Main

Breakfast Week. Win a spa weekend for two!

Breakfast recipes

.

Breakfast Week. Win a spa weekend for two!

Hands up who eats breakfast? Me, me me!! I love everything about breakfast, the traditional breakfast foods and drinks and the fact that I wake up every morning ravenous enough to eat a horse (or maybe a bacon sandwich)!

Confession time, I adore junk cereal – particularly
that cinnamon one – but I have given up boxed
cereal entirely due to the fact that most of it is
packed with sugar.

Instead, I enjoy homemade porridge (see below) or wholemeal toast with fresh fruit or egg and bacon (or all of these!) and a mug of good strong coffee.

According to the BBC, breakfast as we know it didn’t exist for large parts of history. The Romans didn’t really eat it, usually consuming only one meal a day around noon.

In the Middle Ages monastic life shaped when people ate; nothing could be eaten before morning Mass and meat could only be eaten for half of the year. It’s thought the word breakfast entered the English language during this time and literally meant “break the night’s fast”.

Religious ritual also gave us the full English breakfast. On Collop Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, people had to use up meat before the start of Lent. Much of that meat was pork and bacon as pigs were kept by many people. The meat was often eaten with eggs, which also had to be used up, and the precursor of the full English breakfast was born.

After the restoration of Charles II, coffee, tea and dishes like scrambled eggs started to appear on the tables of the wealthy. By the late 1740s, breakfast rooms also started appearing in the homes of the rich.

The Industrial Revolution regularised working hours, with labourers needing an early meal to sustain them at work. All classes started to eat a meal before going to work, even the bosses.

And so our modern day breakfast routine was established.

 

 

Win a spa weekend for two

Win a spa weekendWhat’s your favourite breakfast? 

If you take a photo of it and upload it to the Shakeupyourwakeup campaign website you could win a spa weekend!

Enter the competition

They have lots of breakfast ideas on their website too.

 

 

Here are my two favourite Dairy Diary breakfasts:

 

 

Banana-Porridge

Banana Porridge

Serves 4
Time 8 mins
Calories 174 per portion
Fat 2g of which 0.4g is saturated

Porridge oats 110g (4oz)
Ground cinnamon 1 tbsp
Honey 3 tbsp
Banana 1 large, sliced

1 Put oats and 500ml (18fl oz) water in a pan and bring up to boil. Simmer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 Add most of cinnamon and honey and cook for 1 minute.

3 Add most of banana slices and stir.

Serve with remaining slices of banana on top, drizzled with remaining honey and sprinkled with cinnamon.

A Dairy Diary recipe.

 

Scrambled-Eggs-with-Smoked-Salmon

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

Preparation time 4 minutes
Cooking time 3 minutes
Calories per portion 766 Kcal
Fat per portion 55g of which saturated 25.2g
Serves 2

Butter 75g (3oz), softened
Tomato purée 2 tsp
Chopped dill 2 tbsp, plus a few fronds to garnish
Capers 2–3 tbsp, well drained and roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Mediterranean-style bread with olives 4 slices, approximately 2cm (¾in) thick, cut diagonally
Eggs 5 large, beaten
Smoked salmon slices 100g packet, cut into thin strips
Beefsteak tomato 1, deseeded and diced, to garnish (optional)

1 Put 50g (2oz) of the butter into a small bowl, then add the tomato purée, chopped dill and capers. Season with black pepper, then mix well together and set aside.

2 Toast the bread and keep warm.

3 Melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan (preferably non-stick), add the eggs and half of the salmon strips. Then cook over a moderate heat, stirring continuously, until the eggs are softly scrambled – taking care not to overcook, as they will become dry.

4 Spread the toasted bread with the tomato butter and put onto two serving plates. Spoon the scrambled eggs on top, garnish with the remaining strips of salmon, dill and the chopped tomato, and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip. For quick assembly, prepare all the ingredients before starting to cook and toast the bread while scrambling the eggs.

