Easy Christmas Cinnamon Cookies (Xmas)
Ingredients for about 80 cookies:
3 egg whites
8 oz. powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 drops almond extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
14 oz. ground almonds
How to make:
Whip egg whites to a peak. Sift powdered sugar and slowly add to egg whites. Set aside 3 tablespoons of egg whites to decorate cookies. Add vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon and ground almonds. Put dough into a plastic bag and roll out to about 1/4 inch. Refrigerate bag for about 15 minutes. Cut bag open. Cut out cookies with a 2 inch star shaped cookie cutter and transfer onto baking pan lined with parchment paper. Brush cookies with egg whites
Bake at 250 F for approximately 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 210 F and bake for another 30 minutes.
The brushed egg whites should remain white. (approximately 40 calories per cookie). You can use ground hazelnuts instead of ground almonds.
Christmas Food Extras – ‘Dressed’ Roast Potatoes (Xmas)
Ingredients:
1.25kg floury potatoes, such as Desirée, Maris Piper and King Edward
6 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp paprika
pinch of chilli powder
pinch of dried thyme
1 tsp red wine vinegar
How to prepare:
Preheat oven to 200C. Cut the potatoes into small chunks (no need to peel). Spread out in a roasting tin and drizzle over 2 tbsp olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix well. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the potatoes are crisp and brown.
To make the dressing: crush the garlic in a pestle and mortar or coffee mill, then blend in the cumin, paprika, chilli and thyme to make a paste. Gradualy work in the remaining olive oil. Stir in the vinegar, taste and add salt if necessary.
When the potatoes are cooked, spoon them on to serving plates and drizzle over the sauce sauce.
Turkey Stuffing – Sage Sausage Stuffing (Xmas)
Ingredients for a 4.5kg turkey:
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
450g good quality sausage meat
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped sage
25g fresh white breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg
How to prepare:
Mix all the ingredients together. Either use for stuffing a turkey, roll into balls or cook in a greased oven-proof dish until golden brown.
Christmas Food Extras – Leek and Cauliflower Bake (Xmas)
Ingredients:
450g leeks, washed and cut into 2.5cm slices
1 small cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
450g fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
¼ tsp dried tarragon
¼ tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
25g butter
25g plain flour
284ml milk
100g cheddar cheese, grated
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Mix and arrange cauliflower and leeks in the bottom of an ovenproof dish. Spread the tomatoes over the top and sprinkle with the herbs.
Melt the butter, add the flour and mix to a paste, gradually blend in the milk, return to the heat and cook, stirring all the time until thickened. Add the cheese to the sauce, reserving a little to decorate the top of the dish. Pour the sauce over the tomatoes, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for about 50 minutes until the vegetables are cooked but the cauliflower is still firm.
Christmas Food Extras – Cabbage with Smoked Bacon (Xmas)
Ingredients:
1 savoy cabbage
salt and freshly ground white pepper
150g smoked streaky bacon, cut into fine strips
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
How to prepare:
Cut the stem off the cabbage, and remove the coarse outer leaves. Halve the cabbage, cut out the cores and chop each half finely into 3mm/1/8in thick slices. Wash in lots of water, drain well and reserve.
Bring 2 litres of water to a full boil with 30g of salt,boil the shredded cabbage for 5 minutes. Refresh in cold water, drain and reserve.
In a large pan, sweat the bacon in the butter for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and crushed caraway seeds, and stir together. Cover and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste and serve.
Christmas Food Ideas – Roasted Pork Fillet Stuffed with Stilton (Xmas)
Ingredients:
2 x 250g pork fillets
50g mature blue stilton
4-5 sage leaves,
1 tbsp flour
25g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
60ml dry white wine
salt and pepper
How to prepare:
Make a deep cut in each pork fillet but not all the way through. Slice the stilton and place in the cut together with the sage leaves. Close the fillet and tie with string in 2 or 3 places. Season.
Heat the butter and oil in an oven dish on the hob. Lightly flour the fillet,and sauté the fillet on both sides. Add the wine and bring to the boil. Place in a preheated oven at 200 C for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, cut away the string and slice the meat into 1cm pieces and keep warm.
Taste the cooking juices and adjust the seasoning. Add a tablespoon of water to the dish and scrape the tasty bits off the bottom to make a sauce. Place the sliced pork on plate and pour over the sauce.
Christmas Food Ideas – Roast Turkey with Cider and Apple (Xmas)
Ingredients
5.5kg oven ready turkey, thoroughly thawed if frozen
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges
4 garlic cloves
450ml/¾pt medium dry cider
25g softened butter or margarine
25g flour
4 tbsp half fat creme frâiche
fresh mint sprigs to garnish
For the Stuffing:
1 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 Bramley cooking apple, peeled, cored and chopped
175g fresh white breadcrumbs
75g ready to eat dried prunes, chopped
2 tbsp freshly chopped mint
1 medium egg, beaten
How to prepare:
Preheat the oven to 190C, 10 minutes before cooking. Wipe the turkey inside and season the body cavity. Put on one side while preparing the stuffing.
Make stuffing by heating the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the apple, remove from the heat and add remaining stuffing ingredients with seasoning to taste and mix well to form a stiff consistency.
Stuff the neck cavity with the prepared stuffing then fold the neck flap over and secure either by sewing using fine twine and a trussing needle or with skewers.Place the onion wedges and whole garlic cloves in the body cavity.
Weigh the turkey and calculate the cooking time allowing 18 minutes per 450g/1lb.
Roll any remaining stuffing into balls and cook round the turkey for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. Place breast side down in the roasting tin, pour over 150ml/¼ pint of the cider then place in the oven and roast in the oven for the calculated cooking time. Twenty minutes before the end of the cooking time, turn the turkey over, pour over a further 150ml/¼ pint of the cider and continue to cook for the rest of the cooking time. If the turkey is browning too quickly, cover loosely with tin foil. Check the turkey is thoroughly cooked by inserting a long skewer in the thickest part of the thigh. If the juices run clear the turkey is cooked.
Remove from the oven, place turkey on a serving plate, loosely cover with tinfoil and stand for 20 minutes before carving.
Strain 300ml/½ pint of the juices from the cooked turkey into a saucepan and stir in the remaining cider, bring to the boil. Cream the butter or margarine with the flour then gradually whisk into the cider mixture. Cook for a couple of minutes, adjust seasoning and stir in the creme frâiche. Heat gently for 1 minute then serve with the cooked turkey, garnished with fresh herbs
Christmas Food Ideas – Port and Stilton Pate (Xmas)
Ingredients:
55g/2oz butter or margarine
1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped
60 ml port
zest of ½ lemon
125g Stilton cheese, crumbled
1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
How to prepare:
Melt the butter in a saucepan and gently sweat the spring onions until soft; add the port and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer to a blender and process until the mixture has bound. Check the seasoning. Divide between individual ramekins and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with melba toast.
