PARTY PLANNING

We are knee deep in First Communion and Confirmation parties at the moment - it is wonderful to have a happy event to celebrate, filled with hope and promise.  An excuse to dress up and meet up (with some spirituality thrown in) what can be better than than?

In the current economic climate (!) many people are catering these events themselves (although I wonder if it's cheaper,  we probably way over cater when we are doing it ourselves!!)  and I have been asked for advice on how to manage without tearing your hair out!!

In an ideal world you would put the rest of the family into suspended animation for a few days before the party - imagine the house staying as clean as you have left it!!!!  AND being able to concentrate all your cooking attention on the party instead of the day to day meals!

When choosing your menu, first decide whether you want hot or cold or a mixture of both.  I favour a cold spread, but most people prefer to have a mixture - in this post I will cater for the cold camp!

Protein - the old reliables are always acceptable, roast sliced beef, turkey and ham* are lovely. Salmon is one of my favourites, particularly when portioned and served on a platter covered in a lettuce and sugar snap salad, with a dill dressing.  At the moment I'm really enthusiastic about serving tandoori chicken breasts, which are marinated for a few hours and roasted a day in advance - again these look great served on a platter strewn with green leaves.  For the veggies, although I don't generally make a specific vegetarian dish, many of the salads will contain cheese and nuts, so I reckon their protein intake is taken care of, and I don't feel too guilty!
*try cooking the ham in cola - it tastes great

Then come the salads - these come into a few categories:

Essentials (as in I'd be in trouble if these didn't appear!!)

Potato Salad (see here)
Caesar Salad
Coleslaw/Carrot Salad  (see here)
Rice Salad


Popular (these disappear in no time)

Beetroot (see here)
Bean  (see here)
Tomato
Pasta
Broccoli  (see here) Avoca call this their most popular salad, so perhaps it belongs in Essentials!
Green  (see here)

Ring the changes

Tabbouleh
Onion
Couscous (see here)
Any one that takes your fancy while reading blogs/cookbooks!!!

There are plenty more salads here on Brownieville Girl - just follow your own taste.

The most important factor when deciding is that 90% of the dish must be able to be prepared in advance - there is no point in being frazzled when the guests arrive.


One of the all time favourites is the Pesto Rice Salad (pictured at the front of this photo), it is best prepared in advance and  tastes delicious.

This recipe comes from Queen Delia's Summer Collection (in my opinion one of her top three).  I have made it with my own pesto, but have come to the decision that if you buy a really good fresh pesto, it tastes almost as good, but the saving in effort and money make it well worth using.

Pesto Rice Salad

225ml     risotto rice (arborio is good) - measured like liquid
tub          very best fresh pesto you can find (tesco finest is quite good)
450ml     vegetable stock, simmering
1             lemon, juiced
2 tbsp     best olive oil
25g        Parmesan cheese, shavings
              basil leaves to decorate
1 tsp       salt

Place the rice in a saucepan and stir in a quarter of the pesto, until every grain is coated.
Pour the simmering stock over the rice.
Place on the hob and bring to boiling point stirring with a wooden spoon.
Add the salt and give a final stir.
Put on a lid and bring the heat down to low, allow to cook for 20 mins.

When ready pour on the lemon juice, olive oil and remaining pesto sauce, and combine.
Taste and season as required.
Pour into a pretty serving dish and allow to cool.
Before serving scatter the basil leaves and Parmesan shavings over the top.

Enjoy.

FOR YOUR FIVE A DAY

We did quite a bit of entertaining over the Easter holidays, and the most challenging aspect of choosing a menu for me, was choosing what vegetables to serve.  I want veggies that complement the main dish, and that are a little bit different - side dishes that look and taste as though you have gone to some effort.

We invited my husband's family over for Saturday evening, and there were 16 of us eating - I love having a large number for dinner as it gives me a chance to try out new recipes and allows for some experimenting too (my theory being that if there are enough people present, someone will like every dish!!).  On this occasion the recipe I tried was Nigella's Roast Red Onions with Basil (from Nigellissima) and I threw together this Asparagus, Peas and Sugar Snaps with Pesto and both went down really well.  The onions were a useful addition to the repertoire as they can wait out of the oven happily for at least an hour - which is wonderful when there is pressure for space in the oven.  They were delicious, the basil being an unexpected flavour combination (I would usually go with thyme or sage with onion dishes) that worked very well - and another bonus, they were lovely reheated the next day.

The pea dish was also a great choice for entertaining, as the asparagus stem can be cooked ahead of time, along with the peas - and then a final few minutes on a high flame will reheat them and cook the asparagus tips and the sugar snaps - easy peasy (please forgive me for the awful pun - sometimes I just can't help myself, it's an affliction!!). 

The two side dishes worked well together as the mellow round flavours of the onions contrasted well with the fresh crispness of the greens.  I also served Piedmont Peppers and Butternut Squash with Blue Cheese, and they all worked really nicely.