Recipe from Just One Pot Dairy Cookbook

 

 

#breakfastweek

.

.

.

.

.

 

Top Five Family Favourite Recipes

Top 5 Family Favourite Recipes

.

Top 5 Family Favourite Recipes
from Dairy Diary

2015 has heralded an influx of requests for old Dairy Diary recipes. I always do my best to find these for people – they often have such sweet stories attached – but in truth we don’t have any form of filing system for the older books, it is literally a case of climbing a ladder and searching through the old books, so it sometimes takes quite some time!

These stories of much-loved long lost recipes have got me thinking about which recipes I most cherish and will want to pass on to my children. It’s really tricky to select just a few, but these Dairy Diary classics are cooked again and again in my kitchen.

Pear & Ginger Trifle

Pear & Ginger Trifle

1982. It’s a bit/lot before my time with Dairy Diary but after I stumbled across this it became a family classic and is my other half’s favourite dessert.

This Pear and Ginger Trifle recipe is a must! It is a twist on the classic trifle flavours and incorporates ginger cake, pears, cider, custard and cream. So easy to make and so delicious – it will become a firm family favourite! A Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

Auntie Lous Bread Pudding

AUNTIE LOU’S BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING 

This moist bread pudding is packed with fruit and perfect for popping in the rucksack before a long walk (with an obligatory flask of course).

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE 

Gourmet Beans on Toast

Gourmet Beans on Toast

This is so simple, it almost isn’t a recipe, but without it I would never thought of combining these ingredients. It’s perfect for Saturday lunch.

But not just for lunch – this must-try version of beans on toast with tuna and cheese, will fill you up until tomorrow! This yummy Gourmet Beans on Toast is a Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

Peanut Noodles

Peanut Noodles

2012. When we’re squeezing dinner in between tidying and piano practise and reading stories, this super-quick recipe is easy to prepare but absolutely delicious.

Serves 2
Time 15 mins
Calories 474 per portion
Fat 17g of which 3.1g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians

Sesame oil 1 tbsp
Courgette 1, cut into thin sticks
Carrots 2, peeled and cut into thin sticks
Baby corn 125g pack
Mushrooms 110g (4oz), sliced
Straight-to-wok noodles 300g pack
Milk 4 tbsp
Sweet chilli sauce 1 tbsp
Crunchy peanut butter 2 tbsp
Coriander to garnish

1 Heat oil in a wok and stir-fry vegetables for about 5 minutes.

2 Add noodles to wok and warm through for 2 minutes.

3 Meanwhile, put milk, sweet chilli sauce and peanut butter in a bowl and microwave on full power for 30–40 seconds. Whisk together.

4 Just before serving, stir peanut sauce into noodles and vegetables. Divide between two bowls and garnish with coriander leaves.

Lemon Chicken

Lemon Chicken

2013. I LOVE this recipe. It tastes like something a restaurant would serve, but it’s so easy and pretty healthy too. Win win win.

Serves 4
Time 1 ¼ hours
Calories 426 per portion
Fat 20g of which 6.9g is saturated

Potatoes 4 medium, peeled and cut into wedges
Olive oil 3 tbsp
Lemons 2, 1 cut into 6 wedges and the other cut into 8 slices
Garlic 4 cloves, unpeeled
Thyme sprigs a few
Chicken breasts 4, skin on
Freshly grated nutmeg
Parma ham 4 slices
Chicken stock 150ml (¼ pint)
Crème frâiche 4 tbsp

1 Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 and heat a baking tray. Boil potato wedges for 5 minutes. Drain well and add to baking tray with 2 tbsp oil. Squeeze lemon wedges over potatoes and add to tray along with garlic and thyme. Roast near the bottom of the oven for 50 minutes, turning occasionally, until crisp and brown.

2 Meanwhile, put chicken in a roasting tin, season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and nutmeg. Place a piece of ham on each chicken breast and put 2 lemon slices on top. Drizzle with 1 tbsp of oil and bake in the oven above the potatoes for 20 minutes, then pour in the stock and bake for a further 20 minutes.

