A very Cherry Christmas Trifle

I'm a little bit sad - I know, not the greatest way to start a Christmas post - but one of my favourite things about Christmas is sitting down with my Mum and my sister and planning out our Christmas menu. We've got Christmas favourites - but then we also try and do something new. We pick up Christmas magazines and cook books and see what new ideas we can combine with our Christmas favourite to create a STAND OUT Christmas menu.

This year, I will be staying in Canberra. I won't be heading home to Sydney to plan my family's Christmas menu and I won't be joining in the fun of opening presents at my parent's house on Christmas morning ... Oh my gosh - I won't even have my Santa sack (that my parents fill with gifts even though I'm 25). I'm staying in Canberra to have my first Christmas in my first ever house ... with what I hope to be my first finance (- jokes I am only planning on having one) and we shall be having Christmas lunch at his brother's house.

And his sister in law is planning the menu - without help :( I've offered to make a starter or bring a salad or even whip up one of my favourite/famous Christmas pavlova rolls ... but she has declined my help and that is why I am a little bit sad. Phillip thinks that I should just make the pavlova - but he thinks that I should make pavlova roll EVERY DAY! What do you think?

So the other day, in an effort to bring myself some Christmas cheer I picked up the Christmas edition of the Australian GoodFood as it had a beautiful Christmas Trifle on the front cover - which was topped with 'cherries'. And you know that I am currently in an abundance of cherries!

And my cherry tree makes me happy because it means that I can eat as many as I want ... because when we were little and Christmas time came around, my Mum would buy cherries, which would be equally divided between the four of us (Mum, me, my sister and my brother) and I would normally end up with 5 cherries which we would savour ... five little pieces of gold.

Now I am rich, rich with cherries and I can eat as many as I want! So even though this recipe calls for twelve cherries tipped in white chocolate - I image a trifle cover in an abundance of cherries and it makes me smile.

Trifle is a great Christmas dessert because:
1. it can be made it advance,
2. it looks amazing if you take a little time and put in a little event, and
2. it can be made with minimal cooking (using store bought custard if you're not the greatest cook).

Trifle reminds me of my Nan, she used to make it with red and green jelly which when we were 5 years old, was super impressive and very Christmassy! But it is also very Australian and I guess probably very English, so it wouldn't be a dish that Phillip's very Croatian family would be making.

A VERY CHERRY CHRISTMAS TRIFLE
1 pack cherry jelly
1 cup boiling water
1 can of pitted cherries
16 savoiardi (sponge fingers) cut in half
12 cherries, stems attached
50g white eating chocolate, melted
300ml thickened cream
1/2 cup icing sugar, plus extra for dusting

580ml pouring cream
310ml milk
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Follow the instructions on the jelly packet to make the jelly. Pour into a glass serving bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours until set.

Meanwhile, make the custard. Heat the cream and milk in a medium heavy-based saucepan on low. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla in a large heat proof bowl until pale and creamy. Gradually whisk in the hote cream mixture until combined. Strain into a clean heavy-based saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes, until the custard coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat. Transfer into a heatproof bowl. Cover the surface with baking paper and chill for 2 hours, until thick and cold.

Arrange the 16 savoiardi halves on the jelly, cut side down, around the edge of the bowl. Coarsely chop the remaining savoiardi halves and place in the centre. Top with the canned cherries (and half of the juice from the can). Pour the custard over the cherries. Smooth the surface and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Whilst your waiting for your trifle to set, line a tray with baking paper. Dip the cherries into the white chocolate. Place upright on prepared tray, leave for 15 minutes until set.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream and icing sugar in a large bowl to soft peaks. Spoon cream over the custard in the serving bowl. To serve, top with cherries and dust with icing sugar (if you like).

N.B. depending on the size of your serving bowl you may need more savoiardi to line the sides. Oh and wait to do with those egg whites?? Make a pavlova roll of course!!! 

http://verygoodrecipes.com/white-christmas-challenge

Everyday I'm Shuffling ... I mean Cherry Picking...

Everyday I'm Shuffling... I mean Cherry Picking...

When we moved into our new house in April, I was keen to see what mature fruit trees we would be blessed with. Let's just say that the majority of the garden has left me wanting to call in a bobcat and start again, expect for the one amazing CHERRY TREE in the middle of the yard behind the clothesline.

I thought that it had well and truly died during the winter - it looks like the previous owner may have even taken a whipper-snipper to it - but low and behold two weeks ago tiny yellow balls of joy began to appear, and on Saturday I called around Phillip's niece and nephew (6 and 5) to attend the first official cherry picking!

Right now there is nothing better than standing out in the sun and picking fresh cherries to eat right away. Phillip and I picked a bowl and then sat on our balcony, in the sun, eating cherries and spitting the seeds out onto the grass (in the hope that more cherry trees will grow). So right now I'm not really looking for any cherry recipes, because they don't even last until I am inside ... but I am sure that the time will come when I can create something exciting and new and post it for you here!

Let the silly season begin!

Baked Gnocchi

Am I crazy - cooking Italian for Italians? Wait ... what about cooking an Italian recipe on the fly (like randomly adding ingredients into a baking dish and hoping for the best) for Italians. Well, Pat and Maria are good friends and I bet they would grin and bear even the doggiest of dishes - and I have 15 minutes before Maria picks me up for our Interior Design class - so I go for it!

I've filled the dish with yummy things that I think will go together and I cross my fingers that the gnocchi will cook in the oven, in the sauce I have created. I scribble down instructions for Phillip to put the dish in the oven (with some garlic bread) and cook at a temperature for a time that I too, just pluck out of my head. And then I am out the door.

