Fun and Scrumptious Spicy Roast Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Struggling to decide what to make for dinner, I thought about what I already had in my cupboard.  Paprika, oregano, sage, garlic, chillies and stock cubes.  Granted, combined they wouldn’t be very filling but what could I add to make a really tasty dish?!

I wandered the aisles of the supermarket and found myself staring at the reduced section for inspiration.  On the first look there were only microwave meals but my timing was impeccable.  A lovely fleeced gentleman wheeled across a trolley full of reduced meat just before I gave up my search.

On the trolley: lamb (didn’t need to look at the cut, as you’ve read before, to me lamb tastes like the smell of sweaty old men – that’s out!), stir frying pork (looked a little shabby) and British pork sausages. 

“Mmm, yes, I do like a good sausage,” I thought.

With my decent girth sausages in my basket I was thinking casserole.  Hmm, not so great with the chillies that needed using up. 

Cue light bulb…“soup!”…

I then purchased a 1kg bag of sweet potatoes and a bag of split red lentils.  I spent 6 to 7 minutes battling with the self-service check out machine (don’t bother using your own bag, the machine gets VERY angry…and the shop assistants will follow shortly after!) and headed back to my flat for some wintery cooking.

 

Spicy Roast Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup

Ingredients (serves 4):

3 British pork sausages (or more, depends how much you like sausage really!)

6 small sweet potatoes (or roughly 1kg)

200g of red split lentils

2 beef stock cubes

2 cloves of garlic

1 large red chilli

2 tbsp ground paprika

1 tbsp dried oregano

6 large fresh sage leaves (or equivalent)

Salt and olive oil

Natural yoghurt (for dressing)

Method:

1)    Start by turning up the TV in the lounge so you can hear it in the kitchen (Masterchef the Professionals was on and it’s the finals!!!).  Or, recruit someone to stand and talk to you in the kitchen (I’m running out of willing volunteers for an ear bashing…apparently I talk a lot?!?!).

2)    Rinse the lentils in a sieve.  Fill a large saucepan with water and drop in the lentils.  You should have roughly 5 parts water to 1 part lentils but if anything add more water than necessary.  Bring the lentils to boil for 10 minutes then allow them to simmer for 20 minutes.

3)    In the meantime, preheat your oven/grill to 200°C.  Make 3 small cuts into each side of your sausages and pop them until the grill.  They will need to cook for around 20 minutes to allow the fat the drain and the outsides to turn a nice crispy brown colour.  Once cooked, remove from the grill and set to one side.  Turn off the grill element of the oven at this stage to prevent burning your potatoes.

4)    Peel your potatoes and cut them into chunks.  Place them evenly spread out on a baking try and sprinkle both sides with a small about of salt and olive oil.  You don’t need a lot of oil, sweet potatoes roast very easily.  Pop these into the oven on a shelf under the sausages and cook for 20-30 minutes until the outsides are turning crispy and the insides are wonderful and soft.

5)    Finely slice your cloves of garlic and add these to the roasting dish with your potatoes for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

6)    Once the lentils have been simmering for 20 minutes, stir in the chilli (finely sliced), oregano, paprika, roasted garlic and roughly chopped sage (keep a small amout of sage for serving).

7)    Make 1 ½ pints of beef stock and stir this into the lentils.

8)    I do not intend this to be a blended soup as I like a little texture to my food, so at this stage, mash your sweet potatoes and stir them into the saucepan.

9)    You will probably need to add a little salt at this point but taste your soup and add as much or as little as you think is necessary.

10) If you would prefer a blended soup, pour the mixture into a blender and once blended smooth, return it to the pan.

11) Cut the sausages into bite-size chunks and add these to the soup.  Stir the soup until heated through.

12) Serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt and a little sage. 

 

 

Some useful hints and tips I have learned from experience:

1)    Remember that you have cut a chilli before doing any of the following:

a.    Touching your face

b.    Removing your contact lenses

c.    Eating something with your fingers

d.    BOYS ONLY – taking a pee (this is not one from MY OWN experience!)

2)    Try not to:

a.    Eat too many chunks of sweet potato before adding them to your soup

b.    Eat too many chunks of sausage before adding them to your soup

3)    Do:

a.    Have some honey in the cupboard to finish off your pot of natural yoghurt for dessert

b.    Have left-overs for your work lunch or freeze some for later

4)    Being healthy:

a.    Substitute a more lean mean for the sausage

b.    Leave out meat entirely to make a tasty Spicy Roast Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Soup

 FINALLY...enjoy my recipe for Spicy Roast Sweet Potato and Sausage Soup!!!! J

SUPER HEALTHY WINTER VEGETABLE CHILLI RECIPE

In winter we need something warm, hearty and healthy to keep our spirits up and to help us fight off those winter bugs. 

