Category Archives: Festive food

December 5, 2010

Honey Nut Slice

OK, I made this for the first time yesterday and am about to go and make another batch. I’m going to put it in a bigger tin so it goes thinner because essentially this is like a florentine and well, me and florentines go way back.

I can’t remember where I got this recipe from – it’s one of those ripped out of something a lifetime ago so apologies to the originator but thanks as well. My life is so much better for having this recipe in it.

I hadn’t bought enough pistachios so I threw in some pecans. So good. So very very good.

Honey Nut Slice

250g butter
2/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup cream
1/3 cup brandy
300g flaked almonds
150g shelled unsalted pistachios
100g dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 200C and line the base and sides of 19x29cm tin then grease well
Melt butter then add the sugar, honey, cream and brandy
Bring to the boil then remove from the heat and add the nuts
Spread in the tin and bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown
Remove from the oven and cool
Melt the chocolate and drizzle over the top
Refrigerate and then cut into bite size pieces – store in the fridge.

11 comments | tags: chocolate, nuts, toffee | posted in cakes slices, chocolate, Festive food, sweet treats

December 5, 2010

Three-Layered Peppermint Bark

By allconsuming

So over the past few years some of my US online friends have talked about a festive season treat called peppermint bark. I was intrigued and then I saw this. I’ve been waiting all year to make it and it hasn’t disappointed. At all.

Three-Layered Peppermint Bark

From Bon Appetit via Orangette

500g white chocolate (not cooking chocolate and make sure it is good quality w/ cocoa butter content)
30 red and white striped candy canes, crushed
200g dark chocolate (again, not cooking chocolate)
8 tbsp cream
3/4 tsp peppermint essence

Use the back of a large flat baking tray and mark out a 12×9 inch rectangle.
Melt the white chocolate and spread 2/3 cup of it over the rectangle using a spatula or palette knife
Sprinkle over 1/4 cup of the crushed peppermint canes and chill until set – about 10-15 minutes
Combine the dark chocolate, cream and peppermint essence until just melted then cool to barely luke warm – about 5 minutes
Pour over the white chocolate and then use a palette knife to smooth to an even layer then refrigerate until firm – about 20 mnutes
Rewarm remaining white chocalate then, working quickly, pour over the dark chocolate layer and spread to cover.
Sprinkle over remaining crushed candy canes and chill until set – about 20 minutes.
To cut, pull it out of the fridge for a little while – I found cutting it while really hard just resulted in the layers splintering from each other.

11 comments | tags: chocolate, festive food, peppermint | posted in chocolate, Festive food, sweet treats

November 15, 2008

Artichoke dip – two ways

By allconsuming

The festive season is basically upon us. I don’t care what you say but soon Christmas decorations will be on sale in stores as Easter draws to a close. No point fighting it, just get into it.

These two dips are both delicious – the first more mild and earthy, the other more artery clogging and deeply comforting. I do love them both (the first one is divine smeared on toasted sourdough) but let’s be honest, the second one I could eat until my jeans don’t fit and my head falls off. Not necessarily in that order.

Artichoke and white bean puree
I think I got this from an Australian Gourmet Traveller in 2007?

400g can of artichoke hearts, drained (sometimes I use marinated ones to be fancy)
400g can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans
1 1/2 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp lemon juice
2 tblsp coarsley chopped marjoram

Process until smooth
Check flavour – season and add more oil and/or lemon juice to your personal preference
Serve with lavash crackers, raw veggies or smeared on toasted sourdough as a bruschetta option.

Baked artichoke dip
This comes from an American friend of mine – I am guessing it is one of those recipes off the side of a packet or something so ingrained culturally everyone makes it and no one claims the recipe, but to Lynda, my ever growing waist line and I are indebted.

400g can of artichokes, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded parmesan
1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
paprika or cayenne

Preheat the oven to 180C
Combine everything except the paprika in a bowl and mix well to combine
Pour into a shallow ceramic dish
Sprinkle over with paprika or cayenne
Bake until gold and bubbly
Serve with lavosh crackers.

Leave a comment | posted in Festive food, vegetarian

December 26, 2007

Maple glazed ham

By allconsuming

So seven years ago I saw a recipe from Matt Moran, the executive chef at Aria, for a glaze for your Christmas ham and I decided that was it, I was going to do a warm glazed leg of ham for Christmas. It was a first. That is shocking I know, but I do not recall ever having warm ham EVER before that date. Sure, there was ham served at family Christmas gatherings, but it was always cold and I never recall seeing a whole leg in any form of presentation whatsoever. True story. I know. Sometimes even I am surprised I can boil water coming from that culinary wasteland.

So I’ve now done a glazed ham every year. Normally our local butcher delivers the goods, but this year we went all out and got a kurobuta leg from the GOD OF BUTCHERY, Vic’s Meats. It was in a completely different league of SENSATIONAL.

Maple glazed leg of ham
Matthew Moran, Aria

1 leg ham
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp mustard powder
1x410g can of pineapple rings in natural syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C
Gently coax skin off the leg, leaving the fat intact
Score the fat into a diamond pattern and stab a clove into each corner
Cook the ham for 45 minutes
Mix the glaze ingredients together, place the pineapple rings on the ham and then pour the glaze over the ham
Cook the ham for a further 45 minutes, basting occasionally
Eat eat eat.