Asparagus, Peas and Sugar Snaps with Pesto

All I did was, break off the woody part of the asparagus stem and discard (you could of course save them for soup).
I then cut off the tips and put them aside. 
I chopped up the stems and allowed them to cook in a tiny amount of water for a few minutes, then I added a small packet of frozen peas and cooked until defrosted.
 At this stage you can put aside to cool down and then reheat later. 
When ready to serve add the sugar snaps and asparagus tips and steam for a minute or two.
Remove from the heat and add a tablespoon of pesto.
This is nice served with some Parmesan shavings (if I hadn't forgotten them!!!)

Roast Onions with Basil
based on Nigella Lawson's recipe

1 kg        Onions (I used pink - they were so pretty)
100ml     Olive oil
Pinch       Caraway seeds
1 tsp        Maldon Salt (or your favourite)
2 tsp        Good balsamic vinegar
1 pkt        basil leaves (fresh)


Preheat oven to 180 C

Quarter the onions and then peel them.
Place them in a roasting tin, and cover with the olive oil.
Scatter with the caraway seeds (Nigella uses fennel, but I'm not a fan)
Roast for about 1 hour, or until totally cooked through.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Season with the salt and vinegar.
You can allow to stand for up to an hour in a warm kitchen.
When you are ready to serve scatter the torn basil leaves over the onions.
Enjoy.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY ...

This is a recipe that just has to be shared - easy, delicious, healthy and nutritious, you can't ask for much more than that.  This is my "everyday" bread recipe, and has evolved over time (a commodity I have less and less of! - good job it takes so little of it to throw together).  The recipe is totally adaptable - and can be made with just four ingredients, but it is so easy to play with that you rarely go for the unadulterated version.

The revelation for me was that self raising flour (wholewheat and white)  makes a great bread - with no faffing about with yeast or even bicarbonate of soda (added benefit is that sunflower seeds don't go that alarming shade of green).

Another benefit is that you can use up old milk - you know that carton in the fridge that you don't dare use in your coffee.  I have used fresh milk, sour milk, goats milk, soya milk and even almond milk - all to great effect.

Then come the additions - I usually throw in a handful of seeds (linseeds, sun flower seeds, pumpkin seeds) and a handful or two of oats (must be the cheapest super food around).  I regularly replace the sugar with some treacle, and it is delicious when I replace some of the milk with a tub of hazelnut yogurt.  The choices are many and all yours -:


Basic Bread

250g       self raising wholemeal flour
200g       plain self raising flour
2 tsp       sugar
400ml     milk (approx)

Preheat oven to 180 C

Mix the dry ingredients together and then add enough milk to make a very slightly sloppy mixture - think porridge like. 

Spoon into a prepared loaf tin and bake for about 80 minutes.

It's ready when you tap the bottom and get a hollow sound.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

I am such a Christmas traditionalist, I make the same Christmas cake, and puddings year in, year out.  This keeps the family happy, but isn't great for blogging purposes!

This year I tried a new mince meat recipe (I know - how daring of me!!!), I think I got the original idea from a Lotte Duncan T.V. show, but have tweaked it quite a bit - and I think it's good.  It tastes great (pretty essential) but also, it is easy to put together and it is low fat (we won't mention the pastry that's going to be wrapped around it!!).


Mince Meat
(most popular eaten from the jar!!)

500g        sultanas (I used golden)
500g        raisins
100g        candied peel
250g        dark brown sugar
250g        light brown sugar
4 tbsp      orange marmalade
1 tsp        mixed spice
1 tsp        cinnamon
1/2 tsp     grated nutmeg
150 ml     dark rum
150 ml      brandy
Juice and zest of two oranges


Sterilise a large jar (or a few smaller ones)

Chop up the mixed peel, and add to a bowl with the other fruits.
Add the rum, brandy and orange juice, and allow to absorb for an hour or 10.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
Place in the sterilised jars and HIDE.*
Use in mince pies, cakes and ice-creams.

*My first batch mysteriously disappeared!!

Happy Christmas to you all - thanks a million for sticking with me, it's much appreciated.

VIRTUOUS AND DELICIOUS - REALLY!

I first made this cake back in September, when I was full of the "new school year, time for fresh copy books and fresh starts" vibe.  By now the copies are tatty the diet has died but this cake is still delicious,  and I must admit it still feels good to grab a second (or third) slice, without any diet qualms.

We tried the cake with and without the icing, and there was a unanimous decision that without was better - not often you can say that!  The cake is moist and has a rich chocolate taste - no need to add to that.  The recipe comes from Ellie Krieger's "The Food You Crave".

Ellie's Mocha Cake

3/4 cup               wholewheat flour
1/2 cup               white flour
1/2 cup               cocoa
1/4 tsp                salt
1 tsp                   bicarbonate of (bread) soda
1 tsp                   baking powder
2 tbsp                 butter
2 tbsp                 flavourless oil (I used groundnut)
2                        large eggs
2                        large egg whites
1 1/2 cups          fat free yogurt
2 tsp                   vanilla extract
3/4 cup               sugar
1 tbsp                 instant espresso powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water
60g/2oz              70% (or higher) chocolate - melted


Preheat oven to 180 C
Line a 9x13 in cake tin with baking parchment

Combine the flours, cocoa, salt, bread soda and baking powder together.
Whisk the melted butter and oil in a (separate) large bowl.
Add the eggs (whole and whites) to the butter and whisk.
Fold in the yogurt, sugar, coffee and melted chocolate.
Gradually add the flour mixture, and stir until just incorporated being careful not to over beat.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake until a skewer comes out clean - about 25 - 35 minutes.
Allow to cool on a baking rack.

