Fruity Mincemeat Recipe

I struggle with mincemeat & mince pies (the fruit kind). I hate mixed peel & currants, ugh makes me cringe just thinking of it. So Christmas has always seen me eat 1 mince pie just to get into the spirit & eat only my mums Christmas pudding (fantastic) any other is anathema to me! I have never in all my years thought about making my own, let alone cutting out the horrors!!!!
Well suddenly here we are in a country where we cannot get mincemeat in a jar & a FB friend asked why I didn't make my own? I seemed to think it would be one of those practically impossible things to do, but she inspired me to try & for this I am very grateful, its been a blast :-)))) Thank you Frances Connelley x
It has proven difficult to get the ingredients, but it seems people adapt recipes to their taste, so I have adapted the ingredients in this recipe to my taste & ingredients I can find.
If you, like me, are a mincemeat virgin, I recommend you have a go, its fun & exciting :-) substitute what you don't like for what you do. For ex pats in Bulgaria or soon to be ex pats I will put photos of the dried fruit I used as I have no idea what it is????
This recipe is adapted from a  Delia Smith recipe I found online.
So here is my recipe & observations.........

8 oz Apples cored & chopped small (not peeled)
4 oz Suet (if you can't get suet, like here in Bulgaria, substitute with butter) Fortunately I had some :-)
4 oz Dark Sultanas
4 oz Light Sultanas

2 oz Dried Cranberries, choppedPurchased in Carefore

4 oz Cherries, I used my home grown brandy infused cherries, but glace would be ok or preserved if you cant get hold of glace or dried.

4 oz Candied mixed fruit chopped finelyPurchased in Carefore
6 oz soft Muscavado dark brown sugar
1 Orange, Grated zest & juice
1 Lemon, grated zest & juice
1 oz of slivered Almonds
2 level tsp Mixed spice
1/4 level tsp Cinnamon
2 pinch of Fresh grated Nutmeg
4 tbs good Brandy (no homemade Rakia in this LOL)
Combine everything in a large bowl, but NOT the brandy, one ingredient at a time stirring after each item added. Make sure its all combined well. Cover with a clean cloth & stand overnight so that all the flavours meld together.

Next day, pre heat oven to 120c (100c fan) cover bowl loosely with foil & bake in oven for 3 hours, stirring 2 or 3 times.
Remove from oven & cool.

It will be swimming in fat, stir regularly while it is cooling down so the fat coats all the ingredients as it cools. When it is cold, stir again & add the brandy. Mix this in well to mixture, pack into sterilised jars & seal.
Personally I can't wait to try it. It smells gorgeous & tastes divine so I can only hope it tastes even better in two weeks time, when I make the pies!

Sausage Rolls For Christmas Various

Puff Pastry, Nigels favourite!

Mmmm the sausage roll. Wonderful when hot, moorish when cold. A Christmas time must & no party is complete with out a plate full on the food table! Over the years we have become lazy & been seduced by the quick bake frozen packs of pork mush surrounded by uncooked pastry we can just shove in the oven gas mark blah & out comes a plate full of sort of home baked rolls! Or we are even more seduced by the easy party food, packs of soggy puff pastry rolls full of preservatives & other unsavory ingredients.
I used to do the same. But every Christmas or party mum would make proper sausage rolls, which have always been unsurpassed.
I have finally found packs of sausage meat here & have decided to go the route of making my own. My efforts are trial & error & not particularly good looking but i am sure they will get better as I practice more.
Here are my three trials, all tasty in their different ways
Any suggestions or recipe's will be thankfully recieved & tried :-)

Love this pastry light short crust, but over all they were a bit dry so the plan is to change the filling recipe & see what happens then. These were my very first homemade sausage rolls ever :-) Not very pretty but authentic looking ;-D Made with just sausage meat, garlic & thyme.

These are made with bought filo pastry sheets but the filling is different. These were very scrummy, light crispy pastry & very moorish. Made with sausage meat, onion & thyme, but I still prefer a homemade pastry.

These are by far the best, very tasty & will be on my Christmas table along with the same mix in puff pastry (for differing tastes) Here is my recipe.......

Filling

1 pack Sausage meat

1/2 an Onion  chopped small

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Sage

3 Rashers streaky bacon cut into small pieces

So pretty simple mix all the above ingredients together by hand or in a food processor, if you are doing it by hand you need to chop the bacon into tiny pieces if you are using a FP then put in the onion & bacon process till chopped small add sausage meat & herbs (at this point you could also add some nutmeg).

