Christmas is over. Time for New Year

I hope you all had great Christmas and the weather in Europe or here in the USA did not spoil your holiday.

A friend of mine working in Saudi was meant to go to New York for Christmas with his family. He was stuck at Heathrow for 7 days luckily he found a nearby hotel.

First it was the UK weather that stymied his holiday plans then the weather in New York. He eventually got a flight to Atlanta then onto Orlando for 4 days. 

Not New York, but the children will enjoy it.

My efforts for cooking a traditional English Christmas dinner were well appreciated. Most of it was eaten. Even the turkey but I only had a 15lb bird. But there was still enough left over to make a seasonal turkey stew and a cold supper with bubble’n squeak.

I had to improvise for the bubble’n squeak, my guests  had eaten all the mash potatoes and Brussel sprouts.

I made a new pot of mash potato and boiled some white cabbage I had in the vegetable draw. Not red as one friend asked. There were carrots left over, they were cut up and put into the “bubble”.

I usually only use white cabbage in a Cyprus salad.

For the turkey stew. I cut up the turkey carcass, leaving all the meat on the bone, I dropped all this with a chopped up large onion into my pressure cooker.  In went a quart carton of chicken stock (the bought kind) I cooked this at pressure for about 15 minutes. That’s when the carcass bones started to disintegrate. Tasting it, it tasted quite rich.

Later on after going to watch an early showing of the movie “The Black Swan” excellent film.

I put in a tin of diced tomatoes, carrots, 2 sticks celery and a turnip. I added some red wine that was left over and a cup of water, seasoned with pepper. No salt, didn’t need it.

I brought this to pressure to cook the carrots and turnip, about 5 minutes. There was my turkey stew ready to eat. With plenty left to freeze for a starving day.

I had mashed potato left from the bubble’n squeak meal, that I warmed in the microwave.

This stew could have been cooked in a wok on a low simmer setting, or in your small oven as a casserole, again on a low setting.

I was thinking of having a tin of mushy peas with it, but. The flatulence may have been too much.

A meal or two for New Year.

Here’s a few recipes for maybe a small dinner party with family or friends for New Years Eve.

Not everyone wants the hustle bustle of a boozy New Years Eve.

If you’re not fed up with another poultry meal. This chicken dish is probably the best roast chicken I’ve ever had. You have to like garlic though.

POULARDE A L’AIL or

CHICKEN STUFFED WITH HERBS AND GARLIC

Ingredients.

A whole, cleaned roasting chicken. The larger the better that fits your oven or Rotisserie.

Cooks fine on a rotisserie, just sew up the end you’ve stuffed and have a tray to catch the juices from the chicken.

2 heads of garlic. Sprigs of Italian parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

110ml Olive oil about half a cup. White wine.

Brandy.

Sea salt.   Fresh ground black pepper.

More chopped and cleaned flat leave (Italian) parsley. 

 The Method

Divide the heads of garlic into cloves but do not peel them.

Simmer them for 5 minutes in just enough boiling water to cover them.

Remove from the heat.

Stuff the chicken’s cavity with the garlic and the herbs.

Season all over with the black pepper.

Place the chicken into a roasting tin bottom side up and pour over the oil and wine.

More wine can be added during cooking if you think it’s needed.

Roast for 30 minutes basting occasionally. Then turn the bird over and roast for another 45 minutes or when the chicken is cooked. Basting occasionally.

Towards the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with a little sea salt.

Remove the chicken to rest for 5 minutes or so.

Tip the juices into a saucepan or use the roasting tin if suitable for a stovetop.

Add the brandy and bring to a simmer.

Carve the chicken and serve with the garlic cloves scooped from the cavity, surrounded by the sauce.

Serve a salad or cooked vegetables with thick rounds of toasted or baked French bread onto which the sweet tender garlic pulp can squeezed out of it’s papery skin.

Garnish with the extra parsley.

Goes well with small potatoes roasted in there skins.

