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Showing posts with label Christmas recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas recipes. Show all posts

Pears poached in red wine with rice pudding and spiced red wine sauce

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Posted on Saturday, 19 November 2011 07:29 | By: Tony

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Pears are perfect at this time of year and cooking then in this fragrant red wine gives then a very festive feel, making it a perfect alternative dessert for your Christmas dinner.
The rice pudding is made extra rich in this recipe with the addition of clotted cream, this richness works well with the sweet pear and syrup, but if you are just making the rice pudding on its own without the pear I would suggest omitting it.

Ingredients;

For the pears;

500ml red wine
120g brown sugar
2 whole star anise 
2 cinnamon sticks
4 pears peeled

For the rice pudding;

200g rice pudding rice                                                                   
1.2ltrs of milk                                                                                                                                     
1 vanilla pod split and seeds removed                                                                                   
200g caster sugar
100g clotted cream

Method;

For the pears;

In a pan heat together the red wine, sugar and star anise until gently simmering.                                                     Add the pear and poach until tender ( it is hard to give an exact time as it depends on how ripe your pears are to begin), turning occasionally. The pears are ready when the tip of a knife will slide into the pear with little resistance.

For the rice pudding;

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Place the pudding rice into the pan and cook for three minutes before draining and rinsing with cold water.
Place the rice, milk, vanilla pod and sugar into a clean pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the rice is cooked, stir in the clotted cream and leave to cool.

For the sauce;

Remove the pears from their cooking liquid. Strain the liquid into a clean pan and place over a high heat, reduce the pear cooking liquid until it coats the back of a spoon.

To serve;  

Place a mould of warm rice pudding into the centre of a serving plate, fan the poached pear and lie beside, drizzle with the reduce syrup and serve at once.

 

December; The official start to winter

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Posted on Friday, 18 November 2011 18:57 | By: Tony

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Winter is upon us, the official start of frosty mornings and short days, cold and unfriendly. All the trees have shed their leaves and growth has almost come to a stand still. But when December arrives it brings with it an anticipated month of good cheer, a time when family and friends are drawn together and a time of year for more special table occasions, possibly than the rest of the year combined. December is a month that holds the true spirit of festivity in a build up to our most sociable occasion of them all ‘Christmas’.

Yes Christmas is practically upon us and what a great time of year it is when more or less all the vegetables, fish and meat that we consume are produced locally on and around our small islands. Many vegetables are beginning to come into full swing, the cold, crisp mornings helping to concentrate the sweet full flavours of carrots, turnips, kohlrabi, Swedes, parsnips and salsify. Leeks, cabbages, swiss chard and brussel sprouts are all at their best, crisp and in peak condition. Fruits from further a field that have been incorporated into our cuisine for a long time now are starting to adorn every greengrocers shelf, blood oranges, pink grapefruit, cranberries, pineapples and pomegranates are all perfectly plump and full of juice and just ready to be eaten. Another local favourite of mine the chestnut is starting to make its appearance and is fantastic in stuffing’s for the Christmas turkey or goose.

Even the cold, icy waters around us are still producing fish plump and full of flavour. Sustainable fished cod in particular is especially good very meaty, firm textured and full of flavour. Brill, plaice, halibut, whiting, hake, scallops, oysters and turbot are also firm favourites in winter the cold deep waters seem to improve the texture and taste of all these deep water fish.

If there is one produce that we excel in it is certainly game. The gaming season started in autumn, but continues to thrive in winter. Venison, partridge, pheasant, rabbit, grouse, wild duck and goose, are plentiful and in top condition. We really are very fortunate to have such wonderful game on our lands so make the most of them with apples, pears and cranberries and any other seasonal fruits that thankfully grow in conjunction with our wonderful game.

So it’s December, the start of the coldest of our seasons, often described as cold and unfriendly; well cold it is, but unfriendly? Definitely not!!! We are spoilt for choice with a very fine selection of food directly from our lands and seas. So its winter, it’s cold outside, so sit back with a big bowl of home-made stew in front of a warm fire and think just how lucky we are to have such a friendly season.