3 Transfer chicken and potatoes to hot plates. Whisk crème frâiche into pan juices and pour over the chicken.

Which classic recipes will you pass on to your loved ones?

.

.

.

.

.

.

Have fun and exercise your mind

Have fun and exercise your mind

.

Have fun and exercise your mind

We’ve started a new regime, my other half and I, where on our Friday ‘date’ nights, one of us is totally responsible for choosing what we eat, drink and do.

Mwhahahaha, now’s my chance to dust
down the board games (all in the spirit
of the Dairy Diary of course!)

In our Brain Training feature, in this year’s Dairy Diary we talk about the benefits of keeping our brains active so it has given me the perfect excuse to sneak out the Crossword game.

 

Brain training

The ability to think quickly, clearly and creatively, and to concentrate better, can be cultivated. If you have the motivation, and are prepared to put in a little effort, it seems to be entirely possible to improve your mental capacity, whatever your age. The key is to keep challenging yourself – giving your brain a gentle workout will strengthen it and improve its power.

Messages are passed through your brain via neurons, using chemical and electrical reactions that travel with mind-boggling speed. Part of each neuron is insulated with myelin, a fatty substance that helps electrical transmissions. The thicker the insulation, the speedier and more accurate your thinking and the better your memory. Learning increases the density of neuron connections, and repetition increases the thickness of the myelin. Bingo!

 

What can you do to boost your brain power?

Anything that engages different parts of the brain at the same time is especially effective. The left side is concerned with logic, sequential thinking and decision making; the right side with creativity, imagination and random ideas.

Tackle crosswords, sudokus, quizzes and puzzles, or take up bridge. Solving cryptic puzzles involves several parts of your brain – logic, recall, creative thought, analysis, deciding on likely options, dealing with frustration – and the benefits increase if you do it with someone else.

Learn something new and challenging e.g. chess, crochet, a musical instrument. Learning another language may seem ambitious but is especially good because it forces your brain to switch tracks continuously, which is one of the most mentally demanding things you can do. It helps hone the frontal lobes, the brain’s mind managers, which tend to shrink as part of the ageing process.

Study a subject that you find interesting e.g. botany, nutrition, a specific era of history.

Read, and maybe join or start a book club. Discussing books with others hones your critical/analytical skills.

Make up brain games to play with friends e.g. think of an animal or food for every letter of the alphabet. Focusing on simple tasks helps to improve concentration as well as boosting brain power. Include memory games, so that each person has to repeat what has already been said.

Listen to music. Listening to Mozart has been shown to improve spatial and mathematical reasoning.

An exercise to help improve your concentration is to spend a few minutes every day emptying your mind and thinking of nothing but your breathing. Practising focusing on one thing will help you to de-clutter and calm your thoughts, so you can concentrate better the rest of the time.

 

As working parents with several young children, it’s pretty impossible to find the time to take up a new language or join a book club. We can, however, squeeze in the odd board game or two when the children are asleep (the games that we play with the children are not particularly intellectually taxing just yet!)

 

Here’s my menu for Friday evening:

 

Smoked Mackerel Pate

Smoked Mackerel & Dill Pâté

Time 10 mins plus chilling. Per portion: 185 Kcal, 8.4g fat (1.3g saturated). Serves 4

Smoked mackerel 225g (8oz), skinned
Chopped dill 3 tbsp
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Garlic 1 clove, peeled and crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
Double cream 150ml (¼ pint), lightly whipped
Egg white 1, whisked
Lemon wedges to serve (optional)
Melba toast to serve (optional)

1 Place the mackerel flesh in a bowl. Add the chopped dill, lemon juice, garlic and pepper and mash together well or blend in a food processor.

