Oh Deer!....that's it for another year!.... Guinness Bread

Well it's all over now folks, bar the Christmas cake which still hasn't been cut into....can you believe it? Yes, I know, it's shocking.... this year we actually didn't have a slice of Christmas cake or even dessert on the big day. We have concluded that our stomachs, as they get older, get smaller....how awful...yet our waistlines seem to increase!...how doubly awful!

The Christmas dinner was a delight as always, and cooked to perfection by my brother who is also a chef...I didn't even have to carry out sous chef duties, although I did scrub the pots. This year he filled the cavity of the turkey with whole bulbs of garlic and some onion, covered the turkey in a layer of dry cured smoked bacon and roasted it ever so gently and lovingly on a bed of root vegetables.....and wow! what a delicious bird we had. 
Instead of the usual 'gammon' we had loin of bacon slowly roasted, then slathered with that famously fiery English mustard, covered with slices of pineapple studded with cloves, maraschino cherries, and a good layer of brown sugar. The whole was then given an extra touch in a hot oven just before serving, to caramelise all the brown sugar and sweet juices, resulting in the most tenderest, sweetest, most succulent piece of ham......far better than boiled gammon any day! and I LOVE boiled gammon!... but despite the deliciousness, none of us could manage to finish our dinner, and as for asking for seconds? that was a no go area for everyone...practically unheard of in this house at Christmas.

It wasn't that we had an enormous amount of food our our plates, we think it was the amuse bouche and the Apéro, and then the soup that did it! We began the day with our annual glass of Kir Royale accompanied by a few duck spring rolls and mini pizza triangles...only 2 bites worth of each as we opened our gifts, just enough to get those appetites up and running, but when we sat down to lunch we had my famous vegetable soup to start, with a few breads including my first attempt at Guinness Bread which turned out to be divine and very moreish....I think that was our downfall...note to self for next year....1 ladle of soup + copious amounts of homemade breads = no room for turkey!

A Christmas Eve Treat!.........Rocky Road Fudge

This divine Rocky Road fudge is the first great indulgence of Christmas! It's quick to make, sets fast, and can be bubbling away while you are doing other things like trimming the sprouts, making the stuffing, or enjoying a mulled wine.....and why not...it's CHRISTMAS!

You will need.....

80g butter
700g golden castor sugar
100 mls single cream
150mls full fat milk
250g dark chocolate with a minimum of 75% cocoa solids
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
100g glace or maraschino cherries
100g mini marshmallows
90g of your favourite nuts....macadamia or walnuts, pecans, peanuts....or no nuts if that's your thing

you will need a metal or ceramic baking dish about 6' x 9' lined with foil or baking parchment....I find foil works well

How to..........

• line your dish / tray and set aside
• chop the chocolate into small bits and set aside
• chop the nuts, leave whole or break into small pieces as you like
• halve and quarter the cherries....if you like them big then just halve them
• place the butter, sugar, milk and cream in a deep, heavy saucepan....stainless steel is best 
• heat gently and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved and everything is smooth and runny
• bring to the boil then turn the heat down ever so slightly, we want the mixture to be at a rolling boil.....now time it for 6 minutes
• at 6 minutes the mix should be starting to thicken and brown slightly....keep at a rolling boil and stir gently while allowing it to cook for another 2 minutes.....you should end up with a thick saucy consistency
• turn off the heat under the pot and remove from the heat source completely
• pour in the chocolate and vanilla extract, stir to melt
• stir in the nuts and the cherries, but don't be too forceful unless you want your cherries to be broken down
• pour your fudge into the prepared dish/tray
• scatter the mini marshmallows on top and press down into the fudge.....you could of course fold the marshmallows through the fudge but I fine they tend to melt and disappear!
• allow the fudge to cool a little then turn it upside down onto a suitable board....the fudge will set quite quickly so try and cut it into squares while it's still warmish....you will find the foil very easy to peel off
• store your fudge in an airtight container and it will keep for absolutely ages

Once the fudge has fully cooled and set you can bag it up for gifts if you wish.... it's not a sticky fudge but is firm and has a little crunch to it.

