Potato Gratin with Cauliflower Cream

recipe from Curtis Stone Christmas Magic with Coles freebie cookbook.

Serves 8
Preparation 25 Min's
Cooking 2 Hour's

My decision to cook this for Christmas day, was that I could save myself having to prepare 2 dishes...Roast potatoes and the Cauliflower Gratin....but alas, it didn't go down well, they weren't too happy with my change, but tough luck I was the cook and I loved it that's all that mattered.!!! I think it was better reheated on boxing day with a little sprinkle of cheese for a nice crust.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1 medium brown onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 5 sprigs thyme
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 cups thickened cream
• 2 cups full fat milk
• 100g Camembert cheese, cut into large pieces
• 1.3 kg brushed potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4cm discs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and sweat onions, garlic and thyme for 5 Min's stirring often, without colouring the vegetables. Add Cauliflower and cook for 6 Min's stirring often.
3. Add the cream and milk and bring to the simmer.
4. Add the cheese and stir. Once cheese has melted remove the pan from the heat and discard the thyme stalks.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a blender. Carefully puree the cauliflower cream in batches until the mixture is smooth and creamy, being careful not to overfill the blender as the steam will cause the liquid to overflow. Return the pureed sauce to the saucepan.
6. Add the sliced potatoes to the pan of cauliflower cream and stir well to coat.
7. Pour 1 cup of the cauliflower cream into a 2 litre baking dish and arrange the potatoes in an even layer over the cream. Pour another cup of cream over the potatoes and repeat layering until the baking dish is full.
8. Cover the baking dish with foil and place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 1/2 hrs or until a knife can easily be inserted into the potatoes.
9. Remove the gratin from the oven and increase the temperature to 200C. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 Min's or until the top is golden brown and bubbling. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

I did steps till 9 on Christmas Eve and then only had to reheat and brown the top on Christmas day. Super easy!!

Green bean salad with roasted cherry tomato vinaigrette

recipe from Curtis Stone Christmas Magic with Coles freebie cookbook.

Serves 8
Preparation 15 Min's
Cooking 15 Min's

Vinaigrette

• 200g Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Lemon zest
• 2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Salad

• 450g green beans, ends trimmed
• 600g cherry tomatoes halved
• 1/4 cup chopped basil

1. Preheat oven to 210
2. To make the vinaigrette, toss tomatoes with olive oil on a baking tray and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-12mins, or until golden brown. Remove and cool completely.
3. Once cool, roughly chop tomatoes into a paste and place in a medium mixing bowl with any leftover tomato juice. Add lemon zest, shallots, vinegar and olive oil and whisk well (I threw the lot into a blender and whizzed it up). Season to taste.
4. To make the salad, blanch beans in a pan of boiling salted water for 1-2mins, or until tender but crisp. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool completely. Strain and pat dry.
5. Place beans in to serving platter and toss over the halved raw tomatoes. Gently toss with the fresh basil and the vinaigrette.

Baked ham with brown-sugar glaze

1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Brandy
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp Dijon Mustard

Half Leg Ham.

1. Preheat Oven/BBQ to 150.
2. Combine orange juice, brandy, sugar, ginger and mustard in a small saucepan. Stir on low heat until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 Min's or until syrupy.
3. Meanwhile, cut rind from around shank of ham, 10cm from knuckle. Using your fingers and starting at base of ham, carefully remove skin. Score fat in a 1cm diamond pattern. Taking care not to cut all the way through to the ham meat.
4. Line a large baking dish with foil (we used the foil throw away tray in the BBQ) Place ham in pan and brush over with glaze. Bake for 1 hour brushing with glaze every 20mins, until golden. Slice ham and serve drizzled with remaining glaze.

Huevos Rancheros

My version of this is perfect when catering to a crowd for breakfast, and this years Christmas Breakfast was just that. 14 for Breakfast and getting eggs for that many done is no mean feat. But with this recipe, I made up the Tomato Beans on Christmas Eve, so it was just spoon ladles full in to small ramekins, and then crack an egg into each one pop in the oven...and sit back enjoy the family while the toaster cooked toast and then sit together and eat. Perfect. Al did have the idea though of turning upside down the pot, so as not to be eating the red hot from the oven mix, so there were a few upturned pots as well.

