Burn's night

Burns Night

Last week we celebrated Burns Night, although we didn't manage to hold it on the actual day (Robert Burn's birthday, Jan 25th) we did have all the essential ingredients for an authentic Burns Night: Haggis, plenty of whiskey and 3 Scottish guests (4 if you include Louise's bump).

Matt brought home a 10 person Haggis which we wrapped in foil, placed in water and cooked in the oven for 2 hours. Meanwhile Ceri and Charlotte brewed up the whiskey gravy and put the potatoes, parsnips and swede (we couldn't find any turnips but they would be good too) onto boil which were then mashed up with butter, milk, salt, pepper and a few cloves of garlic.

Ceri, who was sporting an excellent tartan dress, created a vegetarian Haggis which in my opinion tasted just as good - if you would like the recipe for the veggie version please bombard Ceri with messages on the blog/facebook and join the campaign for her to make her blog debut!

Charl made some whiskey cream to add into mix (the main ingredients for which were of course whiskey and cream with a spot of dijon mustard and a seasoning of salt and pepper).

Everything was served up with some kale and a generous tumbler of single malt.

Whiskey Gravy:

Vegetable stock (carrot, onion and celery)

corn flour for thickening

mustard

wine

red current jelly

salt and pepper to taste

WHISKEY

Before we could tuck into our Burn's Night supper we had to get one of our scottish guests (Martin) to address the Haggis. Armed with an iphone from which to read the poem and a big shiny knife, he read out the first few verses and stabbed the haggis to within an inch of its life. I think we got about 3 verses in before our hunger took over and we had to serve it up!

Address To a Haggis
Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace As lang's my arm.	(sonsie = jolly/cheerful) (aboon = above) (painch = paunch/stomach, thairm = intestine)
The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o' need, While thro' your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.	(hurdies = buttocks)
His knife see rustic Labour dicht, An' cut you up wi' ready slicht, Trenching your gushing entrails bricht, Like ony ditch; And then, O what a glorious sicht, Warm-reekin, rich!	(dicht = wipe, here with the idea of sharpening) (slicht = skill) (reeking = steaming)

Once the giant haggis had been polished off, it was time for dessert...

Cranachan & Shortbread:

Making Cranachan is very easy as it just involves chucking lots of yummy ingredients together. I started by toasting some porridge oats by putting then under the grill mixed with brown sugar until the browned (stirring frequently to stop them burning).

We then whipped up some double cream (i think me, Rob, Annie and Martin all managed to tire out our arms before it formed peaks) and mixed it with mascarpone cheese, a glug of scotch whiskey and a few spoons of scottish heather honey.

I spooned the creamy mixture into wine glasses along with a few raspberries and topped it off with the crunchy oats.

I've made shortbread a few times before and I always use James Martin's recipe, it produces crumbly, buttery shortbread that is even better when dipped in the cranachan!

Ingredients

• 175g chilled unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
• 225g flour
• 60g caster sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Dice the butter and putinto a mixing bowl to soften a little. Sift over the flour, caster sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Rub together with your fingertips and form the mixture into a ball.

2. Lightly flour the work surface. Roll out the shortbread and cut into strips approximately 4cm wide and 10cm long. Lay the biscuits out on a greased baking sheet and prick the surfaces all over with a fork. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

4. Sprinkle sugar over the shortbread then bake for 8 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Cool before removing from the baking sheet. Dust with caster sugar before serving

All in all, i think it was a successful Burn's Night, in order to try and beat it next year - we'll have to get some bagpipes!

Rachael x

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Chocolate & Ginger Soufflés

Jules's birthday delights

by Charlotte 

Right now it's all about the soufflé. How it started was a conversation between Jules and myself discussing soufflés and the fact that neither of us had ever made one and also the fact that they were meant to be hard and likely to go wrong and disappoint - I don't like to be disappointed, especially in the kitchen. Anyway, Jules went away to find some sun and while gone the Saturday Guardian magazine turned up with none other than a section on soufflés by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. He made it sound pretty simple and so I decided this had to be the dessert of choice for her birthday meal (a few days later).

Little did I know that en route to finding the sun Jules had picked up the same magazine and brought it back to show me. So, the night of the birthday meal there were soufflé recipes all over the kitchen!

Rach arrived with pink sparkling wine. Matt (ham enthusiast, formerly known as pizza oven enthusiast) turned up with some more pink sparkling, as did Ceri! This was drink of choice in 2009 and seems to be rolling over into 2010 which is only a good thing. Birthday guests assembled in the form of Charmy, cousin Louise and Rob and we tucked into Nigel Slater's quince jelly twice cooked ham with baked sweet potatoes and braised leeks and asparagus. Suddenly I realised that it was late, 10:30pm to be precise so we decided to do a pudding poll which was a unanimous 'yes' when I mentioned chocolate and ginger soufflés. I hadn't started making them as you need to have ingredients like butter and eggs at room temperature, make, bake and then eat them straight away before any unfortunate deflating occurs!

