In today’s Pricewatch column, Conor Pope tastes four varieties of Christmas pudding, and gives the highest rating to Aldi’s Specially Selected version. This is handy to know, as I will need to get a small Christmas pudding for our Christmas dinner, but have no intention of tasting it myself. I’m really not a fan of Christmas pudding or Christmas cake, and will probably make a chocolate cake for Christmas dessert, but there is likely to be complaining from the older generation if Christmas pudding is not on hand. What do you think of Christmas pudding and cake?
Pricewatch also has a feature on Christmas turkeys, and some interesting facts come out of the article: turkeys are available from Lidl for as little as €10.99. An informal poll showed that most people don’t mind spending a bit extra on their Christmas turkey and many will still be buying free-range or organic this year despite tightened budgets. And did you know that Safefood have an iPhone app that helps you to calculate the cooking time for your turkey?
What kind of turkey will you buy? I’m in agreement with the majority that Conor Pope refers to: I only buy one turkey every couple of years, so it’s not really an extravagance to buy a good quality one. I’ll be getting a free-range turkey crown for about €35 from my local (and excellent, although not cheap) butchers, Ennis Butchers in Rialto.
Christmas is all about pushing the boat out. Created exclusively for CheapEats readers by top chef Garth McColgan of 
Twice a year, I decide to start eating porrdige. It usually lasts for, oh, about a quarter of the bowl. It’s just so stodgy! And gloopy. Most recently, I gave it a go in the Cake Cafe with hazelnuts, honey, and orange peel, but I couldn’t get through more than half.
It’s on again everyone, get the chocolate mousse and asparagus tips and whatnot into you. I noticed it quite late this evening, and surprisingly, was still able to snag a decent choice ten minutes before M&S closed. Either everyone’s in shock about the budget or M&S are laying on way more stock than before.
Painful experience has gently nudged me away from impulse buys, but one small sample of hot smoked salmon shattered my caution.