My antidote - Fancy …

… Italian/Malaysian fusion?

Another suggestion for serving the arancini. If you think about it you generally eat rice with a curry … why not in a ball with a crispy shell?

Why not serve the rice ball with a rendang curry? You can cheat if you like a buy a ready-made paste and add it to coconut milk or, a sort of half way house, make your own but speedily.

Rendang Sauce

100 ml coconut cream

50ml water

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat and

serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

There's nothing wrong with a short cut or two – it may not appeal to the purists out there – some of us haven't got time!

The world is definitely your lobster – you can add prawns or chicken, whatever you fancy. Just in case you think I'm making this stuff up – here's what it looks like, with prawns in the rendang sauce :

Happy New Year!

My antidote - When you're ready …

fry in hot oil until golden brown – about 3-4 minutes.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record - in my defence staying true to Italian cuisine – serve the arancini with the tried and tested Alfredo sauce, garnishing with chopped flat leaf parsley.

You can scale up or down i.e. as an entrée or a larger portion for a supper dish.

As an alternative entrée serve the arancini with redcurrant jelly and a raw slaw.

By the way, you can freeze the basic risotto – i.e. the remaining half left in the tray - to use whenever. The finished arancini also freezes well – let it defrost in the fridge during the day, to serve in the evening – place on a baking sheet and pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 10/12 minutes.

I can do no better than quote the idiom “works like a charm”!

Happy New Year!

My antidote - Take three trays ...

... measuring 23x23 cms :

35g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

100g Panko crumbs – blitzed in a food processor

You'll need vegetable oil for frying

Using damp hands, mould each square into a ball – make 3 at a time – place in the flour tray and jiggle, let the tray do the work. Repeat in the beaten egg and finally in the crumb. My technical term is “jiggle”, the actual technical term is pané – meaning “breaded”. If you want to be really cheffy you can repeat the egg and crumb - “double pané”.

Place the arancini in the fridge for 20 minutes or until you're ready to use.

Happy New Year!

My antidote …

to over-indulgence is simple tasty food and right about now we really begin to crave it, so here we have :

Arancini

For arancini, aka rice balls, you'll need a basic risotto recipe :

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

40g unsalted butter

1 tbsp groundnut oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves (or 3 tsps paste)

350g risotto rice

150ml dry white wine

2 tbsps flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

100g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently. Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes until the edges become opaque. Add the wine. Start adding the stock, a ladle at a time – the liquid should be absorbed before you add the next. Add the parsley, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

It's imperative that your stock is kept hot and added a ladle at a time. If you follow these basic principles you'll be fine.

Tip your risotto into a tray bake, cover and cool, then fridge. You can leave for a couple of hours or overnight – whatever suits you best. The tray measures 12” or 31cms - with the tray bake lengthways in front of you cut the risotto in half. Each half tray ( 6” or 15.5cms) gives you 9 arancini weighing approximately 80/90gm approximately. Using one half divide into 9 squares – 2½” (6.5cms) 5” (13cms) and 7½” (19cms) and set aside. I used a good old fashioned school ruler – works a treat. You can continue and make another 9 or freeze the remaining risotto as it is.

Prepping this way will give you pretty much similar sized arancini but don't lose sleep over it!

You might think there appears to be a lot of work here but the recipe is simplicity itself and it can be made in stages, whenever you have time.

Happy New Year!

Check out the chick peas!

In April I mentioned this recipe - just goes to show that I reuse and develop the recipes I share!

Cheeky Chickpeas!

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

Pre-heat your oven 210fan/230c/Gas 8

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Lay the chickpeas on kitchen roll and pat dry.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss them in the oil. Season with salt. ** Add optional spices.

Spread the chickpeas on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 30 minutes – shake gently after 15 minutes – check again after a further 10 minutes – the chickpeas should be golden brown – note to self, do not walk away! Ovens vary as do the size of the actual chickpeas and you do not want them to burn and spoil.

