Christmas is Coming, the Goose is Getting Fat

I’m so incredibly excited all of a sudden! Christmas is just around the corner and I have a fridge jam packed with Christmas goodies that I just can’t wait to start cooking and eating. I’ll admit it now: I’m gluttonous and I’m indulgent and, let’s face it, nothing brings out these rather wonderful qualities more than Christmas!

Yesterday afternoon while I stayed at home wrapping presents Rob braved the supermarket armed with a long list I’d typed out. He came back with bags of food and I immediately felt the excitement of Christmas descend as we unpacked them. There were only a few things left to buy after that mammoth shop such as the booze, which Rob bought this afternoon and the cheese, which I made up my mind I would buy at Neil’s Yard Dairy at Borough Market when I was there with a colleague the other day.



It was the first time I’d been to the shop and I was very impressed. My colleague was buying a selection of cheese for a friend’s dinner party and was given a friendly and personalised service to help him choose – and we got to taste some fabulous cheeses along the way.





For my Christmas cheese board I chose Stichelton, Waterloo and Isle of Mull Cheddar (you can view information about all of these here). Being a British cheese shop Neil’s Yard doesn't stock Brie, which I do love, so I bought a piece of that elsewhere to add to the selection.



Borough market was open today and I managed to pick up a stem of brussels sprouts while I wandered through, enjoying the very Christmassy atmosphere and taking in the sights of plump turkeys and hanging geese. It looked and felt a little like I’d stepped into ‘A Christmas Carol’ which I’ve been reading on my way to and from work. Certainly I’m full of Christmas spirit now!

Tinsel and Sparkle, Crackers and Lights

Last Sunday Rob and I went to choose our Christmas tree. I love doing this each year and, although the shops are full of gifts months before and Christmas songs are on the radio throughout December, bringing home the tree really marks the start of the festive season for me. Rob spotted this one and it's really lovely with a full, bushy shape. I'm a classic and traditional girl when it comes to the tree and every year I adorn it with gold and red baubles that shine under the little lights.

I'm feeling very festive now, although it took a while for that to happen and up until even last week I just could not believe that Christmas day is next week. The last six weeks (wow, six weeks!) since I started my new job have been like a whirlwind. It's a great time to start a new job though and I've been enjoying parties and lunches there as well as catching up with old colleagues. I'm off to another little gathering, at my Mum's, tonight and I think I'm going to be all partied out come Christmas day!

I've been so wrapped up in my new job that the Christmas preparations have pretty much been passing me by up until now. I felt a sense of panic threatening to descend upon me when I realised I only had a few weeks to go but, after ordering our turkey, a late night shop last Thursday night, a huge Amazon order and finally writing and posting our cards today to catch the last post for 1st class I now feel more that I can start to relax and enjoy the season. Bring on the food and drink!

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of December

With less than two weeks to go until Christmas we thought we'd fill this month's bag with traditional Christmas ingredients for you to make a seasonal classic, perhaps with an original twist, or to come up with something completely new. So without further ado let's open up the bag:

Mincemeat
Chestnuts
An orange

Entry Details
Make a dish using the ingredients and blog about it then send an email with ‘In the Bag in the subject line to asliceofcherrypie AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk by Sunday 4th January with the following information:

• your name
• a link to your post
• the name of your dish
• a picture of your dish

Rules

Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:

1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, with it acting as a central ingredient.

2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.

3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".

4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.

5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.

'In The Bag' is a food event run monthly by 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' and 'Real Epicurean'.

Naff Retro Party Food

As the party season is in full swing I thought you may enjoy this list of buffet style food from the 70s and 80s that my colleagues and I came up with today at work during a moment of joint reminiscence. Although the theme was naff retro party food quite a few on the list made us go “ooh I used to love those” and some that we admitted to still liking, so perhaps there’s something to be said for a little naff-ness every now and then.

How many do you remember and what can you add to the list? Look out for them at the next Christmas party you go to and let me know if you spot any of them!

Cheese and pineapple on a stick
Prawn cocktail
Twiglets
Baby Cham
Vol au vents
Fray bentos pies (I’m not quite sure how this got on the party food list!)
Ice gems
Spam fritters
Snowball
Avocat
Cherry Brandy
Glace cherries
Black forest gateaux
Watney's red barrel
Double Diamond
Screwdriver
Mateus Rose
Branston pickle
Birds trifle
Arctic roll
Angel delight
Blancmange
Matchmakers
After eights
Cocktail sausages
Sausage rolls
Pickled onions
Tizer
Discos crisps
Melon balls / boat
Party rings iced biscuits
R White's Lemonade
Soda Stream
Rum & raisin choc ice
Tutti frutti ice cream
Space dust
Pink panther wafer biscuits
Garibaldi
Fig rolls
Quiche
Cheese straws
Fish paste sandwiches
Polony
Spam

The Fruit that thinks it's a Dessert

In the staff restaurant at work the other day custard apples were on display with a notice urging people to try them. I’d never come across them before but my colleague who was with me said they were good so, never being one to turn down a new culinary experience, I picked one up and took it home to dissect with my camera lens, a knife and my taste buds.



When I selected my custard apple from the ones on display in the restaurant my colleague had advised me to choose one that wasn’t too hard but gave a little when pressed so that I would know it was ripe (much like an avocado) – worth remembering if you ever buy one. I cut it open and discovered little black seeds buried inside the cream coloured flesh. When I scooped some of the flesh out with a spoon and tasted it I immediately understood why this fruit got its name. It was sweet and tasted a little like banana, with a hint of pineapple, but in both taste and texture I thought it actually did have a vague similarity to custard!

For a whole host of information about custard apples and recipes too take a look at this website from the Australian Custard Apple Growers Association.

Warm Duck and Crunchy Red Cabbage Salad

If you're anything like me Monday night is not a night when you want to be coming home from work and cooking something taxing. I'm loving my new job but even so, the start of the working week after the weekend off usually requires that little extra effort to get you going and into it, especially in the winter when it's cold, wet and windy outside. So when you've travelled home in the dark on a train-full of tired commuters like yourself you probably don't want to be spending ages in the kitchen just to get a good meal on the table. Well that's certainly how I felt this evening, anyway.

So tonight I opted for duck breasts, which take only about 20 minutes to cook, with salad. To liven up the usual salad leaves I added some raw, shredded red cabbage and drizzled over a simple dressing of 3 parts extra virgin olive oil to 1 part white wine vinegar, whisked together.



To cook the duck breasts season them and put them skin side down (assuming you haven't gone for skinless) in a frying pan and cook over a medium heat. They will release their lovely fat into the pan - which you can save for roast potatoes (store in the fridge). After about 10 minutes turn them over and give them about another 10 minutes if you like them deliciously rare, as I do. Make sure you leave them to rest for 5 minutes so that their juices go back into them.

The Frugal Cook...In a Book!

Even in the best of times it makes good sense to be cost effective when planning and cooking meals, but when you’re in an economic crisis with spiralling unemployment and rising food costs it may become essential to pull in the belts, make the food on your table go further and become altogether more thrifty. If the credit crunch is making you have to re-think your food shopping and cooking fear not: help is at hand.

Fiona Beckett is a renowned food writer and the author of the blog and the book of the same name: The Frugal Cook. If you haven’t yet visited the blog you should - on it we follow Fiona on her journey of thriftiness, picking up lots of tips and recipes along the way. And now there’s a book too; one that I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of ever since I first heard Fiona talk about it on her blog. Now that I finally have a glossy copy in my hands I’m certainly not disappointed.

What I particularly like about this beautifully illustrated book is the general advice scattered through it. Not only do each of the original recipes come with a ‘thrifty tip’ to help you get even more for your money, but there are whole pages dedicated to frugality (isn’t that a great word?) such as ’20 Ways to Cut Your Food Bills by 20%’, ‘The Frugal Storecupboard (and Fridge)’ and ‘How to be more Energy-Efficient’. There’s also a handy A to Z of ingredients and leftovers which gives ideas on what to do with them.

It’s a great book, coming at a time when it’s needed most, and I just know you’re going to love it.

In the Bag: Cooking the Month of October - The Round-up!

Last month I hosted a Halloween special 'In the Bag' and invited you to carve or cook a pumpkin. Here are the spectacular entries in all their glory.

Frolicking Foodie:





...and a Little Bit More:



Yum in Tum:



Dil Se:



My Kitchen Diaries:



Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes:



I'll Eat You:



Not Quite Nigella:



Coffee and Vanilla:





Apple Pie, Patis and Pate:



R Khooks:



eCurry:





Good Things Come in Small Packages:




Aren't they just fabulous? Thanks to everyone who entered!

'In the Bag' is a monthly food event run by Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie and Scott at Real Epicurean

Bonfire Feast

Yesterday afternoon our parents, my cousin, his wife and their little daughter Hannah (our gorgeous god-daughter) came over to have dinner with us and then watch a firework display. My cousin's wife had suggested that she and I make a chilli and she found a quick recipe by Gordon Ramsay. We made a great team - and this is a good dish to make in a team as there’s quite a bit to do like chopping the vegetables, browning the meat while the dried spices are added to the onions, cooking the rice. We must have done a good job as the response of our chief taster, 2 year old Hannah, was “more!”.













