Good Food
type: channel
link: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com
date: 2025-12-17T17:21:50.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: Best novelty Christmas decorations and quirky baubles for foodies
items: Travel through traditions around the world
items: Christmas without the hassle – 15 recipes you can freeze ahead before the big day
items: 15 easy December recipes to add to your weeknight dinner rotation
items: Celebrate like an Italian with these traditional Christmas dinner ideas
items: Pancetta, cheddar & cranberry croquettes
items: Chorizo & purple sprouting broccoli gnocchi traybake
items: The best healthy soup recipes to warm you up this winter
items: Polish Christmas dinner ideas
items: Meet your new kitchen sidekick

Best novelty Christmas decorations and quirky baubles for foodies
type: item
date: 2025-12-11T14:57:12.000Z
creator: Elaine Lemm
subject: Recipes
subject: Review
subject: Christmas decoration
subject: Christmas tree
subject: food baubles
subject: foodie baubles
description: Looking for a fun way to decorate your Christmas tree? Choose from our best foodie baubles of 2025, from pigs in blankets and mince pies to stand mixers, Christmas dinners, a cake stand adorned with treats, and more...
encoded: Foodie Christmas baubles may have been considered a passing trend but have become a firm fixture of Christmas decorations. With foods from Brussels sprouts to roast potatoes, a classic turkey and all its trimmings, mince pies and sparkly layer cakes, there are even pigs in blankets all dressed up and ready to decorate the tree, wreath or table. There's a fantastic array of decorations out there from glass to wood, metal, and acrylic, and prices range from a few pounds for a bit of fun, and upwards for the larger and more intricate or handmade. Whether your tree is for the family, creating a fun display for the children or making an elegant statement, there will be something to suit everyone. Doubtless, many of these baubles are bound to become cherished keepsakes brought out each year to evoke their treasured memories. We have chosen a selection of our favourites that made us smile, gasp with delight or both. For more festive inspiration, visit our reviews section to find over 400 buyer guides, including the best advent calendars and the best Christmas hampers to buy. Best Christmas baubles and decorations for foodies Oliver Bonas croissant sequinned decoration Available from Oliver Bonas (£8.50) Everything gets a sparkly makeover at Christmas and this croissant is no exception. Embroidered entirely with gold sequins, it will catch the lights perfectly on your tree. Bonus points for the neon pink loop to hang it from, too. Available from: Oliver Bonas (£8.50) John Lewis custard cream felt tree decoration Available from John Lewis (£6) This soft custard cream bauble has impressive detail and is a great non-breakable option. You can complete your biscuit tin collection with a felt bourbon and jam biscuit too. John Lewis baubles tend to sell out fast, so make sure you pick one up quickly if you're keen. Available from: John Lewis (£6) Emma Bridgewater Christmas stars tiny teapot decoration Available from Emma Bridgewater (£22) One for the Emma Bridgewater fans, this is…

Christmas-baubles-2025-846f3f4.jpg
width: 4218
height: 3834

Travel through traditions around the world
type: item
creator: Mallika Basu
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: Premium
subject: Recipes
description: Explore how families around the world shape Christmas through evolving traditions, memories and shared dishes, from biryani feasts to Filipino lumpia
encoded: Growing up in India, we never let religion get in the way of a good party with outstanding food. My Hindu parents happily embraced Eid with family friends and partied until dawn on Christmas Eve. That spirit of joyful gathering feels especially alive at Christmas, a celebration that transcends borders and belief. Nowhere is this more evident than in our food. Across cultures, Christmas is often celebrated the day before with a meal of magnitude. For the Swiss, this may mean fondue or raclette, while the French are known for le réveillon, a grand multi-course meal. Yet the turkey dinner on Christmas Day remains a showstopper. Cranberry sauce at the side, potatoes roasted in fat and sprouts with chestnuts or pancetta are familiarity and tradition rolled into one. We add our own touches where tamarind sauce replaces gravy, or spice rubs adorn a roast. Tradition is rarely static. It travels, borrows and merges. Where turkey isn’t served, the feast is no less abundant. For Ranji Thangiah’s British-Sri Lankan family, biryani takes centre stage at their rented Norfolk cottage. This dish was also a staple at Christmas celebrations in my Kolkata childhood, where Muslim bakeries sold fruitcake and decorations alongside bread. With its Muslim heritage, biryani has long crossed religious and cultural lines, becoming a ceremonious centrepiece to gather around. The ritual of gifting fruitcakes – soaked, wrapped and shared – is a gesture of generosity, and one embraced by Ranji. It’s a journey that commences in October and contributes to the anticipation of the big day. Elsewhere, Christmas takes shape in acts of making and sharing. For Melissa Hemsley’s Filipino family, lumpia are non-negotiable. The preparation itself becomes a ritual, mums and aunties sitting around the table, rolling, filling, frying, arguing over who has been too stingy or too generous. The joy lies not only in eating them, but in the laughter woven into every move. Of course, there are places where Christmas…

