Blog

All the recipes you need for planning Festive Feasts

In three glorious viewing marathons, plus a Rick Stein special and more, SBS Food's Festive Feasts is packed with ideas for food to share with friends and family.

Source: SBS Food

--- Enjoy Festive Feasts on SBS Food (Channel 33) from Saturday 11 December. Along with three festive marathons from noon-5pm on December 11, 18 and 25, featuring favourite cooks including Donal Skehan, Poh Poh Ling Yeow, Anna Olson, Nigella Lawson, Tom Kerridge, Mary Berry and Jamie Oliver, there's also a special Cornish Christmas with Rick Stein from 8.30pm on 12 December. See the
TV Guide
for more details of these and other festive shows screening in December ---

SBS Food's Festive Feasts programs are packed with great ideas and recipes to inspire your own holiday plans. Here's a taste of what you can enjoy, from gift ideas to a stunning gingerbread house that's also a delicious four-layer chocolate cake.

Breakfast

Boxty potato brekkie Source: Donal's Meals in Minutes

"All I want for Christmas is a special breakfast treat ... And sure, what would Christmas be without smoked salmon for breakfast. This is a great way to fancy up your morning in minutes," says Donal Skehan of this

boxty breakfast plate

, featuring boxty - a traditional Irish potato pancake - along with boiled eggs and a smoked salmon and cream cheese puree. It's one of the great recipes he serves up in the Christmas episode of Donal's Meals in Minutes (screening 5.35 pm Saturday 25 December, and then at SBS On Demand for 30 days).

Gifts to make

Brittle bark Source: Flour Power Christmas: Edible Gifts

"Everyone loves gifts like these and the best thing is you can make them in advance. What’s not to love, it caramelised, it’s nutty, it’s chocolate-y!" says Jessica McGovern of this brittle bark, a layer of brittle studded with cashew, pistachio and almond and topped with a layer of chocolate. This is one of several sweet ideas shared by the Irish-Canadian baker in Flour Power Christmas: Edible Gifts, one of three Flour Power specials screening as part of Festive Feasts. (See the Edible Gifts special 1.30pm Saturday 18 December and then at SBS On Demand for 30 days).

Christmas cookies

Christmas puzzle cookies Source: Flour Power Christmas: Edible Gifts

One for your jigsaw loving friends ... although it's pretty easy to put these together! These

Christmas puzzle cookies

, also from Jessica McGovern's Edible Gifts special, are made from a simple sugar cookie dough, using one big round cookie cutter and one smaller star cutter, and iced with royal icing.

Festive party drinks

Cranberry ginger tequila Source: Spencer's Big Holiday

Fruity ice cubes add a colourful touch to this tequila, orange and ginger ale festive drink, whipped up by Spencer Watts in Spencer's Big Holiday, alongside a brace of other drinks and festive dishes. (See it 2.30 pm Saturday 11 December). You'll find many more festive drink ideas in our

drinks

and

cocktails

recipe collections.

Platter to share

Baked camembert platter Source: Donal's Meals in Minutes

It's next-level bread and cheese: a wheel of camembert, slotted into a loaf of bread, drizzled with olive oil, garlic, rosemary and honey and baked till soft, then served up with other delicious bits and pieces. This

recipe

is another from Donal Skehan's Meals in Minutes Christmas episode.

Festive meals

Turkey breast stuffed with Italian sausage and marsala-steeped cranberries Source: Nigellissima Christmas

"It's turkey time, but not quite as we know it," says Nigella Lawson as she makes this

turkey breast stuffed with Italian sausage and marsala-steeped cranberries

in Nigellissima Christmas. (See it 4.30 pm 25 December.)

Honey-glazed roast bacon aka honey roast streaky bacon

Honey-glazed roast bacon Source: Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food

"This is the most magnificent alternative to your classic festive ham; it’s ridiculously easy, takes no time at all and will knock your Christmas socks off," says Tom Kerridge, of this

honey roast streaky bacon

(catch him cooking this at 4 pm on 11 December in a special episode of Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food).

Jamie's best roast potatoes Source: © Jamie Oliver Enterprises Ltd

We're fairly sure we could just sit down to a huge plate of

Jamie Oliver's roast potatoes

(they're called "Jamie's best roast potatoes" for a reason) and call that a fantastic feed any time of the year. But if you're planning a festive feast with all the trimmings, they'll do nicely for that, too (if you can bring yourself to share!). They're just one of the

many dishes

he cooks up in Jamie's Easy Christmas Countdown (see it 3.30 pm 25 December).

