Christmas Pudding (Our Best Ever)

A wonderful rich pudding, with a light texture and an exceptional depth of flavour

This Christmas pudding recipe was given to me in 1971 by the then executive chef of the QE 2 and we have been using it ever since although we have lightened it a little bit, so that we feel it is a little healthier.

The secret to this pudding is by making it a few months before Christmas day and feeding it with alcohol on a regular basis and by allowing all the flavours to mature, when at the Whitewell hotel which is where I got the recipe we used to make a couple of dozen puddings in April.

Christmas pudding is traditionally served on Christmas Day where It has its origins in England and Ireland, and is sometimes known as plum pudding or plum duff, although this can also mean other kinds of boiled pudding concerning dried fruit.

Many families used to have their own recipe for Christmas pudding, some handed down through families for generations. But in effect, these recipes bring together what by tradition were exclusive or sumptuous ingredients especially the sweet spices that are so important in developing their characteristic rich fragrance.

This recipe will make 10 servings, in one large pudding in a 2-pint (1.2 litres) pudding bowl or if you want two smaller puddings, use two 1-pint (570 ml) bowls, but give them the same steaming time.

You Will Need

110 grams, sultanas

110 grams, raisins

300 grams, currants

20 grams, chopped dates

110 grams, shredded suet

110 grams, white breadcrumbs

1 level teaspoon ground mixed spice

¼ level teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 good pinch ground cinnamon

225 grams, soft dark brown sugar

30 grams, mixed candied peel, finely

25 grams, almonds, skinned and chopped

1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

50 grams, self-raising flour, sifted

½ an orange zest and juice

½ a large lemon, zest and juice

2 tablespoons rum

125mls, brandy

75mls, stout

2 large eggs

Method

Start on the day before you want to steam the pudding.

Get your biggest mixing bowl and get going by putting in the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs, spices and sugar mix these ingredients completely together, then steadily mix in all the dried fruit, mixed peel and nuts followed by the apple and the grated orange and lemon zests. Don't forget to tick everything off so as not to leave anything out.

At this point in a smaller basin measure out the rum, barley wine and stout, then add the eggs and beat these thoroughly together next pour this over all the other ingredients, and begin to mix thoroughly.

It's traditional to get together all the family around, especially the children, and encourage everyone to have a really good stir and make a wish!

The mixture should have a fairly sloppy consistency that is to say, it should fall instantly from the spoon when this is tapped on the side of the bowl if you think it needs a bit more liquid add a tad more stout, cover the bowl and leave overnight.

The next day cram the mixture into the lightly greased basin, cover it with a double sheet of silicone paper (baking parchment) or greaseproof paper and a sheet of foil and tie it securely with string (you really need to borrow someone's finger for this!)

It's also a good idea to tie a piece of string across the top to make a handle so you won’t have any problems when its time to take the pudding out of the steamer.

Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 8 hours please do make sure you keep a reliable eye on the water underneath and top it up with boiling water from the kettle from time to time.

When the pudding is steamed, let it get quite cold, then remove the steam papers and foil and replace them with some fresh ones, again making a string handle for easier manoeuvring.

At this point, your Christmas pudding is all set for Christmas Day, keep it in a cool place away from the light a cool cellar is ideal or do as we do keep it on the bottom shelf at the back of the fridge.

Christmas Day; fill a saucepan quite full with boiling water, put it on the heat and, when it comes back to the boil, place a steamer on top of the pan and turn it down to a gentle simmer, place the Christmas pudding in the steamer, cover and leave to steam away for 2¼ hours you'll need to check the water from time to time and top it up a bit.

To serve, remove the pudding from the steamer and take off the wrapping, slide a palette knife all round the pudding, then turn it out on to a warmed plate.

We put a sprig of holly on top and warm a ladleful of brandy over direct heat, and as soon as the brandy is hot set light to it, you might need help with this.

Place the ladle, now gently flaming, on top of the pudding but don't pour it over until you reach the table when you do, pour it slowly over the pudding, sides and all, and watch it flame to the cheering of your family and friends

When the flames have died down, serve the pudding with rum sauce, or rum, or brandy butter. Serve and Enjoy!