This vegetable chilli is spicy and full of vitamins and anti-oxidants.  So, go get changed from your outdoor clothes. Throw on your sloggies and cosy slippers and get ready for a winter warmer meal in front of the fire.

Ingredients:
 
1 seasonal squash
 
1 carrot
 
1 red peper
 
1 yellow pepper
 
1 green peer
 
1 medium onion
 
1 can of red kidney beans in chilli sauce
 
400g (1 can) of chopped tomatoes
 
1 red chilli
 
2 cloves of garlic
 
2 tbsp ground paprika
 
2 tbsp ground chilli powder
 
salt, pepper and olive oil
 
4 handfuls of rice

Method:
 
1) Slice the onion into semi circles around a £1 in width and finely chop the garlic.  Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a deep saucepan and add the onion and garlic on a medium to high heat until the onion is softening and the garlic is beautifully fragrant.
 
2) Chop the squash and carrot into chunky cubes and roughly chop the peppers into similar sized chunks.  Add these to the pan with the onions and garlic and turn the heat down to medium.  Cook the vegetables for 4-5 minutes.
 
3) Finely slice the chilli and add it to the pan.  Sprinkle the paprika and chilli powder over the vegetables and stir to ensure they are envenly covered.
 
4) Pour the chilli beans and chopped tomatoes into the pan and stir.  Place the lid on the saucepan and allow the chilli to cook for 20 minutes (or until the vegetables are cooked through), turning the heat down if the sauce begins to stick.  Taste the sauce occasionally and add salt and pepper to taste (or leave out the salt for a healthier version).
 
5) Whilst the chilli is cooking add the rice (basmati or brown rice for a healthier alternative) to a pan and cover with water.  The water should easily cover the rice.  Bring the rice to boil then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
 
6) Sit down, put your feet up and watch trash TV for 10 minutes.  Before serving your super healthy vegetable chilli with rice.

 

 



 

Healthy Meals for one in less than 15 minutes

Tired from work? Bored of cooking for one? Looking for something quick, cheap and easy (a meal I mean!)?

If you’re anything like me (always hungry), having walked two miles home from work in the cold, tired and fed up, you just want a quick healthy fix to feed you up.  You want it to be tasty and you aren’t too fussed what it looks like.

Here are a few fast meals I like after work.  You don’t need many ingredients.  Each dish costs less than £2 to make.  Bulk ingredients can be used for more than one meal.  AND they all count towards your FIVE A DAY!

Ham, Cheese and Onion Omelette with Salad (Monday)

Ingredients:

2 medium free range eggs

2 slices or a handful or grated cheese (any you like really but something which doesn’t take too long to melt, a mild cheddar maybe)

½ medium onion (sliced)

1 slice of cooked Ham roughly cut into chunky pieces (I like a good slice of honey cured or breaded ham from a deli or butcher but packet ham will do just fine too)

1 salad tomato

Salad leaves

Tbsp of olive oil and a little to drizzle on your salad

Salt and pepper

Option: low fat coleslaw

Method:

1)    Mix the eggs in a bowl or cup to combine them.

2)    Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium to high heat.  When the oil is hot put the sliced onion into the pan and fry until beginning to soften.  Put the onions to one side.

3)    Pour the eggs into the frying pan covering as much of the base of the pan as possible without leaving gaps in the egg.  Turn the heat down to medium.

4)    Leave the egg to cook for a minute or so until there is a small area still uncooked in the middle of the omelette.

5)    Whilst the egg is cooking put a handful of salad leaves and the tomato (cut into 6 or 8 pieces) onto one side of a plate and drizzle with olive oil.  (Option: pop your coleslaw on the side if you want it too)

6)    Scatter the onion and ham around the omelette and sprinkle over the grated cheese or place the cheese slices on opposite sides of the omelette.

7)    As the cheese starts to melt use a spatula to fold one side of the omelette onto the other so you are left with a half-moon shape.

8)    Serve immediately with your side of salad.