Enjoy without a trace of guilt!!

EASY BUT SPECIAL

These days I have so little time to potter in the kitchen, I want to get maximum bang for a minimum time buck (I have a feeling I'm sounding a bit like Jamie Oliver here!!!).  This french toast gives me bang (well great taste really) by the bucketload - it's a Nigella recipe, from Express, and I can't understand why it has taken me so long to try it - I suppose it looked just a bit too easy to bother with.

It is hard to imagine how the addition of just one ingredient can transform an old regular - but man oh man, one teaspoon of vanilla paste (or extract) makes all the difference, this is a "special treat breakfast", a "cheer me up supper", a "I don't have the energy to make a proper meal, but still want to serve something healthy meal", and this time of the year, it really is the perfect "I am so tired of heavy meals and chocolates option".

I love to serve the toast with berries, fresh or frozen depending on budget and time of year, but I always serve it with Glenisk Greek Yogurt (and I should admit much more than I used in the photo, I thought I shouldn't look like too much of a piggie!!).  I know I've mentioned this product before (and I'm not on their payroll) but it is so worth a try - it is thick, creamy and utterly delicious.


French Toast To Be Proud Of

2          eggs
2 tbsp   whole milk
2           slices of bread, it's best to use thickly sliced bread which is slightly stale
2 tsp      vanilla paste (I love this stuff, but 4 tsp vanilla extract would be excellent too)
1 tbsp    caster sugar
              butter and oil for frying

Beat the eggs with the vanilla.
Soak the bread in the egg mixture, allow to absorb it all.
Heat a knob of butter with some flavourless oil.
Fry until golden.
Sprinkle with the sugar (Nigella dredges the toast in sugar at this stage, but that would be too sweet for me)

The perfect treat for two people.

Enjoy.

WHY RANDOM IS WONDERFUL

Queen Delia comes up trumps again!  The wonderful Dom has challenged us to randomly choose a recipe from the gazillion recipes we all have, and just give it a go.  This dish is one of the reasons that Dom's Random Recipe Challenge is so wonderful.  This month Delia Smith's "Summer Collection" came to hand when I randomly chose my book, this is a book that I used alot when I first bought it, and I would still refer to it from time to time - well the book popped open at page 38/39, so my choices were the Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad (which I have made time and time again) and to Marinated Mozzarella with Avocado (which I have skipped over time and time again!!).  The reason I skipped over the recipe?  I just couldn't get a marinated avocado salad to work in my head - I imagined horrible black pieces of slimy avocado ruining the beautiful cheese.  I should, of course, have trusted Delia, I think in all my time cooking, she has only let me down once (and maybe that was just my wonky taste!!!).

The salad was a beautiful smooth texture, which works well with a selection of salads, many of which will be crunchy.  The fruit and cheese melded in together, helped by the kick of the dressing.  I always remember Nigella's comments about avocados moisturising from within, whenever I eat them, and find myself glowing with health and smugness (for a few moments anyway!!).  Try this salad, it's a little bit different, totally delicious and will do wonders for your skin and hair - happy days!!

Marinated Mozzarella with Avocado

110g (4oz)       Mozzarella Cheese - the best you can get.
1                       Avocado - nicely ripe (I used two)
1/4                   Red Pepper - cut into fine slices
1                      Handful of basil leaves - Delia says to use 18!!
2                      scallions (spring onions) finely chopped

Dressing

1                     small clove of garlic
1                     tsp sea salt
1                     rounded tsp of dry mustard powder
1                     dessert spoon white wine vinegar
5                     dessert spoons of extra virgin olive oil
1                     dessert spoon snipped chives
salt and pepper


Prepare the salad about 2 hours in advance. 
Slice the mozzarella into 5mm (1/4 inch) slices.
Peel, destone and slice the avocado into thin slices.
Arrange the cheese and avocado in alternate overlapping slices on a pretty plate.
Now scatter the finely sliced pepper and basil over the salad.
Make up the dressing by either grating the garlic or pureeing it with the salt.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together in a jar.
Pour over the mozzarella and avocado.
Cover and allow the flavours to combine for two hours.
Serve and enjoy!

Thank you very much for the links and suggestions for my son's culinary adventure - unfortunately the stove in his apartment broke, pretty much immediately after I posted the recipes - and they haven't been able to persuade the landlord to replace it yet!!  Sod's (or Murphy's) Law!!

BACK TO BASICS

I have just received a request for a blog post from my eldest baby who is off in Chicago on a J1 visa for the summer - learning to appreciate what a good time he has of things at home!!!!!!