Roast goose with chestnut stuffing, potato gratin and braised red cabbage

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18:54 | By: Tony

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Goose is a great alternative to turkey at Christmas and eaten with this red cabbage it gives a wonderful festive taste. The cabbage is best made a week in advance as this allows the pickling liquid to develop a fuller rounder flavour. The cabbage will keep for a month in the fridge and is great with cold meats or turkey sandwiches for the Boxing Day lunch. Cooked and prepared chestnuts are available from most supermarkets at this time of year and make a very interesting, festive stuffing.

SERVES 4

1 Goose kg in weight

For the stuffing;

1 onion, finely diced
100g butter
2tblsp sage, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150g breadcrumbs
100g chestnuts, chopped
175g good quality sausage meat
Seasoning

For the braised red cabbage;

1 large red cabbage, shredded
1tblsp sea salt
1bottle of red wine
250ml red wine vinegar
50g brown sugar
50g red currant jelly
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 juniper berries
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
Seasoning

For the potato gratin;

2kg of potatoes, peeled
2ltrs milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
600ml double cream
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
200g butter, cut into small pieces


Method;

For the potatoes;

Slice the potatoes thinly, place in a saucepan, and pour over the milk and season with the salt and pepper and half of the crushed garlic. Cook over a low heat until the milk is almost absorbed.
Rub a large tray with the remainder of the garlic and arrange the potatoes in the tray cover the potatoes with the cream, sprinkle with nutmeg and dot the surface with the butter.
Cook in the oven at 170c for 1⅓ hours, increasing the heat a little towards the end of cooking time to brown the top.

For the stuffing;

Place a pan over medium heat and add the onion and the butter cook until the onion is soft, add the sage and chicken stock cube and cook for a further 3mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, add the chestnuts and sausage meat and season to taste. Leave to cool while you prepare the goose.

For the cabbage;

Toss the cabbage in the sea salt, cover with cling film and leave to go limp in the fridge over night. Rinse well and drain.
Place the remaining ingredients into a large pot and bring to the boil, add the cabbage and turn down the heat to a simmer, leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring all the time, remove from the heat and strain of any excess liquid. Place the cabbage into a container and pour over a little of the liquid, cool and store in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the flavours to develop.

For the goose;

Pre heat the oven 200c.
lift the  skin at the neck end of the bird and remove the wish bone, this will create more room for the stuffing and make it easier to carve. Turn the bird over onto the breast and loosen the skin, fill the cavity of the bird very generously with the stuffing. Pull the skin back over the stuffing and secure with a cocktail stick. Any left over stuffing can be rolled in buttered tin foil in the shape of a large sausage.
Season the goose all over with salt and pepper and place on a wire rack set over a baking tin. Place in the pre heated oven for 30mins. After 30mins remove all of the fat that has collected in the base of the tray under the goose. (Keep this fat for roasting potatoes to serve with the goose.). Return the goose to the oven and reduce the heat to 160c and roast for a further 1½ hours, basting every 20mins. Place the extra stuffing in with the goose after 45mins and cook for the remaining 45mins.
Once cooked  remove the bird and the stuffing from the oven and keep in a warm place covered with tin foil for 15-20mins.

To serve;

Remove the cocktail sticks from the goose and remove the legs. Cut each leg into drumsticks and thighs. Carve the breast meat and divide between 4 plates, with a piece of drumstick or thigh, scoop out the stuffing and place some on each plate along with a slice of the extra stuffing, offer the cabbage, potato gratin and some gravy separately.

TIPS FOR A STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS DINNER

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Posted on Thursday, 17 November 2011 14:02 | By: Tony

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These recipes are devised to make Christmas dinner easy and stress free. Those of you who have cooked a Christmas dinner before will know just how stressful it can be, but try to remember that it should be a time of good cheer to be enjoyed with family and friends. So with this in mind here are a few tips to make it a little easier.