So, I followed Hugh's instructions word for word, melting the chocolate and finally folding in the well beaten egg whites (thanks to ham enthusiast) before placing them in the hot oven - hot is key! We then waited patiently for 9 minutes while they cooked and rose - you're not allowed to open the oven and check so for me this was a particularly tense moment and I did prepare myself for the worst, telling everyone that they would probably not work. So when I opened the oven and saw 8 perfectly risen balloons of chocolate I was overjoyed, as was everyone else. There was one slippery moment when Ceri and I almost dropped the baking tray with the ramekins on, which someone managed to capture on camera. The end result can only be described as a mouth wateringly rich, hot mousse with cake like texture around the side, light and delicious. Here are the finished delights, and despite the holding of the breath when I opened the oven door all was well. The recipe was easy to follow and I recommend baking sweet or savoury soufflés if you want to impress anyone, including yourself. Thanks Hugh!

Best served (a new feature on all Charlotte posts) with a round of applause and some sparkling pink fizz.

   

Chocolate and ginger soufflés

Melting, dark chocolate is given a bit of a kick with fiery ginger to make for a decadent pud. Serves eight.

20g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering the ramekins

75g caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp for dusting the ramekins 

225g 70% cocoa dark chocolate, broken into pieces

80ml whole milk

3 eggs, at room temperature, separated

20g stem ginger, drained and very finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp syrup from the jar of stem ginger 

1 egg white, at room temperature

Pinch of cream of tartar

200ml whipping cream

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Butter eight 140ml ramekins and dust with the three tablespoons of caster sugar. Melt the chocolate, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering ­water. Stir until smooth, remove from the heat and beat in the egg yolks. Stir in the chopped ginger.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy and forming soft peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar until the mixture forms firm peaks when you lift out the whisk. Fold a third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen, then carefully fold in the rest. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, filling them to the top, then run a knife or thumbnail around the edge to help them rise. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for eight to 10 minutes, until risen.

While they're baking, whip the cream until thickened and stir in the ginger syrup. Serve the soufflés as soon as they come out of the oven, with some ginger cream on the side.

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A Keston Christmas

Happiness is a good ham

Christmas at Keston was, as you can imagine, a flamboyant affair.  What with chutney making, fruit preserving, damson gin infusing ... what time has a girl for blogging?  So our ambitious aim of getting the annual Christmas dinner on the blog in time to help you all with the big day, was as likely as a big fat Gloucester Old Spot circling the skies of London.

However - better late than never!  Rather than bombard you with recipes for moist turkey, cruchy roasties and succulent sauces, I decided to limit the post to the piece de resistance: THE HAM.  Oh the ham, it makes my mouth water just to think about it.  The most succulent, juicy, tender meat I ever did taste.

Yes, it was the perfect addition to our traditional Christmas dinner.  After the meal, where was Matt to be found all night?  With his head in the fridge peeling off moorish morsels of meat, of course.

The Keston Kids would like to thank all our wonderful guests for their delicious contributions to the feast, for not minding that it was 5 hours late and for decamping to the pub so that we didn't get evicted.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Rachy's mince pies which kept the edge off the huger while everyone waited patiently for hours.

Ceri as Queen of the Stove as she kept bread sauce, two types of gravy and a cranberry boiling to perfection.

Charlene's very naughty celeriac creamy side dish.

Julene's manhandling of the super-size turkey.

Jake and Will's bake-off involving the most indulgent puddings ever.

Martin and Louise's home brewed plum rum.

Lucinda coming up trumps with the sprouts yet again.

Matt's pigs in blankets (the man likes his pig meat)

Tenille's braised cabbage

Steph's cranberry classic

Bec's beets

Poo's nut loaves

Carol's crackers

Louise and Bruce's snowflakes

Clare's cheesy Christmas mix

And all of the above for their excellent rendition of the twelve days of Christmas, despite my shody accompaniment on the ol' cornet.

In honour of that stirling singing effort here's a Keston version (best when sung)

A Keston Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri

On the second day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Two oven gloves, 
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the third day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me 
Tree hanging stars, 
Two oven gloves, 
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.  

On the fourth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Four sequined frocks, 
Tree hanging stars, 
Two oven gloves, 
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.  

On the fifth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Delia Smith                                                                                                                      
Four sequined frocks,  
Tree hanging stars, 
Two oven gloves, 
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.  