If you like spice you could mix together a pinch of chilli, sweet paprika and garlic powders or any spice you like – sumac would work well. Sprinkle the spices over the chickpeas and mix well at ** above.

Here's another take on chick peas – both would be ideal for a New Year party nibble or sprinkled over a salad – warm or cold – or just munching in front of the tv.

Roasted chick peas

*60ml vegetable oil

*2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

*1 tbsp Italian seasoning

*1½ tsps garlic salt

2 tins of chick peas – drained, rinsed and pat dry

2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven 220c/200fan/Gas 7.

Using a large mixing bowl combine the ingredients marked *. Add the chick peas and coat thoroughly. Spread onto a baking sheet (with sides) 15x10”.

Roast for 15 minutes. Stir in the cheese and roast for a further 25 minutes – until brown and crisp. Stir them a couple of times – don't panic – some of them will burst and pop.

Cool.

Will keep in the fridge in airtight containers for 3 days or you can freeze for up to 3 months.

To serve preheat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4 and warm for 5 minutes.

I warn you they are moreish!

Recipe Repository – file under easy peasy

Here's a step by step guide to the Pommes Dauphinoise, made for serving at home.

There are three stages – you'll see that as usual – I would not want to disappoint – I've used the ever dependable foil tray which measures 23cm x 23cm.

I road tested this recipe when friends came for lunch too – serving with slow cooked gammon and various veggies.

I can give no better recommendation than my Husband's comment - “those potatoes were great ...”. H would never choose any “sauce” in a potato dish since he's not a lover of creamy consistencies – blimey! Just in case you should think there is any bias here – recipe requested from two friends.

You could add crispy bacon bits if you wished.

This dish forms part of our Christmas Day lunch – with roasties too – I shall report back on its success or failure.

By the way the leftovers are delish!

New Year perhaps?

P.s. Could I also mention that whilst I'm all for short cuts and making life easy there are certain rules that cannot be broken – one of which is always use block parmesan – I know it's an expensive ingredient but check out Lidl – their Parmigiano Reggiano is 40p per 200g block cheaper than other supermarkets.

Pommes Dauphinoise – but not as you know them

“I know this is really cheeky and last minute but could you make me a tray of the sliced potatoes in whatever sauce you do, for Saturday”.

This request came from my Dil, Cheryl (I quite like “Dil” - aka daughter in law) for her Daughter Alyce's 18^th Birthday Party.

Hmmm, not really sure what is meant by the sliced potatoes - “I meant the sliced ones you do that are cheesy … “

I feel I should mention that this food had to be transported from Northamptonshire to West Yorkshire so oodles of cream sloshing about needs some thought.

Righty ho – drawing board time.

Here are the results.

Remember in the multitasking morning stuff I talked about making the best of the space in your oven when in use and baking jacket potatoes? For the following recipe I baked three large potatoes – cooled them and fridged.

Alfredo Sauce

double the quantities given in the original recipe

50g unsalted butter

400ml double cream

100g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling

freshly ground black pepper

Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, until the butter has melted, then stir in the Parmesan.

Slowly bring to a gentle boil, turn down the heat and simmer, stir continuously for a minute or so until you have a smooth, creamy sauce, season.

This sauce can be made ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged or you can freeze it.

The Pommes Dauphinoise were duly delivered – portable in that the cooked jackets were left in tact, in their foil, in a strong food bag and the sauce in boxes. I even supplied the foil trays.

A big hit with pulled pork and rated 11 out of 10.

N.B. Resist the urge to use a microwave to reheat the sauce – I promise you it will split and you will not be a happy bunny – I know it goes against the grain – use a saucepan – it's worth the washing up!

Overwhelmed yet?

I think I've got this right or, does this sound familiar?

Totally stressed out and making lists of lists, waking in the early hours struck down by brain overdrive - “don't forget the …..” and eventually sleep deprived and cranky the result is the last person you consider – is you.

Indulgence is for you too! The only problem with indulgence is it either costs a fortune “ready-made” or it takes forever to prep and cook at home.