John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, Christmas, Cooking for Christmas, Pudding, plum duff, Christmas dumpling

How about these for a Christmas Gift!!  

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Buttered Swede with Bacon

Rich, orange fleshed swede has an amazing nutty, fresh taste that is just the thing with roasted meats.

This was always a popular vegetable dish at The Whitewell Hotel, Lodge Hill Estate, and Kimber Cottage.

we mainly served it with roast lamb or beef but we think this dish goes really well with roast turkey and often have it with roast pheasant and pigeon.

Sometimes we substitute the bacon with thinly sliced salami, pepperoni, or chorizo and grill until crisp just like the bacon.

I especially like it served as a light lunch or supper, served with a softly poached duck egg on top.

Serves / Makes:         6 servings

Prep-Time:                 12 minutes

Cook-Time:                20 minutes

You Will Need

1 medium sized swede

4 rashers, streaky bacon, you could use smoked and when we have it we use American bacon or pancetta

50 grams, butter

1 bunch fresh chives or spring onions, these are optional

Sea salt flakes and coarsely ground or cracked black pepper

Method

Peel the swede and cut into large dice, to small and they will absorb too much water put into a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cook, uncovered, until very tender about 20 minutes.

At the same time as the swede is cooking grill or fry the bacon until very crisp leave to cool a little then chop quite roughly.

Snip the chives or if using spring onions finely chop them drain the swede and mash with the butter, any fat from the bacon, and pepper until almost smooth Serve and Enjoy with the crispy bacon and chives or spring onions scattered on top.

Notes

Bigger than the turnip and with a rough skin that is partly tan and partly purple, the Swede’s dull exterior gives the lie to its fine texture and distinctive, sweet tasting flesh.

In Scotland, the swede is famous as neeps and is served mashed alongside The Haggis as part of the traditional supper on Burns Night and in America, they are known as Rutabaga.

John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, vegetables, swede, turnip, neeps, bacon, rutabaga, Burns Night

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Mustard Baked Gammon Ham

At times, a ham just isn't a ham unless you have cooked it yourself! Enjoy this timeless British classic dish, gammon joints come smoked or unsmoked, the taste is somewhat distinct, what is more both taste good using this recipe

We have been using this recipe since we were at The Whitewell Hotel, not too sure were it came from originally but we have almost certainly made a few changes to the original down the years.

We really love to serve this with a mustard mash and buttered leeks with cabbage I like to be classical and serve it with a parsley sauce (Maureen doesn’t like parsley sauce).

Lord Hanson always asked for a Cumberland sauce however Lady Hanson love a citrusy raisin sauce with it but regardless of who had the gammon they in all honesty liked the flavours and it never lasted long enough to be used as leftovers.

I once caught Roger Moore and Michael Caine giggling like children as they were raiding the kitchen fridge at Norwood West for the ham and pickles (happy days).

Serves / Makes:         12 to 15 servings depending on how much your family and guests like it!

Prep-Time:                 overnight

Cook-Time:                1 ½ hours

You Will Need

1 x 5 ½ kilo or 12 pound ham, soaked in cold water for 24 hours, changing the water occasionally

1 onion, quartered

1 leek, cut into 4 pieces

2 sticks celery, cut into 4 pieces

1 carrot, cut into 3 pieces

6 cloves

10 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons prepared English mustard

250 grams, demerara sugar, depending on size of ham

Method

Place the soaked ham in a large pan, with the clove studded onions, leek, celery, and carrots add the peppercorns and bay leaf

Cover with water; slowly bring to a boil, skimming any foam that forms on top

As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low so that the liquid is only gently simmering. Cover and let simmer until the meat is done. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes per pound after it starts simmering

Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gasmark 5

When done, allow the ham to cool in the cooking liquid until just warm, this makes it easier to remove the skin.

Remove the skin and trim the layer of fat, leaving about a ¼-inch thickness of the fat; the fat can be left as it is or scored, forming a diamond pattern.