Naughty or Nice! ...... Seeded Sesame Snaps

Yes, I put my hand up. I am one of the guilty when it comes to indulging in those sweet somethings at Christmas, but it is possible to enjoy those delicious treats and get a little bit of goodness in there at the same time.
These little sesame seed snaps may be a crunchy sweet indulgence, but they are also packed with those high omega seeds that can only do you good! Not only do these snaps taste great, but they are another of those edible gifts you can make in advance and have packaged and ready to go in case of unexpected callers bearing gifts!

Classic Christmas Gingerbread

Never mind the turkey! what about the gingerbread?

It's a sure sign for me that Christmas is getting close when it's time to make gingerbread. I love all kinds of gingerbread and believe me it comes in all shapes, sizes and textures.....probably more than you realised existed.
Here are some of the gingerbread's I have discovered on my travels...
Aberdeen, Ashbourne, Dumfries, Grantham, Grasmere, Kirriemuir, Nottingham, Wrexham, Parkin.....as you can see the British love their gingerbread!

There are numerous styles of gingerbread in cake or biscuit form that originate in Germany, France and Holland, such as the German lebkuchen, very popular here at Christmas in those European economy stores and a firm favourite of my mothers!, The French almond gingerbread which unfortunately is rarely seen outside of France, and the Dutch speculaas which are very interesting as they are made using wooden moulds in the shape of dolls, windmills or religious figures....I found one that looks a bit like our St. Patrick!

Dutch speculaas

Sara Nelsons Grasmere Gingerbread

My all time favourite when it comes to gingerbread, is Grasmere gingerbread. Made from a secret recipe invented over 160 years ago by Sara Nelson, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world, and on every trip to the English Lake District, where I used to live, we stock up and return to Ireland with boxes of the stuff....chefs tip...it makes an unusual and stunning base for a cheesecake!

German Lebkuchen

Classic ginger sponge cake 

Lemon Cheese....or Curd.

You may be in the habit of buying your Lemon cheese, or lemon curd as it is more commonly known, from the supermarket, but until you have tasted home-made, you won't realise exactly what you are missing! Shop bought curds tend to have extra ingredients added to help thicken or to preserve it and so prolong its shelf life, and mass producers will most likely use a chemically enhanced lemon flavouring that tricks the tastebuds into believing that you are actually tasting real lemon, however, make your own lemon curd from all fresh and natural ingredients and you will never tolerate a false abomination again!Home made curd is in a league of it's own when it comes to creaminess and capturing those real lemon flavours. With 4 simple ingredients and a lot of love going into the making, your curd may not last as long as shop bought, but believe me, once you've tasted it, it won't last long enough to go off!

you will need:

150 g unsalted butter at room temperature

340 g castor sugar

zest and juice of 3 lemons

4 egg yolks

2 whole eggs

sterilised glass jars / pots with suitable lids...this recipe will fill approx 2 standard jam pots

Zingy Apple & Red Onion Chutney

you will need:

400 g red onions

200 g sultanas

1 tablespoon olive oil ......not extra virgin

100 mls apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar if you can't get the apple 

200 g soft dark brown sugar

400 g cooking apples

1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon 5 spice

1 teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cumin

1 small fresh green chilli or 1 teaspoon ground chilli...leave out if you don't want the heat!

a deep heavy pot with a tight fitting lid

sterilised jars with suitable acid proof lids / kilner jars

Spiced Cranberry Preserve

Cranberries mean Christmas to most people, and Christmastime is when this delightfully ruby red berry becomes readily available in Ireland...you can find out more about this interesting berry HERE!