I then wrap it in foil & put in the fridge to chill, till the pastry is ready.

Short Crust Pastry

220g flour

55g Butter cold

55g Lard cold

Pinch Salt

3 tbsp Cold water

1 Egg

Sift flour & salt into bowl, add butter & lard chopped up small & with your fingertips rub in to the flour till it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Gradually add the water to form into a soft dough & comes away from the bowl clean. A light touch gives the best pastry!

If you are heavy handed then a food processor is ok.....

Place flour & salt into bowl whizz to get air in. add butter & lard whizz till fine breadcrumbs are formed the through the hopper add the water while machine is running, one tbsp at a time. If the dough doesn't come away from sides add a tiny bit more till it forms the dough.......

Now place the dough in a flattened ball into some cling film & put in fridge for half an hour.

Remove the dough & let it soften for a couple of mins, meanwhile oil a baking sheet & beat an egg.

Lightly flour your surface & roll out the pastry, quite thinly but not so it rips! Cut off the jagged edges, to give a straight edge. Roll your sausage meat into 3 sausage shapes, you may need to sprinkle them with flour as they will be very sticky. Put one of the sausage's on the pastry.  With a pastry brush, brush the pastry with the egg, roll the pastry over the sausage meat cut & press to seal. Do the same with the rest of the meat & pastry (you may need to roll the cut offs). Place on the baking sheet, cut to size & wash with the egg to give a glaze.

Bake in the pre heated oven 220c (200c fan) for 20-25 mins

If you like crisp pastry eat same day,  but I prefer it softer so when they are cold put into an air tight container & leave at least over night. 

Preserved Pears in Syrup

Time to finish off the pears

I had lots of pears this year, not just mine which amounted to a few (we have lots of tree's but they need attention) but our neighbours tree just kept dropping them. Nigel also harvested a load, as they were not going to. I wish I had filled a barrel every day with the fallen pears as we would have a lovely load of makings for Rakia! Next year there will be a barrel waiting :-)

My freezer has been full so I couldn't keep cooking cakes, so it has been a gradual process. I have made upside down cakes galore & a huge frangipane. I decided to preserve a couple of jars for later use leaving just enough for some individual pear tarts, to be blogged later.

This makes a nice light but sweet syrupy preserve, also its not too cooked so will hold its shape for tarts & not be too squidgy & wet for cakes. I have only preserved two jars as I will be using them soon. They will be stored in the fridge

So here is the my way of preserving our pears.........

Pears

Sugar

Water

Citric acid or Lemon juice

Clean & sterilised glass jars

Peel, core & slice, or chop, the pears, into whatever size you want. I am going to use them for tarts so sliced mine. In a saucepan fill with water add sugar I used 6 tbsp for 2 jars. Stir till the sugar is dissolved & place pears into this. Bring to a boil then simmer for a while. You want the liquid to get very hot but don't want to cook the pears too much so keep it short. It is all guess work! The more sugar the sweeter & more syrupy your preserve will be, so this is very much up to your taste.

Meanwhile heat the jars in an oven 120c 20 mins to sterilise them, pour boiling water over the lids. When you are ready, carefully remove jars from the oven & put one tsp of citric acid into the jars. Spoon the pears in careful not to break them & then top up with the syrup. Fasten the lids to jars as soon as possible. The very hot mixture & the very hot jars will cause them to seal.  Give the jars a gentle shake to mix in the citric acid.

You will hear the lids popping as they cool down & you will see when you push the top of the lid there is no popping or movement. This is how you know the jar is sealed properly. 

The Village way of preserving for a long period is........

Pears

Water

Sugar

Half fill the jar with pears. Spoon in 6 tbsp sugar in each jar & fill to top with water, place lids on jars & shake to dissolve the sugar.

Place a cloth across the bottom of a very large pan & place the jars in. Top up the pan with water to lid level & bring to the boil. Boil for 20 mins.

Now you can either take out the jars very carefully & place somewhere to cool down or leave them in situation to cool over night.

These will store for a year or two in a cool dark place.

Quiche Lorraine

Everyone loves a quiche, even if its secretly, well unless they don't like cheese or eggs. I love it.