 Recipe 2

Pork Loin with Black Pudding and Roasted Rhubarb

Ingredients

·       2 pork fillets , about 350g/12oz each

·       250g black pudding , skinned and cut into slices

·       12 thin rashers streaky bacon

·       1 tbsp olive oil

·       1 tbsp clear honey

·       300g rhubarb , cut into 5cm lengths on the diagonal

·       200ml vegetable stock

·       2 rounded tbsp crème fraîche.

    The Method

1.    Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Split the pork fillets lengthwise almost in half and open out like a book. Bash with a rolling pin to flatten, then sprinkle on all sides with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Fill the pork with the black pudding, folding the meat back over it to enclose it.

2.    Stretch the bacon rashers with the back of a knife, then wrap around the pork fillets, tucking the ends under the pork where possible. Transfer to a large roasting tin, drizzle with the oil, then roast for 30 mins.

3.    Meanwhile, heat the honey in a pan, then toss the rhubarb in the honey. Add to the roasting tin, then return to the oven for 10-12 more mins until the rhubarb is tender and the bacon nicely browned. Transfer the pork and rhubarb to a warm plate and keep warm while you make the sauce.

4.    Set the tin on the hob and add the stock. Bring to the boil, stirring to scrape all the pan juices from the base of the tin. Bubble for a few mins, then stir in the crème fraîche and whisk until it has dissolved into the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

5.    Cut the pork into slices and serve with the rhubarb and a little sauce poured over. Serve the remaining sauce separately.

I serve with roast potatoes and two colourful vegetables. Usually baby carrots and broccoli.

The sauce is quite rich so I'd recommend a light Pino Grigio or for a red a chianti or good Valpolicella.

I think we all have our own preferences for wine and beer, especially when eating or entertaining at home. I'll try to share my limited knowledge as we go along.

Recipe 2

This recipe was included in my earlier post "Bachelorette Cooking".

LANCASHIRE CHEESE STUFFED PORK TENDERLOIN

INGREDIENTS:

2 pork fillets about 12oz each                         Salt'n pepper,

Some thin slices of ham. Parma works fine.       

4oz crumbly Lancashire cheese,

or Chedder if you can’t get Lancashire

Some prunes cut in half.           Sage leaves.              1oz butter,

250 mls cider or apple juice                            

tsp mustard powder or ready made mustard,  English or Dijon.

125 ml single cream.

HOW TO COOK IT:

Preheat the oven to 375°f/gas 6ish.

Cut the fillets down the center but not all the way through.

Spread them open and flatten with a rolling pin or side of your kitchen chopper. Or the flat side of a tenderizing mallet.

A good idea is to lay the fillets on cling film (plastic wrap) then another piece on top before battering. It stops bits of meat and blood flying everywhere.

Season with salt’n pepper.

Go easy on the salt cos' the ham and cheese are salty.

Place a slice of ham on each fillet, sprinkle with the cheese and place the sliced prunes on top. Sprinkle over the sage leaves.

Carefully roll them up like a sausage and secure with kitchen string or cocktail sticks.

Place in a roasting dish (I use a pyrex dish and I tip the sauce into a saucepan). Cover the fillets with the butter and pour over the cider.

Cover with foil and cook for about 30 minutes, remove the foil and cook another 10 minutes or so, till the fillets start to brown.

Remove from the roasting dish and keep warm.

Either cook the sauce in the roasting tin or tip into a saucepan, making sure you get all the juicy bits. Add the mustard and let the mixture simmer away until thickens. Stir in the cream and warm through.

Delicious but a rich sauce.

Serve with roast potatoes and baby carrots and broccoli. They make a good colour combination.

Serve with cold real cider or well chilled white wine.

Try French cider if you can get it. I shouldn’t say this, but. I prefer the French cider to the English, unless of course you get real Scrumpy.

