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I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

~ Charles Dickens

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Ginger-Jam Bread and Butter Pudding

Ingredients

Three quarters of a stick unsalted butter

Half cup sultanas or raisins

3 tablespoons dark rum

10 slices brown bread

approx. 10 tablespoons ginger conserve or marmalade

4 egg yolks

1 egg

3 tablespoons sugar

2 cups heavy cream

three quarters cup plus 1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons Demerara or turbinado sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Grease a pudding dish with a capacity of about 6 cups with some of the butter.

Put the sultanas or raisins in a small bowl, pour the rum over, and microwave them for 1 minute, then leave them to stand. This is a good way to soak them quickly but juicily.

Make sandwiches with the brown bread, butter and ginger jam (2 tablespoonfuls in each sandwich); you should have some butter left over to smear on the top later. Now cut the sandwiches in half into triangles and arrange them evenly along the middle of the pudding dish. I put one in the dish with the point of the sandwich upwards then one with flat-side uppermost, then with point-side uppermost and so on, then squeeze a sandwich-triangle down each side – but you do as you please. Sprinkle over the sultanas and unabsorbed rum that remains in the bowl.

Whisk the egg yolks and egg together with the sugar, and pour in the cream and milk. Pour this over the triangles of bread and leave them to soak up the liquid for about 10 minutes, by which time the pudding is ready to go into the oven. Smear the bread crusts that are poking out of the custard with the soft butter, mix the ground ginger and Demerara or turbinado sugar together and sprinkle this mixture on your buttered crusts and then lightly over the rest of the pudding.

Sit the pudding dish on a baking sheet and put in the oven to cook for about 45 minutes or until the custard has set and puffed up slightly. Remove, let sit for 10 minutes – by which time the puffiness will have deflated somewhat – and spoon out into bowls, putting a jug of custard, should you so wish, on the table to be served alongside.

Serves 6.

A quick and easy dessert to make after the Christmas festivities are over.

Source

Nigella Lawson

Enjoy!

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Inspirational Thought

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.

~Mark Twain

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Turkey Stuffing with Sausage and Celery

Ingredients:

8 cups dried bread crumbs

1 pound ground sausage (regular or sage)

1 to 2 cups celery

1/2 to 1 cup diced onion

1 Tbs. mixed dried fresh herbs
(Recommended: sage, thyme, rosemary, tarragon, marjoram. Adjust quantity to taste. We fine grind the herbs with mortar and pestle.)

Directions

Prepare bread crumbs using sliced white bread (or your choice of bread). Cut cubes approximately ½ inch in size. Spread on clean surface until dry. I prefer to avoid crunchy dry. Place in large (larger the better) mixing bowl.

Fry sausage, breaking up into small pieces, until lightly browned. Thoroughly drain. Set aside.

Chop celery stalks and leaves. Set aside.

Sauté onions in butter or premium margarine. Remove when onions become translucent. Add to the bread crumbs.

Combine all ingredients; lightly folding together. If stuffing a Turkey, the stuffing should be quite dry. If cooking separately, a ReynoldsTM or equal cooking bag is excellent. The dressing should preferably be moist. Add chicken stock or small amount of water and lightly toss. Follow cooking directions for the bag.

Optional additions: We have found that ½ to 1 cup of chopped fresh pecans and/or 1 cup sliced fresh apple can add a nice flavor touch to the stuffing. This may be added when combining the other ingredients.

This recipe will be adequate for an 8 pound Turkey including enough to cook separately for stuffing lovers.

Merry Christmas and Enjoy!

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When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us

~Helen Keller

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Pavlova Step-by-step

Ingredients

6 (59g) eggs, separated

11/4 cups (270g) caster sugar

2 tsp cornflour

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

300ml thickened cream

2 tbs icing sugar mixture, sifted

Finely shredded rind and juice of 2 limes

2 lady finger bananas, thinly sliced diagonally

3 golden kiwifruit, peeled, thinly sliced

2 starfruit, thinly sliced

Pulp of 2-3 passionfruit

Directions

1: Preheat oven to 120°C. Line an oven tray with foil. Brush the tray with melted butter and dust it with cornflour, shaking off excess. Mark a 24cm-diameter circle on the foil.

2: Use an electric mixer to whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, until the meringue is thick and glossy and the sugar is fully dissolved. Rub a little meringue between your fingers: if it’s still gritty with sugar, continue to whisk until all the sugar has dissolved. Add cornflour, vinegar and vanilla, and whisk until just combined.

3: Spoon the meringue on to the foil, using the marked circle as a guide. Smooth the sides and top of the pavlova. Use a small spatula to form little peaks around the edge of the base. Bake for 11/2 hours or until it is dry to the touch. Turn off oven. Leave pavlova in the oven, with the door ajar, to cool completely. When it is completely cold, transfer to a serving plate or store in an airtight container until required.

4: Use an electric mixer to whisk the cream and icing sugar in a medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spoon the whipped cream on to the top of the pavlova. Pour lime juice into a ceramic or glass bowl. Add banana slices and toss to coat. Drain. Decorate the pavlova with banana, kiwifruit, starfruit, passionfruit and lime rind.

Cooking Tips

Substitute ingredients with your own choice of fruit.

Refrigerate eggs before separating: the yolks will separate easily when cold.

Give egg whites time to warm up before beating, and ensure they’re free of any yolk – otherwise, they won’t beat well.

Wash bowl to remove any grease before use.

Enjoy!

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