 

Chorizo and Pancetta Egg Fried Rice (Tuesday)

Ingredients:

70g of sliced chorizo roughly cut into chunks

2 slices of pancetta, prosciutto or bacon

2 medium free range eggs

½ a can of petit pois

½ a can of sweetcorn

½ a medium onion (sliced)

1 clove of garlic

2 tbsp of olive oil

Soy sauce or hot sauce

Method:

1)    Place your rice in a saucepan over a medium to high heat.  Bring the rice to boil then turn down the heat and let it simmer for around 10 minutes (the rice packet should guide you here).

2)    Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan on a medium to high heat.  When the oil is hot, fry the onion until almost softened.  Crush in the clove of garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant.

3)    Add the petit pois and sweetcorn to the pan and stir. 

4)    Push the vegetables to one side in the pan and crack one egg onto the clear side.  Stir it quickly to combine the white and the yolk and allow it to scramble.  Once scrambled, stir the egg and vegetables to combine.

5)    Reduce the heat to medium and add in the chopped chorizo.  Stir so that everything is evenly combined.

6)    Now heat the remaining oil in another frying pan.  When sizzlingly hot, crack in one egg for frying.  Flip the hot oil over the egg with a spatula.  Add the two slices of pancetta and leave both to fry.

7)    When the rice is cooked, drain and add it to the frying pan with the vegetables, stirring to bring everything together.

8)    Once combined, put the fried rice on your plate and top with the fried egg and pancetta.

9)    Pop a little soy sauce or hot sauce on the rice to your taste.

 

Chorizo and Black Olive Noodles (Wednesday)

Ingredients:

(At least) 70g of sliced chorizo

1 pepper (or the equivalent made up of yellow, red and green peppers)

12-15 black pitted olives

Tsp Oregano

Tsp Basil

400g (1 can) of chopped tomatoes (buy these ready mixed with herbs to avoid having to add the oregano and basil they’ll still taste good)

1 nest of egg noodles (I use these because they’re lighter on the stomach than pasta and they cook much more quickly but spaghetti will work great!)

Salt and pepper

Method:

1)    Bring the noodles to boil in a pan of salt water (just a pinch of salt).  Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes (don’t let them get soggy or sticky).

2)    Place a frying pan on medium to high heat and pop in your sliced pepper(s).  You don’t need oil as there is enough juice in the pepper to prevent it burning but you can add olive oil if you prefer.  Cook the peppers until they are starting to soften a little.

3)    Cut the olives in half and add them to the pan. 

4)    Add the chopped tomatoes (and herbs if you have bought separate herbs) and allow the sauce to simmer until the excess juice from the tomatoes has reduced.

5)    Cut your chorizo slices into chunks and add them to the sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

6)    Once the noodles have cooked, drain them and return them to the empty pan.  Pour the sauce over the noodles and stir.  Serve whilst hot.

 

Sardine Penne Pasta (Thursday)

Ingredients:

1 can of grilled sardines in brine

12-15 pitted black olives

400g (1 can) of chopped tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Two handfuls of penne pasta (fresh or hard is fine)

Method:

1)    Bring the penne pasta to boil in salt water (just a pinch of salt) then leave simmering for 8-10 minutes.  Remove and drain the pasta when it is just cooked or to taste.

2)    Cut the olives in half and add to a saucepan on medium to high heat.  Add the tomatoes and reduce to a nice thick tomato sauce.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3)    Once the sauce and pasta are almost ready add the sardines to the sauce to allow them to warm through.

4)    Add the drained pasta to the sauce, stir to cover the pasta and serve.

5)    If you would like a richer sauce, add 2 tbsps of light double cream to the sauce whilst it is simmering.

 

These dishes are incredibly simple, cheap and quick.  They are perfect for one but just multiply the ingredients for more people.  They should keep you going Monday to Thursday…then…it’s time for the WEEKEND!!!

The Food and Drinks of Marrakech - Indulge your senses

A trip to Marrakech allows you to indulge in a host of tastes and experiences in the small space of one City.  From shopping in the souks and eating street food to the extravagance of fine bars and restaurants and lazing by the pool, Marrakech truly is a city of contrasts.

Soaking up the sun, absorbing the smells of spices and the hustle and bustle of market trading in the souks is a  fascinating way to pass a day but for me, Marrakech comes to life at night.  As dusk settles, the main square is transformed into possibly the world’s largest street kitchen. 

 

 

With stall sellers pulling you this way and that to eat food at “one-one-seven the stairway to heaven” and so many stands specialising in sheep brain, it is difficult to know where to pitch your butt. 

 

Having a week in Marrakech allowed us to explore kebabs, sausages, tagines, cous cous, Moroccan sauce, flat breads, the works. 

 

The cous cous is particularly interesting.  It is much more simple than what you would buy in a packet in the UK.  The base is cous cous seasoned lightly and it is the stewed vegetables served on top which really add the flavour.

You could reinvent a similar dish by making cous cous in salt and water in much the same way you would boil and simmer rice – make sure you stop before it becomes gloopy!  For the vegetables, chop carrots, cabbage and onions into large chunks.  Place them in a pan covered with beef or chicken stock and add in chick peas.  Stew them in the stock with spices such a saffron, turmeric and paprika.  Serve the vegetables on top of a plate of the seasoned cous cous.

 To make similar kebabs and sausages to those on the Moroccan stalls, roll your meat (chicken, beef or lamb) in herbs and spices such as ground coriander, cumin, pepper, paprika, and mint.  Then spike it with a skewer.  These would be perfect cooked on a barbeque but an oven grill would work just as well.

Moroccan sauce (or so the street sellers call it!) is delightful as a dip with flat bread.  It is essentially a salsa of chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, fresh coriander and mint and a little heat (a drop or two of tabasco sauce would work well here but a chopped chilli would do just as well).

My hunch is that you won’t be making your flat bread like this…

…so I suggest buying it readymade!

We ate endless tagines in Marrakech, we quite simply couldn’t get enough.  The basis of a tagine?  Well, with a tagine dish ideally or just a ceramic casserole dish, add chucks of meat, stock, vegetables and any herbs and spices you can get your hands on.  Pop the dish into the oven on a low heat for as long as you are happy to wait…

 

…that said, I definitely had a favourite tagine whilst we were in Marrakech…

 

To attempt to recreate this tagine:

(serving 2-3)

Ingredients:

600g of meat

2 medium onions

3 cloves of garlic

150g of almond flakes

2 pinches of saffron

Tsp of ground nutmeg

Tsp of ground pepper

2 star anise

1 large cinnamon stick

600ml of stock

250g of figs

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 160 °c.

Choose a meat, probably lamb but I would go for beef as I personally think Lamb tastes like the smell of sweaty men on the tube.  Depending on how many people you intend to feed, I’d suggest 600g of meat for two hearty portions or three people. 

Seal your meat in a frying pan with a little olive oil but be careful not to cook it.  Add the meat to a casserole dish or tagine pot.

Cut two medium onions into chunks and lightly fry in a tbsp of olive oil for around 3-4 minutes (or until starting to turn golden brown), to release the sweet onion flavours.  After the first 2 minutes add in three crushed cloves of garlic, which should give off a strong smell as it cooks through.  Pop the onions and garlic into your pot with the meat.

Lightly roast 150g of almond flakes in a clean frying pan.  To do this, put your frying pan over a medium heat and once hot add the flakes.  Leave the flakes to toast for a minute or so then continue toasting them on the heat stirring/flipping them continuously.  Once they have changed to a golden shade of brown and are smelling delicious, pop them into your casserole or tagine pot.

Add enough hot beef/lamb stock to your dish so that the contents is just covered.

Add 2 pinches of saffron (this will give your dish colour as well as flavour), 2 star anise, a tsp of ground nutmeg, a tsp of ground pepper, 1 large cinnamon stick and stir.

Pop the lid on your dish and cook it in the pre-heated oven for approximately 3 hours (most importantly, until the meat is tender and ready to melt in your mouth).  Check the dish hourly to make sure there is enough stock to prevent the meat from drying out. 

After the first 1.5-2 hours of your dish cooking, chop the figs into halves and stir them into the dish.  Then return the dish to the oven.

Serve immediately whilst still sizzling in your casserole dish/tagine with cous cous.

Good snacks in Marrakech:

The climate in Morocco means it is perfect for home grown nuts and figs.  These are sold by the barrel in the main square and on the streets of Marrakech.  Don’t miss out, they’re a perfect healthy snack (and no doubt great for moving along your digestive system!).

 

What not to eat in Marrakech:

Morocco isn’t really a great place for dessert, or at least not for a traditional British palate.  Whilst the fruits are wonderful and the mint exquisite, Moroccan desserts are spice based.  My biggest mistake of the trip (probably because I didn’t try the sheep brain) was trying what looked to me like a chocolate bomb in the Medina.  It was a pear shaped mass of dried spices which I did my utmost to swallow politely in front of the stall seller who had lovingly made the…well…yack ball, for want of better terminology.

Tipples:

Definitely, definitely do try real Moroccan mint tea.  The traditional method for making this tea is to soak crushed dates and add fresh mint leaves.  As the mint is so tasty, the less traditional, purely sugar based mint teas are still nice but the date juice tea is much better.

Many cafes around the souks have roof top terraces.  My suggestion would be to get their mint tea and when you’re weary from the hustle and bustle, watch the chaos of the markets from the top of the world.

Where not to get it from – carpet sellers…in exchange for one small cup of mint tea you WILL be expected to purchase a rug!

The oranges are incredibly sweet in Morocco and great for a sweet tooth like mine as well as a much needed refreshing cool drink in the warm climate.

And the street sellers are truly happy to serve you their juice…

DOMESTIC GODDESS OR A CARAMELISED DISASTER?

Taking advantage of being in Newcastle for a week and not rushing to jump on a train from London on a Friday night, I decided to invite the girls to my flat for nibbles and mulled wine ahead of the festive season.

Nibbles on the menu:

Caramelised fruit and nut tarts (Humming Bird Bakery Recipe)

Salmon and cheese baked tarts

Homemade sweet potato wedges with sweet chilli dip

Garlic mushrooms and twice baked rosemary oil ciabatta

Cheese board (brie, smoked bavarian, cranberry wensleydale, red grapes, apple, onion and garlic chutney, red onion chutney)

Popcorn

Tipple on the menu:

Homemade mulled wine

(for six people)

Oh so prepared, I made my trip to the supermarket and prepared my pastry to be refrigerated on Wednesday evening. This left me plenty of time to make as many of my nibbles as possible on Thursday evening (ready to be served or reheated on Friday after a dash home from work) and to spruce the flat...or so I thought!

Having slid out of the door passed my head of department at 5.05pm on Thursday evening, I threw on my sloggies and my fluffy boot slippers. All was going well; I rolled and baked 16 pastry tart bottoms and set them away baking.

6-8 of the tart bases were to be used for the caramelised fruit and nut tarts. Following the Hummingbird Bakery recipe, I measured 550g of fruit and nuts (peanuts, brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, raising, apricots, cherries, cranberries, sultanas), 210g of caster sugar, got 6 tbsp of butter and 60ml of light double cream ready.

Then for the caramel disaster...I put the sugar into a pan with a shot glass of water and brought it to boil over a medium heat. I have previously made these tarts following this recipe and they worked perfectly, FIRST TIME!! After ten minutes of boiling, the water had evaporated from the pan and left me with (a slightly crustier version of) sugar! Perplexed, I dropped in a little more water, turned the heat up slightly and began again.

Ten minutes later...I was left with (now very very crusty) sugar AGAIN!

Annoyed, I scrapped the sugar, threw the pan into the sink (with water to try to dissolve the crust that had completely covered the bottom of the pan) and started again. I weighed out my sugar popped a little water into the pan and this time turned the heat lower and brought to boil. When the solution started to look like my first two attempts, I threw in a slab of butter to see if I could brown it with the butter in the pan.

NOPE!!!

Angry, I scrapped the runny butter with chunks of sugar and threw a second pan into the sink.

Dismayed, I moved on to another dish to take my mind of the caramel conundrum.

I made the filling for my Salmon and Cheese Baked Tarts. These were an idea dreamt up at work when I was hungry but they worked really well and, once the tart bases are prepared, they are really easy.

I mixed 200g of light soft cheese with a heap tbsp of wholegrain mustard. I chopped three spring onions and a handful and chives and mixed those in too. I cut 150g of smoked salmon into small pieces of 1-2cm x 1-2cm. I mixed in the salmon and added around 60ml of light double cream. The mix spread evenly between 7 tart cases (based on a mould approximately 10cm in diameter). I then grated matured cheddar cheese on top of each tart, ready to be baked just before serving for around 5-10 minutes (or until hot throughout) on 180c.

Having successfully completed one dish and placed it into the fridge, I still couldn't face the caramel fiasco again. I decided to chop two large sweet potatoes into wedges and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. I pre-heated the oven to 210c and baked the potatoes for 25-30 minutes, turning once to bake both sides. Once crisped on the outside, the wedges can be rebaked later.