In reality what happens at this time of year is that we finish up yearning for simple tasty food that is easy to prepare.

I do realise that indulgence is relative – it's personal taste – if chocolate (and all things sweet) is your bag, then you'll not be interested in the following.

So, for the frazzled out there, the following is for you.

Turned out nicely!

Here's the “cross your fingers and hope” moment – cutting a slice of pudding to reveal …

… drum roll please.

One of the greatest pleasures in cooking is leaving ingredients alone to do their own thing and, as if by magic!

Serving suggestions – keep it simple – home-made vanilla ice cream (the recipe is on the blog) and - if you're really going to push the boat out as it's Christmas – clotted cream too.

With the remaining conserve or pie filling and reserved fruit juices warm through, gently, in a microwave. Pour over the top of the pudding to serve.

For a festive, grown-up version, you could serve a shot of kirsch on the side or - if you're in a retro mood – cherry brandy!

Merry Christmas!

The Pudding …cont'd

Add half the jar of conserve or the pie filling to the defrosted fruit, combine gently and then pour into the cake-lined bowl. Top with slices of cake to cover completely. Fold the cling film over the pudding to seal.

Place a slightly smaller plate or saucer on top of the basin and weigh down with a can. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours.

To serve, remove the can and plate, unwrap the cling film, cover the bowl with a large plate.

Invert the pudding onto the plate and remove the cling film.

So far so good!

Cherry & Chocolate Panettone Pudding …

… aka Winter Pudding!

Cherry & Chocolate Panettone Pudding

1 x 750g Panettone Chocolate -

with chocolate chips and chocolate cream

running through

480g dark sweet cherries – available in the freezer

aisle at Sainsbury's - £2 – defrosted- reserve the juices

1 x 370g jar of cherry conserve

or

1 x 410g Black Cherry Pie filling – available

from larger supermarkets

You'll need :

1 litre (1&¾ pt) basin.

A plain sided cutter slightly larger than the base of the basin.

Cling film

For the size of basin given, you will need approximately 10 slices of cake cut into 1cm slices – remove the crusts.

Line the basin with cling film ensuring that it overlaps the basin and a major tip – oil the basin before you line it – the cling film will stay where it's put and when it comes to turning out your pud it will comply!

Cut out a circle of cake for the base and place it in the basin. Line the rest of the basin – I overlap each piece of cake – but it's whatever you'd prefer.

 Panettone is great to work with - do not be afraid of it! If the cake tears you can patch easily – it's a kind product.

What can I do with a panettone …

… polite responses only please!

Does a gift of panettone fill you with dread or does it fall into the same category as all the other stuff you feel obligated to buy? If it's the latter then I think it must be down to nostalgia – if you're a certain age you'll surely remember certain items that appeared each year - in our house there was always a box of orange and lemon slices – pure sugar! Oh and an absolute must from childhood – a box of dates – I don't think I ever saw anyone eat any. Hand on heart, the only time I've eaten dates is hidden in Sticky Toffee Pudding when you really wouldn't know they are there but they taste great. Both the slices and the dates were still gathering dust well into the New Year!

Back to the panettone – whether a gift or you've purchased of your own free will – sort of. These days you can buy different sizes and varieties. Here's my contribution to reducing the panettone “peak” post Christmas when you're absolutely sick and tired of moving the box or tin around. I'm so sorry for the excruciating alliteration – it just sounded so much better than “panettone mountain”.

I'm never quite sure where panettone belongs – I realise it's an Italian Christmas cake but it always strikes me as if it can't make up its mind whether its a bread – brioche style – it's surely too dry for what we'd call Christmas cake. Whatever your views on this product I have to say that I'm sorry you can't smell the delicious aroma when I open the tin – wow.

So, I give you my Cherry & Chocolate Panettone Pudding.

A variation on a theme of the old faithful the Summer Pudding and the Autumn version too.

The great thing about this pud apart from the fact that it's really easy, is that it has to be made 24 hours ahead, so it's great for the hols – done and dusted!