Cooked for 14.

Ingredients

• 1 Brown Onion finally chopped,
• 1 Elephant sized clove of Garlic sliced
• Drizzle of Olive oil
• 2 Chorizo Sausages chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Sweet Paprika
• 1 Teaspoon chopped Chilli (optional)
• Salt, Pepper and a sprinkle of Sugar
• 4 Cans Chopped Tomatoes
• 2 Cans Borlotti Beans, rinsed and drained

1. Saute the Onion, Garlic and Chorizo in the drizzle of olive oil, till translucent and the Chorizo has leeched out it's colour and flavour.
2. Sprinkle in the Paprika and Chilli and saute for a little more.
3. Add the Tomatoes and season with the salt, pepper and sugar.
4. Simmer 30 Min's add the beans and simmer for further 20 Min's.
5. Turn off and set aside till ready to serve.
6. Ladle into ramekins, crack an egg into each ramekin and bake in the oven for about 15mins or till eggs are opaque.
7. Serve with toast soldiers or as per our Christmas Day and Al's version, upend over your toast.

Christmas - Fruit Mince Pies

Well this is one of those childhood memories, growing up with English Grandparents, it was just something my Nanna did every year usually in the school holiday days before Christmas, as my mum and dad worked we spent those few days with either of our Grandparents, and each Nanna did different things with us. But Dad's mum Nanna Jackson did her baking with us, and after sharing memories recently with family, my sister didn't enjoy these cooking days with Nanna. But for me they are some of my favourites. I recently managed to get Nanna's recipe from one of Dad's sisters but sadly its all hard work style pastry with suet in it. So each year I have tried different versions of pastry, but this year I wasn't going to do them with all that has been going on. But Bianca has insisted and well I though I want them to be more flaky like Nanna's so I have decided to share my version.....having eaten one....they are pretty close to Nanna's just a quicker more modern version shortcrust pastry has done the trick.

Ingredients

Robertson's Fruit Mince - Large Jar

500g plain flour
160g Icing Sugar
250g COLD chopped butter
4 Egg Yolks
2 Tablespoons COLD Water

Method

1. This is a Nanna Step - Put on the Christmas Music, then Pop the lid on the jar of Fruit Mince and it has to be Robertson's only, take a sherry glass and fill to the brim with Sherry then take a sip and pour the rest into the jar and stir. (She did this no matter what time of day and unlike the large jars of mince Nanna only ever purchased the smaller ones, and I am sure that's so she could pop more lids and pour more sherry glasses; But I use Brandy and pour straight from the bottle till the jar is full although I did chuckle and think perhaps I should have a swig just to be more Like Her.) Set aside.
2. Process the flour, icing sugar and butter in a food processor with a dough blade, till mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Whisk the egg yolks and water until combined, then with food processor running, pour into the flour mixture.
4. Process until the mixture begins to form large clumps, stopping machine before mixture forms into a ball.
5. Turn out onto a floured work surface (I love my Cesarstone bench for this as it's nice and cold) and knead gently to bring together. Form into a ball, wrap in glad wrap and pop in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Overnight is good too.
6. Take from the fridge and cut into 2 pieces and then roll out each piece.
7. Then using cookie cutters cut larger rounds for the bottom and small crimped rounds for the tops.
8. Pop them bottoms onto the pie trays add one spoonful of the reserved Robertson's spiked fruit mince, then using your finger and a little water wipe around the edge of each pie, to help stick the lid. Pop on the lids, then brush each one with a little beaten egg white, dust with caster sugar and pop into a moderate oven for about 25 Min's or until golden.

You Should be able to get at least 3 dozen from this Mix I did just!!!

Christmas Shortbread - Amie's Nana's

This year I decided to try this recipe of Amie's Nanna's and although my recipe is my grandads, you can choose, this one is light and fluffy, my recipe is the chewy crunchy sort...both are nice, but I think I will be making more of this one.