Brush the ham with the mustard and sprinkle well with the demerara sugar

Bake the ham for 15 to 20 minutes taking care to baste the ham with juices and the caramelised sugar, when nice and golden brown, remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes before carving, or leave until cold. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

A raw ham can be soaked specially if it is salty for between 12 to 24 hours in cold water, then brought to a simmer in fresh cold water and cooked for 30 minutes skimming the surface of scum occasionally, If the water is still very salty get rid of it and replace with fresh cold water bring to a boil and take off 30 minutes from the cooking time.

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John & Maureen Glen Tags: Christmas, food, recipe, Main Course, English, British, Mustard Baked Gammon Ham

Fishcakes with Prawns and Homemade Tartare Sauce

I must first apologise for this blog and recipe being late, I did promise it for last week but I was a little under the weather, now feeling much better here it is.

Fishcakes with Prawns and Homemade Tartare Sauce

You can't beat these homemade fish cakes, served with homemade tartare sauce just perfect with a squeeze of lemon.

We both like fishcakes and do not mind if they are made from Haddock, Cod, Pollack, Whiting, or Salmon, they are so straightforward to prepare, why not try adding a bit of smoked salmon for additional indulgence.
We used to serve these for breakfast and light lunches at The Great Tree Hotel sometimes using smoked haddock but no matter what fish we used they were always a popular dish.
We have served fishcakes as tea for the children of families we have worked for, and they always wanted more, Lord Hanson loved them for breakfast as did quite a few of his guests.

The fishcake has always been seen as a way of using up leftovers that might otherwise be thrown away, In Mrs Beeton's 19th century publication Book of Household Management, her recipe for fishcakes calls for leftover fish and cold potatoes.
For us though they are not just to use up leftover fish and potatoes they warrant being made in their own right, just the thing for a simple supper with salad. Perfect to cook and freeze in batches using good quality fish, ask your fishmonger for some good fish trimmings which he will probably have in somewhere, some fishmongers put a mix together for making fish pie.
Recipes that are more modern have added to the dish, by using ingredients such as smoked salmon, shellfish, and vegetables, in other words the humble fishcake has come of age and is now found on the menus of fine dining restaurants.

Now to the recipe which will make 4 large cakes or 8 small ones, this recipe should only take about 20 minutes to prepare and about 15 to 20 minutes to cook.

You will need for the Fish Cakes;
450 grams, filleted and skinned haddock, or you can use whiting, pollack, or cod
4, large raw tiger prawns, peeled and deveined
300 grams, potatoes, peeled and chopped for boiling
2, fresh bay leaves
2 sprigs, fresh parsley
150mls milk
½ teaspoon, finely grated lemons zest, we now use the small microplane grater
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons, plain flour to use for dusting etc
100 grams, fresh white breadcrumbs, we like ours to be a day or two old
2 tablespoons, vegetable oil, for shallow frying, we use the Tefal Again and Again it has no cholesterol.
Lemon wedges and watercress, baby spinach and rocket leaves to garnish

For a Quick Tartare Sauce Recipe;
200mls, mayonnaise
3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons gherkins, drained and chopped
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 good squeeze of lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all the sauce ingredients together and put to one side it is best to keep this chilled.

Method
Place the haddock and bay leaves and parsley sprigs into a pan, pour over the milk cover, bring up to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Now add the prawns, and take the haddock and prawns off the heat and let stand, covered, for about 10 minutes to finish cooking, the prawns will steam nicely and cook and become tender.
Put the potatoes into a pan cover with water and season with sea salt, bring to a boil lower the heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.
Now take the haddock and prawns from the milk with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave for a few minutes to cool and drain a little, now put them through a potato ricer or mouli or just mash them by hand, we just want a light fluffy mash. Mix into the potatoes about 1 tablespoon of the sauce, lemon zest and parsley, season well with salt and pepper the potato should have a nice zesty flavour, so taste and fine-tune the seasoning.
Drain off any liquid from the haddock, grind some pepper over it, then flake it into the pan of potatoes slice the prawns into a similar thickness and then with your hands, gently lift the haddock and prawns and potatoes together so they just mix together it should only take a couple of turns, be careful you don’t want to allow the fish to break up too much.
Put the beaten egg into a shallow dish and lightly flour a board, spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet.