This recipe for spiced cranberry preserve is suitable for eating when freshly made or for bottling up and giving as gifts. The combination of spices used just summon up those smells of Christmas, and if you make loads, and why wouldn't you with the berries so fresh and in season right now.....and great value,...you and your family and friends can enjoy the taste of Christmas all year round!

I like to use 'jam' sugar in the recipe as it has pectin already added and makes preserving much easier and faster with no messing about with sugar thermometers.

You will need: makes enough to fill 4 x 325 g jars

400 g fresh cranberries....or use frozen ones which you have defrosted if you can't get fresh

1 large Clementine
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick

100 mls water

1 generous measure of brandy

600 g jam sugar

1 heaped tablespoon mixed spice

A deep saucepan with a tight fitting lid
jars with lids that will fit tightly sterilised in a warm oven or dishwasher

how to:

• pick through the berries for stray sticks and leaves then rinse them in cold water
• place the berries in the saucepan, add the water, brandy and mixed spice
• remove the zest from the orange and set aside, cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice and pulp into the saucepan, stir everything together well, add the cinnamon stick
• bring the cranberries to the boil then turn the heat down to medium, cover with a lid and cook until the cranberries begin to pop and burst....this takes about 5-8 minutes, do check and give them a stir every so often
• remove the cinnamon stick then add the jam sugar, stir until it is dissolved
• turn the heat up and bring the cranberries back to the boil
• keep at a rolling boil for 2 minutes then move off the heat....don't forget to turn off the heat!
• leave to sit until the bubbles subside and then you can decant it
• pour your preserve into a jug then into warm sterilised jars, put the lids on tight immediately
• turn the jars upside down for about 10 minutes then turn them the right way up again.... as the jar cools a vacuum will form between lid and fruit, this will keep them fresh for literally months!
• label and date your creations

You can enjoy this cranberry preserve with savoury items such as goats cheese, on a brie and ham toastie and with roast turkey or goose...I must say it goes particularly well with confit of duck!

Surprisingly this preserve also goes well with sweet flavours, and is a delicious topping to this White Chocolate Velvet Pie ..... find the recipe HERE!

Individual White Chocolate Velvet Pie with Spiced Cranberry Topping
A great seasonal dessert

A Plum(b) Gooden! .......the beauty of home made gifts.

'A plumb gooden'...... An American phrase to which the Irish translation would read....'absolutely wonderful' which perfectly describes home made gifts....and their makers!

Being on the receiving end of home made gifts is fabulous, especially when they are edible ones! you can taste the love and care that has gone into them. On the other hand, making edible gifts for friends, acquaintances or work colleagues is a good idea, they may take some time but it removes the stress of what to get so and so for their secret Santa, or whatever, without spending a fortune, and lets be honest, everyone loves home made!

Over the next 2 weeks I'll be posting a few recipes that make perfect gifts. They will be easy to make and tasty......of course! Some will have the convenience of being 'keepers', which means you can make them well in advance and they will last well into the new year...if they can be resisted that is!... and some last minute treats that can be enjoyed on Christmas eve or even Christmas morning.....and, if you are imaginative with your packaging and presentation, you will be king, or queen, of the Secret Santa tub, neighbourhood, street, bridge club....or your great auntie Gertrude!

But to start you off, here's the recipe for my 'Plum Gooden' Chutney, it is 'absolutely wonderful' and a change from the usual cranberry preserve that dominates Christmas meals....This chutney goes great with pate, on a boxing day morning cold turkey and stuffing sandwich, as a topping to melted camembert or a crottin of goats cheese, cold ham, and meat terrines.....and it's particularly tasty with smoked salmon or mackerel....my personal favourite!

Click HERE for the recipe or jump to my previous post.

Plum Gooden Chutney

This 'Plum Gooden' Chutney is 'absolutely wonderful' and a change from the usual cranberry preserve that dominates Christmas meals. It goes great with pate, with your Christmas roast bird, on a boxing day morning cold turkey and stuffing sandwich, as a topping to melted camembert or a crottin of goats cheese in a tart or galette, with cooked cold ham, meat terrines, quiche.....and it's particularly tasty with smoked salmon or with mackerel....my personal favourite!

