Christmas Day Feast - Part One - Breakfasts and Buffets

My stomach still hurts from yesterdays over indulgence. Of course this hasn't stopped me from having chocolates, mixed nuts and sweeties for breakfast! Yes Mum, I am hanging my head in shame. Lunch and dinner for the next few days are taken care of in the shape of many leftovers. Half our guests were unable to attend 'the feast' because of the snow ... snow and broken ankles aren't the perfect combination for transport ... so we have quite a bit extra in the leftover department. I love leftovers ;0)

And even though the last thing I really want to be doing right now is thinking about all the food I managed to scoff yesterday, I know that if I don't write the recipes down somewhere right now then come next Christmas I'll have forgotten what we did have and what did or didn't work. Hold on to your stomachs ...

The Breakfast

Christmas morning breakfast is always the same in our house. Croissants warmed in the oven, split open and smeared with mascarpone and loads of sliced strawberries piled on top. Its a tradition that my Mum started about 6 or 7 years before I left for the UK. The strawberries don't taste as nice at this time of year and I know I should be buying seasonal produce but tradition is tradition! Last year I did sway from this ritual out of guilt (blast those strawberries!) and I made Nigella's Apple and Blackberry Kutchen. It was very nice, we really enjoyed it, but it just wasn't Christmas so I decided to live with the guilt of paying over the odds for tasteless imported Strawberries and went back to old faithful this year! And it always gets washed down with Buck's Fizz.

The Buffet

Hubby's Mum is diabetic and I find trying to plan a three course meal around blood sugar readings and injections a bit tricky. This year I thought it might be easier to have a buffet for a starter rather than a proper sit down course, that way if the need arose, food was ready at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately Mum-In-Law was one of the stranded party who never managed to make it through, good thing there are still some extras sitting int he fridge for when we all do manage to get together.

Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Rolls (ended up being Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Pate) - far left
2 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
350g mascarpone or creme fraiche (I used half and half)
2 tbsp finely snipped chives
Sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
250g smoked salmon, best quality
Extra snipped chives for serving

Beat the horseradish, chives, salt and pepper into the mascarpone and refrigerate until needed.

Cut the salmon into strips about 15cm long bu 5cm wide. Place a small spoonful of the cream on one end, and roll up. It doesn't matter if the edges are a bit ragged. Sit each roll on its end, and scatter extra chives on the exposed cream at the top. (You can do this an hour or two beforehand and refrigerate until required). Serve with drinks or as a first course on a bed of green leaves.

Serves 4 to 6
Jill Dupleix recipe (I finally tracked it down here)

Try as I may, the smoked salmon just didn't want to bend to my will this time round! I ended up having to make it into a pate instead as I just couldn't get decent enough strips to turn into rolls. These look really stunning when the salmon does behave itself and is well worth the effort. The horseradish cream and smoked salmon work so well together that I could easily eat the whole lot to myself no problem at all!

Mum's Mushroom Pate (Middle)
8 slices white bread
75g butter, melted
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
375g small button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp cornflour
75ml sour cream
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
25g freshly grated Parmesan
Sprigs of basil to garnish

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with foil. Cut the crusts from the bread. Brush both sides with melted butter. Cut each slice in half vertically, then cut each half into 3 horizontally. Place the bread croutes on the prepared tray and bake for 5 to 10 mins, or until they are golden and crisp.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring constantly, over a low heat, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins, or until tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour in the sherry. Mix the cornflour and sour cream to a smooth paste, add to the mushroom mixture and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and thyme. Set aside to cool.

Spread the mushroom mixture on to each croute. Top with grated Parmesan. Place on baking tray and return croutes to the oven. Bake for 5 mins, or until croutes are heated through. Transfer to a warm serving dish, garnish with sprigs of basil and serve immediately.

* Storage time; make the bread croutes up to 4 days in advance and store in an airtight container. Make the mushroom topping and assemble just before serving.
* Variation; Puree the mushroom mixture, spoon into small dishes and chill. Serve as a pate with the bread croutes.