2 Fold in the cream and egg white; chill.

3 Serve with Melba toast and lemon.

 

Cheddar Cheese Risotto with Bacon

Cheddar Cheese Risotto with Bacon

Time 30 minutes. Per portion: 478 Kcal, 23g fat (12g saturated). Serves 4

Butter 25g (1oz)
Risotto rice 225g (8oz)
Spring onions 8, trimmed and chopped
Hot vegetable stock 900ml (1½ pints)
Smoked streaky bacon 8 rashers, de-rinded and halved
Frozen peas 200g (7oz)
Freshly ground black pepper
Mature Cheddar cheese 110g (4oz), diced

1 Melt the butter in a large non-stick saucepan and add the rice, coating it well in the butter. Stir in the spring onions and about 150ml (¼ pint) of the stock and simmer until almost absorbed. Pour in more stock, a ladleful at a time and each time waiting for the liquid to be almost absorbed before adding more, simmering until the rice is almost cooked. The mixture should not be dry.

2 Meanwhile, grill the bacon rashers until crisp.

3 Add the peas and season well with pepper. Heat through, then stir in the Cheddar cheese. When the cheese starts to melt, serve with the bacon rashers piled on top.

 

Raspberry Syllabub Trifle

Syllabub Trifle

Time 20 minutes plus chilling. Per portion: 395 Kcal, 27g fat (15.1g saturated). Serves 6

Trifle sponges 4
Raspberry jam 110g (4oz)
Lemon 1, grated zest and juice
Caster sugar 50g (2oz)
Dry cider with elderflower 120ml (4fl oz)
Double cream 300ml carton
Mixed frozen fruits 200g (7oz), just defrosted

1 Slice each sponge cake in half horizontally. Spread jam over half of the slices, then cover with the remaining slices, cut to fit and place in six individual glasses in a single layer. Spread any remaining jam over the top of the sponge cakes.

2 Place most of the lemon zest, the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Add the cider and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Drizzle a little of this liquid over the trifle sponges until just moist.

3 Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the remaining cider mixture.

4 Spoon the fruit over the sponge and then cover with the flavoured cream. Top with any remaining lemon zest. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

 

Accompanied by Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and
followed with a couple of games of Crossword.

 

Dairy Diary 2015 collection

The 2015 Dairy Diary is still available and if you like the look of the recipes above, they are taken from our cookbook, Fantastic Food for Less.

You can buy both books with FREE DELIVERY throughout January!

 

I would love to know what activities you participate in to expand and exercise the mind.

 

.

.

.

.

.

 

Top tips for spending less and eating well in January

Half price sale

.

Top tips for spending less and eating well in January

Back to reality and time to reign back a little. After an indulgent time, January is a good month to eat a little less and spend a lot less.

To do this, I shall be planning all our meals in advance, so I can keep track of what we eat and what we spend.

Taking inspiration from our cookbook,
Fantastic Food for Less, which advocates
forward planning, making a shopping list
and sticking to it!

Dairy Diary recipeI have decided to make planning easier for us by first listing all our favourite meals (including the recipes that we most like from our cookbooks). This seems quite an arduous task, but once done I can print and laminate our list and glance at it for inspiration each time I plan our weekly meals (which are written on each day in the Dairy Diary).

No more umming and aaahing about what to eat each week, and by making a list of our meals and sticking to my shopping list, we should waste less and spend less too!

 

Half-price cookbook sale!

For more tips on how to save money and waste less food, as well as 100 delicious low-cost recipes see Fantastic Food for Less.

AND just for this week, it’s half price!

 

Here’s a taster of what Fantastic Food has to offer…..

 

Pea and Ham Quicke recipe

Pea & Ham Quiche

Time 1 hour
Per portion: 608 Kcal, 44g fat (22.1g saturated)
Serves 6
Suitable for freezing

Ready-made shortcrust pastry 375g (13oz)
Eggs 4, beaten
Crème fraîche 250ml tub
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Frozen peas 110g (4oz), defrosted
Spring onions 3, trimmed and finely chopped
Ham 250g (9oz), chopped into chunks
Double Gloucester cheese 75g (3oz), grated
Mixed leaf salad to serve (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.

