 20th of december how many minutes are left until

01:19:57christmas day oh for goodness go we wish you a merry christmas we wish you a merry christmas we wish you

01:20:06a merry christmas and a happy new year that's it time's up show me your answers maizey show me your

01:20:14answer i panicked really yeah i know you really panicked yeah i did i i i i'm useless in math so

01:20:19it's too much though alex i also panicked oh less oh that's a big old difference well i can reveal

01:20:26that the answer is actually 6600 minutes so alex you are the closest well done alex

01:20:34right theo uh you can do some chopping yeah thank you okay if you chop some veg uh right i'm gonna get

01:20:41on with the ham hock so i'm just gonna rub the ham hock in some spices got some white pepper and we've

01:20:48got some cloves and salt and then we're gonna cook this very very slowly in some stock and this yellow

01:20:54bean paste some soy some vinegar some sugar uh for about sort of two hours or so uh and then we're

01:21:02gonna make a little uh sauce out of the rest of it right so while we get on with this

01:21:08so alex tell me with this love of chinese food you spent six months in china oh how do you know

01:21:14that matt did you i did yeah yeah in 1997 what were you doing there i was sorting out the handover

01:21:21of hong kong to the uh back to the chinese i was there when the handover happened but i was teaching

01:21:27english to some chinese people badly um yeah i don't think i helped but i i really enjoyed it i like

01:21:33the food especially how was your chinese good yeah well come on give us some i can say that's one

01:21:44two three four five six oh then either eight or seven i think yeah thank you that's that's the

01:21:50whole the whole love of the food comes from that time there yeah so i worked in a school and chinese

01:21:56schools they have literally a barrel of rice which they scoop out everyone has rice and then some

01:22:01protein meat or some veg and i quite like having the same food every day for six months are you

01:22:07right yeah i'm just annoyed that somebody who says that has won this challenge yeah yeah okay

01:22:14ollie what are we drinking there's lots of strong flavors in this there are lots of punchy strong

01:22:18flavors and riesling is the grape that i absolutely love to serve with this dish it can totally handle

01:22:23all comers this is a dry riesling it's an absolutely champion star bright icon of a wine actually from

01:22:29australia brand new on the shelves of tesco this is 13 quid it is pike's traditional reasoning from the

01:22:34clare valley it is unbelievably fresh so a little bit aromatic and floral when you smell it then when

01:22:40you taste it it's just liquid invigoration what what appellation is it so this is the clare valley so

01:22:45in australia they don't have just appellations of europe not in australia it's our face valley

01:22:50isn't it the clare valley yeah and south southeast facing slopes yeah which in the southern hemisphere is

01:22:55cold because they're facing the equivalent of north um so really fresh and lovely and invigorating um

01:23:01yeah and a heritage going back to the 1800s you know it's a it's a really i mean in australia this

01:23:06is like one of the most famous wines out there and it's lovely it's a cracker isn't it fresh yeah

01:23:11super fresh and i think a lot of people will think oh riesling is it going to be sweet yeah

01:23:14have a go at this it's utterly delicious it's fantastic with chow mein i just reckon though

01:23:19any time you want a celebration crack it open what about when carmen poured the bottle the

01:23:24water out i loved it the liquid came out fast well that was good that was absolutely brilliant don't

01:23:29do that with a bottle of wine over here you only only do it should decal you don't come good don't

01:23:35know what your parties are like right so we're cracking on here so okay so uh ham hock goes in here

01:23:44for about sort of two hours or so until you can pull that small i'll show you here until you can

01:23:48pull that small bone out without any resistance like so oh and then we got the sauce now the sauce

01:23:56gets thickened with a little bit of corn flour uh now there were some debates about this dish in

01:24:03rehearsals so i was doing some reading about this now in america they like to crisp up the whole noodle

01:24:10base rather than making it soft have you come across those so it's like a noodle sort of cake

01:24:16right no there's the cake again oh no but it's a crispy oh god no i was pretty keen it was authentically

01:24:24chinese and chicken definitely chicken was what i wanted oh so you've done the opposite

