Wednesday 26 December 2007

A Few Christmas Food Snaps





























A few shots of the Christmas day food that kept us all clued to the sofa watching "Finding Nemo". This year we decided on Capon, stuffed and roasted in the traditional way. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a good old fashioned Prawn Cocktail, which was eaten with gusto by my brother.
I decided to have a tradition "tea" this year, with capon sandwiches, and other buffet items. This has ensured that there are pleanty of left-overs for the rest of the week.....






























































Monday 24 December 2007

Christmas 2007





My dining room table, waiting for the dinner to arrive.....








Stockings waiting for Santa







Christmas 2007




Inspired by Norm, here's a few of my Christmas 2007 snaps......




My very minimalist Living Room Christmas tree..........
And my "tree" lamp for the Dining Room















Saturday 22 December 2007

Christmas Cake

12oz plain flour
1tbsp mixed spice
4oz ground almonds
8oz currants (although I changed this to chopped dates)
8oz sultanas
8oz raisins
4oz cherries
8oz butter
8oz soft brown sugar
6 eggs beaten with 8tbsp milk
1 tbsp black treacle
Mix flour, spice and ground almonds together. Mix fruit ( I let mine soak in a good splash of brandy for about an hour).
Beat butter and sugar to a cream, beat milk and eggs together. Mix together all ingredients. Add the fruit last.
Bake for four hours. First hour 180C (Gas 4), then slowly 150C(Gas2).

Sunday 16 December 2007

Duck breasts with pomegranate and mint


4 duck breasts

200g water cress

1 pomegranate

1 small bunch mint (chopped)


Sear the duck breasts, skin side down, for a minute or so. Place them in an oven proof dish (Gas 7) for about 15 minutes. (Depending on size and how pink you like your duck).
Line a plate with the watercress.
Slice each duck breast, diagonally and lay on the salad dish. Halve the pomegranate, bash the seeds from one half over the duck. Squeeze the juice from the other half over the duck.
Chop up the mint and scatter over the dish.
This is easy to make, but looks really impressive. Tastes good too!

Saturday 8 December 2007

Mince Pies


Ingredients
1 quantity shortcrust pastry
450g mincemeat
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
55g caster sugar
60ml milk

Method1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6.
2. Roll out the pastry until it is 2mm thick. Stamp out 24 7.5cm/3inch rounds with a pastry cutter and put in the base of 2 patty trays.
3. Fill each case with 2 tsp mincemeat and brush the edges with a little milk.
4. Stamp out 24 6cm/2½ in rounds for the lids and put on top of the mincemeat, sealing to the edges of the bases. Brush the egg wash over the pies and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and cool or serve warm.
6. If you make them in advance, store in an air-tight tin and re-heat when needed.

Tuesday 4 December 2007

In Season - December

Sea Bass
Sea bass is best in the winter months and can be bought whole, as steaks or as fillets. A whole bass is perfect for a special meal and is a favourite of many a restaurant chef. You may have to pay a little more for sea bass but its tender, soft flesh and its delicate milky flavour is worth the expense. It can be poached, steamed, baked or cooked over coals but, whichever way you choose, take care not to overcook the delicate flesh. Use flavours such as fennel, garlic, butter, olive oil and herbs such as mint, parsley and coriander to complement it.

Turkey
Traditionally, turkey is eaten at Christmas and Easter but it needn't be saved for the festive table. There are many cuts and joints in the shops, such as mince, steaks, drumsticks, thighs and crown roast, which can be enjoyed at any time. A healthy choice, turkey is very low in fat and high in protein, zinc, iron and B vitamins. It should be hung for several days to allow the flavour and texture to develop.


Pomegranate
Originating in Asia, the pomegranate tree is mentioned in the Old Testament and has been a symbol of religious significance for centuries in many countries. Now cultivated in the warm climates of South America, the Middle East, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean, the fruit is available in Britain from early to mid-winter. About the size of a large orange, it has a leathery skin with a blush of yellow and red. Inside there is spongy pith filled with seeds, which are, in turn, surrounded by a juicy, ruby red pulp. Eating a pomegranate can be a lengthy process as each pip has to be individually extracted, the juicy pulp eaten and the pips discarded (although they can be eaten if you find this too fiddly). The easiest way to extract the juice is by crushing the seeds through a sieve with the back of a ladle. This can be used to flavour mousse, fool, ice cream or sorbet. Many Persian and Middle Eastern recipes call for pomegranate molasses, a thick, sweet-and-sour liquid that gives a pleasant sharpness to meaty stews; it's also excellent paired with aubergine. It's available in some supermarkets and in Middle Eastern and Asian delicatessens.

Celery
The green or yellow varieties of celery are available all year round and are plentiful in summer but it's the frost-hardy white celery that is available only in winter. Celery should have crisp long stems attached to a sound base and the leaves should be vibrant and green. The stalks need to be cut away from the base and washed thoroughly. It's a most useful winter vegetable which, at a time when fresh herbs are scarce, can also be used to garnish and flavour dishes. Serve trimmed stalks raw with cheese (no festive Stilton should be served without them), or chopped into salads for a refreshing crispness. Chopped celery can also be used to flavour stuffing, soups, sauces and stews or as part of a bouquet garni for a stock. Whole young stalks can be steamed or boiled.

Also in season
wild duck
swede
celeriac
turnips
sprouts
goose
pumpkin
beetroot
parsnips
pears