Blinis

I did say in “An intermission” that I wasn't trying to be a party pooper and wasn't at all against buying stuff to make life easier – far from it!

I'm just of the view that it's better to have the separate components ready to roll when you decide – not when the supermarkets do.

So, in this spirit I'm suggesting blinis – the tiny (originally Russian) pancakes - for your stash. You can actually get canapé size in packets of 36 or cocktail size in packets of 16. You'll find that to begin with blinis have a good “best-before” date. You can freeze them too, so really practical.

As for toppings for the little beauties, any mentioned in The joy of the jam – canapés will hit the spot.

My personal favourites not on that list – smoked mackerel paté first up, which, you'll be pleased to know, is actually healthy and a recipe I've used for ever.

Smoked Mackerel Pate

250g smoked mackerel

250g quark (it's a soft cheese made from skimmed milk – not nice on its own but great as a low fat product for healthy pate!)

Glug of lemon juice

Black pepper

Two tsps of creamed horseradish

Skin the mackerel, break up and put into food processor. Add the quark and blitz with the mackerel, then add the lemon juice, black pepper and horseradish, blitz again. You can gauge the consistency of the pate to your personal taste.

You can then add, finely chopped sweet onion, chopped capers or chopped black olives.

If you can't get hold of quark you can use cottage cheese - low fat of course!

Smoked trout mousse is second up. I realise that smoked trout can be difficult to get and expensive when you can get it. You could use smoked salmon flakes as an alternative – check out the deals – 3 packets for £10 – 140g per packet.

Smoked Trout Mousse

400g smoked trout

2 tsp creamed horseradish (optional)

3 tbsp double cream

1 squeeze lemon juice

pinch of black pepper

Serves 4-6

Flake the trout and place in a mixing bowl with the horseradish and the double cream. Mash with a fork until well mixed, add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with black pepper – salt if required.

Serve with toast, blinis or whatever takes your fancy.

Will keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Thank goodness for James Martin – “makes an excellent canapé or starter”. He's right.

P.s. You can make the blinis if you'd prefer but it rather defeats the object of the exercise me thinks!

Crumpets or pikelets?

This is like a whistle stop tour of the UK. Most of us know what a crumpet looks like – where I come from a crumpet is called a pikelet – all these regional differences, still it keeps us entertained. A crumpet was posh – a pikelet definitely wasn't! The obvious difference is that a pikelet is thinner than a crumpet.

Speaking of regional differences, it reminds me, over the years I've got some very strange looks from friends when referring to such items as, for example, “oven bottoms” - having reassured them that I was not being rude, I then had to explain what an “oven bottom” was – if you're north of Watford – especially north west of, then you'll know that the name came about because bakers made use of every single inch of their ovens and no dough was ever wasted. They formed the dough into regular shapes and placed on the bottom of the oven – it didn't rise because it couldn't and so was flat top and bottom – hence “the oven bottom”.

Anyway back to the crumpet and the pikelet.

During a recent trip to Bicester Shopping Outlet, the morning snack was taken in the Farmshop Restaurant and Cafe. I'm not the easiest to please with mid morning snacks but was suitably impressed with what I chose, here it is :

It was as good as it looks. If I had one weeny criticism it was that it was a mite heavy and needless to say I had help to finish them – well everyone has to taste. In case it's difficult to see, the crumpets are toasted, covered in cream cheese and then drizzled with honey.

Enter the pikelet. You'll see that it is thinner than your average crumpet and just right for the likes of me. Toast your pikelet and spread with cream cheese - here's my extra twist – drizzle with maple syrup. The strange thing is that I don't have a sweet tooth but the balance of the pikelet, cream cheese and just a hint of natural sweetness is wonderful.

Christmas breakfast anyone?

Christmas late night snack anyone?

Christmas “I'm sick of food and fancy something really quick and easy” anyone?

