angharad_gam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
angharad_gam) wrote2017-12-24 01:14 pm
angharad_gam) wrote2017-12-24 01:14 pm
Entry tags:
Christmas food...
I actually started writing this post earlier in the week, but I wrote half of it on the bus on the way to work one morning, and then discovered Dreamwidth had failed to save the draft *grumble*
I thought I might write about Christmas dinner instead of complaining about coughing, or rambling on about Mass Effect (getting close to the end of it now, but it is going on hold while I spend the next few days cooking and feeding people). For mains we are having roast pork loin and turkey stuffed with figs and pecans (which stuffing I made this morning), alongside salads (lentil and beetroot, fancy coleslaw and a plain green salad), roast potatoes, asparagus and butter beans. For dessert I am making a Christmas bombe and a summer pudding. If we don't all end up in a food coma after that it will not be my fault.
I wrote up the recipe for Christmas bombe a few years ago here: https://angharad-gam.dreamwidth.org/109948.html, so I will give you the recipe for summer pudding. Summer pudding is quite an old-fashioned dessert, but it is a favourite of Andy's and relatively simple, so I often roll it out at Christmas alongside something more virtuosic. It's also largely fruit, so you can pretend it's healthy if you like (the same way I pretend parkin - a traditional northern English ginger cake - is healthy because it has oatmeal in it). The ingredients are quite simple. Assembling the pudding requires a little bit of care and creativity.
Summer Pudding
1kg mixed berries, fresh or frozen (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all good)
1 double package of plain, unfilled sponge cake
Handful of sugar
Put the fruit in a saucepan, add a small amount of water and some sugar to taste,. Note, even if you think the fruit does not need sugar you should probably add a couple of tablespoons as it will help draw out the juices. If you have frozen fruit you will not need as much water as if you are using fresh. Cut up any bits of fruit that are larger than a big raspberry. Put the pan on the stove and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until any sugar is dissolved. Cook until the fruit is juicy and soft, but still has recognisable pieces (don't boil it to a homogeneous pulp, in other words). Set aside to cool.
Take a 1.5 or 2l pudding bowl. Open your sponge cake and cut a round piece to fit the bottom of the pudding bowl. Now cut some wedge shaped pieces to fit the sides of the bowl. Squeeze them in quite snugly as you want the cake to be fairly compressed. Now cut a large circular piece for the top. The idea is that you are making a shell of cake to fit the pudding basin.
Separate the fruit from its juices and retain both. Take each piece of cut cake, beginning with the bottom circle, and dip into the fruit juices so the 'outside' (the face that will be sitting against the bowl) soaks up some juice. Don't allow it to become completely saturated - you want the juice to penetrate 1/3rd to half way into the cake. Now place each piece in place in the bowl, juice side outwards until you now have a juicy pink cake shell for the bowl. It is a good idea to have a few spare bits of cake in case you need to plug any gaps. Before you do the top, place the fruit into the hollow inthe middle of the cake shell. Now dip the top and place it. Cover the whole thing in cling wrap, pressing the wrap over the cake (don't just stretch it over the top of the bowl). Press down firmly, giving the whole pudding a good squeeze (there's nothing like a pudding that needs a good squeeze). Now put the bowl in the fridge. If you have something that can apply a nice even pressure over the top of the pudding, like a heavy plate, put this on top. Leave for at least a couple of hours before serving, but ideally, overnight.
Before serving, turn out onto a plate (basically, turn the pudding bowl upside down, hold your breath, and hope). Serve with whipped cream or cold custard. Try not to let Andy eat it all.
A few notes: summer pudding is traditionally made with bread not cake, but I think the texture is better this way. If you use bread you will have to cut it from an unsliced, stale loaf so the pieces are thick enough. If you are completely mad you could make your own sponge cake, but whatever you do, don't use the sponge fingers sold for making tiramisu or trifle. You can use fresh or frozen fruit, but given you are cooking it, it doesn't matter too much if you use frozen, and it is much cheaper (unless your garden is overrun with blackberries).
