H’s Gluten-free Dough-ball Wreath with Camembert

This worked well – good eating for all of us, wheat-eaters as well.

It’s not a “pale imitation” of a bread-based wreath; it’s different – more like a scone.

H’s Christmas beef marinade (for roughly 3 kg of beef)

Stunning!

Like all the best recipes, she tasted frequently and tweaked – adding a bit of this or a bit of that. The flavour it’s complex – you’ll get layers of taste, one after the other; first the Yemeni spice, then the cumin, then the chilli, and last the orange. Fascinating.

Christmas Nut Roast

Why on earth would I make a nut roast at Christmas, when one of the guests has a nut allergy?

Aha – but chestnuts are not nuts 😉 .

Christmas (?) Braised Red Cabbage

Years ago, I made a pot of braised red cabbage, and H loved the stuff. And then lost the recipe 😦 . All I remember is that it had 12 juniper berries; and an apple or two? Not much help.

Every year since, in the week before Christmas, I’ve googled and googled. And nothing I have found gets near that first attempt 😦 .

Fingers crossed that Paul Cunningham’s recipe does the trick – if so, one grateful Dad here, Paul.

Tahini Bread

A stroke of Turkish genius. Mix tahini paste with sugar, bake in the right bread dough … and you get the taste and texture of halvah, hallawah, whatever you might call it in different parts of the Middle East, neatly packaged for breakfast!

Easily adapted for different fillings – like cinnamon rolls. Just a little different from (and, dare I say? Better than? …) any number of cinnamon bun recipes.

Baked Brie/Camembert and Bread Wreath

I’s Christmas 2020 recipe.

A tear-and-share spectacular.

Cheesy Leeks – from Christmas 2020

“Who said Cheesy Leeks are bland?” Hands up – I did; and I was wrong ;-).

All I can say …

• any time I’ve been served them when eating out, they’ve had a sauce soft enough to melt into the gravy from the roast meat. Sorry – that spoils the leeks. AND WORSE, ruins the gravy. Lesson – with a roast and gravy, you want a thicker, more robust sauce.
• only time I made them, I used a cheese sauce I’d make for cauliflower. And that was too bland, given that a leek is more robust veggie than a cauli. Lesson – boost the flavours.

Here goes – call it “lessons-learning cheesy leeks”.

Filo “Mince Pies”

This wee tweak on Mince Pies worked for “lovers”, “likers”, and even some of the “dislikers”. And it worked for the cook, being so quick and fuss-free to assemble and cook. No self-interest there!

Scottish Shortbread

The ingredients could not be simpler – flour, butter, and sugar. The techniques are the simplest.

Deceptively simple. So what makes good shortbread? Quality of ingredients and technique (and a smdgeon of luck). I doubt there’s a Scots family riven by rivalry between shortbread bakers. Or (more common?), with tales of family members, legendary for their failures!

Brussels Sprouts with Orange and Ginger

Don’t boil sprouts. Just don’t.

This recipe keeps the sprouts crisp to the bite, with a bit of “zing” on the tongue.