I sort of have that problem Robby right now because I wasn't eating too well - obvious reason now, dont think it will last too long though!! lol
hey with Xmas comming up I thought I'd post my proposed Xmas menu I will do for the whole family - our turn this year and see if any one wants to try them and see if they are ok or any suggestions to improve.
I'm doing a cocktail, soup, main with salad & 2 sweets. haven't done something like this for years so we'll see how I go.
got any ideas drop me line please or try one or two see if you think I have it right.
Drinks galore - cartons of beer, wine red & white & sparkling plus this great version of Margaritas
2 shots of tequila
1 shot Cointreau
1 shot freshly squeezed lime juice
Salt and lime wedge, to serve
Put all the ingredients into a shaker. Shake well and serve in a martini glass with a salt rim and a split lime wedge.
As for food I’ll start off with…
Prawn Cocktail
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vinegar
Pinch dry mustard
1 ½ cups olive oil
2 shallots
1kg prawns
Grated Lemon rind
Lime & lime juice
Tomato paste
Cayenne pepper
Clove garlic crushed
½ cup dry white wine
Beat the egg yolks vinegar seasoning mustard together for 30 seconds. Add the oil in a continual stream until all the ingredients are combined and then combine remaining ingredients
Serve chilled prawns on lettuce, spoon over sauce, had a thin slice of lemon to each serving ……… for a change use a Lime just because…
The I will follow with my Melon soup which is yummy..
Chilled Melon Soup
1 large rock melon
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 ½ cup cold water
1 chicken stock cube crushed
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
Freshly ground pepper
6 chives chopped
Pinch of fresh nutmeg
Peel, seed and cube rockmelon
Place half of melon into food processor and puree
Repeat with remaining melon and pour into bowl
Combine puree, lemon juice, cold water, crumbled stock cube, liqueur, pepper and nutmeg
Stir thoroughly.
Place in the refrigerator and chill for several hours before serving
When serving sprinkle chives over each serving.. Its really refreshing on a hot Xmas day when the old thermometer goes to 100+
Now the main I want something different this year for lunch, so I was thinking of the Salmon before or maybe the Duck
Salmon Fillet Wrapped in Prosciutto with Herby Lentils, Spinach and Yoghurt
9 ounces lentils
4 (8-ounce) salmon fillets, skinned and pin-boned
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices of prosciutto
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 good handfuls mixed herbs (flat-leaf parsley, basil, and mint), chopped
3 large handfuls spinach, chopped
7 ounces plain yoghurt, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Put the lentils into a pan, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer until tender. Season the salmon fillets with a little pepper before wrapping them in the prosciutto slices. Leave some of the flesh exposed. Now here I always drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for around 10 minutes until the prosciutto is golden. Feel free to cook the salmon for less time if pinker is to your liking. Drain away most of the water from the lentils and season carefully with salt, pepper, the lemon juice and olive oil. Just before serving, stir the herbs and spinach into the lentils on a high heat, until wilted. Place on plates with the salmon and finish with a drizzle of lightly seasoned yoghurt.
Now you get 4 serves easily out of this and can just add as much as you like depends on how many people - about 20 here so I just add to taste & when I say & oz etc of this or that I sort of just guess.
2 (3 1/2 pound)ducks (1.5 kilograms)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
9 ounces (255 grams) fresh ginger
2 long stalks baby rhubarb
2 handfuls fresh sage
1 bulb garlic, cloves removed and chopped in half
2 red onions, roughly sliced
2 wineglasses Marsala or Vin Santo
1 cup (285 millilitres) vegetable, chicken, or duck stock
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
Season the ducks generously, putting some salt in the cavity as well. Make sure you save the fat and the giblets for the gravy.
Coarsely grate half the ginger and rhubarb. Mix this in a bowl with half the sage and all the garlic and onion, and stuff the mixture inside the cavity of the ducks, ensuring there is an air cavity.
Place the ducks on a tray on top of the chopped up giblets and roast in the oven for one hour. Turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and cook for another 1 1/2 hours until crisp and tender. The ducks are ready when the skin is crisp and the leg bones can be easily removed.
During this time you will need to drain the fat maybe 3 times into a bowl, this will separate into a clear fat which you can keep for roasting.
Once cooked allow the ducks to rest on a warmed plate while you make the sauce. Drain off any remaining fat from the roasting tray.
Pull out all the stuffing and any juices from the inside of the duck and put in the roasting tray and warm this on a low heat.
