Almond Shortbread Biscuits

These biscuits are really easy to make and are perfect to serve with coffee to your guests - Light shortbread with just a hint of almond and lemon!


Ingredients
200g Plain flour
50g Caster sugar
75g  Ground almonds
175g Unsalted butter, softened
Grated zest of 1 Lemon
Icing sugar, to decorate 

Method 
Preheat oven to 160°C  (about 140°C fan oven).
Rub flour, butter, ground almonds and sugar together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Add the lemon zest and bring the mix together like a dough. Wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to chill for 15 minutes.

When chilled roll out the dough thinly approx 4mm  (I do this between two pieces of clingfilm as it stops any sticking) Cut your biscuits out of the dough using a small cutter - as a matter of preference I like to use a smooth edged one.

Place on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes until biscuits are just turning a very light golden colour.

Cool on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Pumpkin Soup

Being the week that's in it here's my version of pumpkin soup!!! 
Slightly spicy - very delicious and perfect for a cold Winters Day!!!

I had this years ago in Belgium on a really really cold snowy day and boy did it warm me up!!! I have been meaning to make it ever since and since I was buying pumpkins to cut out for Halloween . . . . . This soup is best made the day before you need it as the flavours really multiply overnight.

I must once again thank my hubby in his role as Chief Taster - he rated this soup as one of the best soups he has ever tasted  . . .x x x . . . . . .
Bless him !

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

800g - 900g Pumpkin (or winter squash or butternut), peeled, de-seeded and cut
into 1cm cubes.

175g Onion, peeled & chopped
2 Cloves garlic
25g Butter
1 Sprig of Thyme
1 Litre of Chicken Stock (If you have homemade - great - if not use Knorr cubes)
Salt & Pepper
1 Tsp of Dried sage
Pinch of Nutmeg
1 Tsp Tabasco

Method:
Put the pumpkin or squash into a pan with the onion, garlic, butter and thyme. Cover and sweat over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Cook until dissolved into a thick a thick sauce. Stir in the stock, salt & pepper, nutmeg and simmer until the squash is very tender.
Discard the thyme stalk then liquidise the soup in several batches and return to the pan. Add the sage and Tabasco. Taste. More stock or water may be needed to be added if the soup is too thick.
Taste again and adjust the seasoning to suit yourself.  Stir in some cream bring soup back to the boil and serve with crusty warm bread.

Chicken Liver Paté

 I married into a great family - all of whom I love dearly - and we constantly meet in each others houses for good food, good wine, beer and whiskey, great fun and usually a great sing-song, a darts competition or even a game of poker!  We are often joined by various members of my own brilliant sisters and their partners! What a wonderful crowd of people I have around me!

I love it when it's my 'turn' to have everyone over - Chicken liver pate always seems to go down well and it's great to do as you can make this 3 days in advance !

I got a great hint for Melba toast  from my sister Lyn who was helping me cook for a gang of 18 on one of my nights. (Yes that was a big session )  Toast some sliced bread, then cut off the crusts and split the toast through the middle and bake in an oven for 10 minutes . . .result: perfectly curled Melba toast!! 

(I do seem to recall that as the 'party' ended at 7am the next morning some bright spark called a mini-bus cab and we went to the market and then for breakfast!! - but that's another story . . . .) anyway on to the recipe:

Chicken Liver Pate

INGREDIENTS:

500gms chicken livers, washed and trimmed
80ml Port
45gms butter
1 small onion finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
80ml cream
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground thyme



METHOD:
Chop livers in half and put in bowl with Port. Leave to soak for 2 hours. Strain livers and reserve liquid. Melt 1/2 the butter in a frying pan and add the onion and the garlic. cookuntil onion is soft and golden. add livers to pan and cook, stirring  for a few minutes until a pale pink colour. Add reserve liquid and simmer uncovered for 1 to 2  minutes. Put mixture into food processor and add herbs and cream. Melt remaining butter and add whilst processor is operating. When mixture is smooth pour into
 a dish lined with clingfilm . When cool cover the top over with the clingfilm and refridgerate overnight.
Serve with Melba toast and Redcurrant jelly.
Hint; Warm the redcurrant jelly and the texture will be more like a light sauce to compliment the pate

   Bon appetite

Pork Belly with Caramelised apples and a cider sauce

 Ok the wine was flowing freely along with a few beers - the pate had been eaten and so it was time for the mains. Sauces were warmed, some curses were expleted and then (thankfully) it all came together!!!

I came across this recipe on the (Australian) Women's Weekly website (http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/recipe-search/). Over the years I have bought their books and tried out many of their recipes. I find them consistently good and relatively easy.
This recipe is brilliant for dinner parties as the main cooking of the pork can be done the day before.

