|
This recipe originally used one
large piece of smoked salmon made into a Swiss roll shape.
However, smoked salmon being quite expensive, this recipe
has been adapted to use smoked salmon pieces which are much
cheaper.
You will need:
Large pack of smoked salmon pieces
Large tub of light soft cheese (you can use flavoured soft
cheese if desired) |
| |
|
| 1. |
Grease two ramekins and line with clingfilm, leaving enough
round the edges to wrap round the bottom of the ramekin. This
will make it much easier to turn out. |
| 2. |
Line each ramekin with pieces of smoked salmon, ensuring
that each piece overlaps the next so that there are no gaps. |
| 3. |
Layer the soft cheese with the smoked salmon until the
ramekin is full. Make sure that your last layer is the smoked
salmon. |
| 4. |
Cover the smoked salmon with the spare clingfilm around
the ramekin and place them into the fridge for at least 30
minutes. |
| 5. |
Unwrap the clingfilm and place it on a serving plate. Remove
the ramekin (this should be easy if you have pre-greased it)
and remove the clingfilm. |
| 6. |
Each ramekin should serve 2 as a starter. |
| |
|
Celeriac is a very underrated vegetable.
It has a delicate flavour which works very well with the sharpness
of the stilton.
You will need:
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 large celeriac, peeled and diced
1/2 a pint of dry cider
1 litre chicken stock
350g Stilton, crumbled
Crème Fraiche to serve |
| |
|
| 1. |
Fry the onion, potatoes and celeriac gently until softened. |
| 2. |
Add the cider and chicken stock and simmer for about 20
minutes. |
| 3. |
Leave to cool slightly, liquidise and return to the pan. |
| 4. |
Add 3/4 of the stilton and stir through the soup. |
| 5. |
Warm the soup through but make sure it does not boil. |
| 6. |
Garnish the soup with the remaining stilton and (if desired)
a spoonful of crème fraiche. |
| |
|
| |
Return to
Top |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
| 1. |
Use a trivet to lift the turkey off the base of the pan
as it prevents the bird from cooking unevenly and sticking
to the pan. |
| 2. |
Put a large sheet of tinfoil into the base of a pan and
put the trivet on top of it. Cover the turkey in tinfoil,
leaving a gap between the foil and the turkey like a tent.
This allows the air to circulate and cook the bird evenly.
|
| 3. |
Butter the turkey and put strips of streaky bacon over the
top and legs of the turkey. This will help to keep the turkey
moist and also prevents the top of the bird from burning,
as it will be in the oven for a long time. |
| 4. |
Baste it! Use the juices in the bottom of the pan to baste
the bird regularly. This will also keep the turkey moist. |
| |
|
I
find that for best results you should cook the turkey slowly
at a fairly low temperature. Times given are for this method. |
| |
|
| Weight of turkey |
|
Oven temperature 160 -170oC |
6-8lb
8-10lb
10-14lb
14-18lb |
|
3 - 3 1/4 hours
3 1/4 -3 3/4hours
3 3/4 - 4 1/4hours
4 1/4 - 4 3/4 hours |
| |
|
|
|
| ALWAYS test your turkey to make sure
it is thoroughly cooked. The best way to do this is to stick
a skewer through the thickest part of the turkey (the thigh)
and check the colour of the juices that come out of it. If
the juices are running clear (no blood) then the turkey is
cooked. If not then stick the turkey back in the oven. |
| |
|
This is my favourite cranberry sauce recipe. It’s
easy to make and tastes fantastic. The hint of orange really
makes the difference!
You will need:
250g cranberries, fresh or frozen
175g caster sugar
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
3 tbsp port (optional)
|
| |
|
| 1. |
Put the cranberries in a pan with 5 tablespoons water.