Ingredients

500grams Butter or Marg
1 1/4 cups icing sugar
4 Cups Flour
1 Cup of Cornflour

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar apparently the longer the better.
2. Add sifted flours, you may not need to use all of the flour. (I did use all the flour and a little extra)
3. Knead together and roll out, cut into any shape you like prick the tops with a fork.( I did the pop into my tray and then I popped it in the freezer which has an express freeze for 10 mins before baking)
4. Bake on a cold tray lined with baking paper 130 -140 degrees for about 30mins.

Amie Say's

Now Nana said I would have to make this a few time before I perfected it and she was right...... this is the 3rd year I have tried to make it and it has finally turned out. Still not as good as Nana's but it is up there this year ;o)

Well I think it is way up there Amie, we loved it.....little mouthfuls of heaven....that just melt away!!!


Thanks Amie

Christmas Shortbread Sonia's Tradition

Ingredients

250g Butter
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/3 cup rice flour
grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 orange & 1 lime
extra caster sugar for sprinkling.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160c

2. Beat butter & sugar till light and creamy.

3. Stir in flours, & rind; mix till combined.

4. Turn onto lightly floured surface, knead till smooth.

5. Wrap in plastic - refrigerate till firm.

6. Divide dough into half and roll each into a 20cm round, pinch edges and place onto a lined bake tray mark into 8 wedges & prick each wedge with a fork.

OR Alternate steps 5 & 6. push into slice/lamington tray and smooth. Pop into fridge 15mins. Then cut into fingers, prick with fork. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 35mins or until golden. Cut while hot and cool in tin/tray

OR as I did back in 2007 roll out and use the egg rings, remembering to prick them and bake in the rings to keep the perfect shape for popping into the tins.

 perfect for gift giving once tied with a pretty bow and tag.

Christmas Turkey with all the trimmings, Stuffings and Relishes

I spent 1 hour compiling this recipe post yesterday and then blogger through a hissy fit and lost the lot, not even a draft copy totally devastated...but here we go, perhaps with less story this time...promise you yesterdays was worth reading....LOL

Sarah Sun a Facebook follower, requested that I share my Christmas Turkey Recipe, and I realised that I had started this last Christmas well the recipe for the Stuffing balls, so I thought perhaps its almost time for Christmas in July let's share the lot in one post.

Christmas is special in our family, and my sister and I now take turns in hosting the Christmas Day lunch, but for the last few years I have always brought the Stuffing balls to her home too. I can thank Coles and their free magazines for a lot of these recipes, from the simple PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED TURKEY which is a family favourite all year not just at Christmas, which are accompanied by CRANBERRY RELISH in the 2007 magazine and I think the same year in the TASTE best ever freebie came the CRANBERRY STUFFING BALLS. Then more recently in 2009 I decided on my turn to cook that I would try and debone and stuff a turkey breast using ROLLED TURKEY BREAST WITH PISTACHIO AND CRANBERRY STUFFING Recipe by Bill Granger from bill's food, served with my new favourite CRANBERRY CHERRY & ALMOND RELISH

PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED TURKEY

Serves 8

Prep 30 mins

Cooking 1 1/4 hours

Ingredients

• 1Kg Steggles Turkey Breast Roast, thawed
• 5 slices prosciutto

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Remove the plastic from the foil container and cover the turkey breast roll with a piece of foil. Place in the oven, cook for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove the piece of foil. Carefully invert the turkey roll into a large baking pan, and discard the original foil container.
2. Drape the prosciutto over the turkey, and use toothpicks to secure each end (I have never used the toothpicks). Return to the oven for 30 minutes.

CRANBERRY RELISH

Ingredients

• 250g jar whole berry cranberry sauce
• finely grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Combine the cranberry sauce, orange rind and thyme; set aside. Serve with the Turkey!!

Pictured above Cranberry Relish and just under the spinach leaf is one of the Stuffing Balls.

CRANBERRY STUFFING BALLS

Prep 20 mins

Cooking 25 mins

Makes 16

Ingredients

• 4 slices prosciutto
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 1/2 cups stale white breadcrumbs
• 75g dried cranberries
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
• 50g butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 200c. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut each prosciutto slice length ways into four pieces.

2. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion is soft. Transfer to bowl. Add breadcrumbs, cranberries, egg, sage and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well to combine.

3. Shape tablespoons of mixture into 16 balls. Wrap one slice of prosciutto around each ball. Place on prepared tray. Bake for 15 to 20 mins or until browned and heated through. Serve.



ROLLED TURKEY BREAST WITH PISTACHIO AND CRANBERRY STUFFING

Recipe by Bill Granger from bill's food

Turkey Ingredients

• 1 x 1-1.5kg boneless Turkey breast with skin (I could only get a breast on the bone - so with my Dad's help we soon learnt how to debone it - well worth the hard work.)
• 1 tablespoon melted Butter

Pistachio and cranberry stuffing Ingredients

• 40 g Butter
• 1 Onion chopped
• 100 g chopped pancetta rind removed
• 1 crushed Garlic Clove
• 120 g fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh Sage
• 100 g craisins (sweetened dried cranberries)
• 50 g roughly chopped Pistachios
• sea salt
• Ground black Pepper

Turkey Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F/Gas 5). Put the turkey breast, skin-side-down, on a board.

Spoon the cooled stuffing down the middle of the breast and then roll up the turkey to enclose the stuffing.

Tie the turkey with kitchen string every 2 cm (about an inch) to secure and then place in a large roasting tin.

Brush the entire surface of the turkey with melted butter.

Roast for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and the juices run clear when you poke a skewer into the thickest part of the breast.

Cover loosely with foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

Pistachio and cranberry stuffing Method
Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3–4 minutes until softened.
Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until cooked through.
Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Tip everything into a large bowl.
Add the breadcrumbs, sage, craisins and pistachios, season well and stir together.
Leave to cool completely before using.

Link to previously posted
CRANBERRY CHERRY & ALMOND RELISH


Then I guess I should share this wonderful ham recipe with you too....enjoy and happy Christmas be it July or December!!!

Cranberry, Cherry & Almond Relish

recipe from 2009 Coles Free Magazine

• Makes 2 cups
• Serves 8
• Preparation 5 Mins
• Cooking 5 Mins

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Craisins
• 3/4 Cup frozen Cherries
• 3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
• 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 Tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Method

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir on medium heat for 5 Mins, until fruit has softened and liquid is syrupy. Cool and store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for  up to 5 days.
2. Serve this relish with turkey.

Christmas Gift Idea - ROCKY ROAD

There are many rocky road recipes out there, and my staple was one with marshmallows and sultanas and nuts and then I Turkish Delight Rocky Road from the Wonderful Donna Hay Christmas recipes which was wonderful but oh so expensive to make for gifts - but i did do it  this one with Turkish delights a few years back that I loved but it was costly to make so it was always for a special treat.

So in preparation for the 12 hour crop and to get some Chrissy gift giving started - the cakes were about to be baked, if i am spending time in the kitchen best make a day of it. So I headed to the shop to get the ingredients for my easy as recipe with red frogs that everyone loves, browsing the isles I remember that Corrie posted her recipe (white chocolate rocky road) with Raspberries lollies in it so I gave it a go mixing her recipe with mine and WOW talk about yummo.

so here it is as I made it this week.

Ingredients

• 250g block Cadbury dairy milk cooking chocolate
• 190g block Cadbury Bar Of Plenty Chocolate Roast Hazelnut & Honey
• 100g bag Betta Mallow Bakes
• 180g bag Coles raspberries lollies - cut these in half with a pair of kitchen scissors
• half a 300g box of Authentic Turkish Delight {optional} - cut these in half with a pair of kitchen scissors, then drop back into the box, so that they get coated in the icing sugar to stop the cut edge sticking to each other
• Shredded Coconut for sprinkling.

Now all of those made a really nice batch but for my gift giving I added half a box of RT Authentic Turkish Delight, and can't resist buying it when it's on special anyway and it was last week only $7.99

so the cost of a single batch is approximately $15 - when you think from the double batch, I have 4 gifts, served it up for afternoon tea at my Christmas Crop and still had some for the family to raid not bad in my stakes of Christmas gift giving...that's pretty good cost effective gift giving.