Christmas-table-4f16aa1.jpg
width: 1200
height: 1320

Christmas without the hassle – 15 recipes you can freeze ahead before the big day
type: item
date: 2025-12-04T14:50:47.000Z
creator: Helen Salter
subject: News & Trends
subject: Recipes
description: Enjoy all the flavours of a traditional Christmas feast with none of the last-minute hassle with these freezable recipes. Simply defrost, reheat and serve.
encoded: Christmas should be a time to be merry and enjoy the company of loved ones, not to be chained to the kitchen in a last-minute panic. We've got you covered. By preparing and freezing a few festive staples in advance, you can take (most of) the stress out of Christmas Day. Our easy, freezable recipes shared below span starters, mains, sides and desserts, meaning you’ll have all the Christmas favourites ready to go — leaving you with more time for presents, games and that all-important glass of fizz. Hosting for the first time? Our tried-and-tested recipes will ensure all your Christmas feasting needs are covered, from Christmas snacks, starters, centrepieces and desserts. We also have a selection of freezable Christmas baking recipes, perfect for last-minute Christmas guests needing a sweet treat. 1. Unbelievably easy mince pies No Christmas is complete without a batch of mince pies. Simply fill melt-in-the-mouth shortcrust pastry with our zesty homemade mincemeat and pop in the freezer up to a month ahead, then bake straight from frozen for a freshly baked treat whenever guests arrive. See our ultimate collection of freezable mince pie recipes for more ways to bake this festive favourite. 2. Golden roast potatoes Did you know you can par-boil and freeze your roasties ahead of time? Instead of spending time peeling potatoes on Christmas morning, simply roast from frozen for crisp, fluffy potatoes without the faff. We have plenty more crispy and fluffy Christmas roast potato recipes to try. 3. Super-simple cranberry sauce Cranberry sauce lovers, you're in luck: homemade sauce can be made well in advance and frozen in portions (plus, this recipe calls for just three ingredients). Simply defrost then serve with your turkey for a sharp, fruity contrast. Find more varieties for this festive trimming in our collection of cranberry sauce recipes. 4. Best ever Yorkshire puddings These Yorkshire puddings taste light and fluffy even after freezing. And using only four ingredien…

Vegan-butternut-pecan-spiral-pies-cf047b1.jpg
width: 1000
height: 667

15 easy December recipes to add to your weeknight dinner rotation
type: item
date: 2025-12-03T14:08:58.000Z
creator: Helen Salter
subject: News & Trends
subject: Recipes
description: Embrace December’s seasonal bounty and keep weeknight dinners easy and exciting with these comforting, seasonal recipes.
encoded: It’s all too easy to fall into a dinner rut, especially as the nights draw in and the temperatures fall. However, with longer evenings and more time spent indoors, December is a great time to shake things up in the kitchen while making the most of the season’s bounty. With ingredients like leeks, sweet potato and kale at their best, there’s plenty of inspiration to be found. These easy weeknight recipes below are designed to help you try something new, comforting and delicious — each one simple enough for busy evenings, but special enough to become a firm favourite in your winter dinner rotation. Check out what's in season in December for more recipe inspiration, as well as our round-up of the best December recipes, winter dinners and British comfort food recipes. 1. Chicken, kale & mushroom pot pie This satisfying one-pot pie featuring tender chicken, earthy mushrooms and nutritious kale is easier to make than you think. Using ready-made puff pastry to cut corners, it's ideal for a comforting family supper, and any leftovers can be frozen for another day. We have plenty more chicken pie recipes for you to try, including this curried chicken pie. 2. Turkey pasta bake Use up any leftover turkey (or chicken) to create this super-comforting pasta bake. You can even turn it up a notch by topping with pigs in blankets (if there's any spare). Discover our freezable pasta bakes to help you get ahead with family dinners. 3. Smoky sausage & squash traybake Make the most of seasonal butternut squash in this oven-baked traybake with sausages, red onions and warming spices. An all-in-one meal that’s both simple and satisfying, it will be a hit with everyone at the table. Try more of our easy traybake recipes, such as this vibrant za’atar & lemon chicken traybake. 4. Thai curry noodle soup This speedy and spicy prawn noodle soup is great for using up whatever vegetables you have on hand. It's a warming bowl that's packed with flavour and is ready on the table in just 20 minutes …