You might think that now the summer is over that fresh, ripe plums may be hard to come by, home grown ones maybe yes, unless you grew your own then froze them, but now that summer has reached the southern hemisphere and the sun has returned to the equator, fruits from those warmer countries is now landing on our shores. For this years batch of chutney I found it very easy to get plums and at the ready price of less than 2 euros a kilo!

The chutney is relatively easy to make if you don't mind a bit of chopping at first and don't mind
being patient while it is cooking.
Choose good quality ingredients....ripe  but still firm plums, plump sultanas and fresh onions and apples, and a good quality red wine vinegar.
Once stored in jars in a cool larder, your chutney will keep unopened for months, but once open it still keeps extremely well in the refrigerator for a good week or more.
How many jars you can fill from the recipe depends on the jars used, but I can get about 8 - 10  228ml jars from a batch

Snowy Winter Frosting

This simple wintry white frosting is the perfect topping for not just carrot cakes...see carrot cake recipe HERE! ... it's also great as a basic frosting or filling for using say in a victoria sponge cake with a layer a raspberry jam, or in a lemon or orange cake with the addition of some lemon and orange flavourings. You can just replace the vanilla extract with any other flavour....you can even do coffee, lime, or try using liqueurs such as creme de menthe, grand marnier, Baileys...this list is endless so be adventurous and experiment with your favourite flavours. Changing your flavours means you can also change your colours...add a drop of red colour for baby pink etc.

Baby Bunny Carrot Cakes

The best thing about the holiday season, apart from all the delicious foods and the tidings of joy and peace, is the abundance of visitors to the house, some people are well organised (practice etiquette) and book their visit, and others tend to just turn up out of the blue whenever it suits them. So at this time of year it's best to be like a boy scout......be prepared!.

Carrot cake is known for being a moist delumptious (a cross between delicious and scrumptious) cake, which keeps very well and for ages either in an airtight container in a cool place or in the refrigerator. You can serve it plain or you can whip up a little seasonal snowy frosting to top it off.
I like to make carrot cake as these little individual cakes, perfect for baby bunnies, so no messing about cutting slices and worrying about portion sizes, you just plonk a cake down on each persons plate.
It may seem like an horrific amount of oil in the recipe, but really, you're not meant to eat the whole lot at once!, and anyway, I would only use good heart healthy oils!
The addition of a ripe banana bumps up the sweetness naturally so in actual fact could call this a low processed sugar recipe....put that in your diet book and eat it! just stick to the rule, everything in moderation, and enjoy...it's Christmas after all.

Leftover Mincemeat?........ Fast, Festive Fruit Bread

Christmas at home is all about tradition, from the baking of our cake, the choosing of the perfect pyramid shaped tree, to the duck spring roll and mini pizza canapes, washed down with Kir Royal's as we open our gifts. Now I'm all for tradition, but sometimes tradition can go just a bit too far for my liking!

Christmas traditionalist cooks would maintain that one must make ones own mincemeat, well that's all very well Delia, but between you and me, I can't be bothered with all the faffing about sorting through fruits and cutting up apples, bottling it up and patiently waiting for it to mature which usually takes to the following Christmas! especially as I go through gallons of the stuff in the run up to the big day.
So why not buy it? There are so many excellent mincemeat's on the market, does one really want the bother of making ones own anymore? I think not! The only issue you might have with shop bought mincemeat is that you might find yourself left with some at the bottom of the jar and this festive offering gets rid of those last couple of tablespoons nicely.

If you are a fan of the Irish traditional Halloween barmbrack, then you are gonna love this! Don't be disappointed though when you cant find the ring or a coin, because there won't be any in it...it's not a christmas cracker!