Method

• Break chocolate into chunks and place into a glass bowl set over simmering water or melt in a microwave proof bowl until melted. {having no microwave i do the water method and I have time to chop the other bits while its melting.
• Cut your Turkish delight and raspberry lollies into pieces -



there are about 7 almonds thrown in as I was decorating my Christmas cake and they were left over - not part of the recipe but shows you can add more.

• Once chocolate is melted mix through all your other ingredients. 
• Line a slice tray with baking paper and spread mixture into this tray.
• Sprinkle with a light sprinkling of shredded coconut.
• Set aside in the fridge to set and then cut and wrap in cellophane bags for gifts - and try not to eat it all first.!!!!

Christmas - Rocky Road Trees

Amie asked me if I had the old forum recips for these neat Christmas chocolate Rocky Road Trees....I did have the recipe but not the one I think she was after....so sadly no pictures...till Amie creates for us.

You need a cone shaped mould which can be made at home by stapling cardboard together in a cone shape or even using a kid’s party hat, and lining it with plastic wrap. Once made, this can store up to 6 weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of milk cooking chocolate chips
• 1 cup of marshmallows, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of lollies of your choice (anything easy to cut up,  we love red frogs).
• 1 cup of white chocolate chips ( we prefer Dark Chocolate chips)
• Hundreds and thousands, mini M&Ms, Smarties or other small lollies for decoration

Method

1. Melt the milk chocolate chips in a bowl over a pot of boiling water or in the microwave. Cut up the marshmallow and sweets of your choice and place these in the now melted chocolate. Stir lightly to mix and then pour it all into the mould. Secure the mould by standing it in a glass or a jug or a piece of polystyrene, and put it in the fridge for 20 minutes or until firm.

2. Meanwhile melt the white chocolate in a bowl or in the microwave. Remove the now hard rocky road Christmas tree from the mould and even out the base with a knife if needed.

3. Randomly and unevenly pipe or pour the white chocolate on the top quarter of the tree to resemble snow. Place the lollies in the chocolate to look like decorations.

Christmas Gift Idea - Turkish Delight Rocky Road

Makes 30 squares
INGREDIENTS

• 800g good quality Milk chocolate
• 200g good quality dark chocolate
• 100g macadamia nuts roughly chopped
• 300g good quality Turkish delight, chopped
• 150g marshmallows
• ½ cup flaked coconut, toasted

METHOD

1. Grease and line a 20 x 30cm slice tin with baking paper.
2. Melt both chocolates, separately, over low heat in double boilers.
3. Pour ½ of the Milk chocolate in the base of the prepared pan. Sprinkle over the macadamia nuts and half the Turkish delight and marshmallows. Pour over the dark chocolate. Sprinkle over the coconut and remaining Turkish delight and marshmallows. Pour over the remaining Milk chocolate. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Turn out and cut into small squares.

Sonia's Christmas Cake

Perfect timing for Christmas in July events....

.get your Christmas Cake cooked now.!!!

RICH CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE

I have been baking this for over 10 years and never had a disaster, I usually do a double batch and manage to make a round, a square and about 16 small loaves. In 2008 I baked them in the papercraft tins, It only made 8 small cakes, with my round and loaf tins - the round is saved for Christmas day, the loaf tin is what I serve in the lead up to Christmas day.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• 500g sultanas
• 250g raisins
• 250g dates chopped
• 125g currents
• 125g pitted prunes chopped
• 100g glace aprictos chopped
• 100g glace cherries halved
• 2 tblspns grated orange rind
• 1/2cup brandy
• 1/2 cup water
• 250g butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/3 cup treacle
• 5 eggs
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2 tspn mixed spice
• decorate with whole blanched almonds and pecans

Method

1. Mix fruit, rind, brandy, and water, cover, store overnight or for up to 1 month (stir occasionally)
2. Preheat oven 150 degrees, Grease and triple line tin (mixture does both round (23cm) tin and loaf tin.
3. Beat butter, sugar, & treacle until creamy, add eggs one at a time, beating well.
4. Stir into fruit mixture. Add flour & spice, mix until combined.
5. Spoon into tins, tap tins on bench, smooth then decorate.
6. BAKE 3 -3 1/2 hours.
7. While hot drizzle with brandy cool in tin wrapped in a towel. When cold remove from tin wrap in glad wrap and store for up to 3 months.