Cover with
a tight-fitting lid and boil for 10 minutes for fresh cranberries
and slightly less for frozen, or until the skins just start
to pop. Add the sugar, orange zest and juice and port and
stir until the sugar has dissolved. If you add the sugar before
the berries are cooked properly they will go tough so always
cook until the skins start to burst. |
| 2. |
Bring to the boil, lower the heat, then leave to bubble,
uncovered,
for five to eight minutes until thickened. Leave to cool then
chill until
required. The sauce keeps for 3-4 days in the fridge. |
| |
|
Christmas dinner
just wouldn’t be the same without roast tatties. For
the best results go for floury potatoes such as King Edward
or Desiree. You will also need some sunflower oil. |
| |
|
| 1. |
Peel the potatoes and cut them into equal sized chunks. |
| 2. |
Par-boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile pre-heat
the oven to about 220oC. For fan assisted ovens
about 200oC. |
| 3. |
Put the oil in a large deep-sided baking tin with enough
oil to cover the base and come slightly up the side of the
pan. Put this into the oven to heat up. |
| 4. |
Once the oil is hot take it out of the oven and put the
potatoes into it. Make sure that you coat all of the potatoes
in the oil and that none are touching. |
| 5. |
Baste the potatoes in the oil using a pastry brush to make
sure that all of the potatoes stay coated in the oil. This
must be done regularly throughout the cooking time. At the
same time make sure that none of the potatoes have stuck to
the bottom of the tin. Use a fish slice to release them if
necessary. |
| 6. |
Cook the potatoes for about 30 minutes until golden brown. |
| |
|
|
You will need:
2-3 large onions, chopped
4 slices of bread, ‘crumbed’ in a food processor
2 teaspoons dried sage |
| |
|
| 1. |
Boil the onions in a small amount of water until tender. |
| 2. |
Add the breadcrumbs and mix with the onions. |
| 3. |
Mix in the dried sage to taste. I prefer to use 2 teaspoons
but it is quite powerful so you might want to use less. |
| 4. |
Put the stuffing mixture into a greased oven-proof dish.
If the mixture is too thick add a couple of spoonfuls of boiling
water. |
| 5. |
Top with about 1 tablespoon of the juices from your cooking
turkey or a couple of little knobs of butter. |
| 6. |
Bake in the oven for at least 30 minutes at 200oC. |
| |
|
You will need:
5 large carrots
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 teaspoon freeze-dried parsley
|
| |
|
| 1. |
Peel the carrots and chop them into even slices. |
| 2. |
Add water to almost cover the carrots, add the honey and
parsley and stir. |
| 3. |
Boil the carrots until the water has almost boiled away
leaving the carrots coated in the honey and parsley glaze. |
| 4. |
Depending on how crunchy you want your carrots, adjust the
amount of water that they will cook in. If you add a lot of
water the carrots will cook for longer making them softer. |
| |
|
| |
Return to
Top |
| |
|
|
This recipe doesn’t use flour as it would
make the mixture too heavy. Instead use cocoa powder to
achieve the correct consistency.
You will need:
6 large eggs, separated
150g caster sugar
50g cocoa powder, sifted
tub of whipping cream and a little icing sugar
To decorate: margarine, icing sugar and cocoa powder (buttercream)
Use a 32cm x 23cm Swiss roll tin, greased and lined with
silicon paper.
To make the base: |
| |
|
| 1. |
Whisk egg yolks until pale and thick with an electric whisk. |
| 2. |
Add the sugar and whisk until fully mixed in. Add the sifted
cocoa powder. |
| 3. |
Wash the whisk blades. |
| 4. |
In a clean bowl whisk the egg whites until they reach the
‘soft peak’ stage. If there is any grease in the
bowl the egg whites won’t whisk up properly. |
| 5. |
Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg whites. |
| 6. |
Spread mixture onto the prepared tin. |
| 7. |
Cook for 20 minutes at 180oC, but do not overcook.
The sponge should be springy to the touch. |
| 8. |
Cool completely. Meanwhile whip the cream until thick and
sweeten with icing sugar. |
| 9. |
Empty the tin out onto a piece of greaseproof paper. Spread
the sponge with the cream mixture. |
| 10. |
Now for the fun bit! Using the greaseproof paper, roll
the sponge into a Swiss roll shape with the cream mixture
on the inside. It doesn’t matter if the ‘log’
cracks a little, it will make it look authentic! |
| 11. |
Cream together some margarine and icing sugar until you
have a soft sweet paste. This is called buttercream and is
usually used as a filling for a Victoria sponge cake. However
it moulds really well and is great to use as a ‘frosting’.
|
| 12. |
Add cocoa powder to turn the paste a lovely choclatey brown
colour. Put the icing sugar mixture onto the log with a palette
knife using long strokes to make a bark effect. |
| 13. |
Once you have the desired log effect, gently sprinkle some
icing sugar over the top of it to make it look like snow and
add a sprig of holly to make it look really festive. |
| |
|
This is, or rather was, a top-secret family recipe handed
down by word of mouth through the generations. I learned it
from my mum and I have many happy memories of helping her
in the kitchen in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
This Christmas cake, like most others, is best made well in
advance and basted with brandy or rum on a weekly basis so
that by the time Christmas comes around it’s dangerous
to light a match anywhere near it!
You will need:
225 - 250g brown sugar
225g margarine
6 eggs
2 tsp brandy essence
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
350g plain flour
1kg mixed fruit and peel
Milk (if necessary) |
| |
|
| 1. |
Cream together the sugar and margarine. |
| 2. |
Add the eggs one at a time, then the brandy essence and
mix well. |
| 3. |
Sift the spices, salt, baking powder and flour into the
liquid and fold gently to mix. |
| 4. |
Add the mixed fruit and peel and slacken the mix with a
little milk if it is too thick. The mixture should be too
thick to pour but not as thick as a dough. If you can stand
a wooden spoon up in it it’s probably about right! |
| 5. |
Divide the mixture between 2 greased and lined baking tins
(6" and 7"). |
| 6. |
Bake at about 130oC for about 3 – 3 1/2
hours. Test the cake with a skewer to see if it’s cooked.
The skewer should come out clean if the cake is properly cooked. |
| 7. |
Once the cake has completely cooled, turn it upside down
and stick a skewer into it in a few places. Spoon brandy or
rum into the areas that you have skewered. This will help
the alcohol to sink all the way through the cake. |
| 8. |
Wrap the cake in fresh greaseproof paper and store in an
airtight cake tin. Baste the cake with the rum or brandy on
a weekly basis. |
| 9. |
The week before Christmas you can decorate the cake with
marzipan and Royal Icing. |
| 10. |
There is a huge variety of cake decorations available to
buy from your local supermarkets. You are only limited by
your own imagination! |
| |
|
One year I switched from using imperial measurements
to metric. I remembered that I needed 1/2 pint of rum…
unfortunately since I had got it into my head that I should
be using metric I used 1/2 litre of rum. Needless to say
everybody enjoyed the Christmas pudding that year!
To make two 900ml or one and a half pint puddings
serving eight each you will need:
100g eating apple, peeled, cored and chopped
450g mixed dried fruit
100g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of salt
175g wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g ground almonds
100g vegetable suet
225g dark brown sugar
1 small carrot, finely grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
150ml rum
Juice of 1/2 lemon |
| |
|
| 1. |
Place the chopped apple and mixed dried fruits into a food
processor and whizz for a second so they are just roughly
chopped, then transfer to a large bowl. |
| 2. |
Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt
and stir into the fruit mixture with all the remaining ingredients,
until everything is evenly combined. If time allows, cover
the mixture and leave to stand for 24 hours, then stir again. |
| 3. |
Divide the pudding mixture between two greased 900ml or
one a half pint pudding basins, packing it down well and smoothing
the surface. |
| 4. |
Grease two double layers of baking parchment. Make a fold
down the centre of each one to form pleats. Top each basin
with the pleated paper and a large sheet of foil then tie
in place with string. |
| 5. |
Stand the basins on a trivet (or a large saucer turned upside
down) in a large pan and add boiling water to come 2/3 of
the way up the side of the basins. Cover and steam for up
to six hours on the hob. Keep topping up the water as necessary. |
| 6. |
Carefully lift the basins from the water and leave to cool.