This is a recipe my Mum recommended to me so i made it with her variation of pureeing the mixture. It didn't look very attractive but it was very tasty. Next time I think I'll make it the way the recipe suggests for aesthetic reasons only ;0)

Hot Smoked Trout Pate (Right)
300g hot smoked trout (or mackerel or salmon) fillet, skinned
2 tsp English mustard
2 tbsp creme fraiche
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp chopped fresh dill or chives
1/2 tsp paprika, optional

Put half the smoked fish into a food processor or blender with the mustard, creme fraiche, sugar and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.

Break the remaining fish into flakes and stir it into the blended mixture with the black pepper and dill or chives. Taste and add more lemon juice, if necessary. Ideally, leave to rest in a cool place for an hour or two before serving.

Serve the pate with a dusting of paprika, if you like, and with buttered bread or toast. A scaled down version of this, on small pieces of toast, makes a lovely canape.

Serves 4 as a starter
Delicious Magazine - Dec 09

This recipe is by Hugh Fernly Whittingstall. Hubby's Dad quite liked it but I have to admit that the smoked salmon won me over. It will forever be known as 'Trate' in our family as I never seem to quite be able to get my tongue around the full name.



Ruby Red Pomegranate, Blue Cheese, Parsley and Shallot Crostini


20 thin slices of French Stick
100g blue cheese (I used blue stilton)
100g pomegranate seeds
Small bunch of picked flat leaf parsley
2 shallots, finely sliced
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and cracked black pepper



Preheat the oven to 180C. Arrange the sliced french stick slices on a baking tray. With a teaspoon, drizzle over one tablespoon of olive oil, transfer the bread to the oven, and bake until golden brown (about 5 mins).



Once toasted, allow the crostini to cool for a couple of mins. Then, using a small knife or the back of a spoon, spread the blue cheese over the top of the crostini.



In a small bowl, combine the pomegranate seeds, parsley, shallots and olive oil, seasoning the mixture well.



Place a teaspoon of the pomegranate mixture on top of each crostini and serve on a platter.



Makes 20 crostini
Cook Vegetarian Christmas Mag - Dec 09



This one was delish - shall most definitely be making again! I searched high and low for shallots in the lead up to Christmas and even though they are normally in plentiful supply I just couldn't find them anywhere. I replaced the shallots with half a small red onion which ended up working really well as a replacement.


Running out of room here - second post on its way with Christmas lunch in all its infamous glory!

Homemade Pizza ... Take Two

Making pizza is nothing new to me, back in my high school days I used to make it quite often after the one I brought home from Home Ec class went down a treat.  I posted a recipe for homemade pizza late last year and although it was good, it just didn't quite do it for me.  So quite a few weekends ago (I'm a bit behind with my posts!!!) I gave this recipe a whirl.

Simple Pizza Base
600g string white bread flour, plus plenty for rolling
1/2 tsp dried yeast
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Semolina, for dusting

Put the flour, yeast and 1 tsp salt into a large bowl.  Stir in 500ml of slightly warm water and the oil.  You should end up with a wettish dough that is rough and lumpy.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, cover with a tea towel and if your kitchen is cool keep it out, but if it is warm put it in the bottom of the fridge.  Leave the dough to rise for at least 6 hours or until doubled in size.

When ready to cook, bring the dough to room temp.  heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C.  Dust 2-4 baking sheets with semolina.  Dust the work surface with flour, then divide the dough into 2 or 4 pieces.  Knead each piece on the floured surface, incorporating enough flour to stop the dough being sticky.

Roll each piece into a pizza shape and lift onto baking sheets.  Leave to rise for 10 mins while you sort toppings (see below).  Top the bases with your chosen ingredients, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake for 18 mins for a large pizza or 12 mins of an individual pizza, or until the crust is crisp and the top is bubbling.

Makes 2 large or 4 individual pizzas
Good Food Magazine, March 11

* You can prove the dough overnight or during the day. 
* If the dough looks like it might climb out of the bowl, squash it down. 
* It will be sticky when you roll it out, but with a little kneading on a floured surface it will become smooth and pliable. 
* Cook two large pizzas at a time, swapping oven positions halfway through, or cook individual pizzas in two batches.