On the sixth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the seventh day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Severn cider mulling, 
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the eighth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Ate til bellies bursting, 
Severn cider mulling,
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the ninth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Nine pints of gravy,
Ate til bellies bursting,
Severn cider mulling,
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the tenth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Ten pounds of turkey
Nine pints of gravy
Ate til bellies bursting, 
Severn cider mulling, 
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
the kitchen gave to me
Heaven ham so juicy
Ten pounds of turkey
Nine pints of gravy
Ate til bellies bursting, 
Severn cider mulling, 
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

On the twelfth day of Christmas, 
the kitchen gave to me
Twelve corks a popping
Heaven ham so juicy
Ten pounds of turkey
Nine pints of gravy
Ate til bellies bursting, 
Severn cider mulling, 
Sixteen friends arriving
Delia Smith
Four sequined frocks,
Tree hanging stars,
Two oven gloves,
And Julene, Charlotte, Rach and Ceri.

Cider Ham with Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze

Tip: don't bother soaking the ham overnight, just boil in water for 20mins to get rid of the salt, then continue to boil in the cider.  YUMYUM.

Recipe by: REDFIORO 

 |  Photo by: Allrecipes

     

(2)

EASY |

Ready in 11 hours 30 mins

Reviews  (3) | Tweaks   (1)

Added to favourites by 34 cook(s)

Prep: 8 hours Cook: 3 hours 30 mins

Serves: 6

Ham soaked overnight in cider is slowly boiled and then baked with sugar and mustard. Delicious served with cauliflower cheese and roast potatoes.

Ingredients

1 whole leg of ham on the bone

2 (500ml) bottles dry cider

8 whole peppercorns

1 bay leaf

175g (6 oz) light brown soft sugar

3 tablespoons mustard powder

whole cloves for studding ham

Preparation method

1. Place ham in a large stockpot and cover with cider. Leave in a cold place to soak overnight.
2. Heat the stockpot over medium high heat. Add the peppercorns and bay leaf and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes per 450g (1 lb). Remove from heat.
3. Preheat oven to 220 C / Gas mark 7. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and mustard.
4. Remove the leg from the stockpot, carefully peel off the skin and score diamond shapes into the fat with a sharp knife. Stand the ham in a roasting tin with a small amount of the cider to cover the bottom of the tin. Spread the sugar and mustard mixture over the fat on the ham. Press a clove into the corner of each diamond shape.
5. Roast the ham in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes until the fat is crisp and golden. Remove and allow to cool before carving.

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Food From Friends: Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut from The Netherlands

by Charlotte

When you get invited to dinner for roast chicken, homemade sushi or an Italian feast the answer is always yes please. Does the offer of sauerkraut earn the same amount of enthusiasm? I don't think it does but it surely should do!

Here's a little tale of how I discovered the joys of sauerkraut. One sunny weekend I was in the Netherlands on a boat with some Dutch friends and Matt (pizza oven enthusiast). They sail every year for 3 weeks and we decided to join them for a long weekend. One evening a delicious smelling supper was being prepared, and yes it turned out to be a meal of sauerkraut with pork escalopes, potatoes, mushrooms and many other delightful flavours. This was my first sauerkraut experience: a momentous occasion.

The trip ended and a few weeks later I was on the hunt for a birthday present for a friend; a very creative young lady who has many hobbies and is good at many things. I ended up in a vintage shop with a copy of Mrs Beeton's Cookbook and Household Management in my hand - a 'must have' I decided. 

That evening we had decided to treat some friends to the sauerkraut experience but had not located a recipe. Lo and behold, Mrs. Beeton (she won't let you down) had the perfect pork and sauerkraut dish to hand. We had 5 guests, who may have been a little apprehensive although they didn't let on. Lucinda might have made a couple of small comments (she always does) but obviously she quickly became a sauerkraut aficionado along with the rest of the dinner table.

So, the moral of the story is sauerkraut is a winner. It's easy to prepare and not only delicious but incredibly reasonable and available in all major supermarkets! Think we got a large jar for 89p. Here's a similar recipe to try (I've now given Mrs. Beeton to the birthday girl!) 

Best served on a large Dutch barge after a hard day's sailing. If this is not possible a kitchen table should do the trick. Invite the skeptics and convert! Enjoy.

IngredientsServes: 4-6

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped

3 potatoes, cut into large pieces
5 juniper berries
1 clove
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoon black mustard seeds
4 strips of bacon, cut into rough squares
500g of sauerkraut
4 pork escalopes, cut into chunky strips
1 glass of dry white wine 

In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, melt the oil over a medium heat. When hot, add the onions and sautee until transclucent (about five minutes or so). Then, add the sauerkraut, white wine, juniper berries, clove, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, and garlic. Add the pork strips and bacon. Cover and simmer for about two hours.

In another saucepan, simmer the peeled potatoes (if you're using new potatoes leave the skins on and just cut in half). Simmer until the potatoes are done and add to the pot before serving.

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