Category: Do-ahead

Breakfast · Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Gingerbread oatmeal

Belinda

This gingerbread oatmeal is made on the stove-top using chewy steel oats, gingerbread spices and molasses for a true gingerbread taste!
Lovely for Christmas morning whilst still being healthy too.
Recipe from blog, “Running to the Kitchen”

Serves 2

1 cup steel cut oats (use gluten-free if needed)
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 cups almond milk (or any milk of choice)
1 1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp molasses

Combine the oats, flax seed and milk in a sauce pot over medium heat on the stove. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer stirring occasionally.
After about 5 minutes when it starts to thicken, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in the remaining ingredients.
Continue cooking for about 10 more minutes, stirring frequently until desired thickness is reached. Oats will be chewy but cooked.
Serve with a splash of additional almond milk, pecans and drizzle of molasses or maple syrup.

Dessert · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Ginger, passionfruit trifle

Belinda

I am a huge fan of trifle, and usually stick to a very boozy traditional one, but this one from Nigella Lawson caught my eye and you can see why. Another easy showstopper dessert!

Serves 10

About 18-20 oz store-bought sponge or pound cake or savoiardi cookies
About 4-6 oz ginger wine (I use Stones Ginger Wine, available in most wine stores)
About 18 -20 oz heavy whipping cream
4 tsp confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
8 passion fruit

Slice or break the sponge into pieces and arrange half of them in a shallow dish or stand, then pour half the ginger wine over them. Mound up the remaining half of the sponge or cookie pieces and pour the remaining wine on top
* I pour in more than the stated amount of ginger wine as I like my trifle boozy and gingery!

Whip the cream with the confectioners sugar (icing sugar) until it’s firm but not too stiff; you want soft peaks.

Scoop the insides of 2 passionfruit into the bowl of cream and fold in before mounding the cream floppily over the soused sponges.

Scoop out the remaining 6 passion fruit onto the white pile of cream s that it is doused and dribbling with the black seeds and fragrant golden pulp

Baking · Do-ahead · Fruit · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Nuts

Cranberry curd tart

Belinda2 Comments

Creamy and bright cranberry curd filling inside a gluten-free oat and nut-based tart crust makes a stunningly delicious and easy Holiday dessert.
Recipe from the food blog, “Running to the Kitchen”

Serves 8-10

FOR THE TART CRUST
1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cubed

FOR THE CRANBERRY CURD FILLING
12 oz fresh cranberries
zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease a tart pan with a removeable bottom with butter or baking spray making sure to pay attention to the sides.

Combine the oats, walnuts, brown sugar and spices in a food processor. Process until finely chopped then pulse in the cubes of cold butter one by one until the mixture starts to come together.
Turn the ingredients out into the prepared tart pan and press evenly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides.
Place the crust in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Remove from the refrigerator, place the tart pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven, gently press down the middle if it’s puffed up a bit from baking and let cool while you make the curd.

Combine the cranberries, lemon zest, 3/4 cup sugar and water in a sauce pot. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to help break down the cranberries.
Turn off the heat and let cool for 5 minutes then transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
Return the mixture to the sauce pot over medium-low heat.

One by one add the remaining ingredients including the leftover 2 tablespoons of sugar to the pot whisking constantly as you go.
Once all ingredients are added to the pot, continue cooking for 10 minutes whisking constantly until the mixture has thickened.

Strain the cranberry curd over a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer using a spatula to push the curd through.
Pour the strained filling into the cooled tart crust and refrigerate for at least 3 hours until set.
Keep refrigerated until serving.
Garnish with sugared cranberries or candied lemon slices.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Chocolate chestnut refrigerator cake

Belinda2 Comments

Another fabulous dessert from Nigella Lawson.
It’s incredibly easy to make, and dangerously compelling to eat, one of those puddings about which everyone says ‘it’s very rich’ before going on to third helpings.


Makes: 10-12 slices

FOR THE CAKE
2 cups sweetened chestnut puree
12 tbsp soft unsalted butter
10 oz bittersweet chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
3 tbsp dark rum

TO SERVE
creme fraiche

Beat the puree in a bowl until it’s smooth, and then add the butter, beating again to make a well-blended mixture.
Melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly, before adding it to the chestnut and butter in the bowl.
Beat in the rum, and spoon the chocolate mixture into a 9″ x 4″ loaf tin, lined with clingfilm, in two batches, making sure the first layer reaches the corners and sides of the bottom of the tin before you smooth over the rest.
Wrap the overhanging clingfilm over the cake so that it is completely covered, and put it in the fridge to set for at least four hours, but a day or so in advance if you want.
Don’t take the loaf tin out of the fridge until you want to eat it, when you just unmold the cake, cut it into thin slices and serve with creme fraiche or sour cream.

Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Icecream

Girdlebuster pie

Belinda

Well, given the (Covid) year we’ve had and our waistlines are a little more “elastic” we can go out with a bang these Holidays with this easy and divine Girdlebuster pie from Nigella Lawson.

Serves 6-8

13 oz Digestive cookies or Graham crackers
3 oz soft butter, plus 3 more oz
2 oz dark chocolate pieces or chips
2 oz milk chocolate pieces or chips
4.5 cups (1 liter) coffee ice cream
10.5 oz Lyles golden syrup (Available on Amazon)
3.5 oz packed light muscovado sugar or brown sugar
1/4 tsp Maldon salt or a pinch table salt (optional)
2 tbsp Bourbon
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a food processor, process the cookies with the 3 oz of soft butter and the chocolate pieces or chips until it forms a damp but still crumb-like clump.
Press into a 9″ round pie dish or flan dish. Form a lip of cookie dough a little higher than the dish if you can. This process takes patience as you ideally need to form a smooth, even layer.
Freeze the cookie dough-lined dish for about 1 hour so it gets really hard.

In the meantime, let your ice-cream soften in the refrigerator, just until it can be scooped.
Spread the ice-cream layer into the hard cookie lined dish to form a layer.
Cover with plastic wrap and return to the freezer

Put the golden syrup, sugar, remaining 3 oz butter and salt (if using) into a saucepan and let it melt over a low to medium heat, before turning it up and letting it boil for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add the bourbon, letting it hiss in the pan. Add the cream and stir to mix into a sauce then remove from the heat and let cool.
Once the sauce is cool, but not set cold, pour it over the pie to cover the ice cream layer and then put it back into the freezer.
Once frozen, cover it again with plastic wrap.

When ready to serve, remove the pie from the freezer, take the whole pie out of it’s dish and cut into slices.

Do-ahead · Egg based · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Sauces

Hollandaise sauce in a blender!

Belinda

Isn’t it wonderful to have a fail-safe, easy blender hollandaise recipe so your morning eggs can have this positively sexy sauce on them?
Recipe from Ree Drummond, “The Pioneer Woman”

Serves 4

2 sticks butter
3 whole eggs, separated
1 whole (juice of) lemon
Cayenne pepper, to taste

In a small saucepan, melt 2 sticks of butter until sizzling.
Separate the eggs and place the yolks in a blender.
Turn the blender on low to allow the yolks to combine, and then begin pouring the very hot butter in a thin stream into the blender. The blender should remain on the whole time, and you should be careful to pour in the butter very slowly.
Keep pouring butter until it’s all gone, then immediately begin squeezing lemon juice into the blender. You should use the juice of one lemon. And check the blender to make sure the sauce is still liquidy and moving easily through the blades. If it’s not, add a little more juice and give it a stir, then blend again.
Add in a generous shake of cayenne pepper.
If the sauce is too thick, continue to blend while adding more lemon juice.
Now pile on to some Eggs Benedict!

Dessert · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Amaretti Syllabub

Belinda

Syllabub is a fabulous, indulgent, silky, fluffy dessert, well worth the calories and only takes 15 minutes to make!
This Anglo-Italian version is from Nigella Lawson and with the crumbled amaretti cookies, it feels like a light fluffy trifle.

Serves 4, if you’re lucky

1/3 cup Amaretto liqueur
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz amaretti cookies

Pour the Amaretto liqueur into a bowl with the sugar and lemon juice and whisk to mix.
Whisk in the heavy cream and whip this mixture until it has thickened but is still soft and billowy.
Crumble 2 little amaretti cookies into each of the 4 glasses (each with a yield of about 2/3 cup)
Divide the syllabub between the glasses on top of the crumbled cookies.
Crumble another 2 cookies and sprinkle over the top of all the glasses to give a fine sprinkle of crumbs on each.
Serve the remaining amaretti cookies alongside the syllabub.

Baking · Do-ahead · Holiday Food

Caramelized onion galette

Belinda

This rich, autumnal galette takes its inspiration from the flavors of French onion soup. Seasoned with Gruyère and lots of cracked black pepper, the galette dough takes the place of the crostini, and the caramelized onion filling is fortified with beef broth and sherry. The dish is great for entertaining — it can be prepared in advance — but requires a little bit of patience: You’ll need to let the dough rest for at least four hours, which allows the flour to hydrate and will make the dough less crumbly to work with. Let the tart rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Eat it while it’s hot or serve at room temperature alongside a salad or steak.