Roast pork belly with caramelized apples

INGREDIENTS

2.25kg piece boneless pork belly

1 bulb garlic, halved
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons coarse cooking salt

Caramelised apples
½ cup (110g) caster sugar
½ cup (125ml) calvados (apple brandy)
20g butter
4 small (440g) apples, peeled, halved or quartered, cored

Cider sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 (75g) French shallots, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 cups (750ml) dry apple cider
1 Knorr chicken stock cube, crumbled
50g chilled butter, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 140°C (120°C fan oven). Using a small sharp knife (I used a scalpel), score the pork rind.

Place garlic and thyme in the base of a medium baking dish. Season the pork flesh with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place pork, rind-side up, on garlic mixture. Add enough boiling water to the baking dish to almost cover pork (do not cover rind). Place a sheet of greaseproof / baking paper over pork. Cover dish tightly with foil, ensuring it is completely sealed. Roast for 4 hours (the pork should be starting to fall apart).

Remove pork from the baking dish; discard liquid. Cool pork to room temperature, keeping it covered with baking paper and foil (refrigerate overnight, if desired).

The following day:
Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Cut pork into 8 equal pieces. Place pork on a baking-paper lined oven tray. Rub the rind with oil and coarse cooking salt. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the rind is crisp and browned.

Caramelised apples
Meanwhile, place sugar in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook, without stirring, until sugar turns a dark caramel colour. Add calvados and flambé (be very careful, this will flame). Simmer, uncovered, for about 1 minute, then add butter and apples; stir to coat the apples in butter mixture. Cook, covered loosely, for about 8-10 minutes, turning apples occasionally until just tender.
 (I made extra caramelized apples I used them for the dessert and served it with homemade vanilla ice-cream and Brandy snaps.)  

Cider Sauce
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallots, garlic and thyme for about 3-4 minutes or until tender. Add cider and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1 cup. Add stock cube; simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return cider to the pan over low heat. Gradually whisk in butter (piece by piece) until shiny and thickened slightly. Stir in parsley.

Serve pork with Caramelised Apples and Cider Sauce and roast potatoes

Fig tart with homemade Lavender ice-cream

My latest craze is Lavender ! It's from the mint family and I am finding that anything that goes with mint seems to go with Lavender!  
This is a recipe that I came across one day . (It's one recipe of a great Irish chef Kevin Thornton - Thanks Kevin!) I have made this on a regular basis and it always goes down a bomb. The ice-cream goes really well also with chocolate (serve with a warm chocolate souffle or brownies) and also with apples (An open caramelised apple tart) etc etc . . . . . I buy the 'Sonnentor Organic Lavender flowers Herbal tea' - usually found in health food shops or you can order it online.
A handy hint to know is that Lavender is part of the mint family so anything that goes with mint usually goes with lavender

Lavender ice cream
5 egg yolks
1 vanilla pod (deseeded)
250ml cream
250ml milk
10g dried lavender flower Tea (A closed fistful)
63g icing sugar

Method: Place the lavender flowers and vanilla seeds in a bowl with the milk and cream and leave overnight in the fridge. (I usually warm it through first as I find it infuses better) Line the base of a stainless steel pot with a little water, swirl it about and discard, - this helps to stop the pan 'burning', and then add the strained milk and cream. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then add the sugar and whisk well. Pour half the milk and cream into the egg and sugar and whisk. Pour the mixture back into the stainless-steel pot containing the rest of the milk and cream. Heat to just before boiling point, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and place in a basin of cold water to cool it quickly. Spin the cool mixture in an ice cream maker (I bought mine in Argos for €51.00 and it's great). Otherwise, place in a stainless-steel bowl and freeze – removing from the freezer at 2 hour intervals to stir.


Frangipani
50g soft unsalted butter
50g caster sugar
50g ground almonds
1 large egg
Grated zest of 1 orange
Puff Pastry

Method: 
Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the caster sugar, butter, ground almonds, orange zest and mix with a hand blender.  Beat the egg and add it to the mixture and mix again..


To serve
Slice 8 fresh figs and set aside. Cut the pastry in four rectangular shapes or circles and place on a baking tray. Prick with a fork to ensure it doesn’t rise too much. (Score around edges so that they will rise)
Spread the frangipani mixture on top of each pastry and bake at 175 degrees centigrade for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and layer fig slices on top. Turn oven down to 150 degrees and return the tarts to bake for a further five minutes.
Place the tart in the centre of a large plate with a scoop of the Lavender ice cream and finish by sprinkling ground almond and decorate with lavender flowers.

Absolutely Yummy!!! - enjoy