-          Try to compile a menu that you are completely comfortable with cooking.
-          Don’t try anything to complicate that might just fail you when it is too late.
-          I recommend for starters either a good home made soup or a cold starter like the pate or smoked salmon, which can both be made in advance.
-          The pate can be made 3 days in advance and the roast parsnip soup 2 days. Any problems they can be rectified before the day. The dumplings for the soup can be left out making it a little simpler.
-          The pate can be made in individual moulds, making it easier to store and serve. Just decrease the cooking time by 15mins or so.
-          The turkey can be rolled and stuffed the day before, wrapped tightly and stored in the fridge, just leaving it to be cooked on Christmas day.
-          Compile a shopping list of every ingredient, so when it comes to cooking and preparation time you will have everything at hand.
-          Try making yourself a schedule of everything you need to prepare and cook and which order you plan to do them in. This makes sure you don’t forget anything, just tick everything of as you do them.
-          All of the vegetables and potatoes can be peeled and prepared the day before and stored in the fridge. Cover potatoes in water, and cover all vegetables with a damp, clean cloth.
-          If you have enough room in the oven try roasting a selection of veg. Potatoes, carrots, celeriac and parsnips are all very good at this time of year.
-          All the veg can be roasted in the same tray. Heat a large tray in the oven with a little oil and butter cook the potatoes first, after 20mins add the carrots, after a further 10mins add the parsnips or celeriac, season everything well and roast until golden brown and cooked through.
-          The red cabbage can be made a week or 2 in advance and refrigerated.
-          When serving the main course if you have room on the table, try serving all or some of the veg and potatoes in dishes in the centre of the table as this save’s time plating up and means everything will still be very hot.
-          The apple cake for the dessert can be made a day or 2 before and reheated in the oven when needed.

Turkey can be a very difficult meat to cook and a lot of people are so scared of undercooking it that they leave it in the oven for far too long. This makes the turkey very dry and stringy. A good way to test the turkey is by inserting a skewer or a roasting fork into the thickest part, if the liquid comes out clear with no blood at all the turkey is cooked. This applies for whole turkey and the boned stuffed turkey. If testing a whole roast turkey always check the thickest part of the thigh as this takes the longest time to cook.
If using a frozen turkey make sure it is completely thawed before you cook it.

For best results a whole turkey should be roasted in an oven pre heated to 160c and allowed 25 minutes per lb (450g) plus 20 minutes resting time.
For the boned and rolled turkey the cooking time given will be sufficient.

Roast parsnip soup with sage and bacon dumplings

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14:00 | By: Tony

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This is a beautiful soup to have for Christmas dinner. Parsnips are at there best at this time of year. The honey roasting of the vegetable enhances their natural sweetness. The sage and bacon dumplings are a wonderful addition to the soup and it is really worth making the effort to prepare them.

SERVES 6

Ingredients;

For the dumplings;

1 onion, finely chopped
100g streaky bacon, sliced
2tblsp sage, chopped
225g full fat cream cheese
225g plain flour
1 egg, beaten
1 egg yolk
Seasoning

For the soup;

600g parsnips, peeled and chopped
1tblsp honey
1 onion, finely chopped
800ml chicken stock
150ml single cream
Seasoning
Deep fried sage

Method;

For the dumplings;

In a pan sweat the onion and bacon in a little butter until the bacon is crisp, add the sage then remove from the heat and cool. Mix together the onion mix, cream cheese and flour, add the eggs and season to taste. Leave to rest for 30mins. Mould the mix into small dumplings with well floured hands and cook in a pan of simmering water for 20mins.

For the soup;

Pre heat the oven to 220c. Place a large tray into the oven with a little butter and oil. When the pan is hot and the butter starts to foam add the parsnips and toss well to coat. Cook for 15min then stir in the honey cook for another 20mins, stir every 5mins to prevent the parsnip from sticking. In a large pan add a little butter and sweat the onion, add the roast parsnip and the stock and bring to the boil, cook for 15mins then puree the soup with a blender. Strain the soup back into the pan and bring back to the boil, add the cream and dumplings and season to taste, simmer for 5mins then serve piping hot poured into soup bowls. Garnish with crisp sage.

