Another retro thought …

and another candidate to dunk in the mayo – Stromboli – it would also be perfect to pop on a buffet table, especially if you've got younger guests – it's just rolled up pizza after all!

Stromboli

400g prepared pizza dough or ready-made base

4 tbsp tomato paste

100g thinly sliced salami

120g baby spinach

100g thinly sliced mozzarella cheese

1 tbsp olive oil

Generous sprinkle of oregano or garlic Italian seasoning

Pre-heat your oven 220fan/200c/Gas 8. Place a large baking tray in the oven.

Place a dampened J cloth on your work surface. Place a piece of baking parchment on top of the cloth – it will stop it sliding – make sure you leave enough to get hold of – you're going to lift it onto the hot baking tray that's in the oven at the moment. Unroll the pizza dough gently on the parchment.

Spread the tomato paste onto the base. Add the slices of salami, followed by the spinach and then the mozzarella and sprinkle with the oregano or garlic Italian seasoning. Roll up the base from the shortest side and brush with the olive oil - make sure it's seam-side down when placed on the tray.

WITH CARE remove the tray from the oven and then carefully lift the parchment and the rolled up pizza onto it. Place back in the oven for 20/25 minutes until golden brown – check at 20 minutes.

When removed from the oven slice into portions to suit and serve.

Choose any of your favourite pizza toppings to create your own Stromboli – the fastest pizza ever.

You'll need an oblong base for the Stromboli – it looks like the biggest sausage roll ever that you'll then slice! I'd suggest Asda's own brand - found in the chiller cabinet - for the prepared pizza dough - £1.00 per 400g pack.

Another perfect emergency item for your freezer stash.

The holidays are short this year – they fall in the middle of the week – however there's a weekend to follow after New Year so still time for a final festive treat or two before reining in the waistline!

Alternatively ...

… you could add two small items to your shopping list – a 1kg bag of Charlotte potatoes and a jar of Schwartz Paprika and Onion Classic Chip Seasoning ready to make your own wedges. Wedges give you “double dunking” with both the mayo and the Baked Camembert. Charlottes are excellent for wedges and dunking – they retain their shape.

How many you want is entirely up to you and whether you are serving 2 or want a huge bowlful as part of a buffet table.

Here's a basic recipe :

1kg of Charlotte potatoes – skin on

cut each potato into 4 – try to make sure

they are of a similar size

tip the wedges into a large mixing bowl

add 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil and – using

your hands – mix the oil through the potatoes

until covered

tip the potatoes onto a large non stick baking

tray

place the tray into a pre-heated oven 200fan/220c/Gas 7

and bake for 20 minutes – set your timer and turn

after 10 minutes until cooked and have crispy

skins

tip the cooked wedges back into the large mixing

bowl and sprinkle over the seasoning – I'd suggest you

wear gloves – toss the seasoning through the wedges

Serve them in a large bowl with the mayo in a small

bowl in the middle or

serve a baked Camembert in the middle

Scale down depending on how many guests you

are serving

These are delicious, moreish, inexpensive and, last but by no means least, quick and easy!

Memory Lane favourites …

All these ideas for New Year will work whether you're entertaining or whether you've decided to shut up shop and have a duvet day/evening – you can make these treats work, large or small quantities.

Remember the Stick Blender mayo? Make up a batch of the smoked version. Check out the Sauce label Matt's Mayonnaise 7/9/19 on the blog for the recipe.

If you're expecting a gang of guests then throw a large bag of French Fries into the oven – they take approximately 18 minutes - transfer to a large bowl, place the mayo in the middle and watch both disappear. The best French Fries I've used come from M&S – they cost £2 for a 1kg bag – here's a photo :

If you're not a French fries fan but love tortilla chips they'd work too.

Alternatively …

P.s. Happy New Year!

Retro ideas for New Year – easy peasy too!

First up an absolute favourite and it has been a while since I mentioned it – Baked Camembert.