Now I am off to actually do this (I already made the bombe this morning), and to roast some turkey. I doubt I will have the time or energy to do another post later, but I hope you all have a lovely Christmas with much excellent food, and the company of people you care about.
I thought I might write about Christmas dinner instead of complaining about coughing, or rambling on about Mass Effect (getting close to the end of it now, but it is going on hold while I spend the next few days cooking and feeding people). For mains we are having roast pork loin and turkey stuffed with figs and pecans (which stuffing I made this morning), alongside salads (lentil and beetroot, fancy coleslaw and a plain green salad), roast potatoes, asparagus and butter beans. For dessert I am making a Christmas bombe and a summer pudding. If we don't all end up in a food coma after that it will not be my fault.
I wrote up the recipe for Christmas bombe a few years ago here: https://angharad-gam.dreamwidth.org/109948.html, so I will give you the recipe for summer pudding. Summer pudding is quite an old-fashioned dessert, but it is a favourite of Andy's and relatively simple, so I often roll it out at Christmas alongside something more virtuosic. It's also largely fruit, so you can pretend it's healthy if you like (the same way I pretend parkin - a traditional northern English ginger cake - is healthy because it has oatmeal in it). The ingredients are quite simple. Assembling the pudding requires a little bit of care and creativity.
Summer Pudding
1kg mixed berries, fresh or frozen (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, all good)
1 double package of plain, unfilled sponge cake
Handful of sugar
Put the fruit in a saucepan, add a small amount of water and some sugar to taste,. Note, even if you think the fruit does not need sugar you should probably add a couple of tablespoons as it will help draw out the juices. If you have frozen fruit you will not need as much water as if you are using fresh. Cut up any bits of fruit that are larger than a big raspberry. Put the pan on the stove and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until any sugar is dissolved. Cook until the fruit is juicy and soft, but still has recognisable pieces (don't boil it to a homogeneous pulp, in other words). Set aside to cool.
Take a 1.5 or 2l pudding bowl. Open your sponge cake and cut a round piece to fit the bottom of the pudding bowl. Now cut some wedge shaped pieces to fit the sides of the bowl. Squeeze them in quite snugly as you want the cake to be fairly compressed. Now cut a large circular piece for the top. The idea is that you are making a shell of cake to fit the pudding basin.
Separate the fruit from its juices and retain both. Take each piece of cut cake, beginning with the bottom circle, and dip into the fruit juices so the 'outside' (the face that will be sitting against the bowl) soaks up some juice. Don't allow it to become completely saturated - you want the juice to penetrate 1/3rd to half way into the cake. Now place each piece in place in the bowl, juice side outwards until you now have a juicy pink cake shell for the bowl. It is a good idea to have a few spare bits of cake in case you need to plug any gaps. Before you do the top, place the fruit into the hollow inthe middle of the cake shell. Now dip the top and place it. Cover the whole thing in cling wrap, pressing the wrap over the cake (don't just stretch it over the top of the bowl). Press down firmly, giving the whole pudding a good squeeze (there's nothing like a pudding that needs a good squeeze). Now put the bowl in the fridge. If you have something that can apply a nice even pressure over the top of the pudding, like a heavy plate, put this on top. Leave for at least a couple of hours before serving, but ideally, overnight.
Before serving, turn out onto a plate (basically, turn the pudding bowl upside down, hold your breath, and hope). Serve with whipped cream or cold custard. Try not to let Andy eat it all.
A few notes: summer pudding is traditionally made with bread not cake, but I think the texture is better this way. If you use bread you will have to cut it from an unsliced, stale loaf so the pieces are thick enough. If you are completely mad you could make your own sponge cake, but whatever you do, don't use the sponge fingers sold for making tiramisu or trifle. You can use fresh or frozen fruit, but given you are cooking it, it doesn't matter too much if you use frozen, and it is much cheaper (unless your garden is overrun with blackberries).
Now I am off to actually do this (I already made the bombe this morning), and to roast some turkey. I doubt I will have the time or energy to do another post later, but I hope you all have a lovely Christmas with much excellent food, and the company of people you care about.