Playing in the Kitchen..

I've prepared the house for Christmas today.  It's been such lovely mild weather that I could throw open all the windows while I dusted, hoovered and moved furniture around for this evening.  The house smells less 'stuffy' now and I feel very virtuous!

I also had time to have a little play in the kitchen at lunchtime.  I decided to make a few rather tired-looking cauliflower florets into a Cauliflower Cheese soup.  I was really quite pleased with the final result....

It was rich and very filling.  I couldn't resist the thin piece of raw cauliflower as a garnish!!

My next task this afternoon is to start sorting Husband's Christmas presents.  We have a tradition of giving each other a stocking first thing on the 25th.  The rule is that these stocking presents must be useful but as cheap as possible - 2nd hand books; jams; a special sauce that's difficult to get etc.  We collect things when we see them through the year then 'squirrel them away' to surprise each other on Christmas morning.  It's great fun. 

I think my "best" present for Husband's stocking this year is a book of Sausage and Mash recipies that I picked up for £1.50.  Sausage, mash and gravy is his all time favourite meal - so I can't wait to see his face when he opens the parcel.

A growing obsession with figs..!

The Kings Arms - Woodstock - Oxford

While Husband and his male relatives were consuming vast quantities of roast dinner on Sunday, I went for a lighter option and enjoyed it immensely.  My main course was a peppered chicken breast, served with pear, fresh figs, a green salad and hazelnuts.  The figs were incredible.. just warm and with a slight hint of an orange flavour.  I asked the waitress how they'd been cooked and she explained that they'd been pan fried in an orange and honey butter.

This sounds simple enough - so I'm going to try them out on my family on Wednesday evening.  There's going to be eight of us.  It's a sort of 'pre-Christmas meal' before my sister goes to her 'in-laws' for the weekend.  We'll do the whole festive thing with crackers and christmas napkins on the table.  It's a bit of work to get things organised, but I'm enjoying having the time to think and plan properly.  It's also the motivation I need to get on with a bit of housework.  The kitchen has a slightly 'end of term/neglected' air at the moment!!!!!



Let the holidays commence!

Well the Christmas holiday has started.  After the extreme hours of the play last week, it feels surreal to be blogging in my pyjamas at 8.30 on a Monday morning!!  The drop in temperature has made it feel more festive though.  These were the ice patterns I found on the roof of the car when I ventured out on Saturday morning.

We've been to a couple of Christmas meals as well.  The one on Saturday was at a lovely old pub in a village a few miles away.  The food was fantastic and the table (which my Mum had decorated with home-made floral arrangements for each of the ladies) looked great! 

The second meal took place in Woodstock (small town to the north of Oxford) yesterday lunchtime.  This was the "Christmas meal with male in-laws" which has developed into a bit of a tradition over the last 20 years since Husband's parents separated.  To be honest, it's lovely to see father-in-law but brother-in-law always "tries my festive spirit".....! 

Mother-in-law was supposed to be coming over from Lincolnshire for the Christmas weekend but this is looking uncertain at the moment.  Basically, following blood tests related to another health issue entirely, she has been told that she has Tuberculosis.  She has had an X-ray and this will give us more details later in the week.  At the moment I'm just encouraging everyone to "Stay Calm and Carry On"!

Anyway, in my on-going search for interesting things to make/eat over the festive season, I came across this simple recipie for 'Drunken Figs'.

180g of dried figs (about 12)
185ml of port
1/2 cinnamon stick.

Combine the figs, port, cinnamon stick and 60ml of water in a small saucepan.  Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, then cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the figs are soft and the liquid is soft and syupy.  Cool.

Serve with Chicken Liver Pate and thin slices of toasted crusty bread.

Another possibility for Christmas Day, I think.

Syllabub - the Crabtree and Evelyn way!

Last night I was browsing my Crabtree and Evelyn cookbook (bought in Pershore a couple of weeks back) when this particularly rich version of syllabub caught my eye..

2 lemons
5 1/2 tablespoons white wine
1 to 2 tablespoons of brandy
5 1/2 tablespoons of castor sugar
250 ml of double cream

Carefully remove the zest from the lemons.  In a bowl, combine 4 tablespoons lemon juice with the zest, the wine, brandy and sugar and set aside for at least 3 hours.
Strain the mixture through a sieve into a larger bowl and discard the zest.  With a wire whisk or electric hand mixer set at low, beat the lemon mixture while slowly pouring in the cream and continue beating for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the syllabub is just thick enough to hold the marks of the whisk.  Divide the syllabub among four bowls or glasses, cover with cling film and refigerate.
Eat on day of making.

This is far superior to my previous syllabub recipies!  Apparently you can also substitute sherry for the white wine.  I'm not a big fan of Christmas pudding so this would be a lovely dessert for Christmas Day.