For ease of reference here's the recipe :

Baked Camembert

250g Camembert

1 clove garlic or garlic paste

olive oil

Bread of your choice

Pinch of sea salt

Bowl of chopped dried cranberries

Bowl of chopped mixed nuts

Preheat your oven 160f/180c/Gas 4. Leaving the Camembert in the box, score around the top about half cm in and cut off the top layer of skin. Slice the garlic clove and poke into the top of the cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil then bake in the oven for 15 minutes – or until gorgeous and oozy in the middle.

Serve the Camembert with warmed flat bread or French bread – dunk the bread into the cheese and then into the cranberries and nuts – repeat!

Tips x 3 :

Make sure you buy a Camembert with a stapled box – not a glued version – it's not a good look!

Treat yourself and buy a fresh loaf of sour dough bread – freeze immediately. Sour dough is as good as the day you bought it, taken out of the freezer and defrosted. It's perfect for dunking, sliced and cut into quarters.

I used chopped Honey Roasted Cashews instead of mixed nuts – delicious.

There's more ...

Flaky pastry foto guide

Microplane graters are a great piece

of kit!

The butter in its foil jacket with the grater

over the bowl of flour and salt – you can just as

easily use the grater vertically if that's more

comfortable

The grated heap of butter

The ball of pastry sitting in the bowl

The empty mixing bowl – not a crumb left behind

Fingers crossed they enjoy their gifts – I'll let you know what they say - in the meantime I wish you a very Happy Christmas and thank you so much for your support.

Up next – fancy some easy peasy retro ideas for New Year?

The Cheese, potato and onion pie filling

Serves 2

2 medium sized baked jacket potatoes

approximately 400g – peeled and cut into cubes

measuring 1.5cms/½”

1 medium onion, finely diced and

sautéed with a knob of unsalted butter and

a drop of rapeseed oil until softened – 5 minutes

add 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard to the onion

150g of grated cheeses – 50g each of Mature

Cheddar, Red Leicester and Gruyere

Black pepper

1 amount of Fast Flaky Pastry

1 egg, beaten for egg wash

1 foil pie dish – 18cms/7” in diameter and

4cms/1½” deep

Using a large mixing bowl add the potatoes and onions and mustard – season with black pepper. Fold in the cheeses.

On a lightly floured surface roll out your pastry – dust your rolling pin too. Roll out as evenly as you can turning the pastry as it takes shape – always roll backwards and forwards and quarter turns so that it keeps to a circle. If you roll side to side you'll stretch the pastry and it will shrink when cooking!

Tip the filling into the pie dish – it will seem like a lot – pack down firmly. Egg wash the rim of the dish and then gently lift the pastry lid on top of the filling. The egg wash will glue the pastry in place and you can press the lid onto the filling gently. You can use a sharp knife to remove any excess pastry then, using a pastry fork edge the pie. Egg wash the pastry and add two cuts in the centre of the pastry to vent the pie.

Bake in a pre-heated oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 35 minutes.

Flaky pastry foto guide up next …

Fast flaky pastry – recipe

You will need :

75g of unsalted butter – chilled in the freezer

110g plain flour

pinch of salt

4 tablespoons of ice cold water

Plan ahead - before you begin weigh out your butter, wrap it in foil and put it in the freezer – 30-40 minutes. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. You'll need a cheese grater on stand-by. Remove the butter from the freezer and fold back the foil – it's easier to control when you grate the butter into a heap in the middle of the flour and salt. You can dip the butter into the flour to stop any sticking.

Using a round bladed knife mix the butter into the flour and salt. Sprinkle two tablespoons of water into the pastry and mix well. Add another two tablespoons and continue to mix. Finally use your hand to bring together – you're aiming for a clean bowl so no bits of pastry left in the bowl. Have a sheet of cling film ready – you can now use both hands to mould the pastry into whatever shape you require. Place on the cling film and wrap.

You can now rest in the fridge before use or place the cling filmed pastry in a bag and freeze.

Next up – the recipe for the filling ...

Would you like the recipe?

I know you're used to me saying buy a ready to use puff pastry sheet … if it's good enough for chefs to use it's good enough for me.

For my home-made Christmas gifts I wanted to make all the elements myself and so I made the flaky pastry – quickly – from scratch.

To clarify “flaky pastry” is another name for “rough puff pastry”, in other words it's lumps of butter mixed with flour and traditionally rolled and folded – a similar method to puff pastry. The following recipe does not involve all the faffing around of folding and resting etc., rather a throw it all in a bowl method! I've not made this pastry for ages, so much so I can't even remember where I found it. It does remind me of a similar pastry recipe contained in my series on Cornish pasties posted in June this year – that pasty pastry recipe was the strangest I'd come across but said at the time, “not only does it work I'd say it's the best result I've ever had”. If you're interested check out The Cornish pasty – the recipes 1^stJune 2019 and the series with a photo guide.

The following fast flaky pastry recipe falls into the same category. It's kind too. You can use it, having rested for 30 minutes or make up a batch and then freeze it. All you need to remember is to form the pastry into a shape of your choice before wrapping in cling film and fridging or freezing.

Recipe up next ...

A Christmas gift with a difference

Do you have lovely people that you want to say thank you to? I do and it struck me that they must get truck loads of chocolates, biscuits and bottles of wine – that they don't really enjoy but would never say.

I have two friends who have their own businesses locally and who have become friends over the last year – they are also on my list of taste testers so I know what they like to eat!

I know that one friend is a diabetic and they both prefer savoury to sweet and cheese in particular. Instead of buying gifts I thought they might prefer a savoury treat that could be eaten on the day of delivery or frozen.

Here are the photos of my gift to each - a Cheese, Potato and Onion Pie, to serve two :

the pastry lid, taken from the freezer

the filling in the portable foil tray

the pastry lid – rolled out, edged, vented

and egg washed

the pie straight from the oven

inside the pie

Would you like the recipe?

December thoughts – Posh Chilli – step by step photo guide

Sealed diced steak in the slow cooker

softened onion and garlic

the four “c”s – cumin, coriander

cinnamon and chilli

the four “c”s cooked out with the onion

the chilli – ready to slow cook and perform its magic!

glistening with the beans and a blob of

sour cream

ditto with flat breads

Coming up … a Christmas gift with a difference!

December thoughts – Posh Chilli method

Seal the diced steak in batches in a large frying pan using a drop of rapeseed oil then set aside in your slow cooker.

Gently fry your onion and garlic, using another drop of rapeseed oil if necessary. Add the spices and cook together so that the spices are able to release their deliciousness!

Add the passata and the chilli sauce and bring to the boil. Add to the sealed diced steak and then slow cook for 4 hours. Turn off and then leave to cool. Freeze in boxes to suit your needs – remember – you can pull out two boxes if you need to, rather than have to throw away from a larger quantity.

Defrost thoroughly in your fridge. Re-heat gently on the stove adding your kidney beans, sweet baby peppers or chorizo.

For the optional extras :

Use a large frying pan and fry the chorizo gently so that it releases its oil. Set the chorizo aside, leaving the oil in the pan.

Sauté the sliced, sweet baby peppers in the chorizo oil.

If you enjoy a spicy hit you can use mixed beans in a chilli sauce instead of ordinary red kidney beans.

Serve with rice if you like but I think it's fab in a bowl with a blob of sour cream served with some rustic bread of your choice on the side or with wraps with bowls of relish of your choice – mango would work well.

Freezing serves dishes like chilli or curry very well – the freezing process allows the spices to develop. Here's a thought – you could double the recipe and serve as a supper or as part of a larger supper buffet. Hot food seems to go down so well and it's easier to cook and serve.

A great New Year Party idea – but you might want to double the recipe!

Step by step photo guide up next ...

December thoughts – and what's forgotten

We're so focused on the day that just when you thought it was safe … there are the days leading up to and those in-between too.

Here's a dish that will suit either of the above and it uses your favourite friend – the slow cooker.