Chicken liver pate

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13:58 | By: Tony

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I think pate is great for a Christmas dinner starter as all of the work can be done in advance. I like to serve a sweet and sour style sauce or chutney with this pate. At the Merchant hotel we make a red onion jam to accompany it but a good quality store bought Cumberland sauce or chutney will work well and save you a lot of time in the kitchen. This recipe may seem a little daunting at first read but it really is very simple if you just follow the recipe.

Ingredients;

1 onions, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic
2 smoked bacon rashers, diced
500g chicken livers
100ml brandy
100ml Madeira
4 whole eggs
1 egg yolks
200ml clarified butter
Seasoning

METHOD;

Place a large pan onto the heat and add a little butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook to translucent. Add the bacon and cook until it starts to brown. Turn up the heat in the pan and when hot add the chicken livers, brown very quickly. Add the Madeira and the brandy, flame and reduce by half. Remove from the heat and place on a tray to cool, keep stirring the livers so they cool very quickly.

When the livers cool to room temperature add the eggs and the yolks and blend with a stick blender or in a food processor to a puree, pass the mixture through a fine sieve and blend in the clarified butter. The butter must be the same temperature as the liver mix to incorporate properly. Season well.

Pour the mixture back through a sieve and into a terrine mould until level with the top of the mould. Place in a tray and half fill with water, cook at 140c for 45mins. After this time check that the terrine is set in the middle by piercing it with a skewer, if the skewer comes out clean it is ready, if not continue to cook for a further 10mins or until cooked through.
Cool for at least 24 hours before removing from the terrine.

At this point the terrine can be covered with softened butter. To do this beat softened butter until it starts to lighten. Spread this in an even layer over all sides of the terrine.

Slice the terrine and serve with chutney, a few dressed salad leaves and toasted bread.

Red onion jam

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13:57 | By: Tony

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Ingredients;

140g butter
2kg red onions peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
1tblsp olive oil
140g cater sugar
1tblsp thyme leaves
Pinch chilli flakes
4 star anise
Maldon salt and ground black pepper
750ml bottle red wine
350ml red wine vinegar
200ml portBottom of Form

Method;

Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over a high heat. Tip in the onions and garlic and give them a good stir so they are glossed with butter. Sprinkle over the sugar, thyme leaves, chilli flakes, star anise and season with salt and pepper. Give everything another really good stir and reduce the heat slightly. Cook uncovered for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions are ready when all their juices have evaporated; they're really soft and sticky and smell of sugar caramelising. They should be so soft that they break when pressed against the side of the pan with a wooden spoon. Slow cooking is the secret of really soft and sticky onions, so don't rush this part.
Pour in the wine, vinegar and port and simmer everything, still uncovered, over a high heat for 25-30 minutes, stirring every so often until the onions are a deep mahogany colour and the liquid has reduced by about two-thirds. It's done when drawing a spoon across the bottom of the pan clears a path that fills rapidly with syrupy juice. Leave the onions to cool in the pan, and then scoop into sterilised jars and seal. Can be eaten straight away, but keeps in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Roast Turkey

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13:56 | By: Tony

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This is a great way of cooking the Christmas turkey. As turkey can be a very dry meat the sausage meat in the stuffing helps to baste the turkey from the inside keeping it very succulent and juicy. Any good butcher will do all of the boning of the turkey for you, which makes this recipe a bit easier. Cooked and prepared chestnuts are available from most supermarkets at this time of year and make a very interesting, festive stuffing.
Make sure that you keep all of the bones from the turkey, these will make a fantastic stock that can then be reduced to make your Christmas gravy.

