Christmas Coffee
You need:
- 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
- 1⁄4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon (or cardamom)
- 1⁄3 cup water
- whipped cream, for garnish
- milk, for serving
- sugar, for serving
Let’s cook!
1.Over medium heat, boil sugar, cocoa, cinnamon and water for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add to coffee, stir and serve immediately. Stir again if served later.
2.Serve with whipped topping, milk and sugar.
3.Good with a splash of Brandy, Frangelico, Kahlua or Bailey’s, if desired.
Mulled Wine
You need:
- 1 bottle red wine
- 60g/2oz demerara sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- grated nutmeg
- 1 orange, halved
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 60ml/2fl oz sloe or damson gin (optional)
Let’s cook!
1.Put the wine in a saucepan with the orange, sugar, bayleaf and the spices.
2.Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Taste to see if you want the wine sweeter, and add more sugar to taste.
3.Off the heat, stir in the sloe or damson gin if you are using it.
4.Strain into heatproof glasses and serve at once.
Pigs in a Blanket with Rosemary
You need:
- 8 rashers streaky bacon
- 16 small fresh rosemary sprigs
- 16 chipolatas
- 2 tbsp honey
Let’s cook!
1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan180°C/ gas 6. Using the back of a knife, stretch the bacon rashers until double their length, then cut in half. Place
2.a rosemary sprig on each chipolata and wrap with half a rasher of bacon.
3.Place in a roasting tin and cook for 10 minutes, then drizzle with the honey and turn to coat. Cook
4.for a further 10 minutes until sticky and golden brown.
Goat cheese and Fig Jam Crostini
You need:
- 1 sweet baguette
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/3 cup fig jam
Let’s cook!
1.Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Cut the baguette on the bias into about 20 (1/2-inch-thick) slices and place on a baking sheet. Using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, lightly brush each slice. Sprinkle with salt and bake until lightly toasted and crisp, about 8 minutes. Let cool.
2. Meanwhile, line a plate with paper towels and set aside. Heat the remaining olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-low heat.
3. Gently spread 1 teaspoon of the goat cheese on each crostini, top with a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of the fig jam.
Stuffing
You need:
- Bacon (12 ounces sliced in 1/2 inch pieces)
- Onion (4 cups chopped)
- Celery (3 cups chopped)
- Dried apples (1 cup chopped)
- Pecans (6 cups chopped/toasted)
- Dried thyme (1 1/2 teaspoons)
- 1 package of cornbread stuffing crumbs
- Low-sodium chicken broth (2 1/2 cups)
- Melted butter (1/2 cup)
- Non-stick cooking spray
Let’s cook!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. While you’re waiting for the oven to heat up, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crispy in texture. Remove the bacon and save two teaspoons of bacon grease from the pan after cooking and discard the rest.
3. Add your celery and onions to the same pan and place them into the remaining bacon drippings. Cook together on a medium-high heat for up to 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
4. Combine the bacon, onions, celery, dried apples, pecans, dried thyme, sage, stuffing combs, broth and butter into one dish. (Put up to seven cups of stuffing to the side if you want to place it inside your turkey.) Put the stuffing in a sprayed baking dish (preferably 1 1/2-quart deep) and baked covered for 30 minutes and uncovered for 15 minutes.
Brioche and butter pudding
You need: 
- 300 ml full-fat milk
- 300 ml double cream
- 1 vanilla pod, split
- 2 eggs
- 125 g vanilla sugar
- 50 g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 4 brioche, sliced horizontally into four
- handful of sultanas, soaked in warm water until plump
- half a jar of apricot jam
- 1 tsp water
Let’s cook!
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 4.
2. Pour the milk and cream into a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod with the tip of a knife. Add these to the pan along with the scraped pod. Bring almost to the boil, then remove from the heat.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar together thoroughly in a large bowl, Then pour in the milk and cream mixture (remove the vanilla pod first), and whisk a bit more.
4. Melt the butter gently, then brush it over the brioche slices, placing them in a buttered pudding dish as you go, and sprinkling with the sultanas.
5. Strain the milk and egg mixture over the top.
6. Place the dish in a roasting pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until just set and not over-browned. Remove from the oven.
7. Put the jam in a saucepan with the teaspoon of water and melt over gentle heat.
8. Brush generously over the eggy surface of the pudding before serving