Add the Marsala and loosen all the sticky goodness from the bottom of the tray, and reduce. Add the stock and reduce to a good taste and consistency.
Pass the sauce trough a coarse sieve.
Remove the breasts from the ducks with a knife and, using your hands, remove the thighs. Arrange the breasts and thighs on a large serving plate.
Finely slice the remaining ginger and fry off in a little hot oil (or you can use the duck fat) in a non-stick pan. As the ginger begins to color, add the rest of the rhubarb, finely sliced, and the rest of the sage. Fry until crisp. Sprinkle this over the duck and drizzle with the sauce.
DUCK OR SALMON ????????????
Now a side salad for this is something called ‘The Easiest Sexiest Salad in the World’
4 ripe figs
4 slices prosciuitto or Parma ham
A good handful green or purple basil
4 small balls buffalo mozzarella, torn
For the Honey and Lemon Juice Dressing:
1 tablespoon good honey - I love to use wild honey
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut a criss-cross in the figs, but not quite to the bottom, and then, using your thumb and forefinger, squeeze the base of the fig to reveal the inside.
Place the figs on a large plate and weave around I piece of prosciutto or Palma ham around each fig.
Add the ripped up basil and the buffalo mozzarella.
Drizzle over the honey, making sure each fig has some in the middle, then drizzle the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
Or mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl and season, to taste, then drizzle everything with the honey and lemon juice dressing if you’re in a hurry, it works really just the same
Chocolate & wattleseed mousse
ingredients
600ml cream
1 cup of melted dark chocolate
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup strong wattleseed syrup (ground & roasted then put through a expresso machine)
method
Whip cream until nearly piping consistency with caster sugar then add chocolate and wattleseed syrup and mix pipe into champagne saucers and refrigerate for 1 hour. Garnish with fresh strawberry , mint and sugar bark. Dust with chocolate icing sugar and serve. You can also place the mousse in a chocolate basket or a brandy snap basket.
And also
Portuguese Chocolate Tarts
5 ounce (150 gram) slab puff pastry
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons caster sugar (superfine sugar)
Pinch allspice
A couple pinches cinnamon
1 orange, zested
For the filling:
5 1/2 fluid ounces (160 millilitres) double cream (heavy cream)
2 level tablespoons caster sugar
The smallest pinch salt
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 pound best-quality baking chocolate, broken up
1 1/2 fluid ounces (50 millilitres) milk
Cocoa powder, for dusting
Dust a surface with flour and roll out your pastry to a bit bigger than an 8 1/2-by-11-inch sheet of paper. Brush with the egg yolk and scatter the rest of the ingredients over, being subtle with the allspice and cinnamon. Roll the pastry up tightly like a Swiss roll to make a long sausage shape. With a knife, cut across the sausage into 1-inch (2 1/2-centimeter) pieces. Take 8 pieces aside, and freeze the rest of the pastry for a rainy day.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C/gas 6).
Turn all the pieces of pastry swirl-side up and flatten them slightly. Dust the surface of your pastry with flour, then roll each piece out into a thin circle (around the size of a teacup saucer). Even I don't have proper pastry mold’s at home, so I just grease and flour the outsides of 8 of my glass tumblers. Then, I place a circle of pastry on top of each tumbler, pleating, pinching and hugging the pastry around them.
Place the tumblers on a baking tray, pastry at the top, and put in the preheated oven until crisp and golden, around 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and, while still hot, take a tea towel and pat the slightly raised top of the pastry back down on to the flat bottom of the tumbler giving you a flat base again. Allow to cool, and carefully remove the pastry cases from around the tumblers.
Fill your pastry cases with the chocolate filling: Place the double cream, sugar, and pinch of salt in a pan and bring to the boil. As soon as the mixture has boiled, remove from the heat, and add the butter and chocolate. Stir until it has completely melted. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, stirring in the cold milk until smooth and shiny. Sometimes this mixture looks like it has split. Allow the mixture to cool down a bit more, and whisk in a little extra cold milk until smooth. Scrape all the mixture into the cooked pastry shells. Shake to even it out and allow to cool for around 1 to 2 hours, until it is at room temperature. Dust with the cocoa powder. Ultimately the pastry should be short and crisp and the filling should be smooth and should cut like butter.
Well ambitious I hear you say, yep, but my BIL is a chef so he said he'll help on the day before & I can use his kitchen. But hes a slave driver in his kitchen, talk about Hitler... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />
