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.
Sadly although it flourless this dessert cake isn’t gluten free, but for those who tolerate gluten and love oranges, it’s a great dessert, especially with a spoonful of thick cream.
When I was growing up everyone had a lemon tree in their backyard. No one would have thought of having a lime tree, but like many people we now have one as well as the lemon in ours. Hopefully we’ll have enough of a crop this year to be able to make this luscious dessert.
There’s a little bit of work with these, you need to the make the filling, then wrap them in the spring roll wrapper and then fry them until their lovely and crisp. Worth it though when you take the first bite……