SERVES 8-10
Ingredients;

1 turkey 3.5-4.5kg in weight, boned

1 onion, finely diced
100g butter
2tblsp sage, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
150g breadcrumbs
100g chestnuts, chopped
175g good quality sausage meat
Seasoning

Method;

Ask your butcher to bone and roll the turkey legs and to remove all of the sinew, and to bone the breast. You should have two rolled legs and two breasts with no bones. Keep all of the bones for the gravy.

For the stuffing;

Place a pan over medium heat and add the onion and the butter cook until the onion is soft, add the sage and chicken stock cube and cook for a further 3mins. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, making sure that the breadcrumbs absorb all of the melted butter. Add the chestnuts and sausage meat and season to taste. Leave to cool while you prepare the turkey.


For the turkey;

Pre heat the oven to 180c.
Season the turkey legs well with salt and pepper. Roll the legs into a long cylinder shape, making sure the skin is on the outside and tie with kitchen string; this will help the leg hold its shape while cooking. Place in a large roasting tray and cook in the pre heated oven. The legs take 2 and half hours to cook.

Lay the breast skin side down on a chopping board and with a knife slice the turkey up the middle to butterfly them open. The butcher may do this for you. Season the inside of the turkey and place the stuffing in the centre. Roll up into a cylinder shape and tie with kitchen string, very tightly. After the legs have been cooking for 1 hour place the breast in the tray along with the legs and roast for a further 1 and a half hours.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20mins.

To serve the turkey;

Slice the breast meat and the leg meat. Place a slice of leg and a slice of breast along with a selection of roast potatoes, mash, roast carrots, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage and gravy.

Winter Vegetable Wellington a perfect vegetarian alternative for Christmas day!

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13:49 | By: Tony

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At the Merchant hotel we always have this style of dish on our vegetarian menu at Christmas; it is so versatile in that any selection of vegetables can be used. The cranberry jam in the filling adds a wonderful sweetness to the dish. Serve this with pickled red cabbage and mash for a great vegetarian Christmas dinner.

Ingredients;

100g butter
1onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 leek, diced
1 vegetable stock cube
1tblsp sage, shredded
200g breadcrumbs
2 eggs beaten
50g parmesan, grated
Seasoning

2 carrots, peeled, cubed and roasted
1 parsnip, peeled, cubed and roasted
Half a cauliflower, broken into small florets and cooked
200g quorn pieces or tofu
100g toasted cashew nuts
70g cranberry jam
300g puff pastry
1 egg beaten

Method;

Place the butter, onion, garlic and leek into a pan and cook over medium heat until softened, add the stock cube, sage and breadcrumbs and mix well. Remove from the heat and stir in the egg and parmesan, season to taste.
In a large bowl mix the carrots, parsnip, cauliflower, quorn or tofu, cashew nuts and cranberry jam. Add the breadcrumb mix and stir until everything is incorporated. Leave to cool then place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the pastry into a large rectangle, place the filling in the middle and roll into a large sausage roll shape, seal the edges with beaten egg. Score the Wellington with the back of a knife and brush all over with the remaining egg. Set in the fridge for a further hour.
Pre heat the oven to 200c and cook the Wellington for 35-40mins until golden brown.
Serve a slice of Wellington with a choice of vegetables, mash potatoes and pickled red cabbage.

Turkey gravy

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13:47 | By: Tony

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Ingredients;

Reserved bones from the turkey, roasted until golden brown
1 white onion peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs of thyme
1 head garlic
200ml red wine
200ml port
1tblsp butter
1tblsp plain flour

Method;

Place all ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for 2 hour, skimming all the time. It is important to keep the stock clear from scum at all times. After 2 hours remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve into a clean pot. Place the strained stock back over the heat and reduce by two thirds.

When the turkey has been removed from the oven and is resting. Remove the turkey from the roasting tray into a clean plate. Strain of all of the fat from the tray and place the tray over high heat. Add the red wine and the port and bring to the boil, scrap of all of the bits of meat stuck to the bottom of the pan, the liquid will make this lift of easily. Reduce the wine and the port until it starts to thicken. Add the butter and stir until it has melted, add the flour and mix well to form a roux with the butter. Pour in the turkey stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Season to taste and serve with the turkey.