Wild Mushroom and Mascarpone Pizza Topping
Soak a large handful of dried wild mushrooms in boiling water until soft.  Meanwhile, mix 6 tbsp mascarpone with a crushed garlic clove and season well.

Heat 2 tsp olive oil and fry 6 sliced cap mushrooms until just starting to soften, then add the drained soaked mushrooms and 1 tsp thyme leaves.  Spread the mascarpone mix on the pizza base and top with the mushrooms.

Bake for 12 for individual pizzas or 18 mins for a large pizza, then remove from the oven and sprinkle with 4 tbsp grated Parmesan.  Return to the oven for 1 min and finish with extra thyme leaves.

Makes enough topping for 1 large pizza or two small pizzas
Good Food Mag, March 11

This is my all time favourite pizza topping now!  I love the creamy mascarpone sauce instead of the normal tomato one.  Heaven!!!

Hubby had a 'Meat Eaters Feast' complete with chicken, pepperoni and chorizo!!  Sis-In-Law was here to help us munch our way through the pizza's too, the overall winner was the Wild Mushroom ;0)

Homemade Pizza

Not much of an intro to this one ... other than can anything be better on a Sunday night than homemade pizza for dinner while vegging out on the couch in front of the idiot box?!!?  No, we didn't think so either ;0)

Pizza Dough
1 tsp sugar
15g fresh yeast or 2 level tsp (7g sachet) dried yeast
225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 ½ tsp salt
Extra virgin olive oil, for greasing

Measure 150ml lukewarm water into a bowl. Add the sugar and crumble in the fresh yeast with your fingers. Swirl the water to dissolve the sugar and yeast. If using dried yeast, sprinkle it over the water and whisk it in with a fork. Allow the mixture to stand for 10-15 mins in a warm place until the yeast activates – a froth should develop on the surface.

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the yeast mixture. Lightly oil or flour your hands and gradually incorporate the flour and liquid until they bind together.

Sprinkle your work surface generously with flour. Tip the dough onto the floured surface and scrape out any dough sticking to the bowl. Knead for 5-10 mins until the dough is smooth, silky, soft and supple. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Once the dough has risen, ‘knock it back’ (this releases large air bubbles which would make the pizza uneven). To do this: rub a little oil or flour on your fingers and slide them underneath the dough. Gently lift up the dough and punch it down again.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces by pinching it in the middle with your thumb and forefinger. Roll each into a ball on the palm of your hand until it is sealed underneath and place on a lightly floured work surface. Cover each ball with an upturned mixing bowl or damp cloth and leave to rest for 10-20 mins.

When the dough balls have rested and are soft to the touch, they are ready to be stretched. Start with plenty of flour on the work surface and give the dough ball a sharp slap. Next, flatten the dough gently using your fingers. Spread the dough with a rolling pin, preferably a thin one. Use one hand only, pressing lightly on the middle of the rolling pin (heavy rolling will make it tough). Roll the dough into an oblong shape, roughly 18cm x 32cm. Or if you prefer, roll the dough out to a 28cm diameter circle.

Makes 2 pizza bases (about 35cm in diameter)
Delicious, May 10

• I opted to make my pizza bases ahead of time.  To do this all you need to is make up to the end of step 5, wrap each ball in cling film, then foil, and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temp and continue with the recipe.

Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
400g fresh or canned plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 tsp dried oregano

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook very gently for about 10 mins until soft – don’t let them brown. Add the remaining ingredients and season. Stir, then simmer for 20 mins until you have a thickish sauce. If using fresh tomatoes, you will need to break them up with a spoon. This keeps well in the fridge, in a sterilised screw top jar for up to a week.

Makes about 320g
Delicious, May 10

My pizza base rolling skills are still in the development stage, thankfully this doesn't effect the flavour though!  We topped out pizza with chestnut mushrooms, sliced chicken breast, mozzarella, chorizo slices, dried oregano and grated chedder (Hubby insisted on this last ingredient!) and I popped them in the oven which had been preheated to 200C.  I had also popped some upturned baking trays in to warm up at the some time as we don't own a pizza stone.  They baked away happily for between 10 and 15 mins and voila ... homemade pizza for dinner!