Make a chilli but not any old chilli - when I think of chilli I think of minced beef. Another confession – I hate minced beef. What makes this chilli special, nay posh, is it uses diced steak and slow cooks it. The only remaining task is to add the red kidney beans and any garnishes. A word of warning – just in case you've forgotten – do not slow cook the kidney beans.

Posh Chilli

Serves 4

500g diced steak

A glug of rapeseed oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of roasted garlic paste or 2 cloves crushed

tsp = teaspoon

half tsp ground cumin

half tsp ground coriander

half tsp ground cinnamon

quarter to half tsp chilli powder (to taste, depends how much of a kick you like – I used a quarter tsp)

500g jar of passata

60ml sweet chilli sauce

390g can of red kidney beans, rinsed

optional extras :

150g small dice or sliced chorizo

sweet baby peppers, de-seeded and

finely sliced

Method up next …

December thoughts – the lemon meringue “pie” photo guide

the piping bag – cut to measure

17cms or 6”½ in old money

the piping bag filled with curd -

snip the end when you're ready

the first layer of biscuit

the curd piped on top

the biscuit and curd layers repeated

topped with crushed meringue

the meringue drizzled with the Lemon, Gin & Tonic

sauce

For non alcoholic alternatives sprinkle with plain chocolate drops or crushed flake if you prefer milk chocolate or add if you like chocolate!

Next, an idea for the “lead up to” or “in-between” days.

December thoughts and your emergency dessert kit … the orange meringue “pie”

For the orange version you may want to try the Clementine Curd from M&S. Your recipe is the same as the lemon. If you want to add alcohol then you can try any of the orange liqueurs – Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec to name but three!

If you are a Cointreau fan there's a Cointreau Noir – the original liqueur with Cognac and a Blood Orange version too.

If you're not bothered about Clementine Curd then use orange curd – Waitrose make an excellent product.

If you wanted to extend your emergency dessert kit then serve either version with a side scoop of vanilla ice cream – home-made, straight from your freezer.

You can scale this dessert up or down to suit your family and guests and taking into account the size of glasses you're using.

If you don't own shot or shooter glasses you could rummage around in the depths of your cupboards trying to locate those Martini glasses you know are in there somewhere. They would do nicely.

There's no skill required for these emergency desserts and the other bonus is that the ingredients are in your pantry ready for whenever the festive mood takes you!

December thoughts and your Emergency dessert kit

- what to do next!

You have two alternatives – a lemon and an orange – retro miniature versions of a Lemon Meringue Pie. You can serve these with or without alcohol.

For the lemon version :

begin with 2 crushed Amaretti biscuits – they

weigh 5g each approx so 10g in total

pipe 50g approx of lemon curd on top of the

biscuit

repeat the biscuit and the curd layers -

another 10g of Amaretti biscuits and 50g of curd

crush two mini meringues and place on top of

the layers

drizzle with lemon, gin and tonic sauce

alternatively, decorate with plain chocolate drops

for the grown-ups or bashed milk chocolate flake for the kiddies

If you want to add alcohol then add 1-2 teaspoons of Limoncello to the lemon curd before piping.

For the orange version …

December thoughts … stress free desserts

and your emergency kit!

I mentioned prawn cocktail shots … here's another use for your shot or shooter glass. You can get different sizes and shapes of said glass. In this instance I'm using an example which is 100ml. It measures 11cms high x 7cms (4½”x 2¾”) in diameter and looks like this :

My suggested essential ingredients for your emergency kit are:

A tub of meringue kisses – available in most supermarkets

Sicilian Lemon Curd - M&S

Clementine Curd – M&S £2.50 and part of the

Christmas Food Range

Lemon, Gin & Tonic Sauce – £2.00 M&S

The Sicilian Lemon Curd is the best shop

bought version and I always keep a jar in my pantry – best

of all it's an all year round product

The Clementine Curd is part of the Christmas Food Range

The Lemon, Gin & Tonic Sauce first appeared as a grown-up

topping for pancakes – it went like hot cakes and is back by

popular demand

For the following emergency desserts you'll need another staple I've mentioned many times – Amaretti biscuits. You will also make life easier if you have disposable piping bags too.

