Christmas Eats 2012

On Christmas Eve we enjoyed an English fry up for dinner. Eggs, baked beans, sausages, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and fried bread. The eggs I mixed up as if I were making scrabbled eggs... added some seasoning and then pour the mixture into buttered muffin tins. A very traditional way to start the holiday. 

On Christmas Day we started with a round of Bucks fizz and then for brunch I made scones. Classic and candied. Jam and sweet butter were on hand. All were enjoyed by everyone!

Christmas dinner was turkey with oven roasted potatoes, carrots and parsnips. A side of kale salad and the rounds of Bucks fizz were still flowing! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas as I did!  

Ginger Shortbread

I always make shortbread every year and I do try and make different variations. Using corn flour or rice flour. Currants, lavender, citrus, poppyseeds and crystallized ginger. It adds a great twist to a classic biscuit. These are the ones I made with chopped crystallized ginger. They still have that buttery shortbread taste with sweet smoldering hints of ginger. Very complimentary.  How do you dress your shortbread? - JW     

Rum Balls

I was never really fond of rum balls, probably because of the artifical rum flavouring used in the majority of the ones I tried. They tasted overly sweet and the chocolate was bland. Last year I got on with making rum balls and I haven't looked back since. They are now part of my regular Christmas baking. Running a close second to my shortbread.         

The ones I made, pictured here, have a good quality chocolate and rum. The flavour is deep and rich and as for the rum... you can never have enough rum in them. These are great to give as a gift or a festive thank you treat when dashing off to one place or another over the holiday season. - JW    

Plum Pudding Pie

This cookbook reminds me of a present. With it's shiny gold dust jacket to it's top, side and bottom edge gold gilt and even the Christmas pud evoke all the brightest and warm things of the season. It's hard not to stare in wonder of Plum Pudding Pie: a Cook's Book of Christmas and be marveled at what delicious recipes that are inside. This cookbook has over 200 classic Christmas recipes. Everything to make your holiday breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or dessert traditional for years to come.

The five chapters are simply broken down into Starters, Mains, Sides, Sauces and Stuffings, Drinks and Desserts. Each chapter offers many delights that will tantalize all the  sweet and savoury flavours of Christmas.

One recipe I have my eye on is the Chocolate Rum Mousse. I won't be making it for Christmas however I will be making this dessert for New Years Eve. Christmas will be enjoyed with my mincemeat tarts, rum balls... with real rum!, shortbread and of coarse Fortnum's King George Cake. The recipe seems very straight forward and I will share it with you now. - JW 


Chocolate Rum Mousse   
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250 g (9 oz or 1 and 2/3 cups) chopped dark chocolate
3 eggs
60 g (2 1/4 oz or 1/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar
2 teaspoons dark rum
250 ml (9 fl oz or 1 cup) cream (whipping), softly whipped

1. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Half fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and place the bowl over the pan, making sure it is not touching the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted. Set aside to cool.

2. Beat the eggs and sugar in a small bowl for 5 minutes, or until thick, pale and increased in volume.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold in the melted chocolate with the rum, leave the mixture to cool, then fold in the whipped cream until just combined.

4. Spoon into four 250 ml (9 fl oz or 1 cup) ramekins or dessert glasses.
Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set. 

Candied Fruit Scones

Yesterday morning I made these scrumptious scones. A good scone recipe is one you can make in no time. Use whatever scone recipe you prefer. And add about 1/2 cup of candied fruit peel. Top with an icing sugar drizzle or sift the icing sugar over top of each scone. They were moist, sweet with little hints of citrus flavour. There were plenty of thumbs up and happy faces. I will be making these on Christmas Day for brunch. - JW   

Kale

This is what I have been eating a lot of these days... kale. My salad just isn't the same without it. Kale is packed with vitamins and is very rich in calcium. Just like broccoli it contains sulforaphane which has potent anti cancer properties. You can steam, boil, sauté and bake this mighty green. I prefer it as is to absorb all it benefits. 

How do you go green? - JW   

My Rose Water Cake

I bought a bottle of rosewater and was inspired to make a rosewater cake. It turned out well however I still feel that the recipe needs to be tweaked here and there. I started with a standard one egg cake recipe. Added some red food colouring, to give the cake a pale pink colour and some rosewater flavouring. The flavour was, I think, right on. A light delicate flavour like a fine turkish delight. The texture was dense but airy. And the basic icing sugar drizzle added just the right amount of sweetness. Until I feel that the recipe is just right I won't post it. Hope you all had a good weekend. - JW 

Mincemeat Tarts

If you are like me you have probably already started your holiday baking. The other night I made these mincemeat tarts. The pastry I made myself however as for the mincemeat filling well... I had a little help from Robertson's. The marmalade and jam people. It's their classic mincemeat in a 29 oz or 822g jar. It's vegetarian and why mix with perfection! 
I made two batches. The first batch I made using cake and pastry flour. They turned out alright however the pastry was very soft and crumbly. Not only did it melt in your mouth, it melted in your hands. The tarts collapsed into themselves. Really not such a bad thing considering they were headed straight to your stomach. The second batch I use unbleached flour and they turned out better. More sturdier. Which was great and the melt in your mouth texture was still there. Mincemeat is dense and a thicker sturdier pastry is definitely needed. If tarts or pies are on your list of bake goods I recommend trying this oil pastry recipe.  

