Eleven Pipers Piping

When I was little my aunt, not my dessert aunt, always seemed to have such ‘exotic’ food. She was the first person I knew who tried to make BBQ ribs.  Resplendant in their sauce of tomato ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and tomato puree and vinegar.  Remember this was the late 70s.  A time when food here, in Britain, was fairly basic and olive oil was still being bought at Boots The Chemist for medicinal purposes, rather than the supermarket.

Along with the ribs there were forays into chinese food. A few chinese supermarkets could be found in London and a trip into China Town revealed a bag full of strange and unknown fragrances and spices. Then came her trials with Spanish food. An early chorizo adopter and a variant of paella would often be served up.  Thick with tomato, mussels and juicy prawns. But despite all the exotic dishes my favourite of all, were Lisie’s baked potatos. Creamy, tangy with cheese and occasionally baked with an egg in it. (more…)

Raspberry, Caramel and Praline Pavlova

Day ten of The Twelve Days Of Christmas.  Only two more to go and we’re well and truly stuffed here!  Not sure where we’ll put the Christmas lunch – extra large doggy bag?  Day ten is another dessert and one which is very indulgent.

Some desserts are favourites because they’ve been served since chilhood and evoke all those family memories. There is a definite favourite for me.  I had an aunt who used to specialise in desserts or maybe it was just that she cooked them and my mother didn’t. Juicy sticky rhubard crumble, chocolate pudding – warm with chocolate custard and my favourite pavlova.

That wonderful meringue and cream concoction with the sweetness of fresh fruit, was created for the ballerina Anna Pavlova on a trip to New Zealand in the 1920s (Australia also lays claim to having created it for her).  So what better dish to represent Ten Ladies dancing? (more…)

Eight Maids A Milking Milk Puddings

Everyone talks about smells being able to take you back to a particular time or event in your life.  As soon as I sat down to work out todays dish, Eight Maids A Milking, I remembered eating a milk pudding at my granny’s house.  She would add different flavours, depending on what was in the cupboard.  As she was a traditional shopper, as in always bought the same things, the flavours rarely varied.  Sweet white chocolate, lemon and my favourite of all, rose.  A flavour that smells as it tastes, reminding me of wonderful days in her garden helping to dead head the huge old fashioned roses and evenings listening to family stories of my mother and uncles and aunts, as children.  Doing things that I couldn’t imagine getting away with.

So I’ve recreated the milk pudding my Granny used to make and added two flavours, four of each.  Rose and vanilla for one and white chocolate and cardamom for the other.  Still the softness and sweetness I remember, but with flavours that are a little more grown up whilst still being reminiscent of Granny’s dessert. (more…)

Seven Swana A Swimming

I have to admit to having alot of help with this one, Seven Swans A Swimming, seemed so difficult, but Delicious Magazine had it all sorted out.  A variation on Iles Flottantes or floating Island.  I’d always thought I didn’t like this dessert but, looking at the ingredients – what’s not to really-like? A rich Vanilla custard drizzled with caramel and dotted with almond praline. Floating on this lake of deliciousness are seven, poached meringue, swans.

For those of you who’ve never had poached meringue, it’s soft, sweet and sticky. Much to my surprise, it’s also very easy.  Of course, you could buy real vanilla custard from the supermarket and just add the swans and the caramel.  Or you could follow the recipe and make the entire dish from scratch. (more…)

Confit Goose And Quail Egg Scotch Eggs

Half way through the song, Twelve Days Of Christmas and only 7 days left until Christmas Eve. This was always the special day for us at home.  It was the day we put up the tree, no decorations went up until the morning of December 24th.  In the evening there would be a Christmas party at one of my aunt or uncles houses with Glogg ( swedish mulled wine) and elements from a traditional smorgasbord.  Which included Gravadlax with delicious homemade dill mustard and Herring that had been pickled by my uncle, in a big barrel in his garden.  A very, very smelly thing, but the results were sweet and delicious unlike most British soused herrings.

“On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me six geese a laying.”  As all country folk know, they tell me in the farm shop, geese don’t lay at this time of year!  All my plans for large rich cakes, elaborate fritattas and other goose egg requiring dishes were out.  As my original idea for this 12 day foray into food came from flicking through Delicious magazine, I have fallen back on a variation of one of their recipes.  Scotch eggs.  A mixture of  confit goose and sausage meat wrapped around soft boiled quail’s eggs, rich and delicious. (more…)

Four Colly Birds

Day four of The Twelve Days Of Christmas-four colly birds.  Colly birds were the original name for blackbirds and in my attempt at being authentic I didn’t think Blackbird would go down too well, even with the least squeamish of you all.  So I went in search of blackbird pie funnels and came up with a chicken and ham pie with a difference.  Chicken, ham and leek pie with vanilla. (more…)

Three French Hens

It’s now day three of my 12 Days Of Christmas dishes; this is probably the easiest recipe so far.  No fancy boning, skinning or wrapping in pancetta, just rub with a few aromatics and roast in the oven.  Lemon Rubbed Roasted Spatchcock Poussin.  It is quite easy to buy Spatchcock poussin in most supermarkets; then it’s just a matter of removing the packaging and rubbing in the flavour. (more…)