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!