Read on for my speedy antidote to trifle which doesn't contain cream or custard!

December thoughts – when you've made your choices

Some hints and tips ...

Before you place your order a thought or two.

Check the small print – if you're considering ordering on line there may be a minimum spend which could be considerable – I've seen £60. Remember those three little words “book your slot” - early. You can order and collect with no minimum charge from store but bear in mind that's another for the already growing collection list – you can only be in one place at a time!

If you're buying party food check to make sure it all cooks for the same amount of time and at the same temperature – unless of course you want to be tearing backwards and forwards from the kitchen to your guests getting grumpier by the minute. Don't forget to set your timer – preferably a small version that hangs around your neck – it's a strange necklace I grant you – you'll be glad you wore it.

If you can organise it you might like to collect your last minute orders on the 23^rd December – unless of course you enjoy the queuing which begins in the car park and continues at the collection point – even though you will have a specific time slot to collect your goodies nothing ever goes to plan and the result – a wasted morning. Remember your breakfast – low blood sugar makes for a very cranky shopper.

Don't forget the supermarket deals. You'll find that they'll have good offers – a selection of antipasti and smoked salmon is great on two counts - doesn't take up too much space and they should have good dates – don't forget to check.

Consider buying part-baked baguettes. They do not need to be frozen so don't take up valuable space in your freezer, once again check the dates.

My tip to add to your shopping list. It doesn't take long to bake a Camembert to go with the freshly baked baguettes. Note to self, make sure it's in a stapled container not glued – it will not be pretty and you'll be very cross!

Assemble your own prawn cocktail shots. If you've not got shot glasses I might even go so far as to suggest you invest – you don't have to spend a fortune and I've found them so useful for all sorts of stuff, from making individual puds to the prawn cocktail. You could even use them for alcohol!

Your ordering choices may be influenced by elements that you dislike preparing and cooking – desserts as an example – if you reverse “desserts” you get “stressed”.

A few ideas … and more hints and tips

December thoughts – the lists and a little self control

Now you've got the space to store all your goodies … it's time to make the remaining lists – who doesn't love a list? If you've been smart you've made a note of the out of date items from your pantry that you've disposed of that you need to replace.

If you aren't a list maker and you've a house full of guests expected you might want to consider giving it a shot. A list helps you get organised and I should add there'll be more than one – stuff you need to order – stuff you can't get until the last minute, fresh fruit, veggies and salad stuff. It's the little things that guests ask for that tend to fall through the cracks, for example, do you have sauce for the bacon sandwiches?! That example belongs on your previous “pantry and staples” list.

I plan my menus and then make my shopping list(s) from the plan. It's not set in stone but it sure helps. I appreciate that you won't necessarily know whose turning up but you can deal with that eventuality from your freezer and your pantry.

You'll need a note pad, the Christmas food magazines from your supermarket(s) of choice, post it flags and – essential – a glass of wine.

Before we go any further could I just mention - every family has their own traditions and favourites and it matters not, in my experience, how old the kids are – 5 to 25 and beyond - there are certain dishes and treats that are important, nostalgic and stand the test of time so hold hard before you rush out and spend a fortune on fancy dancin' stuff because you think they'll be bored.

Revolutionary I know but you could ask your family what they'd like most.

Now for the self control. I'm a devotee of the browse, browse and browse again method – flag whatever takes your fancy with a post it, leave it be and look again the following day. It all looks delicious and inviting … and expensive! I'm not saying “bah humbug” here – I'm just suggesting you give it some thought.

When you've made your choices …

December thoughts … a Christmas plan

First things first – before you get to the food choices and the shopping lists you need to be in position to store all your goodies and so clear the decks before you deck the halls – okay - I thought it was quite funny!

Do you have a freezer the size of a shed – if you do then please disregard what follows! You need to think carefully about how you're going to stock it which begs the question how full is it now?