James Martin's One Pot Chicken Chasseur

This is one of the dishes that James made at this year's Good Food Show.  It is my kind of meal, a warming one pot that is perfect remedy for the blustery (and at times bleak!) Autumn weather.  James made hos with chicken pieces but as Hubby as an aversion to eating meat of the bone (an issue I kind of understand) I opted to make this with chicken breast instead, although next time I'd be a bit smarter and get chicken breast's with the skin still on, absolutely no point being health conscious with one of James' recipes lol.

This made for a very tasty dinner last night, we enjoyed it with lashings of hot mashed potato and steamed fine beans.  I do seem to remember James making a HUGE song and dance about the lack of fresh tomatoes when he was making this on stage, yet the recipe in the show guide doesn't call for them at all!??!  Not sure if this is a typo or if James maybe just got himself a bit muddled up ... although, my finished product looks very different from the picture to accompany the recipe.  It was very tasty though so I was happy all the same ;0)

James Martin's One Pot Chicken Chasseur
1.6kg chicken, cut into 10 pieces (I used chicken breast only, 4-6 pieces)
1 tsp olive oil (I used rapeseed oil!)
30g butter
14 baby onions, peeled
2 cloves garlic, crushed
200g small button or chestnut mushrooms, halved
225ml red wine
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 sprigs fresh tarragon (I couldn't lay my hands on any so I substituted parsley instead)
500ml chicken stock

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil and 15g of the butter in a large, heavy based, lidded casserole.  add the chicken pieces and fry for 5 mins on each side until golden.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Melt the remaining 15g of butter in the pan.  add the baby onions and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins until soft.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 min.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 mins.  Add the red wine and tomato puree, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins to reduce.  Stir in the tarragon and pour over the chicken stock.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan.  Cover and cook in the oven for 45 mins.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2-3 mins before serving.

Serves 4
BBC Good Food Show Guide 2010

Chicken Pie

Hubby and I are very certainly back on the old calorie counting regime [sigh]. My motivation levels are quite low this time round, chocolate just tastes so good! But if I want to fit into my lovely floaty aqua dress for a friends wedding in September (I know! Ages away - plenty of time to loose those [few] extra pounds right?) then I guess I had better start now, especially as Easter is just around the corner and all those yummy chocolate recipes are going to come oozing out of the woodwork to tempt me off my virtuous path!

If I didn't tell you this was a weight watchers recipe I'm guessing you'd never know!

Chicken Pie

Low fat cooking spray

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

3 x 150g skinless chicken fillets, cut into 2cm strips

250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly

1 garlic clove, crushed

400ml chicken stock (made from a cube is fine!)

2 tsp cornflour

2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh tarragon (I couldn't lay my hands on any so I used a good sprinkling of dried mixed herbs instead - worked pretty well too!)

175g broccoli, cut into small florets

250g ready rolled puff pastry

2 tsp milk

Heat a large frying pan and mist with low fat spray. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 mins, adding a little water if it looks like sticking. Add the chicken and cook for 3 mins before adding the mushrooms. Saute the mixture for a further 5 mins until the juices from the mushrooms have been released and evaporated. Stir in the garlic and stock and simmer gently for 5 mins. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C.

Blend the cornflour with 1 tbsp water and add to the pan with the tarragon, stirring continuously until thickened. Remove from the heat and season to taste. Stir in the broccoli and spoon into a 1.2 litre pie dish. Set aside to cool for 5 mins.

Roll out the pastry a little more thinly to fit the top of the pie dish. Trim the edges and use the trimmings to stick round the rim of the dish. Brush the trimmings with a little of the milk and carefully lay the pastry over the top. Knock together the pastry edges to seal the pie. Make 3 small slashes in the top and brush with the remaining milk. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 mins, or until the pastry is golden and puffed up. Serve hot.

* To freeze the pie, cool the filling at the end of step 2, then top with the pastry. Cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the fridge before brushing with milk. Bake for 30-40 mins, covering the top if it gets too brown.