He needs some familiar, easy, everyday type recipes - that use very little in the line of kitchen equipment (and dare I say skill - sorry son!!!).  I would appreciate any links for suitable recipes in the comment section - he'll be able to access them - thanks a million in advance.

Pasta dishes spring to mind - and I suppose the most basic of them all is a cheese sauce/mushroom sauce - here goes:

Cheese Sauce

You use equal amounts of butter and plain flour (say a tablespoon of each), melt the butter in a pan (medium heat) add the flour and stir until smooth (you need to do this for at least a minute to get rid of the raw flour taste).
Now (a whisk is good for this but a spoon will do) stirring all the time add milk - hard to give a quantity - just keep stirring it in until you have the right consistency - slightly thinner that you would think as the cheese will thicken it up again (don't worry you can always add more milk)
For anyone with a stocked kitchen, it is really nice to add some English mustard powder (1/2 tsp) and a few grates of nutmeg before adding the milk.
Add your cheese (plenty), grated or chopped up small, and there you have it.

Mac and cheese

Pasta
Cheese Sauce
Bacon (optional)
Mushrooms (optional)
Broccoli (optional, and because you need your greens!!)

Cook your pasta of choice - I usually use penne.
Drain the pasta and add the cheese sauce to it.
Fry up some rashers of bacon/bacon bits.
Saute mushrooms.
Steam some broccoli (getting the healthy theme here???)
Add all together and place into an ovenproof dish.
Scatter a bit more cheese on top and put in the oven at a medium heat.
Check after about 15/20 minutes - if it's bubbling on top, it's done.

Mind your hands taking it out of the oven - don't burn yourself!!!

Mushroom Sauce

Instead of adding cheese to your (slightly thicker) white sauce, add your slow cooked mushroom - this is good on freshly cooked pasta (no faffing about with ovens!!!)

Fried Fish

Buy some nice flat white fish.
Heat up a frying pan - should be nice and hot before the fish goes in.
Put some flour on a plate and mix in some salt (1/4 tsp to about 2 tbsp flour)
Place the fish on the flour - both sides. Brush off any excess.
Put some oil in the pan (olive is good but don't stress, whatever is there)
Fry the fish - skin side down first, you want this crispy.
Turn down the heat to cook the other side - won't take long, depending on the thickness of the fillet.
You can of course cook some prawns to go with it - or wait for your Mammy to do that when you get home!!!


Our Usual Salmon

Very easy, and very good for you.
Get a darn/fillet of salmon (you could use trout, any pink fish)
Sprinkle some Cajun spice on top and then bake in the oven for about 10/15 minutes.
Simples!

Fish Pie

Buy an assortment of fish - some smoked, and whatever else is cheap (better not to use oily fish here)
Poach in milk - place the fish in a saucepan and cover with milk, heat up gently until the fish is just slightly underdone.
Now take out the fish and place in an oven proof dish.
You can add some frozen peas at this stage (those greens again!!)
Make some white sauce, using the leftover milk.
Pour the sauce over the fish.
You can put mashed potatoes, breadcrumbs even some mashed up crisps on top.
Bake until bubbling.



I hope this is enough to get you going - and not too boring for everyone else!!!

I want to apologise for not being around for the past few months - the enormity of losing my sister just struck me with a hammer blow, and I needed all my energy to just do the day to day stuff ..... but I'm back!!!

RANDOM AND THRIFTY

For this month's Random Recipes Dom has invited us to return to the first book we chose for his challenge and to once again randomly choose a recipe from it.  I have to admit that I had a bit of a job locating Bake by Rachel Allen (another resolution - sort out my cookery books!!), and I did feel some trepidation, as I have had both successes and a failure from this book - I needn't have worried, they went down a bomb!

My book opened at "St. Stephen's Day Muffins" (St. Stephen's day is on 26th December) and called for left over Christmas Pudding.  Regular readers will know that the Christmas pudding fiends in this house wouldn't leave as much as a crumb  (and if there were any left I wouldn't be allowed to "waste" it on muffins!!!), but this year I have been given a gift of a (bought) pudding, which had been tasted and rejected, so I was delighted to have a use for it.

These muffins were well liked, the extra brandy gave them a proper Christmassy flavour that goes down well all year round.

Christmas Pudding Muffins


1                      egg
75ml/3 fl oz       milk
25g/1oz            butter, melted
2 tbsp               brandy
125g/4.5oz       Christmas pudding (chopped up)
125g/4.5oz        plain flour
1 tsp                 baking powder
1/2 tsp              mixed spice
75g/3oz            caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180 C
Line a muffin tray with 9 paper cases

Whisk the egg in a bowl.
Add the milk, melted butter, brandy  and pudding.
Sift in the flour, baking powder and mixed spice into another bowl.
Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients and mix together to a soft lumpy batter.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cases (I use an ice-cream scoop).
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
When a skewer comes out clean remove from the oven.
Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy

ALL LOVED UP!

It's that time of year again - and I was trying to remember my most romantic meal.  Hands down it has to be breakfast in bed, the fact that your loved one is willing to leave the warm nest extra early to make you feel cherished - what can be better??

