Christmas Recipes

1. Place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. Add cheese, green onion, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, parley, garlic powder, oregano and pepper and mix well to combine.
2. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl and gather the mixture into one lump. Lightly grease your hands and form the mixture into a round ball.
3. Place the pecans on a plate. Hold the cheese ball in one hand and use the other hand to scoop the pecans onto the outside of the ball, pressing them in gently and turning the ball to coat all sides.
4. Cover the cheeseball in cling wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour to allow it to firm up. Take it out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before serving to allow it to soften just slightly. Serve with crackers, pretzels, vegetables or anything else you’d love to dip in cheese!

Preparation

1. Microwave duck breasts for 3½ minutes. Slice meat.
2. Slice spring onions and cucumber into 6cm thin batons.
3. Empty the hoisin sauce into a small dish.
4. Microwave pancakes for 1 minute.

To assemble

1. Smear each warm pancake witha little Hoisin sauce.
2. Add a slice of warm duck, somespring onion and cucumber.
3. Roll up and enjoy your Luv-a-Duck Peking Duck Pancake.

1. Slice spring onions very small.
2. Mix Crème Fraiche & Mayo together in a bowl – add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toast Almonds on tray under grill in oven 180 deg. untilslightly golden. (Remove and cool).
4. Add Spring onions & Almonds to Fraiche/Mayo mix.
5. Slice Brie cheese into strips.
6. Layer the top side of bread with Cranberry sauce.
7. Layer the bottom side of the bread with Mayo/Fraiche mixture, spinach, turkey, cheese.
8. Place top of bread to sandwich and cut the crusts off. Then sandwich into 3 ribbons (strips).

1. To make the Marie Rose sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste. Cover and chill until needed.
2. When ready to serve, put all the coldwater prawns and half of the king prawns into a bowl, add half of the sauce and half the chopped chives. Mix well to combine.
3. Divide the lettuce between 4 glasses. Toss the diced avocado in a squeeze of lemon juice from one of the wedges (reserving the others to serve) then layer up on top of the lettuce, followed by the cucumber and the mixed prawns in the sauce. Finish with the remaining king prawns and spoon over the rest of the sauce.
4. Sprinkle with the remaining chives and serve with the lemon wedges to squeeze over.

1. Preheat oven to 200’c, fan forced with high bottom heat.
2. Lightly grease aloose-bottomed, fluted flan tin. Let pastry defrost then roll out as thinly as possible, roll the pastry over the base.
3. Press the pastry intothe flutes, trim the pastry edges and lightly prick the base with a fork. Chillpastry for 10 mins.
4. Blind bake pastry casewith baking paper/foil tray fill with baking beans and approx. 15 mins.
5. Remove baking beans andpaper and bake for a further 4-5 mins more until the pastry is pale golden.
6. While the pastry is baking, prepare the filling.
7. Heat a frying pan, cookbacon but do not let it crisp. Remove bacon from pan, drain and let it cool.
8. Remove some of the fatfrom the fry pan and cook spring onions in bacon fat.
9. Sprinkle gruyere, springonion and bacon over the bottom of the pastry case.
10. Using a whisk, mix crèmefraîche to remove lumps and gently mix the in cream. Mix in eggs. Season with salt and cracked pepper. Pour mixture to fill the pastry case.
11. Lower the oven to 190’c. Bake quiche for approx 25 mins, or until golden and softly set (the centre should not feel too firm).
12. Let the quiche cool for10 minutes before removing from the tin.Slice in to individualservings

1. COMBINE the biscuit crumbs and butter. Press into the base of a greased and fully paper-lined 24cm round springform pan (ensure the paper extends 3-4cm above the top of the pan). Chill.
2. BEAT the PHILLY and sugar with an electric mixer until just smooth. Beat in the eggs then stir through the sour cream and chocolate. Stir through the frozen raspberries. Pour the filling into the prepared base.
3. BAKE in a moderately slow oven 160°C for 40-45 minutes or until just set. Allow to cool in the oven with the door ajar. Chill. Decorate with fresh raspberries, a drizzle of coulis and a dusting of icing sugar if desired, prior to slicing.

Cake

1. Place a roasting tin of cold water in bottom of oven then preheat to 150°C (fanforced). Grease and line a 19cm square cake tin with baking paper and wrapoutside of tin in a double layer of brown paper. In a mixing bowl, cream butterandsugar until pale then gradually beat in eggs and stir in Vanilla Bean Paste,Almond Extract and ground almonds.
2. Siftflour, nutmeg and Baking Powder on top and add all fruit. Mix to combine andspoon into prepared tin. Smooth top and bake for 1 ½ hours until lightlybrowned and firm to touch. Allow to cool in tin before removing. Discard tinlinings and wrap in fresh baking paper and foil and store for three days beforedecorating.

To decorate

1. Whenready to decorate, discard wrapping. Using a 7cm round pastry cutter, push downon top of cake within 1cm of edge to make four circles – you may need to trimedges with a knife.
2. Divide marzipan into four. On a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll eachpiece into a circle to fit top of cake. Brush with honey, secure marzipancircle on top and trim to neaten.
3. On a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar, roll out Ready to RollIcing to 5mm thickness and cut four discs using pastry cutter. Using a starcutter, stamp out four stars from four discs of icing. Brush marzipan with alittle water and secure Ready to Roll Icing discs on top of each cake.Carefully fill star cut outs with Chocolate Silver Pearls. To finish, secure aribbon around each cake.

Pavlova

1. Preheat the Oven to 225˚ F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Using your stand mixer, beat 6 egg whites on high speed 1 min until soft peaks form. With the mixer on, gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar and beat 10 min on high speed, or until stiff peaks form. It will be smooth and glossy.
2. Use a spatula to quickly fold in 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract, then fold in 2 tsp corn starch and mix until well blended.
3. Pipe meringue into 3 to 3 1/2 inches wide nests onto the parchment paper using a Wilton 1M Tip. Indent the center with a spoon to allow room for cream. Bake at 225˚ for 1 hr and 15 min then turn the oven off and without opening the door, let meringue in the hot oven another 30 min. Outsides will be dry and crisp to the tap and very pale cream-colored and insides will still be marshmallow soft.
4. Transfer the pavlova with the parchment paper onto the counter or a cookie rack and allow it to cool to room temp. Once cool, you can top them with whipped cream and fruit or store in an airtight container for 3-5 days at room temperature (in a low humidity place).

Frosting and assembly

1. Beat cold whipping cream with 2 Tbsp sugar in the cold bowl for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until whipped and spreadable.
2. Pipe frosting onto the pavlova and top with fresh fruit.*

1. Chop up the dates in a Food Processor if you have one. You may need to do them in a couple of batches because they are so sticky but you will get there.
2. Process all of the nuts and coconut. They can all go together. The pieces need to be small so the balls roll up nicely.
3. Now, put the ground up dates, nuts, and coconut in a very large bowl.
4. Melt the chocolate and drizzle half of it over the mixtures. Stir it in. Add the rest of the chocolate and mix it all in too. I use my fingers and make sure it is all blended well.
5. Add the spiced rum. Mix all together again.
6. Now to start rolling balls. If it is too sticky for you – you can lightly dampen your hands every once in a while. Not wet. I don’t find the stickiness a problem.