Turkey-pasta-bake-1eda80a.jpg
width: 1200
height: 800

Celebrate like an Italian with these traditional Christmas dinner ideas
type: item
date: 2025-12-02T12:22:50.000Z
creator: Giovanna Solimando
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: News & Trends
subject: Recipes
description: Want to try something different this Christmas? Discover some of the main Italian dinner traditions and dishes for Christmas Eve (La Vigilia) and the rest of the festive period.
encoded: This holiday season, bring new flavours to your table with an Italian Christmas feast. From rich fish and seafood dishes to comforting stuffed pastas, roasts and panettone, these Italian Christmas dinner ideas offer a delicious alternative, or a perfect complement, to your traditional British spread. In Italy, the Christmas holidays start on the 24 December, Christmas Eve. That’s when the celebrations and food gatherings officially begin, with Natale (Christmas Day) as the main event, and Santo Stefano (26 December, Boxing Day) as the closing act. Across Italy every region has its own traditional festive foods and even within a single region recipes often change from town to town. Still, some dishes are similar and many traditions are shared. Here’s a look at Italy’s festive tables, from Christmas Eve’s meatless meals to the long, abundant lunches on Christmas Day and the relaxed, leftover feasts on Santo Stefano. These are some of the traditions kept alive in Italy and by Italian families across the US who continue to celebrate customs brought over by earlier generations of immigrants. Christmas is celebrated in many ways around the world. We’ve got plenty of menu inspiration from classic British Christmas dinners to plenty of alternative dishes. You might want to lay on a buffet from all around the world, incorporating some Polish Christmas dishes as well as being inspired by these Italian Christmas dinner ideas, as well as our collection of Italian-inspired recipes. Christmas Eve – La Vigilia and The Feast of the Seven Fishes (24 December) On Christmas Eve, Catholics celebrate the birth of Jesus by staying up until midnight and attending Mass. Many families mark the occasion with festive gatherings, whether or not they’re religious. Traditionally, Italians abstain from meat on this day, opting instead for fish, vegetables and legumes. Popular dishes include spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams), assorted fried fish, seafood salads, vegetable stews or comf…

Pandoro-d482e07.jpg
width: 900
height: 836

Pancetta, cheddar & cranberry croquettes
type: item
creator: Helena Busiakiewicz
subject: Recipes
subject: Chorizo
subject: Cranberry
subject: croquettes
subject: Pancetta
description: Take a little effort to make these delicious croquettes – they store well in the freezer and make a quick starter that takes just minutes to cook
encoded: This recipe was updated after retesting on 20/11/25.

Pancetta-cheddar-cranberry-croquettes-376e19a.jpg
width: 4071
height: 4478

Chorizo & purple sprouting broccoli gnocchi traybake
type: item
creator: Helena Busiakiewicz
subject: Premium
subject: Recipes
subject: Chorizo
subject: Gnocchi
subject: Mascarpone
subject: Purple sprouting broccoli
subject: Traybake
description: For a fast fix of comfort food, this gnocchi traybake is ideal – buy pre-chopped chorizo and garlic and you won’t even have to chop anything

Chorizo-and-purple-sprouting-broccoli-gnocchi-traybake-a6db957.jpg
width: 900
height: 836

The best healthy soup recipes to warm you up this winter
type: item
subject: Collection
subject: Health
subject: Recipes
subject: goodhealth
description: Make one of our vibrant, healthy soups for a wholesome lunch or light supper. These warming bowls are low in calories yet packed full of veggies and flavour

