Posts by: alc28

I think it was cinder toffee or honeycombe, all you need is the following:

100g caster sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

place sugar and syrup in a pan and mix together, place on heat and let it dissolve, DO NOT stir the mixture you can swirl it in the pan but do not stir, once it has melted add the bicarb and then mix, it should start to foam, pour onto a baking sheet, i lined mine with a non stick reusable baking sheet but you could use a few layers of cling film, leave to set them break up,
The toffee can go sticky if left out, but i coat mine in melted chocolate after its broken up to make it last a little longer its a bit like a crunchie

At last a new series of the Barefoot Contessa, it's great to see Ina back with more fantastic ideas and recipes. I loved her idea for edible cookies with peoples names on them for place setting cards, that's now what i have decided to do for my Christmas day lunch settings.

Try ebay, i typed in pineapple flavoring in to the search and it comes up with a few sellers, try the international one though as the uk ones are for fishing!

Glad to help, hope it tastes as good as it looks

How about this recipe from Delia smith, you can always change the cream filling to hazelnut or chestnut.

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Unfortunately you need to wait till next year (sow seeds between march and June) to plant beetroot, i grew the candy cane stripe beetroots this year and they were fantastic so sweet and crisp in salads. If you want to buy different varieties i think the best place is farmers markets if you have one near to you, they are the most likely people to sell them.
Here is a link on how to grow your own

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I find freezing work great for the both of them, chili's after freezing though aren't great for garnishes but are great for curry, pastes and sauces, the ginger is also easier to grate as freezing it helps break down the strands (or so i have been told)

You could always freeze your chilli's, they aren't to good for garnishing food with but if you need them for chilli con carne, curry or pastes they work just fine, you could chop and freeze in ice cube trays or freeze them whole

I started to roast my garlic before making humous, as like you cornetto i found it to garlicky, just roasted the cloves with out peeling them then squeezed the pulp into the blender, it gives it a nice garlic flavour with out the harsh raw garlic flavour.

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Above are a few web sites for diabetic Christmas recipes, the first two are American so may need converting a little, unfortunately the UK doesn't seem to have many sites, hope they are of some help though

This is not quite Japanese but i mix a little wasabi with beaten egg when I'm making fish/chicken goujons it gives it a nice kick

How about potted shrimp, you can make it the day before, don't need to heat and serve with brown bread and butter and a small salad garnish, if you can't find brown shrimp you can use small prawns,
There is a recipe on this site for potted shrimp.

I did a bit of searching and i think i may have found what you need, i tried putting in jelly squares, jelly petit fours, jelly sweets and like you came up with nothing till i found that they are called pate de fruits and found these few sites for you, if they aren't what your looking for type in 'pate de fruit recipes' or 'british pate de fruit recipes' into you search engine and you should find some sites with what you are looking for. Hope they help

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you need to scroll quite far down for the one above

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I have also decided not to cook turkey this year and gone for goose instead. After trawling sites looking for happy, skipping, pampered turkeys the price of them knocked me over. I decided to get a Seldom Seen Farm goose instead (it was featured on Rick Steins Food Heroes), my aunt has been getting one for years and the are the best goose i have ever eaten, and they are happy, skipping, pampered little geese. The good thing about it as well is that they have a stall at the Borough Market at the end of November so i get to have a trip to the market to pick up my goose and buy loads of other yummy things

Glad i could help,

For the Christmas day starter are you wanting something quick and easy which doesn't envolve cooking or very little cooking, what are peoples tastes?

For boxing day as you have a houseful i would suggest cooking something in bulk then everyone can help themselves. Everyone does something like a turkey curry but how about a tagine with a big bowl of couscous, if you have any left over turkey that could go in to it, or a big vat of pasta and meat balls in a tomato sauce, you could make the meatballs and sauce a few days before then just reheat and cook some pasta (use penne or shells as its easier for people to eat). You could do different pies with mash and peas and lashings of gravy.
I hope it helps a little if its not what your after let me know and I'll have a re-think

You could marinade it in you favourite marinade and place on the oven rack with a roasting tin on the shelf under neath to catch any fat/juice etc, that way it will get crisp around and not end up stewing in its own juice, admitedly it takes a bit of cleaning afterward but it does look bbq'd

I normally put mine in once i have added the sugar and it has disolved, remember not to let the base of the thermometer touch the base of the pan or you will get a false reading

This has been happening to me for a few days i thought it was my pc it seems that it isn't

You can buy buttermilk from most supermarkets, its normally where the cream,creme fresh and sour cream are kept.

After trail and error and research i have discovered that making small batches with fresh young cabbage is the way forward, how ever it only lasts for up to 2 months.
You need to discard the outer leaves and the centre stalks as the heart makes the best pickle, shred finally and layer it with salt on a large flat dish and cover with a towel over night, rinse off the salt and drain thoroughly, pack into jars and cover with cold vinegar, leave for a weak but use with in 2 months or the colour and crispness will go.
You can add a couple of slices of beetroot to help with the colour.

For a starter maybe a salad of roasted peppers with capers, preserved lemon and feta cheese, with a olive oil and lemon dressing, if you want to bulk it out a little then add a few mixed leaves, or you could do a big anti-pasta platter of all nice veggie thing (peppers,artichoke hearts, olives, caper berries, tomatoes etc) with a side plate of meats for the carnivores, you could offer a basket of bread as well and if you can find spelt bread for the coeliac.
And maybe for desert a pana cotta with mixed berries.
You can roast the peppers the day before or buy them from a deli counter, and all the desert can be made the day before

If you can't find un-waxed lemons, give the waxed ones a good wash in some hot water, when you can see the dimples on the skin and it smells like a lemon the wax has gone.

I am yet to have the joys of pregnancy, but when my mum was pregnant with me she couldn't stand tomatoes, (which was a shame as my dad had a bumper crop that year), strangely though i can't stand the little red blighters, i don't mind them if they are in ketchup form but fresh yuk! As soon as my mum had given birth she ate tomatoes again,
It was similar with my little sis, she could stand coriander whilst pregnant and my sister hates it with a passion.
I find it all a bit spooky, maybe that's where our likes and dislikes for food first start, in the womb.

Rose hip syrup:

675g hips
2 litres of water
350g granulated sugar.

Mince the rose hips or process coxxxxly, place in a pan with 1.2 litres of water.
Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat.
Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 15 mins.
Strain through a jelly bag, then return the pulp to the sauce pan and cover with the remaining water.
Bring to the boil again, then cover and put aside for another 15 mins.
Strain the juice through a jelly bag as before.
Put all the juice into a clean sauce pan and bring to the boil.
Reduce to about 600-750ml.
Add the sugar and stir till dissolved, then boil for a further 5 mins.
Bottle and sterilise.

To sterilise your syrup,
Put the syrup in warmed bottles, filling them within 2.5cm of the top, screw the lids on loosely, stand the bottles on a trivet or on a piece of wood in a large pan, fill the pan with cold water until it comes up just above the level of your syrup in the bottles. Heat the water to 77c/170f and maintain this temp for at least 30 mins, remove bottles and screw the top on tight and label when cool, it should now keep for up to 2 months.

Have fun