Scrumpy can still be found in the wilds of Somerset. Probably also in Kent and Herefordshire

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas

I wish you all A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

For you that read my ideas on cooking a Christmas turkey dinner, some of you may have followed them.
I hope your Christmas dinner will work out just fine. Whether you cook my way or your own tried and tested ways, best of luck and have a great day.
For those of you who will go out for dinner I hope the cost is worth it. Here in Las Vegas some places are charging a ridiculous amount.
If anyone in Las Vegas is reading this, I thoroughly recommend the Crowne and Anchor British pub on Tropicana. The best value English style Christmas dinner in town also the best English breakfast any day of the year. That is unless you're lucky enough to have breakfast at my place. The best soccer on TV in town.

I'm cooking for 12 or 14, so wish me luck.

Health Tip. With all this over indulgence over the holiday season, don't forget Water.
Try to drink plenty of water. Drinking fizzy water with your meal is a good healthy habit, my favourite is San Pellegrino, natural spring water. Supposed to  help with digestion. Help keep you sober too.

My Wok and I: Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

My Wok and I: Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

Christmas Turkey Dinner left overs.

What to do with all that left over food? Well the first thing do with hindsight (we’re all good at that) was not to cook so much. That’s easier said than done. When you want to make sure everyone has enough to eat.

The easiest left over to use is all the vegetables.

Bubble and Squeak: Supposedly get its name from the bubbly sound the potatoes and the squeaky sound the cabbage makes when being fried. We learn something every day.

Just for interest I put Bubble and Squeak in Google search. I couldn’t believe the number of hits, over 74,000 hits. This many just for you mix together your left over potato and vegetables.

 Even the posh chefs, like Jamie Oliver has multiple entries. They’ll be putting it on the menus in there over priced restaurants next.

When I was young bubble and squeak was just potato and cabbage left over from Sunday. On Monday we would have the bubble and squeak and whatever meat was left, unless Dad had used it in his sandwiches for work. In those days there was not the selection of cheap vegetables you can get today.

Sunday dinner vegetables was always cabbage or in season greens and maybe carrots.

Never mind all the fancy recipes, Bubble and Squeak is basically what whatever you have left mixed with the potatoes. If you have a lot left over I would suggest saving it in meal size servings or fish cake size and freezing for later. It’s great with a fry up breakfast.

All I do never mind all the gourmet suggestions, is mix the potatoes and vegetables together and mould into a thick pancake shape. You can make smaller cake sizes. Fry in butter until it is heated through and there is a crisp brown coating, turnover and fry till it is crispy brown. Without burning.

The Turkey and Stuffing:

I would first take out all the stuffing and cut off most of the meat from the carcass.

I would leave some meat on the carcass. If you’re going to make soup from the carcass it will make a tastier soup. Or.

 I prefer picking the carcass clean with fingers. Have some of the cold stuffing, and some pickles of your choice with some bread and butter.

With a cold beer or glass or two of wine.

It depends how much turkey meat you have left what you decide to do with it. Sandwiches, turkey salad, turkey curry or stew.

The Turkey curry you cook to the curry recipe back in the blog, “A New life” on the 28 July 2010, my, doesn’t time fly.

The stew can be cooked very much like my “Lad’s lamb stew” back at “As time goes by” 27 June 2010.

You can add some of the stuffing to bulk it out and give a different flavour.

Anything I’ve missed give me nudge in the comments.

A Special for EBU

5-Minute Kale

With this delicious, easy-to-prepare recipe you can include kale as part of your Healthiest Way of Eating in a matter of minutes. Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around with one serving providing you with an excellent source of health-promoting vitamins A and K. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients:

1 pound kale, chopped

 Dressing:

1 TBS lemon juice.  
**Tip, to make it easier to squeeze out the juice, roll the lemon 
on the kitchen top under palm of your hand

1 medium clove garlic, pressed or chopped 

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil 

salt and black pepper to taste

Optional:

Sliced onions, steam with kale 
Celery, a stick or 2 steam with the Kale
2 TBS sun dried tomatoes, 
2 TBS sliced olives (kalamata) 
2TBS feta cheese

5 drops tamari soy sauce

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and let it sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting properties.

2. Fill bottom of steamer with 2 inches of water and bring to boil. 

3. While water is coming to a boil, slice kale leaves into 1/2-inch slices, and cut again

crosswise. Cut stems into 1/4-inch slices. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes to bring

out it health-promoting properties. 

4. When water comes to a boil, add kale (and onion/celery if used) 
to the steamer basket and cover. Steam for 5 minutes. 

5. Transfer to a bowl and toss with the Dressing ingredients.  
 For the best flavor, toss with dressing while kale is still hot. 

6. Top with any or all of optional ingredients. Serves 2

Now the Vegetables

NOW THE VEGETABLES

Number one a must. The Roast potatoes, my way.

Good quality white potatoes. Pick’em yourself, not those all ready bagged. Even “Wholefood market (posh shop in USA) manage to mistakenly slip in some “not so good” ones. Look for those that have a green tinge of colour and make sure you don’t pick’em. Too much of the greenness in a potato is actually poisonous. www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Fat! You can use dripping**. What’s that I hear our American friends ask? It’s the fat you’ll have left over from roasting chicken, beef or lamb. Maybe even the fat from frying fatty bacon.

In the UK it is known that we pour all our fat into a bowl and use it for roasting or frying. Unbelievably unhealthy but very tasty especially for fried bread.

In UK you can buy dripping from the butchers and Supermarkets. Some of the smaller local butchers may make it themselves.

I used to work in a butchers shop when I left school. One of my weekly jobs was to make the dripping. This entailed keeping all the fat cut from the meat during the week (Kept in the freezer).

There was this big Harry Potter like electric cauldron that the fat was melted in. 
What went in, what didn’t? Everything! All the leftovers from the week.

I had to stand over this cauldron, stirring most of the time to stop it burning and to get it all to melt. I can’t remember how long I stood there but it was a few hours. I stank rotten of this melting concoction. 
When it was ready I had to put it into metal butcher’s trays. This had to be done quite quickly before it started to set when the heat was turned off. Fortunately there was a tap (faucet) that the dripping could pour out of. I just had to make sure it did not block with the stuff that didn’t melt. 
I was allowed to leave early that day as I stunk too much to serve the customers. I felt sorry for anyone who had to sit next to me on the bus.

This might sound awful and unhygienic. But, our regular customers knew what day the dripping was made. The next day, they were around making sure they had there weeks supply.

Of course you can use lard or Olive oil.

I use canola oil.

After peeling the potatoes cut them into a regular size, half or quarter depending of the size of potato. I boil the potatoes in my microwave till they are near to fully cooked, about 12 minutes. Drop them into a sieve to drain and shake them around to roughen them up. This will make the outer crispy.


While they were boiling, heat some canola oil in your dish till quite hot. Not too much oil. Put the potatoes in the hot oil and turn them over a few times to coat them in the hot oil. Turn them over a few times while cooking, roast until a crispy brown.

You can also do a pan of mash potatoes. If the mash is not eaten it is great for a leftovers meal of bubble and squeak.

Tell you about that later.

Eaten with cold turkey pickled onions and red cabbage and just about anything left from your Christmas turkey dinner

The Brussel sprouts. Just cut off the bottom and slice a deepish cross. Boil for as long as you think necessary. Not for too long though as they are better a little crisp. Cook’m too soft and they certainly get the flatulence going. (I’m too polite to say Farting).

These can be cooked in the microwave while the potatoes are roasting. You can cook the carrots at the same time.

Roasted Parsnips can be roasted the same way as potatoes. Sprinkle some fresh herbs of your choice over them while cooking.

That should sort out your Christmas Turkey dinner.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Time for Christmas Dinner

Where to start?

Whose coming to dinner? How many?

Do you have enough cutlery and crockery?

Do you have to be Posh*? 

Depends who you want to impress!

Prospective in-laws? 

Courting disaster unless you 

already know them well.

Someone you really fancy!!!!

Your boss! Seduce your boss!!!

Lads and lassies from the pub.

A family who can’t afford a dinner.

A very noble and worthwhile gesture.

What’s going to be on the menu?

Turkey (well that’s obvious).

 If you don’t want the fuss of a cooking a big turkey, you can get turkey roll or a turkey breast.

