I feel a little left out at the moment. Everyone is having a Christmas party of some sort or other and I have never been to one. I’m not sure how it’s different to any other kind of party other than people adorning some questionably festive earrings and the subtle background music involving an alarming amount of sleigh bells. In order to rectify my festive blues I decided to have my own Christmas party. I say party but really it was just an excuse to make some jelly.
Christmas Spiced Tea
No matter what the tea there is always an appropriate occasion for it. For example I would start the day on a strong single blend, have an Earl Grey in the afternoon and a fresh green tea in the evening. Each to their own I reckon. Over the festive period I find my tea consumption reduced in favour of mulled wine, sloe gin and hot chocolate. Of course, I don’t start pouring gin over my cornflakes but you get the picture. In order to feel festive and start wading through the mountains of tea I have acquired over the last few months it was time to try making a Christmas tea.
Cranberry, Cointreau and Clementine Sauce
You will need (for the cranberry sauce):
200g cranberries
80g sugar
50ml water and 50ml clementine juice, mixed together
Splash Cointreau
Put all the ingredients into a pan and cook for five minutes until the cranberries start to burst. If it looks a like there’s a little too much moisture (I find cranberries to vary a lot in their water content) then cook for a few minutes more to evaporate some of the water. Put the cranberry sauce into a bowl and leave to cool. I’m not sure it gets much simpler and this sets to a lovely dolloping consistency.
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Walnuts
The poor sprout. I don’t know of another vegetable that has to put up with as much ridicule. People turning their noses up at even the slightest mention of this poor brassica must be hard to deal with if you’re a sprout. Chances are those that turn up their noses have only tried them boiled to within an inch of their life. There’s much more to a sprout than as a soggy green mess at the side of the plate. There is a rumour that sprouts can cause side effects of the flatulent sort. This rumour is also rife for baked beans but it doesn’t seem to put people off.
Panettone and Marmalade Bread and Butter Pudding
Ingredients
You will need (for four):- One large panettone
- Butter
- Marmalade
- Nutmeg
- 125g sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 2 large eggs
- 275ml double cream
- 250ml milk
Method
For this particular bread and butter pudding I used a Panettone that had been hanging around the back of the cupboard, some tangy marmalade that my Great Auntie had made, butter (a given) and a grating of nutmeg. I’ve not sliced a Panettone before but it was rather successful and very conveniently the slices snuggled into the dish like they were made for each other. Each slice was buttered, marmaladed and nutmegged before it went into the dish – marmalade side up.To make the custard (which is thinner than if you would be making it to pour) whisk the egg yolks, eggs and sugar together and then whisk in the milk and cream. I have tried the custards where you heat the milk and cream first and I think it makes no real difference. This way is much quicker and easier.
Pour the custard over the bread and leave it to rest for 20-30 minutes so that the custard has a chance to seep into the bread and make a gooey mess. I find you’ll probably need to push the bread into the custard to ensure it all gets a good bathing.
Chicken Liver Pâté
Pesto, hummus and bread are just a few examples of things that if you make yourself, couldn’t be further from the shop bought version. Chicken liver pâté is another. I have long had an affection for this most accepted of offal and I felt it was about time I got myself some to see how a homemade one compares. I couldn’t have asked for better livers. They were free range, organic and fresh as you could ask for. I never eat supermarket chicken and so the money I would have spent on that I spend on farmers’ market chicken and just eat it less often.
This recipe took me about 10 minutes to make so if you find yourself with the opportunity to buy livers, do so.
Sage and Onion Stuffing with Pigs in Blankets
This is a classic stuffing and I got the recipe from my Granny. She copied it out for me a few years ago, so when I was down at the Farmers’ Market and I saw some sausage meat I knew it was that time again.
This is such a simple recipe with great results. I have recently become a little more friendly with my blender. Some might say too friendly. I just can’t believe how much easier it makes things. When you have poor circulation in the extremities, the thought of chopping an onion into a billion pieces is not enticing.