01:24:31well you've got a hammock okay because it's christmassy um so i'm going to shred this down now

01:24:37given that you spent many months in china yes i'm going to chop up the fat and put it here because

01:24:43i suspect you had a lot of wobbly fatty yeah a lot of weird things yeah things like chicken feet was a

01:24:49delicacy with every beer you'd have a chicken you just jump on a chicken's foot how did you find it

01:24:53i think when in on skewers oh you know yeah i um i like everything really nice yeah i haven't really

01:25:01got much of a palette well well you know you're wide wide and exploratory that's quite a nice thought

01:25:06isn't it yeah i think i am wide and exploring i've always felt that about you thanks ollie you can

01:25:10watch maizey's face as you're popping up the fat so yeah how much fat is going in there then the whole

01:25:16a whole gone pin of the of the the hang heart but it's just which i think it's delicious yeah it's

01:25:21quite it's quite gelatinous it's just kind of wobbly yeah but it's good for you it's collagen oh yes

01:25:28just i don't know but yeah i know you like wobbly pork belly i love wobbly pork belly yeah no just

01:25:33we could have been having chicken and chorizo pie but let's let's chomp down on fat let's talk about

01:25:39let's talk about your tour maizey um when are you uh when are you going on tour uh september right

01:25:46so you got a while yeah have you written it yet yes you haven't have you yes no it's really have you

01:25:52so nearly there so nearly there it's very very close a deadline really helps you push for yeah yeah

01:25:58yeah you know i just think all good things come to those who wait have you got a title of the tour

01:26:04the title is called what's a face i like that what's the face yes um don't ask me why just um

01:26:11i thought it was nice and uh fitting that's a good word everyone knows it well i've i've heard

01:26:16people sometimes occasionally go like on the tube oh that's what's a face and i look up and they are

01:26:21pointing at me what with an earshot yeah no yeah no genuinely um i recently heard my friend's mom at

01:26:27a wedding described me as the tall chaotic one with the weird hair sorry for you i get i get is that mr tumble

01:26:33oh yeah i see that yeah right okay i think we're ready to have that is nice okay so is this the kind

01:26:43of food that's good to have after you've had four cocktails of the three glasses do you know what

01:26:48perfect good so it soaks it all up right okay right let me get a yeah don't forget the garnish

01:26:57let me get a big spoon yeah we've got the garnish ready don't worry yeah there's one of them you're gonna

01:27:01love this okay so it's specifically chicken good good chicken right he wanted chicken and soft noodles and

01:27:08what's this pork and a crunch noodles crispy noodles and pork at least i'm getting noodles though no no you

01:27:13know what you could have had chicken in a chicken and chorizo pie 100 000 minutes yeah i panicked okay

01:27:22and you sang the carol too quick very far it was a high tempo you want a high one point five speed

01:27:29yeah it was not cool okay there's some noodles you eat some noodles thank you uh

01:27:38it's fried by new york city hong kong noodles have you had these in new york yes oh i see it is a noodle

01:27:46cake yeah it's another cake what is it what is it what the how did you get it to stay in that so

01:27:51many questions about my noodles and they look great let's just accept them i want to make them at home

01:27:56really yeah i feel like i'll talk you through just look at me so you blanch them yeah for two minutes

01:28:03less than the packet says and then you get that you dry them and then you put them in in a hot lock

01:28:08with about this much oil and into the the kind of the cake shape you see you've been cake smuggling all day

01:28:14it's it's been that kind of a show how is alex it's like nothing i've ever eaten before

01:28:22oh merry christmas i'm gonna take that that's all i'm gonna say saturday kitchen thanks to theo

01:28:27rav ollie carmen and of course maizey and alex all the recipes from the studio on the website bbc.co.k

01:28:32forward slash saturday kitchen i've got more best bites you tomorrow morning on bbc two and i'll be

01:28:37back here next saturday with an amazing new year's eve ideas from julie lynn hassan semi and elliot

01:28:43grover plus special guest sue perkins so all that remains for us to say merry christmas

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