What's for afters?!

I thought you'd like a couple of non traditional suggestions for afters – the first involves prep – it's worth it and you can make ahead and freeze, but a word of caution – you might not want the work if your party is a large one.

Anyway, here goes :

Perfect Chocolate Fondants

Makes 2

60g unsalted butter, cut into dice, plus extra to grease

1 tbsp cocoa powder

60g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

60g caster sugar

1 tbsp plain flour

pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6 if cooking immediately and put a baking tray on the middle shelf. Butter the inside of 2 small ramekins or pudding moulds, and then put the cocoa in one and turn it to coat the inside, holding it over the second mould to catch any that escapes. Do the same with the other mould.

Put the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted. Allow to cool slightly.

Vigorously whisk together the egg, yolk, sugar and a pinch of salt until pale and fluffy. Gently fold in the melted chocolate and butter, and then the flour. Spoon into the prepared moulds, stopping just shy of the top – at this point the mixture can be refrigerated until needed, or even frozen, as the puddings will not wait around once cooked.

Put on to a hot baking tray and cook for 12 minutes (14 if from cold, 16 if frozen) until the tops are set and coming away from the sides of the moulds. Leave to rest for 30 seconds and then serve in the ramekins or turn out on to plates if you're feeling confident – they're great with clotted cream or vanilla ice cream.

This recipe absolutely works – make sure you have your kitchen timer sellotaped about your person – precision is everything!

The next suggestion is lighter and again you can dress it up or down depending on your workload.

Lemon Pots

600ml (1 pint) double cream

150g (5oz) caster sugar

finely grated zest and juice of 3 lemons**

To serve

fresh raspberries

small ramekins or shot glasses

Heat the cream, sugar and lemon zest in a wide-based pan over a low heat until at simmering point. Stir continuously for about 3 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly until lukewarm.

Mix the lemon juice with the cooled cream in the pan and stir.

Pour the lemon cream into the pots and transfer to the fridge to set for a minimum of 2 hours.

When set and ready to serve arrange raspberries on top.

**If you don't have fresh lemons you can use juice and omit the zest – 4 tbsp of juice is equivalent to one and a half lemons.

Strawberry Coulis

200g Strawberries, hulled and halved

200g Raspberries

75g icing sugar, sifted

Heat the fruit in a large pan for 4-5 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down.

Add the icing sugar and continue to cook the fruit for a further 2-3 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, add a splash of water if necessary to loosen. Strain the coulis through a sieve and set aside to cool. Chill in the fridge until needed. If you have a squeezy bottle in your kitchen kit it's ideal for the coulis - so easy to control when dressing up your pots!

Dressing up

Crumble Amaretti biscuits and place in bottom of shot glass. Pour lemon mixture on top of biscuits and place in fridge to set – minimum 2 hours. When ready to serve top with the coulis.

If you wish you could mix praline with the Amaretti biscuits.

The finished effect looks fab.

Continuing my revolutionary bent, I prefer to have something that the kids and the grown-ups will like that isn't related to mincemeat or Christmas pudding – in truth I don't know many kids who are fond of either, so I'll be making one of the favourites – Malteser cake – actually it's more like a tray bake, cut into cubes and boxed.

Whilst we're on the subject of “de rigeur” Christmas – what about making Rocky Road? Check out the “Outside the box” post for all the options. You could make it more festive by decorating with edible gold glitter and stars, both of which are easily available these days. Nigella gives a recipe for Christmas Rocky Road, strangely enough in “Nigella Christmas”!

Phew – Christmas Day breakfast and canapé ideas coming next.

Madness III – tee hee!

Remember what I said in the previous post :

“If you love feeding your family and friends that love travels from you to the table and creates an atmosphere where everyone is laughing, fighting to finish a sentence - as Kenny Everett always said, “in the nicest possible way” - there is nothing to beat it and it cannot be manufactured.”

I came across the following quotation :

“Good food is always a trouble and its

preparation should be regarded as a labour of love”

Elizabeth David 1951

I rest my case!

In “The dreaded “C” word” I asked “how does your day go?” - whatever floats your boat, you can pick and choose bits and pieces from The Creaking Table, it's not set in stone. If there are choices you don't like it may trigger an idea that you do. Even if you're in the “bah humbug”, shutters down, veg out, category there will be something to tickle your fancy. The intention is to give everyone something nice to eat with minimum fuss and palaver and maximum yum.

If low key is your preference for Christmas Eve, here's Option 2. You'd think it really unusual if I didn't make use of the slow cooker, especially at this time of year – never one to disappoint, have a glance at this :

Slow cooked pulled chicken

Winter coleslaw

Roasted baby new potatoes

Pulled chicken and coleslaw

4 large chicken breasts

2 tbsp Worcester sauce

½ tsp chilli

pinch of cayenne

250ml tomato ketchup

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsps lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed or 1 tsp garlic paste

125ml maple syrup

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker – low setting. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix until well blended.

