Christmas Biscotti - Cranberry and Pistachio

 Whoa be it for me to upgrade an Aust. Women's Weekly recipe because they have been a standby for me and many others (including my mum) for many years.  Why?  Because they work, EVERY TIME.  But....

Hmm, (embarrassing pause) however I recently misread this recipe and used baking powder instead of bi carb and used coconut sugar instead of castor sugar because I had none.  -  The result was better than the original, so if you want to substitute castor instead of coconut, and bi carb instead of baking powder go ahead!

You can also substitute any nut or fruit combination you enjoy, and instead of vanilla use any delicious essence (e.g. almond) you like.

One tip - chilling is a MUST. You could even chill overnight if that suits you better.

My emergency Christmas dessert.

 Have you been asked to provide dessert at the last minute or simply having people over unexpectedly?  Well do not panic!  Here is the easiest dessert I know that can be whipped up in minutes (plus a trip to the store).  I guarantee it will impress your guests.

Step 1 - Shop

From the store buy an unfilled sponge (don't worry a filled one will still work), a jar of lemon curd, a lemon, and about 600 mls of whipping cream.  I assume you have a couple of eggs at home.

Step 2 - Assemble

Cut up the sponge into large (about 2inch) pieces and put at the bottom of a trifle dish.  Sprinkle (ie. pour on) some limoncello (or grand Marnier, or rum, or whatever booze you like), that has been mixed with a little sugar and water.  Taste to see if you need to add some lemon juice as well.

Whip the cream and add some sugar and the zest of 1-2 lemons to taste.

Put 1/2 on top of the sponge.

Spread the lemon curd on top, then the rest of the cream. 

Put into the fridge.   Serve when you need to.

Options :

1. If you had time you could put a layer of raspberry jelly on the bottom, that would take about an hour to set before you can put the sponge on.  Looks like you spent hours though.
2. Put some raspberries (could use frozen) on top of the lemon curd.
3. If you have frozen raspberries, you could make a coulis and pour that onto the sponge too.
4. You could top with raspberries or grated chocolate, or strawberries.
5. Make Lemon Meringue trifle - If you are feeling fancy you could whip up 2 egg whites with some sugar to form a meringue and then pile on top.  Torch with a blow torch to brown the edges.  This is what I did and it is very impressive.

If you just don't have time for any of this cut up some fruit and cheese, add a slice of fruit cake and away you go!  Merry Christmas.

QUICK AND EASY LEMON IMPOSSIBLE PIES

 This is a quick recipe that uses ingredients you will probably have in the cupboard. They are little morsels of lemon and vanilla loveliness.

Pre-heat overn to 160C fan forced
Grease a muffin tin (12)
In a bowl mix together 
2 eggs
can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice 
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 tpn vanilla 
zest of 1 lemon.
When smooth, evenly pour into muffin tins.
Bake for 18-20 mins, or until golden on top and set .
Dust with icing sugar

Christmas Cosmopolitan.

 I love this because I can make a huge bottle full (minus the lemon and ice) and keep it in the fridge ready for anytime over xmas.  It is from the Barefoot Contessa herself!  We have it every Xmas but I always forget the recipe, so I am saving it for posterity.  i have converted it from ounces.

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup Cointreau liqueur
• 1 cup cranberry juice cocktail, such as Ocean Spray
• 1 cup good vodka, such as Grey Goose
• 
  
• Ice

In a pitcher, stir together the lemon juice, Cointreau, cranberry juice cocktail, vodka. Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice and pour enough of the drink mixture into the shaker to almost fill it. Shake the cocktail for a full 30 seconds (it’s longer than you think!) and strain into martini glasses. Serve ice cold.

Gribiche Sauce

Is this a sauce or is this a mayonnaise?  Both actually! 

My first encounter with this sauce was my mother making a tartare sauce this way, and actually this sauce is very close to tartare but different in that it has more herbs in it.  I serve it the way I saw on Adam Liaw's show, as a bed for a chicken snitzel, but you could use the oil, mustard, lemon and egg yolks and just make mayonnaise with those.

When you make the mayonnaise, you do not have to drizzle it in like a normal mayonnaise, but if you just dump it all in it will split.  So, just add it slowly mixing all the time.

I use chives and parsley but you can vary the herbs to whatever you like, try basil, thyme, tarragon or even celery or carrot tops.

This is really a very versatile sauce and goes really well with fish, chicken, or vegetables (think asparagus with sauce gribiche!)  Once you have made it you will want to keep making it.

Gribiche Sauce

Ingredients

20 g capers, finely chopped
15 g pickled jalapeños, finely chopped
½ red onion, finely chopped
½ bunch chives, thinly sliced
½ small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Salt and black pepper

4 boiled eggs
1 lemon, halved
150 ml olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Method

I use two bowls, in one bowl put the yolks of the eggs.

Chop the egg whites, capers, onions, jalapenos, chives, parsley and add salt and pepper.  Add this to the other bowl.

Mash the egg yolks, add about 1/2 the juice of the lemon and all the mustard, mix until it is smooth.

Add the oil in slowly until it is a mayonnaise, just keep whisking or mixing.

Now just check the seasoning and add more lemon if required.

Mix the chopped herbs etc into the mayonnaise and refrigerate. 

Healthy Raspberry Cups

Going somewhere and need to "take a plate" but want to take something a bit healthy and that tastes great.  This is your recipe!

You can substitute any nut butter for the peanut butter, and if you don't have enough add a little real butter. I left out the coconut oil in the topping as I had run out and it worked perfectly, but you could use a bit of butter instead.  You can make these the day before, just store them in the fridge.

Healthy Raspberry Cups

Ingrediants

For the cups: 
1¾ cups (157g) Rolled/quick oats 
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (140g) Natural peanut butter 
3 tablespoons Maple syrup 

For the filling: 
1½ cups (150g) Raspberries, fresh or frozen 
2 tablespoons Chia seeds 1-2 tablespoons Maple syrup (optional) 

For the topping: 100g Dark chocolate 1 tablespoon Coconut oil 

Method

1. Make the cups: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line muffins tip with paper liners. 
2. In a bowl, mix oats, peanut butter and maple syrup. 
3. Take about 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture, transfer to the muffin cups. Then, using the handle of a rolling pin press create a well as shown in the video. 
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes. 
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. 
6. Meanwhile make the filling: mash the raspberries, add chia seeds, maple syrup (optional) and mix. Set aside for 15 minutes. 
7. Fill each cup with the raspberry filling. 
8. Make the topping: chop dark chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl, add coconut oil and melt in the microwave in 20 second pulses. 
9. Spread a layer of melted chocolate over the filling. 
10. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving

Frangipane

 Frangipane:

Posting this so I can find it again! Frangipane is a handy recipe for the filling of any fruit tart, particularly where you do not have enough fruit for fruit only. I make a rectangle tart with frangipane and pears sliced on top. Delish.

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup almond flour (measured then sifted)

Cream, the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. At the egg and vanilla and mix well. Sift the almond flour into the mixture and whip for another 30 to 60 seconds.