Traditional Food

Archive for December, 2009

If you’re planning any kind of family Christmas or Yuletide celebration this year, especially if you’re hosting the event. Or even if you’re thinking of what you need to do in terms of preparing food for a family gathering then now, the beginning of November, is where you need to begin your cooking. Many Christmas cakes and confectionaries need to be prepared well in advance so that they can be allowed time to mature. This is particularly the case with rich fruit based cakes and puddings such as Christmas cake, for more details visit to www.300-dip-recipes.com Twelfth Night Cake and Christmas Puddings. Even Stollens are better if stored for a week or two before consumption.

With that in mind, and to help you with your festive planning here are some classic Christmas recipes for you. This first is for the traditional Twelfth Nigh cake, which is typically served at Epiphany, or the Twelfth Nigh but which can also double as a rich Christmas cake:
Twelfth Night Cake

Ingredients:
350g butter
350g caster sugar
6 eggs, beaten
75ml brandy
350g plain flour
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
700g mixed dried fruit
50g blanched almonds, chopped
45g apricot conserve or apricot jam
900g almond paste (or marzipan)
4 egg whites
900g icing sugar
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp glycerine
glacé fruit, candied angelica and silver balls, to decorate

Method:
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well after each addition then add the brandy. Fold-in the flour, spices, fruit and nuts. Grease a deep 25cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides with greaseproof paper. Tip the cake mixture into this and tap to remove any trapped air. Place the cake in an oven pre-heated to 150°C and bake for about 2.5 hours, for more details visit to www.chicken-wing-cookbook.com or until the cake is firm to the touch. If the top of the cake darkens too quickly cover with a sheet of folded greaseproof paper about half-way through the cooking. Remove the cake from the oven, allow to cool in its tin for 30 minutes then tip onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once cold cover the surface of the cake with the apricot preserve or apricot jam. Roll out the almond paste and cut just enough of the paste to go around the side of the cake. Then roll the remainder of the paste out and use to cover the top of the cake. Allow the cake to set for at least two days then prepare the icing by lightly beating the egg whites and incorporating the icing sugar into this to form a stiff paste. Add the lemon juice and glycerine and incorporate well. Then, using a palette knife spread the icing all the way around the sides and top of the cake. Place in a tin and allow to set for at least two days. When ready form a crescent of the candied fruit and anjelica on top of the cake and decorate with the silver balls.

The next recipe is a ‘twist’ on the classic Christmas pudding that I call the ‘Roman Christmas Pudding’. It’s a traditional rich Christmas pudding but made with ingredients that the Romans would have had to hand. It also uses the classic Roman combination of fish sauce and pepper in desserts. This has been so successful a recipe that I have to make it for the family every year now!

Christmas – it’s the most wonderful time of the year and that must be true if Andy Williams sang a song about it. But the lead up to Christmas is half the fun, (well that and the Gifts) and there are a variety of ways in which you can plan ahead to ensure that this Christmas is perfect.

Goodwill to all men (and women… and children…)
Christmas tends to bring out the joy in most of us and it can be a great excuse to get back in touch with those people who you don’t see for the rest of the year. Sending Christmas cards is often a good way of telling those distant relatives that you haven’t quite forgotten about them or a good way to butter someone up if you include them on your ‘popularity list’. Why not send your friends and family something a bit special in the way of cards this year and make your own? There are a number of card-making kits available for you to add your own design and signature, and their versatility means that they can also be sent as thank-you cards for those more generous friends and family. Don’t think of them just as cards but as a gift too.

Deck the Halls
Christmas is the ultimate party season and when you’ve put up the tree, hide the gifts below and plug in the fairy lights (and perhaps even an illuminous Santa Claus on the roof), don’t forget about the finer details that will help to crown you as king or queen of hosting. Choose from a selection of luxury Christmas tree decoration Gifts from the delicate and beautiful ‘3 Ornate Polished Glass keepsakes’, to the ‘Snowlace Christmas Decoration’ – an intricate white snow lace ornament for the tree. There are even more personal decorations to choose from such as the ‘Shopaholic’ Christmas Baubles; not quite as festive perhaps, but ideal Christmas gifts for anyone who likes to spend, spend, spend.

We all want some Figgy Pudding!
The food at Christmas seems to play more of a vital role than the occasion and the gifts themselves these days, but then who could really blame us when there are just so many delicious seasonal things around and when Christmas is the only time of year we allow ourselves to just go with the flow and eat whatever might be nearby. For help on making your own delicious treats, then Mrs Manley’s recipe books can give you some top hints and tips. From traditional Christmas recipes to goodies that even the kids could help out with, these little books can make lovely Christmas gifts for yourself or someone special.

Jingle Bell Rock – Christmas Game Gifts
After all that food and mulled wine, you can expect a lull in energy later on in the day so if you find that your guests are starting to close their eyes a bit and you’re bored of watching re-runs on the television, simply give them a shake and let the games begin. The Christmas Game Tin is a perfect gift and contains over 400 cards of parlour games, Christmas trivia and ‘corny Christmas Cracker Jokes’. For the more intimate dinner party gift then the ‘After Dinner Trivia Tin’ may have more appeal. However, if you want to do something a little bit more extraordinary this Christmas, you could get your guests to dress up and indulge in: ‘The Brie, the Bullet and the Black cat’ – a superb murder mystery dinner party game that is sure to keep everyone on their toes. Christmas Gifts don’t come more original than that.

Don’t forget Rudolph
Oh, to be young again! For those lucky enough to believe in the real magic of Christmas, then why not embrace it and make this Christmas a truly special occasion? The ‘Dear Santa Mince Pie and Carrots Plate’ makes an adorable feature for any family Christmas. As tradition states, children should leave out gifts such as a mince pie and sherry for Santa and some carrots for his reindeer on Christmas Eve, this silver aluminium dish leaves a little message for him too and is sure to get everyone in the mood.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Don’t forget to record your special day on camera for years to come. Despite new fashion trends for digital pictures, sometimes its nice to just sit and look through an album of memories, and so what better way to present them than in a Christmas Pudding Pocket Photo Album? An ideal Christmas gift, it comes covered in a faux suede colour for the Christmassy feel. It holds up to 40 photographs for you to look back and treasure…but don’t get too comfortable you’ve got next year’s Christmas to start planning for!