Oil Pastry

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this recipe is good for 8 or 9 inch Two-crust pie

1 3/4 cups flour 

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons cold water

Heat oven to 425º

Mix flour and salt.

Add the oil; mix with fork until it looks like meal.

Sprinkle with the water; mix with fork.

Gather dough together. 

If too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more oil.

Press into a ball.

Immediately roll dough out.

For a two crust pie divide the dough and roll on a generous floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Or roll the dough out in-between two sheets of wax paper. Form in pie plates. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

For tarts, again roll out crust on a generous floured surface. Using a glass that is turned upside down and bigger than the tart/muffin pan you are using. Cut out circles. Place each cut out into tart/muffin pan. Fill with the desired filling and bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. 

Have a good weekend everyone! - JW    

Recipes For Health ~ Asthma and Eczema

This is the other book I found at the University Book Sale. Asthma and eczema seem to be a running theme throughout my household so I guess I felt compelled to add this to my cookbook collection. The subtitle states that there are "Over 150 easy and delicious recipes for those allergic to cow's milk". What is the correlation between asthma, eczema and cow's milk? Or all diary products for that matter. And what about being lactose intolerant? Perhaps these are questions I should ask my doctor. I guess I just wish the book went into more detail about what links cow's milk to asthma and eczema. My son has asthma and isn't allergic to cow's milk. My daughter has eczema and isn't allergic to cow's milk. And I am lactose intolerant and do not suffer from asthma or eczema. 

The main focus of this cookbook is to serve delicious food milk free. There are 11 chapters which cover everyday recipes from appetizers, soups, fish and main courses, meat and main courses, vegetarian main courses, vegetables, salads, desserts and cakes, biscuits and snacks. Recipes are marked with and "E" for free range eggs and a "W" for wheat-free recipes. The majority of these recipes can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Seeing how we are headed into the Christmas season. And turkey leftovers will be bountiful, I will leave you with a recipe that I am going to try. - JW

Turkey and Broccoli Bake  

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285g / 10 oz broccoli

225g / 9 oz cooked turkey

85g / 3 oz feta cheese

115g / 4 oz / 1 and 1/3 cups mushrooms, sliced

oil for frying

55g / 2 oz / 1/4 cup margarine

55g / 2 oz / 1/2 cup flour

3 ml / 1/2 tsp dry mustard

710 ml / 1 1/4 pints / 3 1/4 cups goat's or sheep's milk or unsweetened soy milk

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

85g / 3 oz / 3/4 cup  homemade dried breadcrumbs 

1) Preheat oven to 375ºF/ 190ºC / Gas mark 5 and lightly grease a 9 x 12 x 2 inch / 23x31x5cm shallow casserole.

2) Cut broccoli into florets and slice the stems into pieces of similar size. Cook it until it is barely tender.

3) Shred the turkey into strips, grate the cheese in a handgrater. Reserve.

4) Sauté the sliced mushrooms in a little oil.

5) melt the margarine in a saucepan, stir in the flour and mustard, and whisk in the milk. Cook over medium low heat, stirring all the time, until the sauce boils and thickens.

6) Add the seasoning and grated cheese to the sauce. Stir.

7) Distribute the cooked broccoli all over the base of the casserole.

8) Spread the turkey and mushrooms over the broccoli.

9) Cover with the cheese sauce.

10) Top with the dried breadcrumbs.

11) Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce is bubbling.  

   

Apple Pear Filo Roll

I was getting quite tired of seeing the box of filo pastry make it's way around the refrigerator. So I decided to make a fruit roll. After all the Asian pear and three apples in the fruit bowl were just begging for attention. The recipe is super easy. This filo roll, I think, is fairly simple and a great way to use up any fruit that may be hanging around. For my recipe you will need the following:

Apple Pear Filo Roll 

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2 tea bags, any flavour, I used Twinings Cherry Cinnamon that I bought in England

1 Asian pear, peeled, cored and chopped

3 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 cup of roughly chopped dried cranberries

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

9 filo pastry sheets

melted butter

1 baking pan, lined with parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare the baking pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Take a medium sized pot add about 1 1/2 cups of water. Place the two tea bags in the pot. Then place the pot on the stove and set to high heat. Bringing the pot to a boil.

In the meantime you can peel and chop all the apples and pears. Set aside. Then chop the dried cranberries. Set those aside too.   

When the water has boiled reduce heat and let simmer. Letting the tea steep. When all the flavours have come out and the water is a nice rich colour from the tea, remove the tea bags. Toss them out.

Add the apples and pears to the tea infused water and continue to simmer over medium high heat. Letting the fruit absorb the liquid. When the fruit is tender remove from heat. and let cool. If you find the fruit mixture is a bit runny take about 1 1/2 teaspoons of corn starch in a small bowl and mix with water until smooth. Pour into the fruit mixture and stir. This will help thicken the filling. 

Add the cinnamon and stir. Letting cool further.

Take the filo pastry sheets, unroll and lay one sheet on a flat work surface. Take the melted butter and brush the top of the sheet. Place another filo pastry sheet on top, brush again with the melted butter and repeat until all the nine filo pastry sheets are on top of one another. Then take your slightly cooled mixture and spoon it about an inch or two from the edge. Roll once and fold in the sides and continue to roll and fold in the sides until you have something that resembles a swiss roll.

Place the roll onto the prepared baking pan. Brush with melted butter and bake in a preheated oven for about 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot with a side of vanilla ice cream.

This dessert is a simple way to finish any meal. - JW