2 Fold the pastry in half and then roll out until a little larger than a 23cm (9in) fluted flan tin. Lift the pastry over the rolling pin, drape in the tin then ease up the sides pressing it in place with your fingertips. Trim the top of the pastry so that it stands a little above the top of the tin. Prick the base of the pastry and then chill for 15 minutes.

3 Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes.

4 Meanwhile, in a jug, mix together the eggs and crème fraîche and season well with salt and pepper.

5 Remove the paper and beans from the pastry case and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Pour in the creamy mixture and then evenly sprinkle in the peas, spring onions, ham and grated cheese.

6 Return the quiche to the oven and bake for 25–30 minutes, until it is just set and golden. Serve with a mixed salad if you like.

A Fabulous Food For Less recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditions, old and new, that make Christmas even more magical

The-Snowman at Christmas

.

Traditions, old and new, that make Christmas even more magical

 The big day is almost here and I am so excited (possibly even more than the children!)

The build up began on the 1st with my oldest tradition – the opening of a wooden advent calendar that belonged to me when I was a child (we fill it with tiny chocolates and stickers). We have many more traditions, old and new, that I cherish and that make childhood and Christmas magical – just how it should be!

 

24 books of Christmas

I saw this idea on Facebook back in November, and I thought it was fabulous. I was going to buy 24 books from a charity shop but then my eldest child sorted through his books and selected 24 which are now too young for him. We wrapped each one individually and put them under the tree. Each day one of the younger children unwraps a book which we read that evening before bed.

 

Christmas decorations

Christmas Lights Express

This gorgeous idea was on the blog http://www.realcoake.com/2012/11/christmas-activities-christmas-express.html and I just couldn’t resist it!

One evening last week each child found a ticket under their pillow for the Christmas Express. We helped them into their dressing gowns, bundled them into the car with a little cup of hot chocolate and a cookie and took them around the local streets and town centre to see all the Christmas lights. It was lovely!

 

Christmas Concert

There’s nothing that quite gets you into the Christmas spirit than a carol concert or Christmas play. Usually, we go along to the local church carol concert but this year in place of a few gifts (they don’t need more toys!) we have bought tickets to see The Snowman at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. It will be the first time there for all of us and I can’t wait.

 

Christmas Eve Rituals

On Christmas Eve each child is given a package wrapped in brown paper and it contains a pair of new pyjamas and a tiny teddy (from the charity shop) to cuddle during the night. We bake Christmas biscuits (see the recipe below) and leave a couple out for Father Christmas with a glass of sherry and a carrot for Rudolf. We then all hang up our stockings before our final story and bed (after a large glass of wine and a sigh of relief for mum and dad!)

 

Christmas morning

Father Christmas usually forgets to clean his boots on the way in and leaves muddy prints by the patio. He even manages to leave a little bit of his beard (cotton wool) when munching on his biscuits! Despite his clumsiness, he has filled the stockings with exciting treasures, which we open first, and hidden some bigger gifts behind the sofa.

 

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone – I hope it is peaceful and happy, and you enjoy the Christmas traditions that are special to you and your family.

 

 

Christmas biscuits

.

Christmas biscuits

35–40 biscuits
15 mins prep time plus chilling
25 mins cooking time
65 Kcal per biscuit
4g fat per biscuit of which
0.3g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians

Egg whites 2
Icing sugar 175g (6oz)
Ground cinnamon 2 tsp
Ground almonds 250g (9oz)
Lemon juice 2–3 tsp

1 Whisk the egg whites until stiff, fold in the icing sugar and cinnamon and whisk again until the mixture is of thick dropping consistency. Spoon about 6 tbsp of this meringue mixture into a small bowl, cover it and reserve. Continue whisking the rest of the mixture until it forms stiff peaks, then fold in the ground almonds and lemon juice and mix to a thick paste.

2 Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour, or until the mixture is firm enough to handle.

