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!