We doubled the recipe up so used 2 red chillis, but didn't use the seeds so that we'd keep it mild, particularly as Hannah was eating with us. We did find though that it was very mild indeed - perhaps the chillis we used weren't very hot - so next time we'd probably use some seeds. Even so it was really flavoursome and everyone enjoyed it; I'd happily make it again. If you decide to try this recipe be aware that there's an error; the tomato puree is listed twice with different amounts, but the recipe says to taste so go with what you think is best. We used 4 tablespoons (remember we doubled the recipe) and found that was plenty for us.

For pudding we had a fantastic pumpkin pie spiced with cinnamon that my cousin's wife made. It was delicious with vanilla ice cream and went down really well. Here’s the recipe, which I can definitely recommend.



After dinner we all wrapped up warm and headed out to watch the fireworks. Hannah was squealing in delight all the way over to the park as she saw fireworks through the car windows. The typical British Bonfire night rain held off for long enough for us to see the display but we did get rather wet on our way back to the cars. The excitement was all too much for little Hannah, who fell asleep in her Dad’s arms as he carried her back.

The Heart of Autumn

Autumn is in full swing now and the landscape is rich with colour; the remaining shades of green specked with gold, brown and red. It’s so beautiful and every year never fails to leave me with a sense of wonder at the pictures nature paints for us with its ever changing palette. I’m well positioned to appreciate it right now, as Rob and I have escaped for a few days to Suffolk, where we’ve hired a lodge overlooking a picturesque lake. It’s cold and as I type, sitting on the verandah under the cover of the lodge roof and the table umbrella, fine rain is gently falling, rippling the lake. But we have fleeces to keep us warm, and the concerns I had before we arrived about the lodge being cold were completely unfounded: it has very good central heating and a gas fire.



There are four lodges here, each well equipped, most notably with their own private hot tubs; somewhat of a novelty for a guest house here in Britain. This has been my first experience of a hot tub and what an experience it is! Braving the cold air in my swimming costume and stepping into the bubbling hot tub on the first evening had me giggling like a school girl. Once in I wasn’t at all cold though and the bubbles and steam rising up relaxed me within minutes. Bliss.



Rob and I love to take short breaks in retreats like this, where we can hibernate for a few days, forgetting the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I, as you might imagine, particularly enjoy stocking up on good food to cook and eat. Our hoard on this break includes (off the top of my head) duck and port pate; crusty bread; bacon (which in fact came in our welcome hamper along with other goodies such as Champagne and chocolates and essentials like eggs and butter); sausages; cheese; chestnuts; potatoes and a free-range chicken. Not to mention the mouth-wateringly rich chocolate fudge cake toped with shaved chocolate that jumped into our basket of its own accord.



Last night I cooked a brace of pheasants for a sublime Autumn dinner. As they can easily dry out when roasted I decided to pot roast them with lots of stock to keep them as succulent as possible. In keeping with the season I added mushrooms and roasted chestnuts. It was lovely and a dish I’d like to try again before the game season is out. As nice as the gamey broth was I think perhaps next time I may just add a tablespoon of flour before the stock in order to thicken it.

Pot Roast Pheasants with Chestnuts and Mushrooms

Ingredients
A brace of pheasants
1 onion
2 large field mushrooms
300 ml Chicken stock
2 sprigs of thyme
A handful of flat leafed parsley
2 handfuls of cooked chestnuts (either pre-roasted, tinned or vacuum packed)
Salt and pepper


Preheat the oven to 170c.

Ensure the pheasants are clean and their innards removed, then brown them all over in about a tablespoon of olive oil in a flame-proof casserole dish over a high heat. Remove from the pan and then turn the heat down to medium.

Peel and dice the onion and add it to the pan. Wipe any dirt from the mushrooms, cut them into eights and add them to the onions. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the stock and herbs.

Season with salt and pepper, bring up to a simmer and then add the pheasants back to the dish.

Put on a lid and pop the dish into the oven for an hour, or until the pheasants are cooked through. To check, pull on the legs, which should have some give in them and be easy to pull away from the body, and skewer the thigh and check that the juices run clear.

Add the chestnuts about 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time to allow them.

Before serving spoon off any excess fat from the liquid and either serve it as it is with the pheasants or reduce it on the hob first.