I arrive home to find that not only is Pat and his son waiting for us for dinner, but Steve (Phillip's Dad) has also popped around. Okay - take 10 deep breaths and hope that not only is this dish edible but that it will serve 5 adults and 1 child (note I have only used a 'serves two' packet of fresh gnocchi).

I take the dishes to the table and wait with baited breath - 'Oh my god, you need to give me the recipe,' Maria says. 'This is the best gnocchi I've eaten,' Steve exclaims. And even Phillip who refuses to normally eat gnocchi says it's the best gnocchi I've made. Well it seems I have created a new dish to add to my quick meals list.

BAKED GNOCCHI

Fresh packet of Gnocchi (find it in the fridge section)

2 red capsicums

1 red onion

1 bunch of basil

1 tin of crushed tomatoes

1 jar of creamy tomato and garlic pasta sauce

2 cups of water

Dice up the capsicum and onion into 2x2cm pieces and place in a deep oven proof dish. Add in the gnocchi, tomatoes and pasta sauce. Fill the empty tin with water (approximately 1 cup) and add to the mix.

Fill the empty pasta sauce jar with water (approximately 1 cup) - shake  so that you get any of the sauce that remained in the jar when you emptied it - and then pour into the dish.

Roughly chop the bunch of basil and add to the dish. Mix so that everything is evenly distributed and then put into a 220 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.

Pimms – a perfect summertime punch

Last Friday, we had a Comms Team BBQ and didn’t Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin put on its finest! We meandered across the bridge with an esky full of wine, beer and sausages … and a sneaky bottle of Pimms.

For those who don’t know, Pimm's was first produced in 1823 by James Pimm, a farmer's son from Kent who became the owner of an oyster bar in the City of London, near the Bank of England. Pimm offered the tonic (a gin-based drink containing quinine and a secret mixture of herbs) as an aid to digestion, serving it in a small tankard known as a "No. 1 Cup", hence its subsequent name. Pimm's began large-scale production in 1851 to keep up with sales to other bars. The distillery began selling it commercially in 1859 using hawkers on bicycles. In 1865, Pimm sold the business and the right to use his name to Frederick Sawyer. In 1880 the business was acquired by future Lord Mayor of London, Horatio Davies, and a chain of Pimm's Oyster Houses was franchised in 1887. (thanks Wiki)

Pimm's No. 1 Cup is based on gin and can be served both on ice or in cocktails. It has a dark tea colour with a reddish tint, and tastes subtly of spice and citrus fruit. It is often taken with "English-style" (clear and carbonated) lemonade, as well as various chopped fresh ingredients, particularly apples, cucumber, oranges, lemons, strawberry, and borage, though nowadays most substitute mint. Ginger ale is a common substitute for lemonade. Pimm's can also be mixed with champagne (or a sparkling white wine), called a "Pimm's Royal Cup". Its base as bottled is 25% alcohol by volume. (thanks again Wiki)

PIMMS PUNCH

1 bottle of Pimms
3 bottles of 1.25L Lemonade (try not to substitute with Sprite)
1 lemon
1 apple
1 blood orange
1 punnet of strawberries
2 cucumbers
1 large bunch of mint
ICE

Thinly slice the lemon, apple and blood orange and place into your jug. Cut the green tops off your strawberries and then slice into quarters, before adding them to the jug as well. Fill the half the jug with crushed ice, before adding 1/3 of a bottle of Pimms and 1 bottle of lemonade.

Stir using a large sprig of mint – or add your large sprig of mint and mix with the handle of a wooden spoon – then add some more mint leave to the punch.

To serve, place a long thin slice of cucumber into each glass and fill with punch (making sure that each glass has some fruit in it, specifically making sure that each glass has some mint and strawberries).

 

REPEAT - until everyone is sufficiently merry (welcome to the silly season).

Recipe Swap: Maple Syrup Cake

Can you believe that it's the Recipe Swap's First Birthday? Now, I didn't part take in the original swap - but I was the first international swapper ... I started swapping at recipe number four and this is what I've been preparing since:

Recipe Swap: All Things Cabbage
Recipe Swap: Poached Pears
Recipe Swap: Jam Cake

Recipe Swap: Fish Pie

Recipe Swap: Banoffee Pie

Recipe Swap: Chocolate, Mocha Pavlova Roll
Recipe Swap: Chicken in a Pot to Chicken in a Pan

I'm so greatful to be part of this wonderful bunch! It's so great reading their interesting and insightful blogs which not only provide me with excellent cooking knowledge but also a window into their wonderful lives. Thank you Chef Dennis who's initial recipe swap prompted me to email Christianna and thank you Christianna for all your hard work and dedication to this amazing food blogging initative.

So happy birthday recipe swap - this cake is full of sweet, sweet, love, life and laughter ... oh and just a little bit of maple syrup!

FOR THE CAKE:
175 g butter, softened
100 g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

350 ml maple syrup

500 g self-raising flour

175 ml hot water

2 x 21cm sandwich tins, buttered and lined

FOR THE ICING:

1 cup Maple Syrup

1 cup cream cheese

½ tspn vanilla extract

250 g icing sugar, sifted

250 g Crushed Walnuts

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Beat together the butter and sugar until very pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well after each addition, then gradually add the maple syrup to make a smooth mixture. Finally, spoon in the flour alternately with the hot water, beating gently until smooth again.

Divide the batter between the two tins, and cook for 40 minutes. A cake-tester, inserted, should come out clean when they're cooked. Let the cakes cool in their tins on a rack for 10 minutes before unmoulding them, then leave them to get cold before you get on with the icing.

To make the icing, reduce the maple syrup by half in a heavy-bottomed pot. Then remove from the heat and add the cream cheese and the vanilla. Mix well, add the icing sugar and beat until smooth.

Using a spatula, apply the icing in a rough manner (the more licks and curls, the more likely the walnuts will stick) and then sprinkle the crushed walnuts over the top.