Christmas cakes

Chocolate spice gingerbread house cake Source: Bake With Anna Olson

"This dessert is two in one! First, it’s a rich chocolate cake baked with my signature holiday spice blend, covered in a sumptuous chocolate frosting. But it is also a fully assembled gingerbread house! What fun – a gingerbread house that you will actually eat," says expert baker Anna Olson, who makes this magical masterpiece in a 'Festive desserts' episode of Bake with Anna Olson (see it at 1pm on 11 December and then at SBS on Demand). Inside the gingerbread house sits four layers of chocolate cake, sandwiched with rich chocolate frosting, and then covered with more frosting. If you're after more gingerbread house ideas, or a traditional fruit cake, have a look through our

Christmas baking recipe collection

More fun festive baking

Reindeer cupcakes with peanut butter frosting Source: Flour Power Christmas: Edible Gifts

These smile-inducing

reindeer cupcakes

are another recipe from Jessica McGovern. These are super fun: chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, turned into adorable reindeer! (See her make them in Flour Power Christmas: Edible Gifts).

Different desserts

Cappucino pavlova Source: Nigellissima Christmas

For a pavlova twist, try this. Nigella Lawson describes herself as "something of a pavaholic" when she makes

this cappuccino pavlova

in Nigellissima Christmas (See it 4.30 pm 25 December.). It's a fruit-free version of the meringue classic, with a coffee-flavoured pavlova topped with whipped cream. Simple, but sumptuous!

Gingerbread sticky toffee pudding bundt Source: Flour Power Christmas: Twisted Classics

Another one for those who love gingerbread, this gingerbread sticky toffee pudding cake is deeply indulgent, and as Jessica McGovern says, "Of course, there has to be toffee sauce, lots of toffee sauce!". (See her making this in Flour Power Christmas: Twisted Classics, 2pm Saturday 18 December.)

Chocolate and cherry lava cake with cardamom whipped cream Source: Donal's Meals in Minutes

For Donal Skehan, Christmas falls in the middle of winter, so it's not surprising his Meals in Minutes festive menu includes this sumptuous

chocolate and cherry lava cake with cardamom whipped cream

. It may be the middle of summer here but for some of us, a festive gathering still calls for a warm dessert, and in that case, this will hit the spot nicely. Look at all that glorious chocolate sauce!

A twist on the pudding

Italian Christmas pudding cake Source: Nigellissima Christmas

Nigella Lawson's

Italian Christmas pudding cake

makes a showstopper festive dessert. It brings together the best of fruit-studded panettone, creamy tiramisu and cassata and the festive flair of pomegranate seeds and pistachios. (See it in Nigellissima Christmas, 4.30 pm 25 December.)

And the leftovers...

Spiced orange cake with Christmas pudding ice cream Source: Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food

You could do serve this dessert instead of traditional Christmas pudding - or just make the ice cream, as a delicious way to use up your festive pud. "I love Christmas pudding, but it does take quite a while to do. Cinnamon and ginger add festive flavours to this cake, which is a million times quicker than a traditional Christmas pudding – you can even do this on Christmas morning," says Tom Kerridge of his recipe for a

spiced orange cake with Christmas pudding ice cream

. You can make your own lush clotted cream ice cream using his recipe, or for a quick alternative, use a purchased tub of vanilla ice cream.

Watch the Festive Feast marathons on December 11, 18 and 25, and for more festive joy, look out for Rick Stein's Cornish Christmas, 8.30pm 12 December (also 10.30am 13 December); Rick Stein's Spanish Christmas Special, 8.30pm Sunday 19 December; Weekend Breaks With Gregg Wallace - Christmas in Vienna, 8.30am on Tuesday 21 December; and Rick Stein's Food Heros Xmas, 6.35pm 25 December.

More festive recipes

Coal cookies (spiced dark cocoa cookies)

Whipped feta with semi-dried tomato, garlic sourdough toasts and rosemary nuts

Maple syrup and clove glazed ham

Bush fruit Christmas cake

Gingerbread ute

Fruit mince tart with sage pastry

Spiced maple nuts and seeds

Follow SBS Food

SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only. Read more about SBS Food

Watch now

Have a story or comment? Contact Us

SBS Food is a 24/7 foodie channel for all Australians, with a focus on simple, authentic and everyday food inspiration from cultures everywhere. NSW stream only.

Follow SBS Food

7 min read

Published 10 December 2021 11:08am

Updated 10 December 2021 11:11am

By SBS Food

Source: SBS