Root-vegetable-soup-b0efa0c.jpg
width: 1300
height: 1182

Polish Christmas dinner ideas
type: item
creator: Ren Behan
subject: Guide
subject: How to
subject: Recipes
description: Change up your Christmas table with a Polish Christmas dinner, including crimson beetroot soup and pillowy pierogi with potatoes and cheese
encoded: If you are looking to branch out from a traditional British Christmas dinner this year, then why not join the one million Poles and people of Polish descent in the UK and make a Polish Christmas dinner, featuring recipes and traditions for a showstopping feast from Poland. Poles tend to celebrate Christmas over three days, but the highlight is the Polish Christmas Eve feast, called Wigilia, or the vigil meal, filled with symbolism and centuries-old customs. Although the dishes served will vary regionally and from family to family, here are some of the most popular festive Polish traditions and menu ideas. Polish Christmas food is a celebration of family, togetherness and joy, and you’ll find dishes such as crimson beetroot soup (barszcz) or borscht, vegan-friendly sauerkraut, mushroom puff pastry rolls and pierogi dumplings filled with potato and cheese. Christmas is celebrated in so many ways around the world, and Christmas tables all over the UK are filled with plenty of alternative dishes. You might want to lay on a buffet from all around the world, incorporating some Italian Christmas dishes, as well as Polish dishes and some British classics. Don’t forget to help younger ones make some traditional Christmas biscuits to hang on the tree. Polish Christmas feasting Polish Christmas feasting begins on Christmas Eve with a meal called Wigilia. During the day you should usually fast, and traditionally, no meat or alcohol is consumed. The evening begins when you see the first star in the sky, as a nod to the star of Bethlehem and to the wise men who found their way to the stable. A small bundle of hay is placed under the tablecloth to represent the manger, and a spare place is left at the table for the unexpected guest. Everyone around the table shares opłatek, which is a thin wafer, along with good wishes for the whole year ahead. This is followed by sharing 12 dishes, representing the 12 apostles. Christmas Eve vigil meal – Wigilia A traditional Polish Christmas Eve…

Polish-Christmas-dinner-ideas-41684d9.jpg
width: 1200
height: 1320

Meet your new kitchen sidekick
type: item
date: 2025-11-24T00:01:11.000Z
subject: Advertisement features
subject: Recipes
description: Whipping up tasty meals just got easier – and smarter – with the Monsieur Cuisine Smart, available soon from Lidl via Click, Reserve & Collect
encoded: Are your kitchen worktops overflowing with gadgets? From air fryers to slow cookers and that mixer you haven’t touched in months, it doesn’t take much for your counters to become cluttered with single-job appliances – and your washing-up pile to grow. That’s why Lidl has partnered with Monsieur Cuisine, so you can save time, space and hassle with the Monsieur Cuisine Smart. This handy kitchen companion does the work of 15 appliances in one, helping make food prep and cooking easier, faster and more enjoyable. Read on to find out how it works, and how you can be one of the first to not only get your hands on it, but also save £100 through Lidl’s Click, Reserve and Collect service between 27th November and 1st December… Reserve now Why Lidl customers love Monsieur Cuisine For more than 30 years, Lidl has been committed to making high-quality products affordable for everyone – and the Monsieur Cuisine Smart is no exception. Developed by Monsieur Cuisine, which has been helping home cooks with its innovative multicookers for over a decade, this latest model is the most advanced yet. With a large touchscreen, built-in voice control, Wi-Fi connection and a library of pre-installed recipes for you to browse and follow, this is a must-have addition to your kitchen – whether you’re a keen cook or just want to make daily meals simpler. What is a multicooker? Multicookers are designed to perform multiple functions, such as steaming, cooking and mixing, reducing the need for juggling single-purpose appliances. With the Monsieur Cuisine Smart, you’ll not only save counter space, but time, too, as it can handle several jobs at once. One appliance, endless possibilities The Monsieur Cuisine Smart does the work of up to 15 kitchen appliances, effortlessly weighing, chopping, mixing, kneading, cooking, whisking, sautéing, stirring and more. So, no matter whether you’re whipping up a quick midweek dinner, batch-cooking for the freezer or experimenting with new recipes, everything you…

lidl-gfo-native-aug25-img1-36f4463.jpg
width: 950
height: 633