I'm sure you know what's coming next – now is the time to clear out your freezer. It's no good going out and snapping up all manner of goodies and then have to climb on top of it all, ramming it in to make it fit!

Own up to all the stuff that has dropped to the bottom – the bargain that you couldn't live without and seemed like such a good idea at the time and has now gone to that freezer burn waste heap in the sky. Rest assured I'm not casting aspersions – I dread to think what's at the bottom of mine.

I cannot tell you how virtuous you'll feel once you've done the job, not to mention stress free to the point of horizontal when re-filling it.

Next you need to tackle your pantry – or store cupboard - in exactly the same way. You need to be sure that whatever staples you have they are well within their “best before” dates – you can bet your bottom dollar that there'll be the same out of date gremlins here too, you know what I mean, shock horror a jar of passata a year past its best before date. You know I speak the truth – think of it another way – you need space for your non-perishable bits and pieces too - that you can buy now – your first list!

Next up … the other lists and a little self control

December thoughts … the fastest dessert sauce!

You've made the orange ripple ice cream and it's in the freezer. The following chocolate and orange sauce can be made in minutes. The ingredients are in your fridge and your pantry and it takes only minutes to bring the cream and milk to the boil, add the sugar until dissolved and then tip over the chocolate and orange zest.

Chocolate and orange sauce

120ml double cream

80ml milk

50g caster sugar

225g dark chocolate (70%) broken into small pieces in a large bowl

zest of 1 orange

Put the cream and milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Remove pan from heat and pour over the chocolate, stir until melted. Add the orange zest, then set aside to cool in serving jug or if you'd prefer it warm, pour over a portion of ice cream.

I'd suggest serving the ice cream and sauce with fresh orange segments. You could add an extra element and crush amaretti biscuits and sprinkle over the top – another excellent store cupboard stand by.

An indulgent dessert but one that will probably appeal to those who aren't fans of traditional Christmas pudding.

Here it is :

December thoughts … I have a plan!

December thoughts – the syrup for the orange ripple

I made a double batch of orange syrup – why double? I divided it into half – popped half into the freezer for another day and fridged the other half, ready to turn my basic vanilla ice cream into an orange ripple.

Orange Syrup

400g icing sugar

500ml orange juice (no bits)

Put the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.

You'll achieve approximately 600ml of syrup – divide into two boxes and freeze one of them. Fridge the other, ready to complete your ice cream.

Here's a few photos …

Whisk your ice cream to a stiffer consistency

– thicker ribbons - you're adding syrup which will loosen

the batch

here's the syrup, ready to go

tip the syrup into the ice cream and fold through

gently

here's the orange drizzle ice cream, ready for

the freezer – you can see the vanilla flecks and the

trail of orange syrup running through

Anyone like chocolate sauce with ice cream?

December thoughts …

Everyone has their own food favourites for the holidays. I find it's the whirlwind leading up to the festivities that can turn an organised person into a gibbering idiot!

On that sobering note my next series of stuff concentrates not on the obvious holiday food but ideas for you to make ahead, or have ingredients in your store cupboard so that you can pull together lovely grub quickly and easily – all the separate elements at your finger tips. It doesn't matter whether you're sober or not!

I always seem to begin with ideas for desserts – if you like the other end of a meal – hey, it's as good a place as any.

I've done a “Sticky Toffee Orange” in the past which has been very well received – check out the Oranges label 1/12/18 if you'd like to have a glance. Here's another direction, using oranges.

There's nothing that will serve you better than a home-made ice cream and all my recipes are of the “no-churn” variety. I use the standard vanilla ice-cream base recipe to begin :

Vanilla ice cream

Prep – 5 minutes

Total time – 5 minutes

plus freezing at least 6-8 hours

or until firm

Gives you 1.6 litres of ice cream is equal

to 18 scoops

1 x 397g tin sweetened condensed milk

1 x 600ml double cream

2tsp vanilla bean paste

Put the condensed milk, cream and vanilla into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand whisk until the mixture is quite thick and stiff.

Next up … the syrup … to turn into an orange ripple!