Christmas Menu 2010 #4 - Ice Cream Cones

A lot of work goes into a magazine cover, because it's meant to be so gorgeous and enticing you won't be able to leave the shop without it.

...and so it is with Delicious. The December issue, featuring Valli Little's White Christmas Ice Cream Cones, is a vision befitting the Magazine's 100th Edition!

But when deciding to attempt something you see on the cover of a mag you should always remember what effort has gone into the photograph to get it looking the way it does. Believe me there is a LOT OF STYLING & ZSHUZING!!!

I decided to make Valli's Ice Cream Cones for our pre-Christmas get together...and here's the result. Certainly not a disaster by any stretch, but not as "sharp and precise" as Valli's.

Not bad though

Valli makes them sound very simple and while they weren't hard, they were fiddly and a little frustrating, but hey, I'll be better next time....and there will be a next time.

Here are Valli's instructions, I'll tell you what I learned at the end.

Makes 8

125 gr mixed glace fruits
1/3 cup sherry
125 gr dark chocolate
1.25 litres vanilla ice cream, softened
2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped

Finely chop fruits and place in bowl with sherry and let soak overnight
To prepare paper moulds, cut eight 30cmx20cm sheets of baking paper. Trim 8 sheets of plain A-4 paper into the same size
Lay baking paper sheet over a sheet of regular paper and bring top right corners into the middle of the paper and then roll to form a cone shape. secure with sticky tape...repeat with the remaining sheets of paper and place in 8 champagne flutes or slim wine glasses.

Finely chop or grate chocolate, drain the fruits and discard the liquid...fold into softened ice cream with the almonds and chocolate then scoop the mixture into the cones, packing down ice cream tightly to get it into the point. Put in freezer overnight

To serve, remove tape and unwrap the paper. Invert cones onto serving plates.

Here's what I did...I bought myself some poly cones from a craft shop to help me with the shape and size thinking it would make it a little easier to get the "mould" right...the thing is though, the baking paper and poly cones don't like each other and are extremely slippery to handle.

Sticky tape doesn't take a firm grip on the baking paper either....and remember, don't put a piece of tape near the top of the cove because it'll be extremely difficult to remove and keep the "point" in tact when you want to serve them

If you use berries, as I did rather than dried fruit, chop the berries up as they can get stuck at the point end of the cone, preventing ice-cream getting all the way down.

I also mixed in some grated white chocolate and thickened cream (about half a cup) into the ice cream with the berries.

Here they are in the freezer.....

...and here's the end result.

I put a drop of green food colouring in the last batch to give them a different look....

So there you have it. Definitely worth the effort...but do a trial run before you attempt this for a big night...and make sure you do it AT LEAST A DAY or more in advance.

Christmas Menu 2010 - Easy Glazed Ham

Thought I'd repeat my glazed ham recipe again, because I was so pleased with the way it turned out this year

It looks luscious and it tasted good too!

Here's this years recipe...it's easy peasy. I bought a shoulder of ham, it was about 3 1/2 kilograms.

1 cup orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whisky
1/2 cup port
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon (or large dollop) grainy mustard
1 teaspoon hot English mustard

Preheat oven to around 150 Celsius and line a baking tray or roasting pan with baking paper.

Mix all glaze ingredients together in a saucepan and let it simmer on the stove until the sugar and honey have all melted together.

Remove the skin from the ham, making an incision in the rind then work your hand under the skin and ease it off, making sure to leave a good layer of fat. Also, leave a layer of rind near the end of the leg. It makes it easier to hold.

Make criss-cross shallow cuts in the fat with a sharp knife, place a clove in each diamond, then spoon or brush some of the glaze over the meat, making sure to cover it all. Let it sit for 15 minutes so it can soak in, then repeat.

Place in oven for 15 minutes, remove and spoon more glaze over the meat. Do this 3 more times and then it's done.

It's well worth investing an hour in this as the comments and compliments alone will be worth it

Enjoy!