Stuffing. There’s a lot of talk about whether you should stuff the Turkey, incase it doesn’t cook properly.

It’s your choice.

Here are two stuffing recipes that work for me when I stuff the bird. If you’re worried about the stuffed bird not cooking completely, put 2 whole peeled onions into the cavity and cook the stuffing separately.

Celery and walnut Stuffing.

Chestnut stuffing.

Small sausages wrapped in bacon.

Gravy.

Bread sauce.

Cranberry sauce.

Vegetables,

Roast potatoes, mash potatoes for the really hungry.

Brussel sprouts, Carrots.

Roasted parsnips are a favourite amongst some.

The turkey.  Remember this is how I would cook the turkey.

The “F” guy will probably cook it differently.

Remember we’re just bachelor beginners.

Turkey size depends on how many you will provide for 10 to 15lbs is usually a good tasting turkey. I like a fresh unadulterated bird.

Streaky bacon to cover the bird while cooking.

There are many ways to prepare the turkey. Rubbing with butter and shoving butter under the skin is one. You may as well buy a butterball turkey.

After rinsing the inside and out. Remembering to take out the giblets. Put them aside to make the gravy. Dry the turkey inside and out. Season, both inside and out with salt and pepper.

Cover as much of the turkey as you can with the bacon. Using cocktail sticks or toothpicks (unused) to hold the awkward ends down.

If you are not going to stuff the bird, put in the two whole onions and start cooking in a pre-heated oven set at 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7.

The Stuffing ingredients.

Celery and walnut.

2 Onions finely chopped. 2 tbsp butter

55g/2oz wholemeal breadcrumbs

4 celery sticks, chopped 110g/4 oz chopped walnuts

2 apples cored and chopped 110g/4oz dried apricots

Salt and pepper 2tbsp fresh parsley

Chestnut stuffing

110g/4oz streaky bacon, cut into 1” size pieces

1 onion finely chopped

110g/4oz sliced button mushrooms

225g/8oz chestnut puree 2 tbsp Fresh parsley

Grated rind of 2 lemons salt and pepper

Make the stuffing

Celery and walnut: Fry the onion in the butter until soft. In a bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, celery, apple, apricots and walnuts. Add the cooked onions and season to taste, stir in the parsley.

Chestnut stuffing: Fry the bacon and onion in the butter until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for a minute or two. In a bowl mix together the chestnut puree with the parsley and lemon rind season well with salt and pepper. Add the onions, bacon and mushrooms. Allow to cool.

To save time, the stuffing could be made the day before.

Stuff the main body (from the bottom end) of the bird with the celery and walnut stuffing. Stuff the neck end with the chestnut stuffing. Secure both end with skewers and cooking string.

Grease the roasting dish with a good helping of butter.

Cover the turkey with cooking foil and roast in the hot oven for 30 minutes.

Then reduce the oven setting to 180°C/350°F/ Gas mark 4. Baste every 30 minutes. If you can (in my opinion) it is a good idea to turn the bird upside down to cook for a while between bastings.

Cooking time will depend on the size of the turkey. 15 to 20 minutes to the pound. It will take 3-4 hours.

Take off the foil when you judge there is about 45 minutes cooking time left. This will brown off the bacon and top of the turkey.

If you are going to have sausages wrapped in bacon you can put them in now.

To test, stick a pointed knife in the thickest part to judge if cooked.

The juice should run clear and bloodless. Gently pull a leg away, it should come away easily don’t pull too hard though, it may come right off.

If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should be about 160°F.

You can finish cooking the turkey up to an hour before you want to serve dinner. This gives you time to have a glass of wine and sort out all the other stuff.

Drain of all the turkey cooking juices, you’ll use these in the gravy. Put the turkey on your warmed serving/carving dish, cover with foil and put somewhere safe. Where no one can pick bits off for and nibble. Or that the dog thinks it’s his dinner.

Bread sauce.

This is really served as an extra filler. Keep those big hunky guys happy.

Make up to a dozen small holes in a peeled onion with something like a skewer and stick a clove in each hole.