A short crust pastry tart filled with cheese, eggs, bacon, onion (tablet time) & I add peppers for extra flavour. Mmmmm Its difficult to wait for it to cool down enough to eat! In my youth when I first discovered the delight of homemade quiche I had to bake two. One to eat for tea with my husband or guests & one to eat straight out of the oven! LOL honest, how bad is that!!! Now I am more in control & just bake the one. Still one of the best things to add to any party table & will definitely be added to our boxing day table.

SHORTCRUST PASTRY

220gr Flour

55g Butter

55g Lard

3 tbsp COLD Water

Pinch Salt

In a bowl sift flour with a pinch of salt, Cut up butter & lard into small cubes ( make sure its very cold). Rub in fats till you get soft breadcrumb like mix. Add enough COLD water to form a soft dough. Add water slowly.

Place dough, covered with cling film, in fridge for 30 mins. Meanwhile grease a flan tin & pre heat the oven 230c (210c fan)   Remove from fridge & allow 5 mins them roll out on a floured surface.  Line the flan tin so the pastry is just over the edge. As you lift the pastry carefully fit it into the base & around the edge.  Pinch with your fingers to crimp the sides, as in the photo. It helps if you have a tin with crimped sides but if not you can create this with your forefingers. With a sharp knife held upright trip the edges of the flan case. Chill in fridge again 10 mins. Prick all over the base with a fork & line with baking beans or foil & bake in the oven for 8 mins then remove beans & foil & bake a further 5 mins till pastry is set dry. Reduce oven to 160c (140c fan).

FILLING

6 slices Bacon cut up

1 onion sliced or 3 heads of Garlic

3 Eggs beaten

12 floz Milk

Pinch salt

5 oz Cheese grated fine

1 tbsp Flour

Fry the onion or garlic in a little oil or fry light. Fry the bacon, but not too much. In a bowl mix milk salt eggs & stir in the bacon & onion mixture. In another bowl mix the cheese with the flour then add it to the milk & bacon. Mix it together very well.

Pour into the pastry case & bake 35 - 40 mins till quiche is set.

Stand for 5 - 10 mins before serving.

Can also be served sliced into individual portions cold

Can also.....

Add tomatoes if you like. Season with black pepper

OR.....

Sprinkle cheese into the bottom of the case, add sliced tomatoes & sprinkle bacon or ham over the top. Combine egg & milk season & pour over the bacon & cheese. Sprinkle your fav herb over the top (thyme, basil etc) & bake for same amount of time.

Christmas Baking

Can you ever have too many Christmas cookies?  Some new favorites I've discovered in recent years include this yummy chocolate-coconut potato candy; orange snowball cookies; mocha truffle cookies; and frosted lemon ricotta cookies.  Yum.  Cookies.  Bring 'em on.

But if you find it a challenge to squeeze in all the holiday baking you'd like to in the weeks before Christmas, see if author and guest blogger Gina Conroy's tips, below, don't help.

Gina, by the way, has a brand new novella coming out in a month.  Called Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, you can read all about it here.  Then bake yourself some nice warm cookies and cozy up to a delicious fire.  It's the recipe for a perfect chilly evening, if you ask me.

HOLIDAY COOKIES MADE EASIER
by Gina Conroy

I remember the time I took a plate of Christmas cookies to my daughter's preschool teacher and was surprised by her comment.

"Thank you.  Not many people give homemade Christmas cookies any more.  It seems to be a lost art."

That made me sad to hear that so many people forego this holiday tradition.  As I was growing up, my mom always filled shoeboxes of cookies for neighbors, relatives, and friends.  It was her gift to them.  And they'd come to expect it every year and cherish their favorite cookies.

I have to admit I don't bake nearly as much as she still does.  One of the reasons is that it's too stressful cooking with four kids' schedules and trying to do everything else for Christmas.  But if you still want to bake and give those holiday cookies without the stress, here are some great ideas that have helped me.

YOUR FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND
Pies, cookies, sweet breads all freeze great.  So don't be afraid to freeze them.  I usually freeze holiday cookies (and cookies throughout the year) for those unexpected guests.  Then I just pull them out and let them defrost.  Instant homemade treat.

