Bubble and Squeak (V)

So Christmas has come and gone and we have all had our fair share of Christmas food. The one problem is what do we do with the left over carrots, roasties and the dreaded Brussels sprouts. This recipe will give you an easy way to use those left over veg and makes a great accompaniment with the left over meat or some cold meats.

Serves: Whatever leftovers you have will depend on the servings

2 Medium Onions
Left over Mash/Roasties -  Mashed up
Left over Vegetables (Brussell Sprouts, carrots, peas, parsnips etc), cut into small chunks
50g Butter
Olive Oil
Plain Flour
Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven for 200c/180c fan assisted.

2. Fry the onions in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Then put in the mixing bowl.

3. Add the potatoes and vegetables to the mixing bowl. Add the butter to help bind the mixture together.

4. Put the flour on a separate plate with seasoning. Form the bubble and squeak mixture into patties  Cover with the seasoned flour.

5. Fry the patties in batches of 2. Fry on each side for a few minutes. When frying the first side it may be an idea to do it for longer as it will be easier to flip and will keep its shape.

6. Once they have all been fried, put on a tray and put in the oven for 10 minutes. Serve with cold meats or meat leftover from the night before.

Decorating the Christmas Cake

So a few weeks ago I showed you how to make a Christmas Cake. You have been feeding it with brandy so now its time to decorate it. I will show you how to put marzipan and icing on the cake but decorating the top is up to you. You can buy icing and marzipan figures for the top to save time or buy coloured icing and make your own figures.

1 Christmas Cake

Fruit Cake - Either bought or made own
4 tbsp Apricot Jam
3 tbsp Brandy
Icing Sugar
Bit of water
Colour Icing/Icing Dyed with various colours/Pre purchased icing figures
1 Kg Marzipan
1 Kg Ready to Roll Icing

1. Heat the apricot jam in a pan until it begins to melt. Then sieve through into a bowl. Brush onto the cake.

2. Roll out the marzipan so that it covers the cake. Roll into the rolling pin and drape over the cake. Use a knife and remove the excess.

3. Roll the icing so that it covers the cake. Brush the marzipan with the brandy. Roll the icing into the rolling pin and drape over the cake. Instead of cutting the excess either use your thumb or the bottom of a teaspoon and create a semi circle at the base of the cake to seal. Remove the excess.

So you should have something like this:

So you can leave it like this OR you could decorate and make it something really special. Something as simple as putting a few trees on it with a couple of snowmen can make it look unique and your own. Let your creative side run wild. We don't want to see those horrible shop bought top only covered Christmas cakes.

So here are a few ideas I had:

Christmas Trees:
Get some green icing and roll into a cone. Then you get your kitchen scissors and snip into the tree to make it look more authentic. If using brown icing, make a little stump for the tree. Use the icing sugar and water mix to stick together.

Snowmen:
Make 3 small white balls, ranging from large to small. Attach together using the icing sugar and water mix. If using black icing make really small balls for the buttons and mouth of the snowman. Use a brown/orange icing for the carrot nose. Use the same icing to make the twig like arms for the snowman. And with the black icing or coloured icing for a top hat/woolly cap/scarf

Penguins:
For a penguin you need black icing. You make 2 balls, one large and one smaller one. The larger one should be slightly pointed at one end for the body. Stick together using the icing sugar mix. Use orange icing for the feet and beak. Stick with these with icing sugar mixture. Using the white icing, for the stomach and eyes. Then add 2 small balls of black icing for the pupils. If you have any coloured icing left give them a little scarf.

The other things I added was blue icing for the pond and little strands of green icing around the pond. Also to add a snow effect, I sprinkled the cake with icing sugar. And a major tip for this is icing sugar mixed with water makes an amazing glue when sticking icing together. But make your Christmas Cake your own. Even if you want to buy the actual cake, have fun decorating it, it's a fun activity for the whole family. Leave pictures and comments in the post or send them to me and will post the best ones on my next blog post. And don't forget, have a Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year.

What will your cake look like?

Merry Christmas From Me :)

Minestrone (V)

So you have just been out Christmas shopping or you have spent too much before your next pay cheque, you need something quick and cheap. This recipe is for you. All the ingredients here, you can find in your cupboards, bottom of fridges or freezers.

Serves: 4

100g-200g Pasta (Broken Bits, some left at the bottom of the bag)
2 tsp Red Pesto
1 Litre Veg Stock (If not got, use other stock in cupboard)
300ml Passata or Chopped Tomatoes
1 Mug of Frozen Peas
2 Mugs of Frozen Mixed Veg (3 if it includes Peas)
Can of Beans/Pulses (Brollotti, Cannellini etc)
Bit of Grated Cheese (Parmesan/Cheddar/Whatever is available)
1 Onion/4 Shallots
Knob of Butter/Knob of Garlic Butter (If any left from French Onion Soup Recipe)
Pinch of Thyme
Pinch of Sage
Salt and Pepper

1. Get a pan and add the butter and fry the onion/shallots for a couple of minutes. Add the stock and passata/chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to simmer.

2. Add the pasta and frozen vegetables to the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the red pesto to the pan with the can of beans. Heat through for a couple of minutes. Add the herbs to the pan and stir. Taste and season. Serve with grated cheese


Tip: Just see what's in your cupboard or what you have lying around. Make this your own recipe and be creative.

