Lead up to Christmas

The lead up to Christmas was CARAYZEEEEE!!!!!!!! I work in retail, and what with christmas crazed customers and a cold snap that sent people scurrying in to buy warmer clothes, the last few weeks have been hectic-hence the lack of blog. I did manage to squeeze in a bit of pre-christmas baking though- more christmas biscuits, because many of those intended for the tree last time were consumed, and also extra to feed people. We also baked a Nigella Lawson Chocolate Christmas Cake. This apparently was shown on t.v. at some point over the christmas period, but i missed it! Somehow i chose to bake it independently-and it has been a success!
It contains loads of dried fruit, including prunes, currants and peel, and this was all simmered together with..... wait for it.... TIA MARIA- trashy i know, but soooooo delicious. All this is mixed with fresh orange juice, almond meal, cocoa and butter. It creates a moist and amazingly dense cake, which despite what the recipe said (1.5 hours) took around 2.5 hours to cook. I have included pictures of it here in its brown paper wrapping which it gets cooked in, and a pic of one of my friends enjoying the results.
I baked it 2 weeks before Christmas, and i must say it keeps amazingly well- in fact like all good fruit cakes it is getting better and better. We have been eating it with (shop-bought) vanilla custard and an unbelievably decadent brandy infused cream. mmmmmmmmm

A PERUVIAN FEAST AND SALSA DANCING

I'm not all domesticity, i went to a very good friends birthday party on Saturday night, after my day of biscuit baking. It was at a Peruvian restaurant called Titos, in London Bridge.
The food was super delicious, although not always beautifully presented. The ceviche in particular was delicious, and possibly my favourite. For the uninitiated, this is fish that has been marinated in lime or lemon juice, with garlic, chilli and coriander, amongst other things. This sort of 'cooks' the fish, and it ends up being an amazingly zesty and refreshing dish. The hard core eaters of ceviche (like myself- I LOVE LOVE LOVE it) then pour the juice that is left over from the dish into a glass and drink it.
We also ate Arroz de Mariscos- a peruvian variation on paella.
Mariscos Fritos- a mix of fried seafood which had a vey light batter on, was not dissimilar to Japanese tempura. Somewhat dissapointing was a type of fried yam which was a bit dry. On the other hand a "sandwich" of what was really mashed potato with tuna inside was fantastic and for some reason was much more than the sum of its parts- or its looks.
We washed all this deliciousness down with Pisco Sour, this is a lethal Peruvian cocktail, made with Pisco- a grape liqueur, mixed with lime juice, sugar ice and frothy egg white. This should be treated with caution, as it can be very strong- and cause crazy salsa dancing!- See the pics of us dancing in the club downstairs after dinner as proof!

Christmas Biscuits

I got into a spot of old fashioned Yuletide cheer on Saturday and made biscuits. The recipe is a Nigella Lawson one, from her Feast cookbook. It says the biscuits are really meant for hanging, but i must say, they smelt so delicious and spicy that we all ate some, and they were YUMMY! We had a great time decorating them too, with plain icing, silver baubles and pre-made red squeezy icing that comes in a tube and has its own nozzles- loads of sugary fun. We then strung silver thread through the biscuits that weren't eaten and hung them as decorations, and i think they look rather nice, if i do say so myself.

FAST FOOD

I had a such a busy week last week! I had a few evenings where I was home late, and it was just me. I ended up cooking two of my all time favourite easy suppers. Just because you are eating alone doesn't mean you have to get take-away or resort to disgusting frozen pre-made dinners.

UGLY PASTA
Anyway- the first is super easy although not very pretty, so no pic!-Get some fresh ravioli- I keep a few packets in the freezer (not quite a frozen dinner but good for emergencies) Experiment a bit with the ravioli flavours- there are some great ones out there -depending on the supermarket or deli you buy from. I tend to go for a stronger flavour with this dish. Cook it as directed, drain and return it to the same pan, then toss in a big handful of rocket (1/2 a small packet), a knob of butter, some chopped herbs (i mostly have continental parsley lying around, but recently have been obsessed with thyme, which is also delicious) lots of parmesan cheese and cracked black pepper and sea salt. Put the pan back on the heat for a minute until the rocket wilts, and then eat! EASY PEASY- it takes all of 2 minutes more than it takes for water to boil.

CLASSIC SALAD NICOISE
The second is Salad Nicoise. I like to cook as much in one pot as possible when cooking for one somehow it seems like it is less of an effort. So, cook soome new potatoes and an egg in the same pot, and then whilst they are cooking, chop up some green beans (i had no beans the other day and used brocolli,which was also delicious), ready to toss in with the potatoes in the last 4 minutes of cooking.
Whilst that is cooking, chop some tomatoes, and dress some lettuce on the plate you will serve on. Then, mix a small tin of tuna with some good mayonnaise (i like Hellmans), and mash in some anchovies(not essential, but i love their fishy saltiness).
Take the potatoes, egg and beans off the stove, and drain, then cool by running cold water over. Slice the potatoes, and egg, and arrange all on the plate with the lettuce, tomato and tuna.
Eat with some baguette, and possibly a glass of chardonnay (my fave!)

Apple Pie Baclava

On Thurs 30/11/06 i had a day off- which i spent profitably by doing a Body Balance class, going for a walk in the park and picking up berries and leaves to make a wreath for christmas and by making an apple pie. Now- i have to admit that i must go out partying some time soon otherwise i am becoming a just a leeeeetle bit too domesticated- but nevertheless i had a great time doing it. (Sad i know)
The apple pie really was a very easy thing to do. In fact i have dubbed it Apple Pie Baclava. I'm not sure exactly where i got the idea from- i have a vague idea that it may have been from a Nigella Lawson recipe (i have all her books-but not all are with me at the moment so i can't check)
Any way this was how i did it-
I bought frozen Filo Pastry for the base, then after thawing it for an hour or so- i put one sheet on a tray brushed it with melted butter, then continued doing this until i had about 8 layers. I then thinly sliced some apple and arranged the slices in 2 rows slightly overlapping, I sprinkled this with a good layer (about 4 tablespoons) of caster suger, and ground cinnamon (around 2 teaspoons) I wanted this to be fragrantly cinnamony, and it was.
I then used some strips of filo to build up the sides of the pie a bit, brushing these with butter as well, and pinched the sides in at the corners to make a mitred corner. Look at my pic to see what it looked like.
I baked this in a pre-heated oven (about 200 degrees C) for 1/2 an hour until the edges were brown and crispy.
I have to say it smelt LOVELY whilst it was cooking
It tasted fab too- like I had made much more effort than I actually did. I ate mine with icecream.(I always have a little bit of space for icecream).