3 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 and butter 2–3 baking sheets. Roll the dough out between two sheets of baking parchment until it’s about 5mm (¼in) thick.

4 Use a 2.5cm (1in) diameter star cutter to cut out shapes, then place on the baking sheets. Re-roll the trimmings and repeat the cutting out until all the paste is used up.

5 Bake the stars in the oven for 7–8 minutes, then remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 110°C/225°F/Gas ¼.

6 Use a pastry brush to paint the reserved meringue mixture over the top of the biscuits. Return the stars to the oven for about 15 minutes until the meringue has dried out but not browned. Remove the stars from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. The biscuits will keep for up to 2 weeks if stored in a cool place in an airtight container.

Cook’s tip
Ensure that both the bowl and beaters are grease-free before making the meringue, otherwise the mixture will not whisk up to the full volume.

Recipe taken from Year Round Dairy Cookbook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ultimate Christmas Menu

The Ultimate Christmas Menu

.

The Ultimate Christmas Menu

Make Christmas day extra special this year with these amazing recipes, simple enough for anyone and everyone to achieve.

  • Turkey with Sherry Gravy
  • Potatoes Dauphinois
  • Braised Red Cabbage with Blackberries
  • Cinnamon Spiced Cranberry Sauce
  • Syllabub Trifle

Enjoy!

 

Turkey with Sherry Gravy

Turkey with Sherry Gravy

For a really festive meal, treat your guests to this turkey recipe on Christmas Day. The lemon, parsley and thyme stuffing is good to eat cold, too.

15 minutes preparation time 4½–4¾ hours cooking time plus resting
714 Kcal per portion
35.4g fat per portion of which 17.9g is saturated
6 servings with plenty left for eating cold

For the stuffing:
Fresh white breadcrumbs 250g (9oz)
Chopped parsley 6–8 tbsp
Chopped thyme 1–2 tbsp
Lemon 1, grated rind
Butter 110g (4oz), melted
Egg 1
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the turkey:
Turkey 5–6kg (11–13lb)
Turkey or chicken stock 600ml (1 pint)
Butter 50g (2oz), softened
Herbs to garnish

For the gravy:
Plain flour 3 tbsp
Gravy browning optional
Sherry 2 tbsp
Rosemary leaves to garnish
Lemon thyme leaves to garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/ Gas 5. To make the stuffing, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix together, taking care not to press it together too much – it should remain light and open in texture.

2 To prepare the turkey, rinse out the inside and pat dry. Press the stuffing into the neck cavity, shaping any extra stuffing into balls, which can be cooked on a small baking tray at the top of the oven for 15–20 minutes.

3 Pull the neck skin over the stuffing and secure with a skewer or a couple of wooden cocktail sticks. Weigh the turkey to calculate the cooking time, allowing 20 minutes per 450g (1lb). A turkey with stuffing that weighs about 6kg (13lb) will take approximately 4½–4¾ hours to cook.

4 Place the turkey in a roasting tin, pour the stock around it and spread the softened butter over the skin. Cover with foil and place towards the bottom of the oven (the shelf above the turkey at the top of the oven can be used for roasting vegetables).

5 Keep the turkey covered with foil until the last 45 minutes of the calculated cooking time, then remove foil, baste and return to the oven until cooked through.

6 To test if the turkey is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the flesh of the thigh with a skewer – if the juices that run out are clear, it’s cooked, but if the juices are still pink, then the bird needs further cooking. When cooked, remove it from the oven, and transfer to a warmed serving plate. Cover the turkey with clean foil and leave it to ‘rest’ in a warm place for 20–30 minutes as this will make carving easier.

7 To make the gravy, pour the juices from the roasting tin into a fat separator or jug. Return 3 tbsp of the fat to the roasting tin and skim as much fat as possible off the rest of the juices and discard it.

