The Crazy Kitchen: December 2012

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Thursday 20 December 2012

Simple Home-made place card holders & sweetie trees

We've got 11 for Christmas dinner this year so instead of paying out for 11 place card holders that I probably wouldn't use again for a long time, I decided to make some. They're very simple and all you need is some binder clips and spray paint.

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I used silver spray paint to match our Christmas table and sprayed the black part of the clip whilst holding onto the other end, and then hanging them on a skewer held between 2 surfaces whilst they dried.

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You can then use the clips to hold a name card, or an envelope containing a scratch card as I've done here.

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If my colour scheme changes the next time I have 11 for dinner I can just re-spray them...simple.

I have also been inspired by a friend who has been making sweetie trees on the lead up to Christmas and selling them at her local school Christmas Fair. Whilst I was in Hobbycraft a couple of weeks ago I had a look to see what I could use to make one or two for our Christmas dinner table. I picked up some floral oasis balls, a block of oasis, some cinnamon sticks and small buckets.

I covered the oasis ball with foil, stuck one end of the cinnamon stick into it and the other end into a piece of the oasis in the bucket. I inserted one end of a cocktail stick into a sweet (Quality Street) and the other end into the ball, and repeated this until the ball was completely covered. I covered over the oasis in the bucket with a piece of coloured card cut to size, which also helped steady the ball as it was quite top heavy once covered in sweets.

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I'll be placing two of these on the dinner table for guests to graze on.



Gingerbread House Christmas 2012

I finally got around to making my gingerbread house today after a false start last night. The odds were stacked against me when I looked in the golden syrup tin to find only a small amount at the bottom, and the plain flour jar didn't look much healthier. Thankfully a friend came to my rescue bringing me a bag of flour in my hour of need and I could finish making my gingerbread. After we chatted for a while over wine I suddenly lost the will to bake the house though and put the dough in the fridge until the next day.

The following day the dough resembled a large lump of toffee but after a quick burst in the microwave and much kneading it returned to it's soft state.

I used the Tesco recipe and template that I've previously used, and remembered to add boiled sweets to the windows to give the stained glass effect (thankfully there was a few leftover lollipops from trick or treat).


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I again used chocolate cake covering to 'glue' the walls & roof together, which I find to be really easy as it hardens in seconds (as well as tasting better than royal icing).

This time I went for the theory that 'less is more'....translated as 'I never got round to buying sweets' and 'I couldn't be bothered', but the kids were pleased with my efforts nonetheless 
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If you've made a gingerbread house this Christmas please come and link it up below. If you're thinking about making one then it really isn't that difficult, honest, you just need to spare a few hours to make it without attempting to rush it, or it will just end in tears.

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I am also linking this up to Nazima & Laura's One Ingredient challenge

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and also Angie's linky & competition

Christmas with Boursin

In my opinion, above all else, Christmas is about the cheese. It's the one time of the year that we buy enough to feed an army, in all different varieties, including the creamy and delicious garlic & herb Boursin.

Boursin is a soft and creamy combination of cream and soft cheese, and the original garlic and herb flavour has been around since 1963.

They have recently introduced a new Fig & Nut flavour, combining bitter and sweet, soft & hard. It's a deliciously sweet cheese, which I've found to be perfect with spiced gingerbread biscuits.



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If you're looking for an easy recipe for over the Christmas period here's a nice one using new Boursin Fig & Nut, a great way to use up any leftover pigs in blankets.

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 Boursin fig & nut is available online at Ocado or in most Asda stores.

I was sent some samples for the purpose of this review

Monday 17 December 2012

Home-made Christmas Wreath

After being inspired by Mum in the Madhouse to try drying my own orange slices I thought I would have a go at making a Christmas wreath like hers too. It wasn't until I'd hacked a few branches off the Blue Spruce in the back garden and checked the post for instructions how to make the branches into a wreath that I realised Jen had used a pre-made wreath, whoops. 

Determined that somehow I was going to make the wreath I turned to Google, and the legendary Martha Stewart for help. Unfortunately the advice there was to buy a frame to attach the foliage. I then remembered that there was a hideous wire coat hanger in our bedroom that the husband had acquired when he recently had his suit dry cleaned. I'd kept the coat hanger even though I can't stand the things as you just never know when something like this will come in handy. I shaped it into a circular shape and located some wire and pliers, along with cinnamon sticks and ribbon.

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I bent strips of wire into hairpin shapes and used them to attach the foliage to the coat hanger by twisting the ends together tightly, and then did the same with the dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks. I used needle & thread to attach the ribbon bows.

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As the coat hanger already had a ready made hook I used that to hook over a wreath hanger.


I was really pleased with the result and hope that it survives the next couple of weeks with the wind and rain battering it against the front door.


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Monday 10 December 2012

Quick & Easy Home-made Ice Cream

I've mentioned recently about a very easy ice cream that I made just using condensed milk and double cream, and then adding other ingredients. The one I made previously contained chocolate mincemeat and is a great flavour for Christmas to go with mince pies and Christmas pudding.

With a few guests to cater for on Christmas day I thought I would offer a couple of varieties of ice cream to accompany the desserts, and I got a bit carried away and made 3 more. These weren't as soft as the mincemeat ice cream, possibly due to the mincemeat ice cream having alcohol added to it.