Serves 4

Irresistible Mag - Spring 2010

This was really nice. we' ll be having this again very soon. In fact its so nice that I would even make it for the next time we have company over, although I think I'll make them in individual pie dishes, there is something a bit more extravagant about a whole pie all to yourself!

Funghi Trifolati Alla Giancarlo ...

... or Giancarlo's Mushrooms to you and me!!!

This is Cook Book Challenge number 2 (not quite sure how to say that in Italian) and comes from my most recent purchase 'The Italian Cookery Course' by Katie Caldesi. As you can see I am well and truly immersing myself in my latest culinary fetish and this is the kind of meal I would have paid money for in a restaurant but it was so simple. I made this for dinner last night but if I'd known how quick it was going to be I'd have saved it for one of our week night dinners. I did end up amending the recipe a wee bit though it was just to make it a little healthier for our waist lines.

Gincarlo's Mushrooms

Fry lite (the recipe calls for 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil)

2 garlic cloves crushed

3 large sprigs of thyme

3 sprigs of rosemary

1/2 - 1 red chilli (depending on strength) finely sliced

500g mixed mushrooms (eg white cup, oyster, portobello, crimini, porcini), washed or wiped as necessary, thickly sliced

A generous pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat and, when hot, add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, chilli and salt and pepper. Fry for 1 min, then add the mushrooms and cook them, still over a high heat, tossing or stirring frequently. When the water from the mushrooms has evaporated and they have become browned and slightly crisp they are ready.

Makes 300g cooked weight, serves 4 as a side dish

The Italian Cookery Course

To turn this into a main meal I added 4 tbsp of cream (weight watchers would you believe, I wouldn't have known the difference if I hadn't bought the tub myself!) to the pan to make a mushroom sauce. I added the sauce to a pack of freshly cooked gnocchi and heated some panini's in the oven to help mop up the sauce. Mmmmm, will be having this again very soon ;0)

Homemade Pasta Sauce

This freezing cold weather has me craving some comfort food, something that is easy to cook but hot and filling too. This pasta sauce is so quick and easy to make, in the time it takes to boil the pasta the sauce is made. Not only does it taste delicious but its actually pretty good for you too (WW will be pleased with me ... just avert your eyes when we get to the mascarpone bit!) and I like the added bonus of knowing exactly what I am eating.

Tomato and Basil Sauce

1 tbsp olive oil (I use fry lite)

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp veg stock powder or 1/2 a crumbled stock cube

1 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp sugar

Few basil leaves

Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic, then gently fry for 1 min. Tip in all the other ingredients, except the basil and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 5 mins, stirring occasionally. To finish, tear basil leaves, then stir into the sauce.

* This sauce freezes well, or you can keep a batch in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serves 4 (makes 350ml)

Good Food Italian

This sauce is pretty good as it is but there are a few variations for when you fancy a change.

Tomato and Mascarpone (This one is our favourite!)

Stir 2 tbsp mascarpone into the sauce at the end of cooking time. Delicious poured over fresh tortellini, topped with a few more spoonfuls of cheese, then baked until bubbling at the edges.
Arrabiata

Use 2 garlic cloves and add a good pinch each chilli flakes and dried oregano. Stir in 1 tsp balsamic vinegar to serve.

Amatriciana

Fry 8 rashers streaky bacon until golden, then add 2 garlic cloves, as before. Add a splash of red wine with the tomatoes if you like, use a good pinch oregano and dried chilli then, to finish, stir through 25g grated parmesan.

Puttanesca

Stir through 1-2 tbsp drained capers, 4 anchovies, drained and chopped and a handful pitted black olives, chopped. when ready to serve, stir through a handful freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.

I always make a double batch of the sauce, means that there is an almost ready made meal waiting in the fridge for those days when making a meal from scratch is just a bit too much.

Tonight's dinner was the Tomato and Mascarpone Sauce which was stirred through some pasta. I also cooked off some leftover mushrooms and pan fried some chicken breasts with salt, pepper and mixed herbs and added these to the pasta and sauce. It was then all topped off with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan.