councilflat Christmas!

28th Dec.  Wet.  Windy.  Post festive slump well underway.  New year resolution is to update this blog at least three times a month...I spent most of Dec too busy actually doing the cooking to blog about the cooking!

Here is a wee taste of what I was up to...

First task was to get my christmas cake underway, its a looooong recipe so I won't post it here but happy to send on to anyone who wants it - its a lighter cake with hints of honey, saffron and amaretto instead of brandy...

my variation of an old bbc good food mag recipe and doesnt require a month of feeding, just as well as I made two of these babies on the 14th Dec!

pretty traditional approach, lots of thick marzipan underneath

not too shabby, if I say so myself!

Next job was to get festive on all my jars of chutneys, jams and jellies, ready for christmas hampers and gifts for family and friends...



only another 80 jars to go....





Moving swiftly on my daughter decided to get in on the act and at the last possible moment wanted to give home made gifts....a quick but effective solution were these pretty peppermint creams, deceptively simple and given a sophisticated edge by dipping in dark chocolate and sprinkled with gold stars.  She quickly had enough to fill 5 of these pretty little boxes which we lined with tissue and florists celophane and then decorated in a simple but quite classy way...voila!  The total cost for ingredients and the boxes to make 40 peppermint creams was easily less than a fiver...



By now it was the final week of Dec and one of my last tasks was to make something for our staff Xmas lunch....what could be more festive than a yule log?  This was to be my first attempt at a swiss roll sponge so decided to play it safe and followed the Paul Hollywood recipe from the Dec Good Food mag.  All went to plan and although the sponge did crack I just used extra buttercream to even it out.  I used a jar of morello cherries in syrup from Lidl instead of raspberries for the filling and added a touch of amaretto to the cream.  The result was pretty spectacular if I say so myself....although a LOT of work went into it...

With the end in sight I put together christmas hampers for family members, choc full of chutneys, jams, home made christmas cake and other foody goodies picked up along the way...

So, at last!  Christmas lunch at my mums was a chance to relax and enjoy the fabulous top end turkey with all the trimmings that she prepares so well.  I supplied starter and dessert, a simple beetroot and grilled goats cheese salad and my posh version of a trifle which was deeelicious...the recipe for which I will post later.

So, happy New Year, happy eating and good health to everyone, Cheers!