ORGANIZE A COOKIE EXCHANGE
This is the BEST way to do the least amount of work and get the most variety of cookies.  Invite your friends over to a cookie exchange party.  Then have everyone bring a couple dozen of one or two varieties of their favorite cookies.  On the day of the party, break out the Christmas eggnog and coffee, scented candles and music, and arrange all the cookies on the dining room table.  You can even have everyone bring their favorite snack to share at the party.

Make sure everyone brings an empty container to take home cookies.  Then after you visit for a while, start revolving around the table, grabbing three or four cookies of each variety.  If you brought three dozen cookies, you take home three dozen.  If you brought two dozen, then you leave with two dozen.

Then take them home and enjoy.  I usually share my goodies with teachers and friends.  They don't have to know you didn't bake them all.

GIVE COOKIES IN A JAR
This has been my standard teacher's gift for the last couple of years.  It's so easy to do, and everyone loves to make their own cookies without all the measuring and the mess.  You can assemble these ahead of time, so start saving those applesauce, mayo, and tomato sauce jars now.

Check to see if you have to cut the recipes in half for smaller jars, and don't forget to attach instructions.  Also, don't be afraid to change up the ingredients and get creative.

(Lynn's note:  Here's a recipe for chocolatey peanut butter cookie mix, and another for homemade brownie mix.)

Christmas cookie baking doesn't have to be stressful, especially if you plan ahead.  So resurrect this lost Christmas tradition and bless someone this holiday season.

Gina Conroy is founder of Writer . . . Interrupted, where she mentors busy writers.  Her first novella, Buried Deception, in the Cherry Blossom Capers collection, releases from Barbour Publishing in January, 2012.  Gina loves to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter.

Mini Stuffed Peppers

Picture is not so pretty, but these little stuffed peppers are very tasty

A dish here in Bulgaria which we have often with our Bulgarian family, but only when in season, as they are one of the main crops we grow here in the villages. Typically a Bulgarian version will be filled with rice but these are filled with mince. The small peppers when baked like this are lovely & sweet.

Stuffed Peppers

Peppers, cored & de seeded

1 sml Onion  coarsely chopped (or a few more cloves of garlic crushed & chopped)

1 Clove Garlic Chopped

 2 Rashers of Bacon

4 oz chicken livers

8oz Mince meat

1 tbsp Oil

Salt & pepper

Tomato sauce

1 Onion (or 3 cloves Garlic)

1 oz Butter

1 oz Flour

14 oz Canned Tomatoes 

1 tbsp Tomato puree

1 tsp Sugar (or equivalent sweetener)

Pinch mixed herbs

Salt & pepper

Boil fresh peppers in already hot water for 5 mins. Place them in greased baking tray. cook mince, garlic & onion till lightly browned. Season with ground sea/rock salt & ground blk pepper & spoon into the peppers.

Melt the butter & fry onion then place in a food processor with a plastic blade. Add rest of the ingredients & process until smooth. Sieve to remove pips. Bring to the boil in a saucepan & simmer for a few mins all the time stirring. Pour over the peppers cover with a lid or foil & bake in oven 180c (160c fan)  for 40 mins.

Serve with rice



Fruity Pork

We eat more pork here in Bulgaria than we ever did in the UK. One reason is, its reasonably cheap as meat here goes. Also pork has a taste here unlike the stuff in UK which is very bland, in fact tasteless & hard to decipher in a cooked dish. Off course the best pork is the village pig that has just been killed, wow that is amazing!!!!! Anyway the way round the fact we eat lots of it is to find different ways & recipes to make it different.
The following is a very easy, quick & tasty way to serve pork chops & not an apple in sight. I make my own plum jams & preserved plums in syrupy juice so it was very cheap too.
Pork chops
Oil for grilling
1 tbsp Cornflower
1/2 pint Chicken stock
4 tbsp Plum jam
2 tsp Red wine vinegar
Allspice, a couple of good pinches
Plums, fresh or home preserved. If using fresh large then two will suffice
Brush chops with a little oil & grill both sides till cooked. I have an electric grill I use. Aprox 10 - 15 mins
Meanwhile. Blend the stock with the cornflower. Add jam, vinegar & allspice & season to your taste. Heat sauce slowly stirring all the time till it bubbles & thickens. Add the plums to the sauce (if using fresh then slice them before adding). Continue cooking for a couple of minuets. Spoon sauce over the chops.
Serve with creamy mash potato & veg of your choice or fancy it up for guests. The flavour is really nice, not too sweet & makes a great winter dish.