The joy of the jam …an entrée

An absolute must in my freezer will be a loaf of soda bread – my speedy version. Apart from the fact that it makes the best toast ever so never gets wasted, it's also the base for my next “jam” idea.

I mentioned the soda bread recipe recently in Nothing is ever straight forward (for ease of reference). The recipe mentions a “x” before baking - cut with the cross into four triangular shaped portions – each portion is a called a farl.

A farl is originally Scottish and Northern Irish – it can be soda bread, potato bread or cakes – basically it's a round cut into 4 triangles and authentically cooked on a griddle.

Anyway, back to the recipe – when your loaf has cooled cut it into 4 farls.

Slice one farl into 4 and set aside. Bag and fridge (or freeze) the remaining 3 farls.

Pre-heat a medium sized frying pan. Fry 125g of chorizo on a medium heat until crispy and its delicious oil is released.

Toast your slices of farl, spread with jam, scatter over diced chorizo and drizzle with oil and garnish with finely chopped Romano peppers.

An ideal size for a starter and do not be deceived by the size of the soda bread slice - it is dense in texture and filling!

Here's the finished entrée :

The joy of the jam …

a canapé

What could be more convenient than a jar of jam in the fridge and a packet of flatbreads in the freezer?

Toast your flatbreads and spread with goats' cheese or, if you are not a lover, use what you do enjoy – cream cheese or Boursin would float my boat, then add the jam and finish off with greenery of your choice – rocket would give a peppery hit – if you're not a fan then shredded iceberg, chopped flat leaf parsley or coriander. Conversely you could toast the bread then spread with the jam and sprinkle a crumbly cheese – Wensleydale or Stilton or feta.

Cut into bite size portions to serve as a canapé or pizza style slices for a snack.

If you're not a lover of flatbreads then you could invest in part baked baguettes, sliced or not (incidentally a gluten free version works brilliantly for canapés)

You can make this as easy or as complicated as you like.

Add :

Finely chopped chilli – red and/or green

Olives, pitted and chopped – you can buy them in jars of

different sizes ready pitted and sliced

Mediterranean vegetables, roasted and finely diced

Parma ham, salami or pepperoni cut into small triangles

or any other antipasti that you enjoy

Anchovies, chopped finely

capers, chopped

artichoke hearts

You can get great deals on packets of mixed antipasti at this time of year – really convenient and slim to stash in the fridge or the freezer.

What's up my sleeve?

I just love a recipe that lends itself to all manner of uses.

Here's my first :

Roasted Garlic and Sweet Onion Jam

1 garlic bulb

1 tbsp olive oil

170g sweet onion – finely chopped

85g sugar

85g Granny Smith apple – finely chopped

120ml balsamic vinegar

Here's the make ahead bit :

Baked Garlic

2 bulbs of garlic

olive oil/rapeseed oil for drizzling

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - optional

salt and black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 200c/180f/Gas 6.

Slice the tops off the bulbs and place the in a small oven dish, garlic roaster or foil dish so that they fit snugly. Drizzle with oil and season with thyme, salt and black pepper.

Roast in the oven for about an hour – until the garlic has softened. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Add a little more oil , keep in a tightly fitting container and place in the fridge.

You can use the paste in the same way as you'd use fresh garlic – the difference is that the baked garlic is sweeter and ready to use!

The paste will keep in your fridge for one to two weeks or you can freeze in small containers.

Method

Squeeze garlic cloves and any juice into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil over medium to high heat, stir occasionally then reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened and again stir occasionally.

Be patient! It will look like it will never reduce and thicken. It does.

This recipe will fill a 370g conserve jar and here it is :

A note about sweet onions. I searched high and low and found them in Tesco – Finest Sweet Onions – a net of 3 for £1.50. You may think a little on the expensive side but I can assure you that they are worth it.

I can hear you saying “so what, it's another chutney” - yep it's good with the usual cheeses, hang around and I'll mention a couple of other ideas!