Caramel Ice Cream

300g Condensed milk Caramel
300ml Double Cream
approx 10 individual Cadbury's Caramel chocolates

  • Whisk 200g of the caramel with the double cream until it forms soft peaks
  • Chop the caramels - I cut each into 3 pieces - and stir them into the mixture
  • Spoon into a 1 litre lidded tub and stir through the remaining caramel - don't over stir as you want the sauce to stay separate.
  • Freeze until set.
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After Eight Mint Chocolate Ice Cream

200g Condensed Milk
300ml Double Cream
Few drops of green food colouring (optional)
300g box of After Eight mints

  • Whisk the condensed milk with the cream and food colouring until it forms soft peaks
  • Chop the After Eight's roughly and stir into the mixture - reserve a few for the top
  • Spoon into a 1 litre lidded tub and freeze until set
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Chocolate Oreo Ice Cream


200g Condensed Milk
300ml Double Cream
3 tbsp Cocoa Powder
150g Mini Oreo's

  • Whisk the condensed milk with the cream and cocoa powder until it forms soft peaks
  • Add the mini Oreo's - reserving a few for the top
  • Spoon into a 1 litre lidded tub and freeze until set
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Friday 7 December 2012

Chilli Cheese Scones with Garlic & Basil Butter

I'm a big fan of anything that makes my life in the kitchen easier, be it gadgets or ready chopped and frozen vegetables. I'm always adding herbs to cooking but I often buy cut fresh ones and then freeze them as I'm not great at growing and looking after them myself. Recently I've discovered Gourmet Garden herbs and spices which are in a squeezable tube and can be kept in the fridge and used in recipes where needed.

They come in a wide range including some of the everyday favourites such as garlic and basil, as well as the new blends that include Thai, Moroccan, Mediterranean and Indian.

I chose to use Chilli, Garlic and Basil to spice up my scone recipe.


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Chilli Cheese Scones with Garlic & Basil Butter

Scones
350g SR Flour
1 tsp baking powder
85g Butter
100g Mature Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 tbsp Gourmet Garden Chilli paste
175ml Milk

Butter
100g Butter, softened
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Garlic paste
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Basil paste

To make the scones
  • Rub the butter into the flour & baking powder until it resembles breadcrumbs
  • Stir in the grated cheese & chilli paste & mix well, making sure there are no lumps of chilli paste
  • Add the milk, a little at a time, mixing well until it starts to come together - don't add all the milk if it becomes too sticky
  • Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to approx 1-1.5cm thick
  • Cut circles out with cutters and place spaced apart onto a lightly greased baking sheet
  • Brush with milk
  • Bake in a 200 C oven for approx 7-10 minutes until golden brown
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To make the butter
  • Beat the garlic & basil into the softened butter
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Serve the scones warm with a generous spreading of garlic & basil butter


This is my entry into the Gourmet Garden Blog/Cook Off

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I was sent a selection of herbs & spices to use in my recipe



Thursday 6 December 2012

Parsnip & Apricot Roast

A few days ago I posted a recipe for Cranberry & Chestnut roast which I absolutely love. I wanted to try making it with other ingredients and so, basing it on the same recipe as before, I switched a few of the ingredients to see how it would taste, and the result was even better than the original!


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Parsnip & Apricot Roast


50g Butter
2 small onions, chopped
200g Cooked parsnips (soft but still with a bit of a bite), chopped into bitesize pieces
75g Brazil nuts, chopped
75g Almonds, choppd
75g Dried Apricots, chopped
85g Wensleydale (it was supposed to be 125g but someone *glares in the direction of the husband* ate some! so I added more cheddar)
140g Mature Cheddar cheese
2 tsp dried rosemary
pinch of nutmeg
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan
  • Add the onion & fry for 4-5 minutes to soften
  • Stir in the rest of the ingredients and combine, adding 1 tbps water if it looks too dry
  • Spoon into a greased loaf tin and press down - it may look like it's not all going to go in but if you press down it will
  • Cook in a preheated 180 C oven for 20-25 minutes

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Monday 3 December 2012

Cranberry and Chestnut Roast

Whilst I like turkey, I'm not keen on hot turkey and gravy and all the trimmings, I much prefer to eat my turkey cold in a sandwich or salad. Ever since my brother went out with a girl who was a vegetarian back in the late 80's I've really enjoyed a nut roast with my Christmas dinner when I can. 

A couple of years ago (maybe more) I saw a recipe for Cranberry & Chestnut roast on ITV's This Morning programme, made by Lisa Faulkener. It looked really nice so I gave it a go, and it was gorgeous. Nut roasts I've had previously can sometimes be a bit too 'nutty' but this is nutty, fruity, crispy and cheesy all in one bite. It can be eaten as a vegetarian main course or a side to accompany the turkey, instead of a traditional stuffing. I've adapted it slightly here but unfortunately the original recipe is no longer available on the ITV website. You can use any combination of your favourite nuts and could also substitute the cranberries for other dried fruits, I'm going to try apricots next.

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Cranberry and Chestnut Roast

25g Butter
2 medium onions, chopped
150g cooked Chestnuts, chopped
75g chopped cashew nuts
75g chopped brazil nuts
75g fresh breadcrumbs
40g dried cranberries
125g Wensleydale cheese, grated
125g Mature cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp dried Rosemary
  • Melt the butter in a large saucepan
  • Add the onion & fry for 4-5 minutes to soften
  • Stir in the rest of the ingredients and combine, adding 1 tbps water if it looks too dry
  • Spoon into a greased loaf tin and press down - it may look like it's not all going to go in but if you press down it will
  • Cook in a preheated 180 C oven for 20-25 minutes

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