Christmas Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients

two litres good quality vanilla ice cream
glacé cherries
candied peel
sultanas
currants
orange zest
heaped teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of mixed spice
tablespoon of rum
tablespoon of cointreau
200g milk chocolate

Method

Chop 2/3 of the chocolate and set the rest aside for decorating. Stir all the ingredients together and spoon into a bread tin lined with cling wrap. Freeze for at least four hours or overnight. Turn out onto a plate and drizzle with melted chocolate. Serve with berries.

Braised Lamb w Parmesan Polenta and Cumquat Gremolata

My own recipe

Ingredients

carrots, chopped
one onion, roughly chopped
tomato paste
lamb
rosemary
thyme
garlic, unpeeled whole
tomatoes, roughly chopped
chicken stock
white wine
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

For the Polenta

water
polenta
butter
Parmesan

For the Gremolata

two cumquats, peel finely chopped, juice squeezed
squeeze of orange juice
small garlic clove, finely chopped
flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
olive oil

Method

Salt and pepper the lamb and fry until browned. Heat olive oil and fry carrots and onion for 10 minutes then add tomato paste and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the lamb to the carrot mix and deglaze the pan with the wine and pour in with the carrots. Add all the other ingredients, top with water and simmer until the meat is falling off the bone.

Put water and polenta in a saucepan and stir until thick and cooked then add a knob of butter and some finely grated Parmesan.

Add all the gremolata ingredients together and stir well.

Food Goals 2011

My food goals for this year

1. Learn about and cook food from:
- Sri Lanka
- Southern USA Fried Chicken
- Ethiopia Doro Wat

2. Learn to make:
- Kedgeree Complete
- Tapas Complete
- Popcorn crocodile
- Preserves
- Tamales

3. Buy these books
- The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz Complete
- The Cooks Companion by Stephanie Alexander

4. Cook with these ingredients
- Goroka - a Sri Lankan tart orange fruit used for souring
- Black lime
- Quinoa - I've had this in my cupboard for ages but haven't got around to making something with it yet
- Jamaica flower tea

5. Jump on the bandwagon and make macarons like every other blogger in cyberspace.

6. Blog about my favourite cocktails and put lots of photos up.

7. Make more cakes. Baking has never really been my thing and I've had a few baking disasters but this year I plan to bake cookies and cupcakes and lots of cutesy baked goods.

8. Make an over the top gingerbread house. Complete


I really will eat just about anything but over time there are foods that come and go as my favourites. The only food I've never been a big fan of is mushrooms. I will eat them but I haven't got past the smell of mum cooking mushrooms when I was a child. I don't know what she did to them but they really stank.

Some of the foods I'm loving at the moment are:

Coconut
Kangaroo
Mint
White bread - I usually prefer dark, heavy breads like rye but lately I've really gone onto soft white Turkish breads and crusty French loaves

Some of the foods that have faded into the background:

Lamb - my all time favourite meat but it's time for a change
Asian food - I really love Asian cuisine, Thai being one of my all time favourites along with Mexican and Moroccan but after ending up in hospital with a stomach flu after eating Japanese (not necessarily related) and a bad reaction to MSG after eating in a Chinese restaurant my poor tummy needs a break.

Pan Roasted Venison w Creamy Baked Potato and Celeriac

From 'Jamie at Home' by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

50g butter, melted plus extra
1kg potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 celeriac; peeled, halved and sliced
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper
500ml thick cream
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 small bunch of fresh sage, roughly chopped
100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
10 juniper berries, crushed and chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
1kg venison loin in one piece, trimmed
olive oil
1 bulb of garlic, unpeeled and smashed, papery skin removed
a wineglass of good quality red wine, like Pinot Noir

Method

Preheat oven to 180° and butter a large baking dish. Place the sliced potato and celeriac in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for five minutes, drain and steam for a minute or two. Place in the dish with the cream, chopped garlic, sage, half the Parmesan and salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan, cover with foil and cook in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes.

Rub the venison all over with olive oil then rub in the juniper berries, rosemary and salt and pepper. Heat an oven proof pan on a high heat and add some olive oil. Sear the venison for a couple of minutes on all sides, then add the garlic and a splash of water to cool the pan down and place in the oven - 8 minutes for medium.

Uncover the potato and celeriac and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes.

Rest the venison on a plate covered loosely with foil. Squash the garlic out of the skins and discard the skins. Place back on the heat and pour in the red wine and the butter, season and serve.