What foods do I associate with romance? Chocolate, berries, cream and for some strange reason lavender (go figure!!) all come to mind.  I decided to stick with the first three on my list (and actually replaced the cream (not so good first thing) with some luscious greek yogurt.  So how do I get my chocolate fix at breakfast time?  Well I'm perfectly capable of diving into a chocolate cake at any time of the day or night, but I imagine that there are more normal people than me out there (?),  so I decided to experiment with my favourite pancakes; I added some cocoa powder to the batter (yuk!), then some chocolate chips went in (see the hardships I go through?!) but the texture wasn't wonderful, then the trusty Nutella came out - and yummmmmm, perhaps not the prettiest thing to come out of the kitchen, but man oh man were they delicious!  And how romantic to delicately nibble (yeah right) some chocolate pancakes, oozing with creamy yogurt and tangy raspberries - just a pity you have to get up and bring the kids to school!

I am of course linking this with the lovely Kate and Karen's Tea Time Treats Challenge because pancakes aren't just for breakfast!!

Loved Up Pancakes

Make up one batch of this pancake batter
Add one large tbsp of Nutella (I had to heat mine, the kitchen was very chilly that early in the morning!)
Fry in butter.
Cut into heart shapes, if you are so inclined.
Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and your favourite berries.
If it's not a driving day throw a bottle of fizz in there too :-)))


Happy St. Valentine's Day.

"NEW YEAR. NEW YOU?"

Don't you just love a gift that you can benefit from for ages after your birthday/Christmas/any special occasion?  Well, I've already told you about the fantastic gift my boys gave me for my birthday last year - masterclasses with Michelin chef Oliver Dunne, and January brought the next class I'd chosen - "New Year, New You?" - just up my alley at the moment! 

It should be said at this stage that Olivers main concession to healthy eating was managing without his usual use of pounds of butter and replacing them with a whole bottle of olive oil!!!  That said the food was utterly delicious, if I could eat like this all the time I'd happily swear off sugar for life.

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

This soup tasted so good, that I went out and bought the ingredients the next day and made up a batch (my attempt and the recipe are at the end of this post)

Stir-Fried Duck with Carrots, Sugar Snaps and Orange

This dish also works well with pork and would be perfect to throw together after work - although I can't imagine being able to chop the carrots as well as this!

Salmon with Sweet & Sour Peppers, Olive & Basil Crushed Potatoes

This was probably my favourite dish of the evening - those peppers are to die for, and the potatoes are beyond delicious, there are olives, shallots, basil and lemon juice in there - my mouth is watering at the memory!!

Fillet of Pork, Crushed Carrot and Swede, Chilli Wedge

I learned something new when Oliver was making this dish - what are generally called turnips in Ireland are swedes to the rest of the world! - you live and you learn!!  I felt this dish needed a sauce (maybe I'm not totally getting into the New Year New You vibe!!!!).  See how pink the pork is?  Delicious!

Beef Fillet with Potato Fondant, Tomato & Tarragon Dressing

These fondant potatoes were a total revelation - instead of frying them up to their oxters (technical term!!) in butter, these were cooked in a frying pan of water with a knob of butter and a splash of olive oil, and they actually taste just as good (well very nearly) as the real thing.

Now for my offering - I substituted the pumpkin with butternut squash and the soup went down a treat!

Butternut Squash and Ginger Soup

1kg               butternut squash, peeled and diced into small pieces
1 tbsp           olive oil
1 knob          ginger - about the size of your thumb
4 tbsp           white wine
750ml            chicken stock (from a cube is fine)
100ml            milk
pinch             sugar
                     salt to taste
1 tsp              Greek yogurt (per bowl)

Put the oil in a heavy based saucepan and add the squash, ginger and season.
Cook on a low heat with the lid on until the squash is soft
When it is soft, remove the lid and reduce until the liquid has evaporated.
Add the white wine and simmer, then add the stock and milk.
Bring back to the boil and then simmer for five minutes.
Blend until smooth - this takes longer than you expect to get a really silkey texture.
Serve with a spoon of Greek yogurt.

Enjoy.

LIGHT AND RANDOM CHOCOLATE CAKE

Remember back in school, there was always a "cool" gang?  They always had the coolest shoes, their socks were always casually half mast and they had boys signatures on their school bags (I went to an all girl school with a strict uniform code - it was hard to be individual!!!!) - well recently all the "cool" bloggers have been baking up a storm from Dan Lepard's new book Short and Sweet, and I have to admit that I was feeling a bit left out (tragic I know!!!!). Well, all is right with the world and I can still aspire to the "cool" club, my son bought me his book for Christmas :-)).

Dom over at Belleau Kitchen challenged us to randomly choose a recipe from one of our new Christmas books and blog about it - nice one!  Then I thought my luck was really in when the book opened at The alchemist's chocolate cake which has half the fat and quarter of the carbs of a normal uniced chocolate cake, relying on blended tinned pears to provide the moisture and texture, and therefore being perfect for Chele's We Should Cocoa Challenge which this month involved chocolate bakes and healthy in the same sentence! I think I'm a bit late on Chele's challenge but am going to chance my arm!!!

