Fortunately the roof was finished before the bad weather set in, ie. the rain wind and snow that heralded the onset of winter proper. Looks really pretty and it made it eminently possible to cook
christmas dinner outside which proved to be a great success. Rib of beef and roast potatoes were cooked in the oven with a minimum of fuss, lit the fire, had a few drinks and went to the pub, kept stoking the fire for a couple of hours and then put the meat in. Browned it first for about half an hour and then covered it in foil and left it for 2 hrs. Put the potatoes in, uncovered the beef and let it cook for another 1/2hour. Took the beef out and let it rest in the house whilst the roast potatoes finished cooking. Result was a beautifully cooked piece of beef, moist, slightly pink and incredibly tender with a slightly smoked flavour. The roastpotatoes were good too! New years day was hangover party time and we did about 30 pizzas. Unfortunately no photos which is a shame as we had a brazier by the oven to keep the chill off everybody whilst we cooked the pizzas.
