STEPHEN FRY

2nd Sunday in advent, ist time to make

Take 2 fingers and [...] tip the ands of the fingers in melted chocolate



I have seen something looking very similar like these called Viennese fingers in Oxford

I like to dip the ends of my fingers in molten chocolate as well (being Viennese saves me going to all that trouble of making Viennese fingers, I carry 10 of them with me at all times X-D X-D )

I look forward to the recipe to mark the 3rd Sunday of Advent

There's some really nice looking food in this thread. Although unfortunately I'm a completely useless cook, and I don't really have much to offer since what I normally cook comes out of a can or a packet of 2 Minute Noodles. :-//

Yet I do have one New Zealand dish which is so easy to make even I was able to create it. Although for people outside NZ getting the ingredients may be a little hard.

Take one huhu grub





And eat it!

No I'm not joking, they are edible. I've tried one once a long time ago and I didn't find it that bad, although where I live they aren't very common so I haven't had the chance to try them again for years. It was while staying at a farm with a church group my friend found a group of grubs near an old fallen tree. (I knew I could trust his identification of them because he's a biology nerd) And so the group of us who found them decided to bring them back to show everyone else and we tried one each and offered the last few to the adults.

And that's probably scared everyone away from ever considering visiting New Zealand.

Bread and butter pudding

Another recipe where I'm unable to give accurate measurements If anyone does fancy giving this or the Yorkshire pud recipe a go but need a little more guidance let me know and I will make some and measure out as I go.

Ingredients:

Half a loaf of bread, this should be just on the turn ie. not fresh but not quite stale.
Butter
3/4 pint of Milk
3 eggs
Sugar
Raisins or Sultanas, about 100g.

Butter the slices of bread and cut into triangular quarters

Whisk the eggs and mix into the pint of milk.

Place a layer of bread into a ceramic baking dish. The dish should be about 25cm diameter.

sprinkle some sugar and the raisins on the layer of bread.

Continue layering the bread until it reaches the top of the dish, make sure you finish with sugar and raisins.

Pour on the egg custard mixture that you made with the milk and eggs. Make sure that all of the bread on the top layer is wet.

Leave to soak for 30 minutes to an hour.

Place into a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4, 180 degrees and cook for 20-30 minutes. The top should be golden brown.

Served with custard, cream or evaporated milk (my favourite). It's also great the cold the following day.

Variations:

Use brioche instead of a normal loaf.
Add chopped mixed peel instead of raisins (or with if you like).
Sprinkle with nutmeg before it goes into the oven.

alternative to this- spread the bread with apricot jam(sort of make little sandwiches). and sprinkle cinnamon on top of the custard after cooking.

Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Olive oil
6 Ounce Peeled fresh horseradish chopped
2 Medium White onions; chopped
3 Tablespoon Minced jalapeno pepper
3 Tablespoon Minced garlic
1 Teaspoon Coarsely ground black pepper
2 Cups Water
4 Cup Distilled white vinegar
1 Cup Molasses
2 Cup Dark corn syrup
1 Ounce Chopped anchovy fillets, drained
12 Whole cloves
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Lemon; peeled
In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and add horseradish, onions,
pepper and garlic. Saute until translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add all other
ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down, and simmer 1 hour.
Strain through a double thickness of cheesecloth and store in a wooden cask,
if possible. This is best if allowed to mature about a month before using.
Worcestershire Sauce

This is from one of my favorite cookbooks, Blue Corn and Chocolate. It's a family favorite. Sorry, but I don't know the measurement conversions for Europe and elsewhere.

Brazil Nut Banana Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 medium very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup coarsely chopped or sliced Brazil nuts
1 cup flaked coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F In a large bowl,cream the butter with the sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas and the vanilla and mix until thoroughly blended.Combine the flour, the baking soda, and the cinnamon add to the banana mixture and mix until just thoroughly blended in. Stir in the chopped nuts and the coconut.

Butter a 9″ bundt pan. Spoon the batter into the pan, then bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or ’til a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes to a half hour, then invert onto a serving plate and unmold. Can be dusted with confectioners sugar or served plain.

I have quite a few recipes on my blog *shameless plug for marge land*, however I shall reproduce here one of my favourites.

Chicken Soup

It’s a bit late, but as promised here is my chicken soup recipe. I tend to use a Lewcopak chicken from a kosher butcher which has the giblets in a separate plastic bag along with the chicken itself. When I cook a roast chicken I also make the soup at the same time. If you like you can buy packs of giblets on their own and just make the soup.

Ingredients:

* chicken giblets (neck, feet or ankles, wings, stomach)
* 3 or 4 medium sized carrots
* 1 large onion
* 2 large sticks of celery including the leaf
* bay leaf
* sprig of thyme
* small sprig of rosemary
* seasoning

Method:

1. Take your chicken giblets and scold them in a bowl of boiled water. If you see any manky bits on the giblets then give them a scrap with a sharp knife (make sure you wear rubber gloves but this is gross!)
2. Put the cleaned giblets into a pressure cooker.
3. Add the onion. You don’t need to chop it up just peel it and put it in whole.
4. Peel the carrots and slice them and put them in the pressure cooker also. Do the same with the celery making sure to clean the celery well first.
5. Add the rest of the ingredients. If you are using fresh herbs then make sure to clean them well. Also I tend to under season at first, only putting in a teaspoon of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. This allows people to add their own seasoning when eating the soup. I cannot stand being served soup only to find it is too salty and I just can’t eat it - how thoroughly bleugh!
6. Now add plenty of boiling water, enough to fill the pressure cooker about half way. Put on the lid securely. Bring the pressure cooker up to steam (this can take about 5 minutes or so), and then turn the light right down for 40 minutes.
7. After 40 minutes allow the pressure cooker to depressurise on its own (otherwise you will get soup blurting out of the top pressure valve bit!)
8. Remove the lid and then using a slotted spoon remove the herbs and giblets. Now at this point I just chuck them all out but I am told cats like to nibble the cooked giblets, so whether they are a cook’s treat or the cat’s is up to you.
9. Mash the onion through a sieve along with half the carrots and keep them in the soup. At this point you can serve the soup or allow the soup to cool fully and then you can transfer it to a container to put in the fridge. I like to use those pour and store bags. The soup should keep for a couple of days.
10. Serve the soup with locshen, rice, or just on its own. If you want to freeze it then remove all the vegetables first.
11. Enjoy!

As an alternative to mash
why not do baby roast potatoes
like mini jacket poatoes


or and this will clog your arteries sliced supds in cream
(sadly I dont have the recipe cos it it served at our work canteen but it looks like cream onions and layers of thinly sliced potato bake in the oven)