Two dishes down, I STILL wasn't calm enough to attempt the caramel again. I decided to work on the Rosemary Oil Ciabatta. I sliced a part-baked ciabatta into wedges of 2-3cm. I mixed around half a cup full of olive oil with a whole stalk of rosemary until the oil became fragrant with rosemary. With my hands, I rubbed the rosemary oil into the wedges of ciabatta and baked for approximately 10 minutes on each side until crisp. These can be rebaked for 5 minutes each side before serving.

With Salmon tarts, wedges and the ciabatta prepared, I arranged my cheese board (apple slices to be cut just before guests arrive, otherwise that nasty shade of brown will appear!). With only mushrooms left to prepare, which are best prepared on the day to prevent reheating and mushroom shrinking, I knew what I had to do...

...THE caramel...

My last attempt. Attempt four and I was already scraping the barrel...quite literally, pulling together enough sugar intended for tea and coffee as I could find in various pots...

I turned the heat up to the highest I had yet, put the sugar and water into the pan and brought it to boil. Not believing my first attempt at making caramel could have been such a successful flook, whilst I was waiting for my sugar to caramelise, I re-read the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I was doing everything it said...then why?!?!? Please...why?!!?

After 10 minutes the sugar had a slight tinge of yellow...."this is it!" I excitedly shouted aloud to nobody..."this is it!”

But the brown never came..."please, sugar, just brown. Please, please, just for me!”

Sweating, flushed in the cheeks and downright livid, I threw the pan into the sink and slumped against the kitchen wall..."I don't underSTAND!" I screamed to nobody. At this point, life had lost all reason. Making caramel had become the biggest event of my life and it would be done!

After 10 deep breaths I switched my sloggies for jeans, jumped in the car and drove to the supermarket for more sugar and butter. As hubby-to-be has since pointed out, this would have been the perfect opportunity to buy ready made caramel and claim it as my own..."How COULD I POSSibly?!" was my response to that.

I would not be defeated!

I took a clean pan, 210g of sugar, a shot glass full of water and set about boiling my sugar. It boiled, it crystallised. It got thrown in the bin.

"One last time," I told hubby-to-be. "If this doesn't work, I promise I will come to bed." Time check 11.05pm.

I put my sugar and water in the pan, boiled and having a temper tantrum turned the heat up to full blast when the sugar was already to stiff to salvage.

Attempt six = pan in bin. Anger now becoming irrational distress. There may even have been a tear amongst my sweating cheeks.

"But what can I do?"

"Laura, please let me go to sleep," begged hubby-to-be.

"Right, fine, so I'll just throw out my pastry bases, should I?"

"Mmm.." he said, rolling over without a care.

NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! THIS IS SUGAR AND WATER FOR PEETS SAKE!!

So, in temper, I put the hob as high as it would go, threw some random amount of sugar in a pan and it boiled instantly...within 2 minutes I had a wonderful golden brown syrup. I added butter and light double cream until a beautiful caramel baby was born. I mixed it with the fruit and nuts, spooned it into seven tart bases and slept like a dream.

BUT was it a dream? When I woke at 6.50am on Friday morning, knowing I still had to clean the flat before work due to the escapades of the night before, I ran straight to the fridge and checked...IT WAS NOT A DREAM! There they were, my seven beautiful babies ready for a dollop of whipped cream before serving...

...and I managed to be sat at my desk for 9am...a caramel disaster will not defeat a TRUE domestic Goddess!!!

The tipple:

For my mulled wine I squeezed the juice of two medium juicy oranges into a large saucepan with around 200g of sugar.  I put the mixture over a medium-high heat and added the peel from both oranges, one large cinamon stick and three bay leaves.  I heated the mix until the juice had reduced and a viscous liquid was left - not quite a syrup.  I reduced the heat to low (you don't want to burn off too much alcohol ;-)) and add two bottles of decent tempranillo and two star anise.  Was the sugar mixture and the wine had incorporated I left the mulled wine to cool for a few hours to allow the flavours to incorporate.  I reheated the mulled wine very slowly on a low heat before serving and kept it on the lowest possible heat until the girls had drained the pan!

Cheats:

For the sake of time, on this occasion I bought the popcorn, chutney and sweet chilli dipping sauce ready made, although one of my favourite starters is a Mediterranean Vegetable and Goats Cheese Stack. I make my own red onion chutney with the stack so keep following and the chutney recipe will be revealed!

Until then...enjoy trying these recipes for your festive gatherings!