Pour over the chicken and cook for 6 hours. Shred with two forks and cook for a further 30 minutes.

If you like heat you could add a couple of drops of Tabasco or a similar hot sauce to the marinade – don't overdo it!

There are alternative serving suggestions :

Serve the pulled chicken with rice and garlic bread to mop up the marinade

Serve with sliders and the slaw – any marinade leftover you can freeze

Omit the slaw and serve baby corn and mange tout or any veggies that you like.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Madness II – The Recipes

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 as part of a creaking table.

Will keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Festive notes

for Three Cheese Tart

Add 4oz of chopped cranberries to the original recipe.

Following the recipe roll out the pastry and use a 12 hole bun tin – you'll get 18 individual canapes – may be more depending on how thin you roll the pastry.

Make up the filling as per the recipe and mix in the chopped cranberries.

They can be made ahead and then warmed before serving. On this basis I baked them for 15 minutes. Because they are smaller they don't take as long to bake and so 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven is fine.

Winter Coleslaw

red cabbage, sliced finely

carrots, grated

onion, finely chopped

salt and black pepper

slug of lemon juice

pinch of sweet smoked paprika

Farrington's Mellow Yellow mayonnaise

sour cream

sultanas, soaked in apple juice and drained

apple cored and diced – preferably a sharp flavoured variety

This recipe is deliberately loose in terms of amounts – it's up to you.

Take a large mixing bowl and throw in two handfuls of cabbage, one of carrots and one of onions – season with salt and black pepper, add a slug of lemon juice and a sprinkle of sweet smoked paprika.

In a small bowl mix 2 tbsp of mayo and the same of sour cream, mix well. Add this mixture to your raw slaw and mix well. Finally add two handfuls of sultanas and ditto of apple.

What I really like about Option 1 is that whatever needs to go in the oven can go in together and come out at the same time – you can if you wish serve everything cold – the chicken and potatoes included. The point of the story is that everyone sits down together – you might even find that you relax and enjoy yourself too!

If you love feeding your family and friends that love travels from you to the table and creates an atmosphere where everyone is laughing, fighting to finish a sentence - as Kenny Everett always said, “in the nicest possible way” - there is nothing to beat it and it cannot be manufactured.

Sounds a bit fluffy and romantic perhaps but who cares!

Now for the best bit.

If you choose Christmas Eve Supper Option 1 you have the basis of your supper for Christmas Night – whatever form that might take – grazing, nibbling or sandwich making - enhanced with whatever meat and/or poultry you are serving on Christmas Day. By the way – cold bread sauce and vegetarian stuffing make for the best sandwich fillings.

Happy Holidays!

The Creaking Table

If anyone mentions the word “buffet” it makes my blood run cold! Drama queen ish I know but there must be some of you out there who remember the 1970ies classic buffet – here's a few reminders :

• sandwiches made at 9am in the morning when the buffet begins at 7pm – curled up or soggy – take your pick
• sausages on sticks – wrinkled and resembling something too unpleasant for words
• the classic hedgehog design spiked with cheese and pineapple or, if you were really posh, those tiny, slimy silver skin onions
• equally posh – the vol-au-vent – filled with either chicken or mushroom in a cream sauce – they were almost always too big to pop into your mouth – consequently when you took a bite the filling splodged down your new frock – is this ringing any bells?

No self respecting buffet table would be complete without everyone's favourite - a Quiche Lorraine – or bacon and egg pie – NOT!

I'm scarred for life!

My version of a buffet is “a creaking table”. The vision is simply that your table is full of different, tasty bits and pieces that everyone wants to eat. This vision isn't difficult to produce provided you're happy to plan a little. With luck, and a following wind, it should just be a matter of pulling boxes and bags out of your fridge and freezer with minimum fuss.

Whilst it might not seem of any consequence, years ago a close friend of mine said, on arriving for lunch, “you should have been a cook in the Forces - there's enough food to feed an army” She was absolutely right of course – I can't help it – mainly because I'm terrified that there won't be enough food. Now I can turn that to my advantage and the next post shows the first of my suggestions for Christmas Eve, which is, you've guessed it, a creaking table.

Toodle Pip!

The dreaded “C” word!

I'm sorry – I can't put it off any longer. By the time the following missives are posted you'll be building up to the festive season – back to atom splitting.

I realise it's not everyone's strong suit but a little planning will go a long way. Rather than turn this into War & Peace we'll toss around some ideas beginning with Christmas Eve supper which tends to get lost in the melée and then the following three days to Sunday 27^th.

There's always so much to do - you know what I mean - doing your excellent impression of a circus juggler - last minute shopping in more than one location – wrapping - and in many cases probably work too. I am trying to avoid spontaneous combustion – you know how it goes, you've been on the go since 6am and when you arrive home, errands completed, some bright spark says, “did you get ….....” “*****” if you get my drift.