Take a moment …

ponder… if I was going to offer any advice for the festive season, it would be with one sole aim in mind – to try and prevent you becoming a demented person, disappearing under the weight of wrapping paper and the fancy dressings we now expect – twice the amount of work requiring time that we haven't got to begin with. Which, of course, does not take into account the shopping – on-line or not you still have to plan it. Is there steam coming out of your ears yet – if not it won't be long. It's like a pressure cooker – remember them – you have to release the steam or it'll blow up (only kidding about that).

So, to try and avoid spontaneous combustion decide how your holidays are going to pan out. The more you ponder and plan the less stressful it will be – just sit and think about what you want to serve.

Last year's suggestions on the blog cover everything from breakfasts to suppers, canapés et al, beginning with The dreaded “C” word! - right through to Lunch or Dinner? … on New Year's Day.

I make no apology for repeating – create your own store cupboard/secret stash of ingredients that won't spoil whether in the pantry, fridge or freezer but will enable you to produce food quickly and easily when unexpected guests appear.

This is personal to you because only you know the likes and dislikes of your friends and family. If Great Uncle Fred is the only person who likes Christmas Pudding then why buy a large one when you can buy him an individual pudding – you don't have to buy for the sake of it.

With luck and a following wind you might even finish up sane enough to enjoy it!

My plan …

… is just that – plan – the more you accomplish sat with a pad and pen, the easier life will be.

If you've been following the blog recently you'll know that we've just completed a weeks meal planning – Christmas is no different – actually that's not true, what is different is the outside pressure of bigger, better, more expensive and a huge headache. I'm just saying that if you follow the same planning principles it'll be less of a panic.

If you are new to the blog then I can do no worse than to suggest you have a glance at the suggestions I made last year. I'm not being lazy – at least I don't think so!

I also mentioned at the same time that my family Christmas was a little, shall we say, unorthodox. We chose to eat “chips with everything” - the everything being gammon, turkey, fillet steak and a veggie option too – whatever took our fancy. I have asked my family what they'd like for Christmas Day lunch this year and their resounding response was - “the same as last year – it was great”. We have a treat on Christmas Eve, dinner out, which does make a difference. I have made one or two changes – instead of the chip-pan there'll be a tartiflette and/or a roast potato or three but the principle remains the same – a little bit of what you fancy!

If you are catering for your family and friends I might be inclined to ask whether they really want a traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings – if yes – that's fine and relatively straight forward.

If not, bounce some ideas around – ask your guests what they'd like, but not in such a way that it commits you to providing 12 different main courses and 12 different puddings – I know, I know, I'm exaggerating. I'm just suggesting that you might have been cooking a turkey for 10 years on the trot that no-one enjoys – particularly you!

Just a thought.

I do have a few bits and pieces up my sleeve that I hope will help.

An intermission

I'm interrupting my “gadding about” on location – there's more to come shortly. In case it had escaped your notice Christmas is on the doorstep – again!

In the supermarkets it begins earlier each year, or so it seems to me. Aided and abetted by adverts on the tv showing delectable delicacies designed to tempt us – what did we do before “party food”?

How many of us succumb and ram the freezer within an inch of its life with all manner of stuff that, hand on heart, we will either serve and be disappointed since it all tastes the same, or jiggle it around the freezer for two weeks and then throw it out in the New Year?

The party food fashion reminds me of the idiom “Keeping up with the Joneses” - I suppose you have to be a certain age to remember the phrase – here's my useless bit of information – did you know that it came from a comic strip of the same name which ran from 1913 to 1940?

Wearing a wry smile of course, I can't help but picture a gathering where your party food is scrutinised within a inch of its life by guests, with the imaginary, cartoon style bubble above their head saying “mine's better than yours and it cost more!”

Please don't think I'm being a party pooper nor that I'm saying you shouldn't buy festive treats – just that you give a little more thought ahead of the game to what you buy and what you'll use, rather than a trolley dash hurling in, at random, stuff you can't possibly live without, elbowing other shoppers out of the way, because you have to have the last exorbitantly priced product left on the shelf!

Lets see what we can do.