The link to Dan's recipe is here, but I have to say that unless I were under doctor's orders I'd just have a small slice of a normal cake instead.

LOVELY AND LIGHT LUNCH

As you know I am one of the millions who start every new year with the intention of ending it weighing alot less - some years it happens, more years not!  This year is no exception, and I felt it was a sign that this might be "the year" when the people at Low Low challenged me to give a Come Dine With Me meal to some friends and ask them to score the experience. (Although there is a flaw in their plan - who's friends wouldn't score them 10!!).

I invited some of my reducing friends (they'll be delighted with that title!) to lunch and set out to plan my menu. I wanted to try out the Low Low products, as I have been a fan of their packets of grated cheddar cheese for ages and have been known to devour a tub of the Cracked Black Pepper Cheddar Spread with a packet of crisps (but those days are gone - I promise!!!).  They had sent me some recipe ideas and I opted to try out their Carrot, Courgette, Pecan and Cheese muffins to go with a starter of  Carrot, Cardamon and Cumin Soup (I made these carrots (using less butter) and then added stock and blitzed).  The muffins were great with the soup, although next time I make them I'll omit the nuts and add some grilled (or fried depending on the will power) bacon or ham.

For the main course I served monkfish baked with some home made sunblushed tomatoes and preserved lemons and served that with Stuffed Tomatoes with Rice, I got this recipe from a Slimming World leaflet, toyed with it a bit and it is excellent - the highlight of the meal in my opinion.  The fact that you soak the rice in the tomato juices for such a long time gives you a lovely soft textured result. This will be a regular visitor to our dinner table from now on - maybe with some olive oil drizzled over (when I'm skinny and can do such things!!).

The other vegetable I served was a Low Low recipe for Cheesy Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms - now if this had been the real deal and I were serving them to strangers who would rate my meal, I might have left these out, they weren't a huge success, they tasted fine but laked severely in the looks department.

For dessert I served these cupcakes which were popular, and I think it was O.K. that after such a virtuous meal we indulged in some Baileys in our coffee.

Stuffed Tomatoes With Rice

adapted from a Slimming World Recipe

4            large firm tomatoes (I used beef tomatoes)

2            garlic cloves - grated

50g/2oz  risotto rice (uncooked)

6 tbsp     finely chopped basil (keep some to decorate)

3 tbsp     grated cheddar cheese (I used Low Low)

salt and black pepper

Cut the top off the tomatoes and set aside to use as lids.

Scoop out the pulp from the tomatoes and chop finely, put in a bowl.

Stir the rice, garlic, basil into the tomato pulp and leave aside at room temperature for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Add the basil and cheese to the rice mixture and stuff the tomatoes.

Transfer to a baking dish and top with the lids.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and the rice is cooked through.

P.S.  They scored me 10 (surprise, surprise) but refused a chance of international stardom citing bad hair days when I wanted to take their picture for the blog! 

GET AHEAD FOR CHRISTMAS 2012!!!!!!!!

I'm afraid that I'm going to use the "R" word - I know I won't be popular, but it's for your own good!!!  Most of us make resolutions (there I've said it!!) about being more organised - and I'm giving you an easy way to get the warm fuzzy feeling - prepare the fruit for next year's Christmas cake this week, imagine how organised and "Suzie Homemakerish" you'll feel - so what if you don't keep to the healthy eating regime or if you don't manage to hit the gym every day - you still know that your Christmas cake is getting more delicious by the day!

Why am I so evangelical about this year long soak for the fruits -  once again I managed to forget about the fruit that I had left to soak for a whole year (my last find was a jar of raisins that had been soaking in dark rum for a very, very long time - scrumptious)  - and I have to say that the result was the richest moistest cake ever (well equal place with Nigella's chocolate Christmas cake).

I urge you to pop over to The Pink Whisk's recipe for boozy fruit for your Christmas Cake where you will find the directions for this cake elixir.  It makes so much sense to prepare the fruits at this time - you probably have many of the fruits and the booze in the cupboard, what better way could you have to use them up?



 I want to thank you all for your support during 2011 and to wish you the very best for 2012.

CHOCOLATE REALLY DOES WORK IN THIS CHRISTMAS CAKE!

How long does it take to make a tradition?  Some Christmas traditions come to us through our parents and grandparents, some probably from the idealised versions we see on T.V. (do families really decorate the tree together while humming carols and sipping hot chocolate - or is the general experience more like mine, where I whine about doing it, hint for help but get told that I'm the "artistic one"!!!!!!  Baah Humbug) but what about the traditions we make ourselves?  I reckon that Nigella's Chocolate Christmas Cake is fast becoming a tradition here in Brownieville - Christmas wouldn't be quite the same without it sitting under the dome on the cake stand.  Regular Christmas visitors have been known to ask for it (they don't know about the puddings!!!!!!).