Do I have your attention – gather your pad, pen, chocolate, wine, or both - sit down, relax and ponder for a minute or two.

Everyone's family dynamic is different – for example – do you have family and friends at yours or do you visit and contribute food-wise, or is it a mixture of both?

How does your day go :

is it a posh breakfast and Christmas Lunch later in the day?

do you need to produce canapés – will people be dropping in?

do you bolt the door, pull the blinds and “veg” out with that boxed set you've been promising yourself for months – are you a bah humbug kinda person – even a humbug needs a treat.

Whatever combination, the following postings set out to help you plan and give you ideas for all sorts of options - a supper party, a breakfast, a creaking table, late-night snacks, leftovers etc., and some stuff that's a little outside the box.

Letter to Santa, North Pole – Page 2

Best of the Rest

Sorry if I rambled on about Ms. David – if you haven't already realised she is a favourite of mine!

Moving on, now for the best of the rest :

If you are a lover of Indian cuisine and want to learn how to cook it from scratch, then I'd highly recommend “Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery” first published in 1982 – yikes! What is brilliant about this cookery book is that it speaks to you in language that is uncomplicated.

I'd have this book in my collection for three stand-out dishes – cocktail koftas – Mughlai chicken with almonds and sultanas and finally, samosas. These days we take snacks like samosas for granted, mostly because they come ready-made. As I look at my edition of this book the marks around this recipe are there to be seen. I make no apology for these marks – I earned them, struggling with making samosa pastry and then following a diagram to complete them. Please don't be put off – nowadays it it more than acceptable to make samosas with filo pastry – easily I might add. I still refer to this book from time to time – 33 years on!

Ms Jaffrey has published heaps of cookery books over the years – I mention this one because it's close to my heart – Ms. Jaffrey is not only an accomplished cook and author but an established and successful actor too.

If you like a reference book then you might want to add to your collection “The flavour Thesaurus” by Niki Segnit. This book is invaluable, whether you are an inexperienced cook or an old hand. The book contains “Pairings, recipes and ideas for the creative cook”. It's informative and entertaining, cleverly written and a definite “must have”.

Here's a snippet :

“Parsnip & Banana: When bananas weren't available in Britain during the Second World War, mock bananas were made from parsnips....Now that bananas are no longer threatened by U-boats, a mock parsnip might lend a Caribbean lilt to your Sunday roast”.

Despite the fact that it is a reference book it is eminently readable and, as so often happens, you dip into it for help in one direction and finish up in a completely different place!

I hope Santa is in a good mood and you receive all that you wish for – failing which you could always ask for a “book token” - it's like getting a present twice.

Happy reading and cooking!

Letter to Santa, North Pole

If you are writing to Santa with your wish list this year here's some culinary book suggestions.

These days we are drowning in a sea of celebrity chefs and more so at this time of year. I know we all have our favourites, however, in recent years I have to confess disappointment. Style over substance is the expression that springs to mind. So, here are a few that you might like to include. You won't find any of them on any best seller list but they are still available.

This could take some time!

Elizabeth David takes the first spot. I know that I've mentioned Ms. David in a previous post and in particular the first two recommendations but I make no apology for repeating myself!

If it's an introduction that you'd like to Ms. David and not too heavy a read, try “An Omelette and a Glass of Wine” - not a vast tome – it was originally published in 1984 and contains bits of her articles written for various publications and recipes too.

If it's biography then “Writing at the Kitchen Table” - The Authorized Biography of Elizabeth David by Artemis Cooper is compulsive reading if you're into the nitty-gritty – I promise you will not be disappointed. Choose your favourite guilty pleasure, be it a sweetie, a chocolate, or a glass – feet up, snuggle down and be entertained.

If it's not biography but cookery/recipes that is your passion, hold hard!

“French Provincial Cooking” was first published in 1960 and contains everything that is about French food from the different areas of France and the speciality food that each region produces to the basics, like equipment, weights and measures, timings etc., to the specifics from sauces to left-overs and absolutely everything in between.

“At Elizabeth David's Table” is a collection of “Her very best everyday recipes”. For me the glory of a good cookery book is not just a reference or a guide for a recipe, it's personal and has to be received as if the person who wrote it is speaking directly to the individual - surely the secret of great writing about any subject. This book is interspersed with culinary history from “Italian Fish Markets” to “The Markets of France” - an absolute joy.

Finally “Elizabeth David's Christmas” edited by Jill Norman was first published in 2003. It does what it says on the tin, to coin a phrase – everything related to the festive season, from beginning to end. The book is also beautifully illustrated – unusual these days.

I hope your appetite is suitably whetted!

To be continued … you might need two sheets of paper for Santa's letter.