French Onion Soup (V)

Something nice and warm after you have been out Christmas shopping. Cheap to make and fairly healthy

50g Butter
3 Large Onions, finely sliced
6 Shallots, finely sliced
Shake of Worcestershire Sauce
2 Glasses of Red Wine
3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp Thyme
1 litre Vegetable Stock
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed

Garlic Croutons
1 Baguette, cut into slices
2 Cloves of Garlic, crushed
50g Butter
100g Gruyère , grated
Handful of Parsely, chopped

1. Preheat the grill to a medium heat.

2. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently cook the onions, shallots and garlic until softened. This should roughly take about 10 minutes over a low heat. 

3.  Increase the heat slightly and cook for 15 minutes, until the onion becomes dark golden, sticky and caramelised, stirring now and again to stop it catching. 

4. Add the wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then add the stock, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire Sauce and thyme and bring to the boil. Taste and Season. Simmer for 10 minutes.

5. While the soup is simmering, prepare the croutons. Mix the garlic, butter and parsley together. Spread on the bread and put under the grill for 2 minutes. Once the butter has melted over the bread and it's beginning to toast put the cheese over it and put under the grill for a further 3 minutes. 

6. Pour the soup in the bowls, top with a giant garlic crouton.

Tip: Want help cutting up your fresh herbs. Heres what I use:

Christmas Cake (V)

Ah the Christmas Cake.... Rule of thumb for me is bake when you start seeing the Christmas chocolates in Supermarkets. Perfect with a glass of mulled wine. This will be a 2 parter, this will show you how to make the cake and then later on we show you how to decorate.

250g Currants
300g Raisins

200g Cherries
250g Dates
300g Sultanas
200ml Sherry (or preferred liqueur) extra for feeding
250g Light Brown Sugar
250g Butter
1 Lemon, zest and juice
1 Orange, zest and juice
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Cinnamon
100g Ground Almonds
100g Flaked Almonds
4 Eggs
250g Plain White Flour
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Mixed Spices

1. Preheat oven to 150C/130C fan. In a large pan put the brandy, butter, sugar, dried fruit, zest and juice of the orange and lemon.  Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Tip the fruit mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool for 30 mins.

2. Line a deep 20cm cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment. Add the remaining ingredients to the fruit mixture and stir well. Tip into your prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and bake in the centre of the oven for 1 hour and 50 minutes - 2 Hours.

3. Remove the cake from the oven, poke holes in it with a skewer or toothpick and spoon over 2 tbsp of brandy. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.

4. Cling film the cake, and feed the cake 2 tbsp of brandy every week. Make it ahead of Christmas and it will be a really boozy cake.

Don't forget to decorate the cake with marzipan and icing.

Mushroom Stroganoff (V)

A variation of the Russian classic, Mushroom Stroganoff is creamy and tasty. Perfect with either Tagliatelle or rice.

Serves 4

250g Flatcap Mushrooms, sliced

250g Chestnut Mushrooms, quatered

1 Small Glass of White Wine

1 Onion, finely sliced

2 Garlic Clove, crushed

2 tsp French Mustard

2 tsp Paprika

Handful of Fresh Parsley, finely chopped

200ml Double Cream

300g Tagilatelie or Rice

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Shake of Worcestershire Sauce

Squirt of Lemon Juice

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil and boil the paste or rice for the instructed time.

2. While the pasta/rice is boiling, get a large frying pan and heat olive oil in the pan. Add the onions and garlic, fry until softened. Add the mushrooms and paprika and fry for 5 minutes.

3. Add the cream, wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and French mustard to the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Season to taste and add the parsley to the pan for 30 seconds while stirring. 

4. Drain the pasta/rice from the pan, serve onto the plate and add the sauce on top. Serve.

Tip: If the sauce hasn't thickened, get a teaspoon of cornflour and put it into a glass and mix with a dash of water. Add to the pan, leave for a couple of minutes and the sauce should thicken.

Lancashire Hotpot

It's getting cold outside so we need something to warm our bellys. This is where Lancashire Hotpot comes in, with a mixture of flavours that go so well together. This was tweaked a bit, so it isnt your standard Lancashire Hotpot. I added black pudding and red wine to give it a bit more body.

Serves 4-6

800g Stewing Lamb
250g Black Pudding
2 Onions, finely diced
A Good handful of  fresh Rosemary
A Small Glass of Red Wine
400ml Lamb Stock or Vegtable Stock
A good shake of Worcestershire Sauce
4tbsp Plain Flour
100g Butter
4 Carrots, peeled and sliced
900g Potatoes, peeled and sliced

1. Preheat 160c/140c Fan assisted. Put some of the butter in a pan to fry the lamb. Do this is batches. The lamb should release some of the juices so you won't need to keep adding more butter. For each batch put it on a plate. Once the meat is done fry the black pudding for a few minutes and put on the plate with the lamb.

2. If the pan is dry add more butter. Fry the onions and carrots until soft. Add the stock, wine, rosemary and Worcestershire Sauce to the pan. Let it boil for a couple of minutes then add the meat and black pudding to the pan. Boil for a further couple of minutes, then transfer to a casserole dish.

3. Add the sliced potatoes to the top of the meat. It should be covered and add a bit of butter to the top of the potatoes. Cover with tin foil or the lid and put in the oven for 1 Hour and 40 minutes. After remove the foil, increase the heat to 200c/180c fan assisted for 8 minutes to cook the potatoes more. Serve with green vegetables.

Need some decent Cassarole dishes, check here :