Re-cover each one with fresh parchment and foil and store
in a cool place. |
| 7. |
To reheat, steam puddings for 3 hours. To reheat in a microwave,
remove the foil and discard the parchment. Cover each basin
with plastic film and pierce the top. Cook on full power for
3-4 minutes and allow to stand for 5 minutes before inverting
onto a serving dish. |
| |
|
These biscuits make lovely Christmas tree decorations
and they taste great too.
To make 24 biscuits you will need:
100g margarine
100g caster sugar
225g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
clear boiled sweets (fruit flavoured)
|
| |
|
| 1. |
Preheat the oven 200oC/400oF/Gas
6. Beat together the margarine and sugar until pale and creamy.
Add the flour and spices and mix well. |
| 2. |
Beat in yolk and essence to make a firm dough. Cover the
bowl with plastic film and chill in fridge for 30 minutes. |
| 3. |
Roll out the biscuit dough to 1cm or half an inch thick
and stamp out different cookie shapes with a biscuit cutter. |
| 4. |
Make a hole in the top of each biscuit with a skewer or
cocktail stick. This if for attaching bits of ribbon but more
of that later. Cut out a small shape in the centre of each
biscuit. This is not for your stained-glass window. |
| 5. |
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with silicon paper, place
in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. |
| 6. |
Remove from oven and put a clear boiled sweet in each cut-out
shape. |
| 7. |
Bake for a further 5 minutes until the biscuits are golden
and the sweets have melted. If the paper sticks to the sweet,
let the biscuit go cold then rub a little oil into the stuck
paper. |
| 8. |
Thread different lengths of ribbon through the holes in
the biscuits, tie a knot in the end and hang on your tree.
If you want to save them to eat, then store in an airtight
container. |
| |
|
| |
Return to
Top |
| |
|
This dish is a great way of using up left over turkey and
adding a delicious touch of spice to Boxing Day
I find American cup measurements work best in this recipe
for measuring out rice and liquids. One cup of rice serves
two to three people. For every cup of rice, use 1 1/2 to 2
cups of liquid. You can buy American measuring cups from most
supermarkets, but if you can’t find any then the teacups
that you get with your crockery sets are approximately the
same measurement.
You will need:
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tsp chilli powder (to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
1 chicken stock cube
1 cup of long grain rice (basmati is best)
Leftover turkey meat
Small packet of dried ready to eat apricots, chopped
1 1/2 to 2 cups of cold water
Toasted flaked almonds (optional) |
| |
|
| 1. |
Fry the onion and garlic in a little oil, add the spices
and stock cube and fry very gently for a couple of minutes
making sure that the spices do not burn. |
| 2. |
Rinse the rice to take as much of the starch out as possible.
This will prevent it from sticking together. I always rinse
rice before I cook it. |
| 3. |
Add the rice and turkey meat and fry gently to coat the
rice and meat in all of the spices. Add the apricots.3. Add
the rice and turkey meat and fry gently to coat the rice and
meat in all of the spices. Add the apricots. |
| 4. |
Add the water. Cover, bring to the boil and then simmer
until all of the water has been absorbed by the rice. Test
that the rice is cooked and if not add a little more water. |
| 5. |
To toast the flaked almonds, place the almonds in a dry
frying pan (no oil) and heat until they are golden brown making
sure that they do not burn. Stir the toasted flaked almonds
into the pilaf at the end of the cooking time. Then serve. |
| |
|
| |
Return to
Top |