Vegetable and potatoes for the perfect Christmas dinner

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13:40 | By: Tony

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Braised red cabbage

No Christmas dinner party is complete without red cabbage!! This is such a versatile recipe. It eats well with the turkey for Christmas dinner but can also be used with duck, venison, goose, roast pork with crackling or my personal favourite glazed ham, red cabbage and piccalilli on Boxing day.
Because the red cabbage is pickled it will keep for a couple of months in a sterilised kilner jar in the fridge. It is worth making extra to have at hand, just in case, like me once you make it you will not be able to get enough.....

Ingredients;

1 large red cabbage, shredded
1tblsp sea salt
1bottle of red wine
250ml red wine vinegar
50g brown sugar
50g red currant jelly
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
4 juniper berries
2 sprigs of thyme, chopped
Seasoning

Method;

Toss the cabbage in the sea salt, cover with cling film and leave to go limp in the fridge over night. Rinse well and drain.
Place the remaining ingredients into a large pot and bring to the boil, add the cabbage and turn down the heat to a simmer, leave to simmer for 1 hour, stirring all the time, remove from the heat and strain of any excess liquid. Place the cabbage into a container and pour over a little of the liquid, cool and store in the fridge for a couple of days to allow the flavours to develop.


Brussels Sprouts with chestnuts and bacon

Ingredients;

250g cooked and peeled chestnuts    
400g Brussels sprouts, peeled of outer leaves and crossed at the bottom        
1tblsp olive oil       
160g streaky bacon, cut into thin strips 
50g butter  
3 cloves garlic, crushed     
200ml chicken stock

Method;

Cook the sprouts in plenty of boiling, salted water for 3mins. Drain and refresh in iced cold water. Drain again and squeeze dry making sure that as much water is removed from the sprout as possible. Cut the sprouts in half lengthways.
Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan, add the bacon and cooked until lightly golden and crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and add the butter to the pan. When the butter starts to foam add the garlic and stir for 1min. add the chestnuts and cook for 5mins in the butter until they are golden, add the sprouts and bacon and season to taste. Add the stock, cover with a lid or tin foil and simmer over medium heat for 3-4mins or until the sprouts are tender but still a little firm to the bite.




Dauphionise Potatoes

Ingredients;

2kg potatoes, peeled
2ltrs milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed
600ml double cream
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste
200g butter, cut into small pieces

Method;

Slice the potatoes thinly, place in a saucepan, and pour over the milk and season with the salt and pepper and half of the crushed garlic. Cook over a low heat until the milk is almost absorbed.

Rub a large tray with the remainder of the garlic and arrange the potatoes in the tray cover the potatoes with the cream, sprinkle with nutmeg and dot the surface with the butter.
Cook in the oven at 170c for 1- a quarter hours, increasing the heat a little towards the end of cooking time to brown the top.






Roast Potatoes

This is the way my mum made her roast potatoes and I love this method. By boiling the potatoes first and shaking them in the pan, you create rough edges that will turn extremly crispy when roasted and will be a welcome addition to the perfect Christmas dinner.
Any flavour combination can be added to the potatoes as they roast or if you’re a traditionalist, just duck fat, salt and pepper will be fine.  

Ingredients;

1kg Maris piper potatoes, cut in half or quarters if large
100g duck fat
1 garlic head, cloves separated
1 rosemary leaves


Method;

Preheat oven to 200C. Place potatoes in a large saucepan of cold salted water, bring to the boil over high heat and cook until just starting to soften (8-10 minutes), drain immediately and return to saucepan. Shake pan vigorously to roughen edges of potato.

Heat duck fat in oven in a roasting pan large enough to hold potatoes in a single layer until very hot (4-5 minutes). Add potatoes, garlic and rosemary to pan, shake carefully to coat in duck fat, season generously and roast until dark golden and crisp (25-30 minutes), serve immediately.

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