8 Place the roasting tin on the hob and stir in the flour for the gravy. Cook over a gentle heat for a couple of minutes, then slowly stir in skimmed turkey juices. Bring to the boil and, if it is too thick, then stir in some boiling water to give the desired consistency and add a little gravy browning if liked. Stir in the sherry and season to taste. Keep piping hot until serving and pour into a warmed gravy boat.

9 Serve the turkey garnished with rosemary and lemon thyme and accompanied with stuffing balls, roast potatoes, steamed vegetables, and orange halves stuffed with lightly cooked cranberries.

 

Potatoes Dauphinois

Potatoes Dauphinois

Time 1½ hrs
Serves 4
Calories 471
Fat 36g of which 20.8g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Butter 15g (½oz)
Potatoes 600g (1lb 6oz), peeled and thinly sliced (thickness of a pound coin)
Whole milk 175ml (6fl oz)
Double cream 200ml (7fl oz)
Nutmeg ½ tsp
Cheese such as Cheddar or Gruyère 50g (2oz), finely grated

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease a 900ml (1½ pint) oval ovenproof dish with butter.

2 Place potatoes into medium sized pan with milk, double cream and nutmeg. Bring slowly up to boil on a low heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3 Using a slotted spoon, strain potatoes, reserving liquid. Carefully arrange potatoes in dish, seasoning as you layer, and making sure they overlap neatly. Pour liquid over potatoes and sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

 

Braised red cabbage with blackberries

Braised Red Cabbage with Blackberries

Time 45 mins
Serves 6
Calories 97
Fat 4g of which 2.2g is saturated
Suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians

Butter 25g (1oz)
Onion 1, peeled and finely chopped
Red cabbage 500g (1lb 2oz), quartered, core removed, thinly sliced
Light muscovado sugar 2 tbsp
Red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
Ground mixed spice 1 tsp
Apple juice 150ml (¼ pint)
Blackberries 225g (8oz)

1 Heat butter in a saucepan, add onion and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring until softened. Stir in cabbage then sugar, vinegar, spice and apple juice. Season with salt and pepper.

2 Cover and cook gently for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender. Add blackberries and cook gently for 10 minutes more.

3 Spoon into a serving dish and serve with roast turkey, chicken or casseroled lamb or beef.

 

Cinnamon Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Cinnamon Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Time 15 mins
Serves 6
Calories 96
Fat 0g of which 0g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Cranberries fresh or frozen 300g (11oz)
Caster sugar 125g (4½oz)
Fresh orange juice 125ml  (4fl oz)
Cointreau or brandy 1 tbsp, optional
Cinnamon stick 1

1 Put all ingredients in medium sized heavy-based pan and mix well. Heat gently, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Bring slowly up to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until cranberries are tender, stirring occasionally.

2 Leave to cool – the cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools. Remove cinnamon stick. Serve warm or cold with ham or turkey. This can be made a day in advance, cooled, poured into a rigid plastic container, covered and chilled overnight ready to reheat on Christmas Day.

 

Syllabub Trifle

Syllabub Trifle

Time 20 minutes plus chilling.
Per portion: 395 Kcal
27g fat (15.1g saturated)
Serves 6
Suitable for vegetarians

Trifle sponges 4
Raspberry jam 110g (4oz)
Lemon 1, grated zest and juice
Caster sugar 50g (2oz)
Dry cider with elderflower 120ml (4fl oz)
Double cream 300ml carton
Mixed frozen fruits 200g (7oz), just defrosted

1 Slice each sponge cake in half horizontally. Spread jam over half of the slices, then cover with the remaining slices, cut to fit and place in six individual glasses in a single layer. Spread any remaining jam over the top of the sponge cakes.

2 Place most of the lemon zest, the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl. Add the cider and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Drizzle a little of this liquid over the trifle sponges until just moist.

3 Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Gradually whisk in the remaining cider mixture.

4 Spoon the fruit over the sponge and then cover with the flavoured cream. Top with any remaining lemon zest. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 … 58 59 60 … 106
Blog at WordPress.com.