How to make some traditional Christmas favourites yourself

Henrietta Balcon says it's fun, easy and so tasty and you can use some of your own produce as well

- 

December is the beginning of winter.

To some small people it is the most important month of the year as it is when Father Christmas will visit! Some people will want to celebrate the greater meaning of Christmas while many will relish a winter break and festival. To others it is Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. The winter solstice is also in December and so is the New Year. It's a month full of meaning and some might say, magic!

The run up to Christmas is full of parties so this year I thought I would concentrate on smaller things for Christmas like real bread sauce. Have you ever made it or tried it? I promise you it is so easy. How about real brandy butter? It is deliciously different to the brandy butter you buy in the supermarket. Hollandaise sauce sounds luxurious, but you can make it easily. This can be used in many ways for vegetables, breakfast on Christmas Day or supper on Christmas Eve with the very special dish, Eggs Benedict.

REAL BREAD SAUCE

Ingredients

• 1 Large onion peeled and sliced in half

• 12 Cloves