Christmas Menu 2010 #3 - 3 Tier Brown Sugar Pavlova

I've never been a huge fan of pavlova, especially the bought variety. They're usually too hard, crunchy and dense like solid sugar... Not my cup of tea at all. But this is a different kettle of fish altogether. The meringue is soft and light and melts in the mouth. The finished pav is pretty easy on the eye as well.

This is a Valli Little recipe from the November 2010 edition of Delicious Magazine....and as usual, I altered it ever so slightly to suit my taste and oven.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
1 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornflour
6 egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white vinegar
500 grams mixed berries (frozen is OK as long as they're thawed)
300 ml thickened cream
200 ml sour cream

Method:

Preheat the oven to 120 Celsius
Grease and line the bottom of three 24cm cake pans and then grease again.
Place the brown sugar, cornflour and caster sugar in a bowl or food processor and whisk or whizz it so it's all combined and there are no lumps.
In a bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form then, while the motor's still running, gradually add the sugar and cornflour mixture, a spoonful at a time, mixing until stiff and glossy. It shouldn't take long.
Fold in the vanilla and vinegar, then divide the mix between the three cake pans and put in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. Then switch off the oven, open the door a little and let it cool completely.

For the berries: Place 1/2 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved and it's reduced a little. Once it's cooled down add the berries, swirl them around and then mash them a little with a potato masher or fork until some of their juice combines with the sugar syrup.

Whip the cream and sour cream together, then just before serving, place the first meringue on a cake stand or plate, spread some cream over it then pour some of the berry mix on top. Repeat with the next layer and the next. Place some fresh berries on top, pour the syrup mix over the top and there you have it.

Do not assemble this beauty until you're ready to serve it as it will become a rather large sloppy, soggy mess...that's how light the meringue is.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a Valli Little recipe from Delicious Magazine. But one day, when I couldn't find the mag to check on ingredients, I did an online search and found an identical recipe (three layer berry and brown sugar pavlova) with almost identical photograph at Epicurious.com. Not sure who developed it first, but hey, it's absolutely luscious no matter who it was.

ENJOY ! ! ! !

Christmas Menu 2010 #2 - Chicken thighs wrapped in prosiutto

I've been a big fan of Stacey over at Stacey Snacks for a long time. I always check out her recipes because, not only are they tasty, they are also very do-able.

When I saw her Chicken thighs wrapped in prosciutto I knew they were going to be on my Christmas menu because, apart from looking great, they were good for the kids because they could eat them with their hands if they wanted to.

All you do is place a thigh fillet on a slice of prosciutto. (I chopped mine in half to make it easy for the kids) Place a sprig of rosemary on the fillet. Then wrap it all up into a little parcel and place it in a baking tray, all ready for the oven

I baked mine at 180 Celsius for about 30 minutes, but you can also do them on the BBQ or the cook top, if you don't mind cleaning up the mess... Up to you really.

All that's left now is to eat them

If you'd like to see how good Stacey's look, check them out here

I didn't get a chance to photograph the finished product...they were straight onto the table and onto plates.

Thanks again Stacey.

Christmas Menu 2010 #1 - Cheesecake

This is a white chocolate and berry cheesecake that featured in the June 2008 Edition of Super Food Ideas....It's also on Taste.com.au. It's a simple recipe that delivers in taste and presentation.

In other words:  looks good, tastes yum!.

Ingredients:
12 cottage Cookies with macadamia
300 gr frozen mixed berries
2 tablespoons boiling water
3 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
180 gr white chocolate, chopped
500 gr cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup caster sugar
185 ml can evaporated milk

Line the base of a 22cm round springform pan with baking paper and arrange the biscuits in a single layer over the base of the pan. Top with half the berries and let sit. Place the boiling water in a small heatproof jug and sprinkle the gelatine over the top then whisk with a fork until it's dissolved

Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl or jug and microwave on high for a minute or two, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth, then set aside.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth, gradually beat in the evaporated milk, chocolate and gelatine, then pour the mixture on top of the biscuit base.

Scatter the rest of the berries on top, cover and refrigerate overnight.

That's it ! All that's left to do is eat and enjoy!!