Lemon Or Orange Ice Cream - MS Word document for downloading

I first came across this recipe in a Family Circle cook book. It suggested the freshly made Lemon Cream was mixed with halved grapes and used in between two layers of shortbread as a very decadent pudding. It looked very sophisticated! I decided to try it out on some guests. Unfortunately, I managed to break both of the shortbread layers. Pudding was looking like a complete disaster, so I served the grape cream on its’ own. I was astonished when it was a huge success, with people asking for the recipe.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Freezing time: at least one hour, but it can be served immediately. Read more »

Brandy Butter or Rum Butter - MS Word document for downloading

For some reason (probably because I prefer brandy!), we always have Brandy Butter with the Mince Pies and Christmas Pudding. You can just substitute rum, if you want to. I usually make it using an electric hand whisk.

I have tried a few recipes and have three to offer you. If you don’t know which to try, make up one that uses the type of sugar you already have, or are buying for some other dish. The amount of brandy or rum is a guide only - you can have great family fun with everyone tasting and probably shouting “more!” The recipes say these quantities are for 6-8 people. That may be enough for the Christmas Pud, but you may want to double the quantity to have some for the mince pies!

You can store it in the fridge for two weeks, or three months in the freezer. As I like to get everything organised beforehand, I take the butter out of the freezer on Christmas Eve and leave in the fridge overnight. Read more »

Chicken In Creamy Mustard Sauce - MS Word document for downloading

If you’ve looked at my previous recipes, you may recognise that the ingredients are very similar to the Pork in Mustard sauce. Chicken in Creamy Mustard Sauce looks and tastes so different, particularly if you change the type of mustard. You can keep the chicken breast whole, or, for a really quick meal, cut them into bite size portions before frying.

I had planned to make a Fruit and Nut Pilaf tonight, to which I was going to add some left over meat from the roast on Sunday. I was very late leaving school and then had to go to the supermarket for the midweek shop. All in all, I realised I was going to be nearly two hours later getting home than I had planned. I needed a good and tasty meal I could cook in ten minutes max. This chicken dish came to mind, so I bought some fresh chicken breast. Black grapes were on special offer. I bought a big pack, hoping they weren’t sour. They were delicious and made a quick and very refreshing dessert with a really good colour contrast.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes for bite size pieces Read more »

Apricot Mousse - MS Word document for downloading

Apricot Mousse is very easy to make and can be eaten as it is, or frozen. This recipe also works well with prunes. The photograph shows the Mousse just after it had been made. It was our pudding this evening - the remainder is now in the freezer and will be very welcome when I don’t want to cook!

Although the recipe contains egg whites which need to be whipped, there have been times where I really didn’t want to be bothered with this stage. The result is a very pleasant pudding - just not quite as light and airy as if the egg whites were added. You can decide which you prefer!

I usually cook the apricots (or prunes) in the oven, while I am cooking or heating another dish. It doesn’t take 2 minutes to rinse them, add the juice, cover them with foil and pop them in the oven (and then they don’t need the soaking time!). They’ll sit quite happily in their juices in the fridge for 2-3 days, until I am ready to puree them.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 15 minutes (once the apricots have been soaked for at least 2 hours)

Cooking time: 20 minutes on top of the cooker, about 1 hour in the oven

Freezing time: 4 hours Read more »