It is really easy to throw together, being what my mother would call a boiled cake - most of the ingredients are heated together in a pot (which means there is no need to soak the fruit) then you add a few more and bake.  I will admit that there is all the faffing about having to line the tin, but other that that is's "wham bam thank you mam"

The cake has a beautifully moist texture, the chocolate and orange flavours are subtle and actually add to the Christmassyness (!) of the cake.  It should be eaten within 2 weeks (no problem I promise!!) so is prefect for the last minute merchants amongst us!!  Please don't worry about all the prunes in there, nobody will notice, and think of all the good it will be doing to their tummies after the Christmas stodge!!

When I saw that Choclette has challenged us to include orange to a chocolate bake for this month's We Should Cocoa, it was a shoe in for this cake!

Chocolate Christmas Cake

adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe                                      

350g            stoned prunes, chopped

250g            raising

175g            currants

175g            butter

175g            dark sugar

225g            honey

75ml            coffee liqueur

50ml            hazelnut liqueur

1                 orange, juiced and zested

3                 mandarin orange, juiced and zested (if large just use 2)

1 tsp            mixed spice

2 tbsp          cocoa powder (sifted)

3                  eggs, beaten

150g            flour

75g              ground hazelnuts (or almonds)

1/2 tsp         baking powder

1/2 tsp         bread (bicarbonate of) soda

Double line and butter a 20cm x 9cm deep round cake tin.  When filled I also tie a couple of layers of newspapers around the outside - belt and braces!! 

Put the flour, ground nuts, baking powder and bread (bicarbonate of) soda in a bowl and set aside.

Put the remaining ingredients (except the eggs) in a large saucepan and gently bring to boiling point, stirring regularly.

Allow to simmer for 10 minutes and set aside for 30 (or longer if it's handier)

While it's cooling I prepare the tin.

Add the beaten egg and the dry ingredients, combine well.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for approx 2 hours.

You want a texture less gooey than a  brownie but more so than a normal cake.

Put the cake tin on a wire rack and allow to cool.

Eat immediately if you wish, but it will keep for about 2 weeks, depending on your will power!!!

ANYONE HAVE A CURE FOR "TOOMUCHTODOITIS"?

I have been missing in action - sorry guys, I'm suffering from a very bad case of "waywaywaytoomuchtodoitis" which along with a chest infection has kinda floored me.  Luckily I managed to make the Christmas puddings before the malaise hit!

I have mentioned the importance of Christmas Puddings in Brownieville on a previous post - every year I make an obscene number (getting larger each year), every year I plan to pass on a couple as presents, and every year a certain person manages to demolish the lot (you are soooo mean - it's NOT me!!!).

Brownieville Man (for it is he!!) is probably the most generous person I know, he is always up first to pay the bill when we go to restaurants with friends, ditto when we go out for drinks (although we don't do that very often any more - old age?) BUT when it comes to my Christmas Puddings, he is just short of weighing them before he heads out, in case I offer some to visitors during the day!!!!!!  It is the truest demonstration of his abiding love for his sons that he allows them (almost)  free access to the pudding tin!!!

This pudding recipe comes from my paternal grandmother, via my mother, with many changes en route.  It is very, very easy - all it needs is time steaming away, and if you have a good sized steamer that holds plenty of water, you can just leave it without a thought!  Actually the shopping is the hardest part - just make sure that you use good fruit and that you don't use the tub of prechopped candied peel - it does make a difference to cut it yourself.

By the way, our resident pudding expert says that all the stuff about puddings maturing is codswallop, and the fresher the better - just in case you have some time to throw this lot together.

Finally, on Christmas day, just reheat by steaming for a couple of hours (do NOT use the micro, my Mum learned that one to her cost!!) then pour some Vodka over and set alight - enjoy the "oohs and aaaghs" - you deserve them! (Vodka gives a longer burning time than Brandy).

It tastes unbeliveably good at this stage - use good eggs and
then pick to your hearts content!!!!

Granny's Christmas Pudding

1 lb            bread crumbs - preferably made from a stale batch (or any good) loaf
1 lb            sultanas
1 lb            raisins
1/2 lb         currants
1 lb            brown sugar
1/4 lb         freshly chopped mixed peel
1/4 lb         chopped glace cherries
1/2 lb         melted butter
1/2 lb         sifted plain flour
2 tbsp        mixed spice
2 tbsp        cinnamon
1/2             nutmeg - grated
5                eggs
200 ml       Guinness (more as needed)
100ml        Whiskey
100ml         Brandy

Combine all the dry ingredients in a very large bowl, and mix.
Add the eggs, butter and alcohol and mix well - get all family members to help.  They can stir clockwise 3 times and on each turn wish for "Health" then "Wealth" and finally "Happiness"
Cover with cling film (touching the mixture) and leave to absorb the flavours for at least 24 hours.
Spoon into your pudding basins - I just use plastic ones with lids, I put some greaseproof paper on top of the mixture and then pop on the lid.
Steam (in a steamer, or in a large pot with an upturned saucer in the bottom) for 7 hours.

This recipe makes one 3lb and one 2lb pudding.

I've made 10 puddings so far - I think that there are 6 left!! But this year I have one aside to give to a wonderful friend - and "himself" will help me wrap it (metaphorically that is!!!)

 I am entering my Pudding recipe for Vanessa's Let's Make Christmas Challenge (her book is at the top of my Christmas List!)