Recipe by Sue Li from the New York Times

Serves 6-8
TIME1 1/2 hours, plus chilling and cooling

FOR THE DOUGH:
1 ½ cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Kosher salt and black pepper
½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 ⅓ cups/4 ounces grated Gruyère
¼ cup ice water

FOR THE ONIONS AND ASSEMBLY:
¼ cup/55 grams unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rings
4 fresh thyme sprigs, plus more fresh thyme leaves for serving
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup beef broth (or vegetable broth)
¼ cup dry sherry

Prepare the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper. Add butter and 1 cup grated Gruyère to the flour mixture and toss to coat. Using your fingertips, pinch the butter and cheese into the flour to make pebble-size pieces. Drizzle in the ice water and stir to make a shaggy dough. Dump the dough onto a large sheet of plastic wrap and knead a few times to combine. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Prepare the onions: In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add onions and thyme sprigs, season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and lightly golden on the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add broth and sherry and cook until the onions are browned and the liquid has mostly evaporated but the mixture is still saucy, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roll the dough into a 13-inch round on a sheet of parchment. Spread the cooled caramelized onions on the dough, leaving a 1- to 2-inch border. Fold the edges in, over the onions, transfer to a baking sheet and bake until the dough is golden brown and some of the onions have browned on the edges, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the galette halfway into the baking process.

Remove galette from the oven and sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup grated Gruyère on the crust. Bake another 5 minutes to melt the cheese. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Top with remaining thyme leaves, for garnish.

Chocolate · Do-ahead · Icecream

Banana chocolate chip ice cream

Belinda

Rich, creamy and studded with big chunks of dark chocolate. Simple, from-scratch recipe that anyone can make!
Recipe from food blog “Well Plated”

Makes 1 quart

2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks save the whites for another use
1 cup whole milk yes, it must be WHOLE milk!
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 large very ripe bananas (or 4 medium) the more brown, the better
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp dark rum or vodka*
4 oz bittersweet chocolate roughly chopped (about 2/3 cup)

Prep your workstation: Create an ice bath by placing a moderate amount of ice and water in a large bowl. Set an empty, medium bowl in the larger one on top of the ice. Pour the heavy cream into the medium bowl and set a strainer on top. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until well combined.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the milk, sugar, and salt until small bubbles form along the edges and the sugar has dissolved. Do not let boil.

Gradually pour some of the milk into the bowl with the egg yolks, whisking constantly as you pour (I like to use a ladle for this). Once you’ve poured in some of the milk, return the saucepan to the stove over low heat. Slowly pour the yolks into the saucepan, stirring constantly. This process is called tempering and will keep the eggs from scrambling.

Continue cooking the egg-milk mixture (also called custard) over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the saucepan with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula. Strain the custard into the bowl with the heavy cream.

Place half of the custard into a blender or food processor with the bananas. Puree until smooth then pour it back into the bowl with the rest of the custard. Stir in the vanilla extract and rum. Cover, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface, then chill thoroughly in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or, if time allows, overnight.

Freeze the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions, adding the chocolate during the last 5 minutes of churning. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze 3 hours or overnight. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.

Notes
*The addition of hard alcohol helps keep the ice cream softer and creamier. If you like the flavor of rum, it’s delicious in this recipe. If not, vodka is a flavorless addition that will still keep the ice cream creamy. If you prefer not to use alcohol, it can be omitted completely, though the ice cream will freezer slightly harder.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food

Cheesy Brussels Sprouts Gratin with pancetta and walnuts

Belinda

This holiday-worthy, crowd-pleasing side dish (you can never go wrong with cream and cheese) requires you to open and close the oven door multiple times, so make sure you pay attention to the visual cues since no oven is exactly the same.

Serves 8

8 oz pancetta, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 lbs Brussels sprouts, trimmed, halved, quartered if large
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely grated
4 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp thyme leaves, divided
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup walnuts
3 oz Gruyère, grated (about ⅔ cup)
2 oz Parmesan, crumbled (about 1 cup)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Step 1
Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 475°. Spread pancetta on a rimmed baking sheet and roast, tossing once halfway through, until lightly browned and fat is beginning to render, 6–8 minutes.

Step 2
Transfer pancetta to a large bowl; reserve baking sheet. Add Brussels sprouts, shallots, garlic, butter, black pepper, and 1 Tbsp thyme to bowl with pancetta and toss to coat. Scrape Brussels sprouts mixture into a 13″ x 9″ baking dish. Roast gratin on bottom rack until tops of Brussels are browned, 15–20 minutes. Carefully toss to expose green Brussels below, then continue to roast until tops of Brussels are browned, 15–20 minutes more.

Step 3
Whisk cream and mustard in a large glass measuring cup. Arrange walnuts on reserved baking sheet with pancetta drippings.

Step 4
Remove gratin from oven, carefully pour in cream mixture, and sprinkle cheese over.

Step 5
Reduce oven temperature to 375°. Return gratin to bottom rack, then place sheet with walnuts on top rack. Roast, tossing nuts halfway through, until nuts are browned on both sides, 8–10 minutes, and cream is thick, vigorously bubbling, and browned around the edges, 15–20 minutes. Let gratin cool 10 minutes.

Step 6
Meanwhile, chop walnuts and transfer to a medium bowl. Add red pepper and remaining 1 Tbsp. thyme and toss to combine. Top gratin with walnut mixture before serving.