The combination of tinned tuna and vegetables served over couscous makes this a healthy, refreshing meal. If you wanted to you could play around with the ingredients – change the tuna for salmon, the couscous for rice or use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge. It can be quite versatile.
I thought as it’s the last day of winter today it might be time for a summery dessert, although I may be being a little optimistic as it’s not exactly warm outside yet…. But the idea of some warmer weather and luscious cold desserts was just too hard to resist.
Like all risottos this needs a bit of attention and patience to make, but I love the idea of combining chorizo, red wine, vegetables and parmesan cheese. I can’t decide if it’s Spanish or Italian, but either way the end result is worth the effort.
The first time I made this soup I had my doubts as to whether it would work or not, especially as neither my husband nor I like sweet food. But work it does. The sweetness of the pears blends really well with the pumpkin and while it’s not an everyday soup, it is a great dinner party starter.
There’s so many different versions of a baked cheesecake out there. I thought this one was a little more interesting as it has canned black cherries through it and a biscuit crumb topping.
As Step 4 in this recipe says, this can be a vegetarian dish or a side dish served with whatever meat you wish. The potato and the cauliflower can be precooked in the microwave and once that’s done the rest is pretty quick and easy – and tasty.
Everyone loves a crème caramel, but have you made a coffee flavoured one? I haven’t and must admit the last crème caramel I made was a bit of a disaster as the I used the wrong pan and the caramel leaked out the bottom. Lesson learnt though and I think it’s probably time to try again – especially with chocolate coated coffee beans.
I often cook lamb over a bed of onions, but haven’t tried cooking pork that way. It looks quite delicious in this recipe, especially the with addition of the two sauces and honey brushed over and then the apple, sage and wine sauce to served with it. The added bonus is that the apple, sage and wine sauce is a good gluten free substitute for gravy.
Of course you could make this slice at any time of the year, but as it has the traditional combination for fruit, nuts and brandy, plus the bonus of chocolate, it seems like Christmas is really the right time to make it.
Our family has decided on a much more casual Christmas this year and part of that is a cold meat and salad buffet. It will be the usual pork, turkey and chicken combo, but if you want something different what about this duck ballotine? It can be done the day before and although a bit more fiddly, it’s well worth the effort especially when all you have to do on Christmas morning is slice it.