RANDOM NO CROUTON RECIPE

This month Dom and Jac * have teamed up to challenge us to pick a random veggie soup recipe and prepare it for your enjoyment (and ours of course!).  Dom has allowed us to choose our own method of randomising (?) our recipe, so I decided I would choose the first book to hand and cook the first soup recipe for which I had all the ingredients in stock.

I have been using Catherine Fulvio's Family Kitchen alot recently and her Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup and Tomato Soup looked delicious but there are pepper allergies in this house so I made her Tomato soup all on it's own, and combined it with her Soda Focaccia, and all I can say is it was the easiest,  tastiest lunch I have had in ages.  The sundried tomatoes in the soup really intensify the flavour - skrummy stuff.

*Dom and Jac - don't present a children's TV show!! They write two excellent blogs - really worth visiting if you haven't already done so.

Tomato Soup
from Catherine Fulvio

extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
300ml vegetable stock
2 tsp chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper

Fry the garlic and sundried tomatoes in some olive oil for a minute.
Stir in the potato, tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for  10-15 minutes, until the potato is cooked through.
Add the basil and remove from the heat.
Puree the soup and taste for seasoning.
Add more stock if needed.

Serve and enjoy.

TIME FOR A TEA TIME TREAT

There's a new challenge on the blogging block, and I love a good challenge, so I was delighted when two exceptional bloggers came together to invite us to tea .... well to Tea Time Treats, and this month Karen has invited us to prepare something delicious using ginger, happy days - my all time favourite ingredient (along with all my other favourite ingredients!!!), not so happy days - I am really trying to cut down on the goodies so I can really pig out in December!!!!

So now my challenge was to make something delicious containing ginger BUT also something that I wouldn't devour (yes, that is the state of my will power these days) ........... it had to be dried fruit, loved by all the family but not by me!!!

I turned to Lilly Higgins' Make Bake Love (it's just so pretty) and decided to play around with her Tea Brack recipe, obviously adding some ginger in there, but I also simplified it by using a luxury fruit mix rather than the individual fruits she suggested - it went down a treat, and was just the stop gap needed before the Christmas Pudding Season started (the consumption of Christmas puddings in this house is a story for another day!).

Tea Brack
adapted from Lilly Higgins' Make Bake Love

300ml           hot strong tea
360g             luxury fruit mix
100g             chopped stoned dried dates
1                   egg
225g             self raising flour
150g             brown sugar
3 tbsp           Cointreau or your favourite alcohol
1 1/2 tsp       mixed spice
1 tsp             ginger
2                   knobs of crystallised ginger

Preferably the day before, but for as long as possible -  soak the fruit in the tea.

Preheat oven to 180 C
Line a loaf tin with parchment paper or butter it.

Add the ginger, beaten egg, flour and sugar to the fruit and mix well.
Add the Cointreau and spices and mix again.
Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours - until a skewer (or stick of dry spaghetti) comes out clean.
When perfect remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy

Thanks to Kate and Karen for this fun idea.

For my Irish readers - I was invited to this years Taste of Christmas, a huge improvement on last year's event, plenty of stalls, delicious food from some excellent restaurants, including the wonderful Bon Appetite (where I did the masterclass!!).  I went to the first of the Masterchef shows and although it had a few glitches, and a bit of nervousness it was quite good.  It would have been very good had the audience been given copies of the recipes being cooked and if Nick had lightened up on plugging his book and restaurant!!
Well worth a visit, to get you in the Christmas mood.

WITH APPLE OR WITHOUT??

It looks burned, doesn't it?  Actually it didn't taste burned .... maybe it is the dark chocolate - very, very dark chocolate!!

I was watching a re-run of Nigella's kitchen, and her Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding just called to me, then I thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate it with Chele's  ingredient  for this month's We Should Cocoa challenge.  Like many fellow bloggers, I had fretted as to how I could add apple to a chocolate recipe, but I thought that some apple through this pudding would be delicious.  Unfortunately Brownieville Boy #2 spotted me adding the apple, and wasn't too enthusiastic!  So I compromised and added apple to just half of the pudding - and I have to say that the non-apple half was just a fraction nicer.

The pudding was light and fluffy, and deliciously creamy (despite containing only 125ml of cream) I would recommend that you give it a try. 

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

250g    stale bread, cut into 3cm cubes
100g    chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
3          eggs
40g      light brown sugar
30ml    dark rum
125ml  cream
500ml  full fat milk
4 tsp    demerara sugar
1          apple (optional)


butter a pie dish (about 1.5 lt)
preheat oven to 170 C

Place the bread cubes, chopped chocolate and chopped apple in the dish, toss but make sure there aren't too many chocolate pieces on the top (to prevent the burned look!!)
Whisk the eggs, light brown sugar, rum, cream and milk together.
Pour over the bread and press the cubes down to make sure they are well soaked.
Leave to soak for at least 20 minutes.
When ready to cook, sprinkle with the demerara sugar and place in the oven for 40-50 minutes.
Allow the pudding to cool slightly before serving.
Enjoy.