Food glorious food!

So my posts have been mainly Christmas related this week, sorry but you know how it is.

I've been doing a lot of baking and making, here are just a few of my festive offerings.

Me and my son made some Christmas cupcakes on Christmas eve for visiting relatives, he seems just to want them to eat the sweet off the top though!

Some festive cupcakes me and my son made together!

I hadn't made these before but it seemed cheaper to make some tarts than buy them, they were delicious and surprisingly easy. I have never used Filo before but had a stab and they worked out well. Will put the recipe or at least how I did them on the blog at some point.

Some Brie & Cranberry and Goats Cheese and Red Onion Tarts

For the last few years I have bought reduced turkeys after Christmas just to make this dish it is devine, even my three year old loved it! Turkey is so versatile, you can have a roast dinner, and do so much with the left overs. This is from one of my favourite chef's the fabulous Jamie Oliver, it is Chilli Con Turkey and you can use up so much with it :)

Chilli Con Turkey with left over turkey

And finally, fudge! As seen on Favourite Recipe Friday! I was giving to children so left out the pistachios but instead added some cranberries on the top for a festive look.

Some chocolate fudge, see recipe on Favourite Recipe Friday

I have a few other things that I haven't managed to get off the camera yet so will put them on another post but they include trifle and maybe depending on how it turns out a cake I have been feeding and nursing for the last two weeks! Don't ask, but it tastes lovely :)

Favourite Recipe Friday - Cranberry Sauce

Today is another festive treat, now some of you may have made this before and it isn't particularly a difficult recipe. However since I first made cranberry sauce about six years ago I have only ever bought ready made for use in gravy or when cranberries are difficult to source (pardon the pun).

I even get asked to make this for family and it is my usual festive offering along with fudge!

This particular recipe I found a few years ago from Nigella, it uses cherry brandy which is fab. But if you don't have any or prefer no alcohol or just don't want to buy it specifically just for this sauce then you can use orange juice.

Because this lasts it can be made a week ahead of Christmas but I usually make on Christmas eve (mmm I suppose this is a tradition then).

Ingredients:

1 x 300g pack fresh cranberries (if you can only find frozen ones these work just as well and are usually cheaper)
200g caster sugar
45ml cherry brandy (if you have it) or freshly squeezed orange juice if you'd prefer
75ml water

Method:

1. Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan and let it bubble away until the berries start to pop, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon. This will take about 10 minutes, I always stay in the room to make sure they don't catch on the bottom of the pan. 

2. One thing to remember is that cranberries are rich in pectin and solidify a lot on cooling, so although it will be cooked when all the berries have burst, it will still look runnier than you think cranberry sauce should.  

3. I usually just squish any stubborn cranberries with the back of the spoon but a vigorous stir works too, taste the sauce - making sure not to burn your mouth (honestly it is like licking the sun) - to check whether it needs more sugar. If you prefer it sweeter then you can add more at this stage, I usually add a bit at a time until it is sweet enough. If you find it too sweet, which is unlikely or add to much sugar, just add some lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.  

NB: If you cook this sauce in advance it turns quite solid, so stir through with a fork before serving.

The sauce can be frozen and then thawed over night but I usually find it lasts for weeks in the fridge, just transfer from the dish into a separate serving bowl so you don't transfer any germs/ bits of food back into it.

This sauce goes great with cold meats and chicken dinners so don't be afraid if it looks like loads, it always gets eaten in our house.