Hello Everyone!

Well Xmas is creeping up on us very quickly and this menu is a fabulous, easy and yet spectacular feast for your pre Xmas get together.  I have gone back to the Women’s Weekly Light & Luscious because you can’t beat these books for simple and impressive.  Now, before I go on I need to tell you that the racks were certainly not cheap.  This is one of those “special night” meals and I call a pre-xmas get together with the besties very special. Okay, so gorgeous racks from your favourite butcher cooked to your liking whilst being glazed with combined orange rind and juice, lemon juice, honey, dry sherry, soy sauce and garlic.

A note here is to be careful when spreading the cake base so that you get it nice and even to prevent any splitting when you roll it.  It’s a dessert that leaves you feeling satisfied that you’ve had something sweet but without that often nauseated tummy at the end of a big meal.  10/10 and the MAV fought for the leftovers.

It’s sounding a lot like Xmas so give this one a go.

Until next week…

From my table to yours with love x

Racks of Lamb with Honey Citrus Glaze

A very easy yet impressive dinner party dish

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 racks of lamb 4 cutlets on each
• 1 tsp grated orange rind
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 c honey
• 1 tbsp dry sherry
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 1/2 c water

Method

 

1. Cover bones of cutlets with foil. Place on rack over baking dish, bake in moderately hot oven 20 minutes
2. Brush with half the combined orange rind, orange and lemon juice, honey, sherry, soy sauce and garlic and bake further 5 minutes.
3. Brush with remaining citrus mixture, bake further 5 minutes or until lamb is done as desired.
4. Drain fat from baking dish, leaving about 1 tablespoon of juices. Add flour to pan, stir over heat 1 minute, gradually stir in water, stir until sauce boils and thickens, strain before serving.

Notes

Source: Women's Weekly Light & Luscious

Potato & Parsnip Al Forno with Hazelnuts, Thyme & Garlic

You could swap up the veg and use celeriac, carrot or fennel.

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 parsnips
• 1 kg potatoes
• 2 brown onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme 15g
• 75 g hazelnuts
• olive oil `
• 300 ml light cream
• 50 g mature red Leicester cheese or similar

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°c/180°c fan-forced. Scrub the parsnips and potatoes (there's no need to peel them), peel the onions and finely slice everything, adding to a large casserole dish as you go.
2. Peel, finely slice and add the garlic, strip in most of the thyme and roughly bash most of the hazelnuts and add. Drizzle over 2 tbs of oil, add a good pinch of see salt and black pepper and toss everything together well. Arrange in a fairly even layer, pour over 300ml of water, then tightly cover with foil and roast for 1 hour 10 mins.
3. Remove the pan from the oven, lift back the foil and drizzle over the cream. Place the foil lid back over the top, then put a folded tea towel on top and carefully press down to compress everything. Discard the foil.
4. Finely grate over the cheese, scatter with the remaining hazelnuts, if using, and pick over the remaining thyme leaves. Drizzle with 1 tbs of oil, then return to the oven for a further 20 mins or until golden, bubbling and cooked through. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

Source: Adam Liaw (Sunday Life Magazine)

Strawberries & Cream Roll Cake

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Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 75 g caster sugar
• 4 eggs separated
• 40 g plain flour sifted
• 150 ml thickened cream
• 10 ripe strawberries stems removed
• 2 tbsp icing sugar to serve
• extra strawberries and mint leaves to serve

Method

 

1. Heat your oven to 160°c fan-forced (180°c conventional) and line a 20cm x 30 cm baking tray with paper
2. Add 30g of sugar to the egg yolks and whisk until pale and doubled in size. Add the flour and fold in with a whisk until the batter is smooth.
3. With a clean whisk, whip the egg whites to soft peaks and gradually sprinkle in a further 30g of sugar in 2-3 batches, continuing to whisk until the sugar is fully dissolved and the egg whites form stiff peaks. Fold this meringue into the batter a third at a time until just combined, then spread into the baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cake is a light golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.
4. While the cake is cooling, whisk the remaining 15g of sugar into the cream until stiff peaks form
5. Carefully peel the cake off the baking paper and lay, browned side up, on a new piece of baking paper. Add the cream to the centre of the cake and place a line of strawberries down the middle of the cream. Holding the paper, roll the cake over until the two sides barely overlap, fully encasing the strawberries and cream. Cover the cake with beeswax or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Dust with icing sugar, decorate with slices of strawberries and mint leaves. Slice with a very sharp knife to serve.