The mincemeat memorial — how I remember my dad at Christmas
On Jennifer Warren's first Christmas without her dad, she picked up one of his favourite traditions
This documentary first aired in December 2017.
By Jennifer Warren
My dad died in 2017.
In late May 2017, to be more precise. Just before Father's Day. And his birthday.
But when he died, I wasn't thinking about these imminent occasions. I was thinking about Christmas.
My dad, Les Warren, really, really loved Christmas. He was in charge of pretty much the whole proceedings: the flaming Christmas pudding, the full turkey dinner, the paper crowns.
To boot, my parents' anniversary is just a few days before Christmas, and my mum has been grieving the loss of my dad the most keenly of all of us.
After talking to my sister Lesley, we agreed that if there was one thing that would help fill up that hole, it would be a whole whack of homemade mincemeat tarts, just like my dad used to make.
But Lesley doesn't bake. Neither does my other sister, Deb. And neither does my brother, Rob, even though he's a chef.
So it was decided, by default. I would make the mincemeat.
It's basically a tart with meat in it that tastes like mint?- Jennifer's son Leo
That was my son Leo's guess.
Honestly, I didn't really know what mincemeat was, either — because I had never made it.
The only thing I have to go on was a cookbook that pre-dated me. My father's old cookbook that he used throughout his 30-plus years owning and operating a British pub, and that he used for 40-plus Christmases.
When I opened the book up, it separated into at least three pieces — like, chunks of book, out of which rained down a whole ton of little scraps of paper, with my dad's handwriting and the year. Ranging from 1979 to the last year he made the tarts, 2016.
My dad re-invented the mincemeat recipe pretty much every year.
In one recipe, he had as much allspice as he had chopped nuts, which seemed... wrong. Another year, he put a whole can of Guinness in there.
This was where my wife, Ilana Weitzman, stepped into the picture. Ilana, who is Jewish, only started celebrating Christmas when we got together. She spent at least 15 years of Christmases with my dad, and still remembers the year that he accidentally mixed up the mincemeat with the Christmas pudding mix — and baked Christmas pudding into the mincemeat tarts. (Best year ever, in her opinion.)
In one recipe, he had as much allspice as he had chopped nuts, which seems... wrong. Another year, he put a whole can of Guinness in there.
Ilana took to the task of sorting through my father's various recipes like a reader of ancient scrolls, armed with a calculator. We went shopping, and then we got to cooking.
Really, I was just hoping to get some kind of passable mincemeat out of the whole deal, so we could get through this whole Christmas-without-Dad thing.
But as the smell filled the house, something else happened. I felt my dad there beside me.
I could hear him interrogating me in the British accent he never lost — reminding me to add almond extract because that's Mum's favourite flavour — and asking where the Guinness is.
My dad and I weren't that close in many ways. But when it came to food, that was the through line. It was how he showed love, and when I think back to my favourite memories of us as a family, my dad's at the head of the table.
With a tilted paper crown perched on his head.
The Warren-Weitzman family's homemade mincemeat (by way of Les Warren)
Makes at least 6 cups of mincemeat
5 cups peeled and chopped apples
3 1/2 cups raisins (could be a mix of Sultanas, Thompson, etc.)
2 cups currants
2 cups mixed candied peel
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp salt
2 tsp almond essence
Juice and zest of 3 lemons and 3 oranges
3/4 cup brandy
3/4 cup rum
Combine all ingredients except brandy and rum in extra-large saucepan (a soup pot works well). Simmer, stirring occasionally, over low heat for about an hour, or until desired consistency is reached. Add brandy and rum and simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Let cool and preserve in jars, or freeze until Christmas. Will keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator, too.
For the pastry, I like this recipe by Lucy Waverman, but add 2 Tbsp sugar. Use muffin tins if you don't have pie tins. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness and use a mug slightly larger than the muffin mould to cut out the base. Press into the tins, fill with 1-2 Tbsp mincemeat. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to cut out tops; seal to base with eggwash made from 1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden, approx. 20 mins.
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About the producer
This documentary was edited by Julia Pagel.