Put the onion, a bay leave or 3 and 6 or so peppercorns in a small saucepan with a pint of milk. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil, remove from the heat, then cover to leave the onion flavour to infuse into the milk for about an hour.

Strain the milk and throw away the onion and other bits. Return the milk to the rinsed out pan and add 4 oz/115g fresh white bread crumbs. Cook gently, watching carefully cos’ the milk will boil over, until the bread crumbs have swollen and the sauce has thickened.

Beat in 25g/1oz butter and season well to your taste. You can grate in some nutmeg. And be really naughty and add a couple spoons of double cream. Go on be decadent.

Keep in warm in a serving bowl and serve with the turkey.

Cranberry sauce.

You can buy it already in a can. But we are out to impress!

Put 8oz/225g of fresh cranberries and 3oz/85g of soft brown sugar into a saucepan with 150ml of fresh orange juice, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg.

Cook slowly stirring occasionally to stop it sticking to the pan, bringing to the boil, cook for about 10 minutes until the cranberries have split open. Be ready for them to spit hot juice at you.

Put into a serving bowl until needed. The cranberries can be served hot or cold.

The bread sauce and cranberry sauce can both be made in a microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Being careful what heat settings you use, low setting will be needed once things have come to the boil.

More of My Life

That’s enough of Cyprus for now but I will be adding a recipe or information from time to time.

I’m not sure there’s much to tell of my cooking expertise during my life between my two tours of duty in Cyprus. There was less than 5 years between tours.

For one year I was posted to Singapore. Which was a fantastic experience. Learning how people on the other side of the World lived.

In 1972 Singapore was struggling to leap from the old fashioned Chinese culture with all it’s old world customs and charm into the 20^th century. 
Not to mention the large Indian influence with it's Hindu traditions. A mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity. With all the relevant religious festivals and holidays.

Even though I had spent a year in the Arab world in Bahrain. I did not learn much of the Arab Muslim culture. Obviously we could not make any contact with an Arab females. Our only real contact with the Bahraini men was through playing football. Even in those days they were fanatical about football.
We were closeted by the British service way of life. It was almost like being back in the UK. Except for the extreme summer heat and hot dust. Worst of all the humidity. There's no escape from high humidity. You can stand there naked and it doesn't feel any better.
Bahrain was then, a non-alcohol country. That was to change when the Saudi’s built a causeway and made it their Non-Muslim playground. For their men that is.

In Bahrain we had ample access to alcohol through our military messes and clubs. Which weren’t only on the bases. There were a few British military clubs in Manama town. With there being the British Navy, Army and Royal Air Force we had quite a diverse entertainment spectrum.

There were a few restaurants that served good food. Not all Arabic Indian. When we could save  enough money (British military pay was terrible i those days) we could go to a hotel restaurant. “The Speedbird”. Ran by BOAC, remember them the forerunner with BEA that is now British Airways.

One restaurant we could afford was the “Barge” at the side of the causeway between the smaller island of Muharraq, where the RAF base and airfield/airport was and Bahrain, the main island. 
The Barge was an old Barge or Dhow resting in a dried out Wadi (river) bed that was propped by large planks of wood like railway sleepers. Occasionally the sleepers would shift, especially after a storm. So for a time, until the barge was put onto an even keel, the Barge would lie there at an angle. Of course, so would your table of food. Life is not as simple these days.

Another contact we could have had with civilians was the brothels. They were unbelievably medieval, dirty and dingy. They even had a small charcoal fire for the workers to dry themselves before the next customer. So I was told. I was far too young for that sort of thing!

You really could pick up some rare irregular diseases as well as being rolled and your wallet stolen.


I went to Bahrain in the June of 1966 to stay for a year. Two momentous events occurred during that time. England were victorious in winning the football World Cup and a small matter of the first Arab Israeli war. Which is still going on.
I wish the England football team were so successful.

I digressed. As I said Singapore was a fantastic experience. I’ll go into that in more detail later.

Time to get onto the real objective of the Blog. Cooking. Christmas is coming.