It’s started.  I picked up my goose from the butcher today.  I’ve never cooked goose before, in fact other than roasting spuds in goose fat, I’ve never eaten goose before.  I imagine it is going to be a bit like duck.  I’m rather hoping we all like it as I don’t have a turkey sitting in the fridge just in case!

I’ve begun my preparations for the big day.  I’m definitely one of life’s feeders.  I’m as happy as a pig in muck – I’ve made loads of puff pastry this afternoon and I’m going to be making sausage rolls for tomorrow evening shortly.

The legs of the goose have been salted and are now in the fridge for the night so that I can confit them tomorrow.  I’m going to try to record what I’m doing as I go along this year and blog it all.  My New Year resolution is going to be to blog a little more regularly next year!

I’ve also got started on my gravy for Christmas Day.  I roasted off the neck and wings at 180C for 30 minutes and then put them in a big stock pot with the other giblets,about 12 black pepper corns, a couple of stalks of celery, a large onion and a couple of large carrots; covered the lot in water (about 2 litres); brought it to the boil and then reduced it all to a simmer; covered it and have now left it to cook away gently for a couple of hours.  I’m not sure what I shall do with it once it’s cooked through other than give the carrots and any bits of meat from it to the dog as an early Christmas prezzie but I have all my Christmas cookery books scattered over the kitchen table and am about to get busy with Google to work that bit out.