Divide the fish cake mixture into four cakes or 8 small cakes and on the floured work surface, and with floured hands, carefully shape the fish cakes about 1 inch thick.
Then one at a time, coat each cake in the beaten egg, making sure the top and sides are coated, I like to use a pastry brush for this. Now cover each cake one at a time in the breadcrumbs so that they are lightly covered.
Let chill for 30 minutes or so, you can make them ahead of time if you want.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the fish cakes over a medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden.
Serve and Enjoy with the tartare sauce and garnished with the watercress, spinach and rocket leaves and lemon wedges.

• The fish cakes will freeze brilliantly for up to 4 weeks
• To cook the fish cakes from frozen, place them on a lightly oiled tray, then drizzle with a little more oil, cook on the middle shelf under a medium grill for 12 to 15 minutes until golden, flip over, then cook the other side for 5 minutes.

Oxtail Soup

One of the much-loved soups of the Great British public, and memories of when the local butcher's shop sold oxtails inexpensively.

This soup is one of our favourite soups and the one I always used in the hotels, for Mr. and Mrs. Finken at Lodge Hill as well as for lord and Lady Hanson.

To make this soup a real winner for a dinner party replace 1 pint of the stock with red wine and near the finish add 3 tablespoon of a good port.

Serves/Makes: 4

Prep-Time: 20 minutes

Cook-Time: 4 hours

You Will Need;

1 oxtail

2 carrots diced

1 turnip diced

1 onion diced

4 tablespoons dripping or oil

1 tablespoon seasoned flour

6, peppercorns

2 sprigs, fresh thyme

3 tablespoons parsley chopped finely

1 bay leaf

4 pints water or beef stock

Method:

Joint the oxtail and blanch it (put it into a saucepan with a pinch of salt, cover with cold water, and bring to the boil.

Strain off the water, put the joints into cold water for a minute, and then wipe them with a cloth.

Season the tablespoon of flour with salt and pepper, and coat the joints of oxtail with it, I find it best to place the seasoned flour into a plastic food bag and then add the oxtail and give it all a good shake.

Melt the dripping or oil in a saucepan, and brown the joints well, turning them over so that all sides are browned. Add the stock or water and bring to a boil, boil gently for about 30 minutes, skimming off the scum as it rises.

Tie up the peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley in a piece of muslin.

Pour off any excess fat, add the herb and spice parcel and diced vegetables, season with salt & pepper and simmer for three and a half hours, then strain off the stock.

Set aside the pieces of oxtail, rub the vegetables through a sieve or you can use a blender, skim off any fat from the stock, and add the vegetable puree to it. Put in a saucepan; if the soup seems a little thin remove some of the soup let cool slightly and whisk in a tablespoon of flour whisk this into the simmering soup and let simmer until the flour has cooked in and thickened the soup, serve hot.

   

 

The Glens Tags: Soups, Broths, Chowders, Consommés, Meat Soups, Oxtail, Lodge Hill, Lord Hanson, Lady Hanson

Whitewell Pheasant Casserole

When I first started work at the Whitewell Hotel in 1971(now known as the inn at Whitewell) under Chef George McGuire. I used to dread the start of the shooting season as it meant that I had to dress limitless brace of pheasant for this simple but wonderful and very popular dish.

I always find that casseroles and stews are improved the day after they are prepared, and reheated, which makes this just what the doctor ordered for a dinner party, seeing that everything apart from any vegetables and potatoes you might want to serve with it, is ready! We like Potato Dauphinoise with this but it is simply mouth-watering with some good homemade warm crusty bread to sop up the juices.

Serves / Makes: six persons

Prep-Time: 20 minutes

Cook-Time: 2 hours

You Will Need;

• 2, pheasants, dressed and jointed
• 2, tablespoons beef dripping
• 1, large onion
• 1, large carrot
• 1, stick/rib of celery
• 1, bouquet garni, a parcel of thyme, parsley stalk and bay leaf, I like to wrap this up in a leek parcel
• 10 ounces, mushrooms, field if possible although we do use the meaty Portobello mushrooms
• 1 good pinch, Sea salt
• 1 good pinch, cracked black pepper
• 12 fluid ounces, red wine

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350/f or gas mark 4.
2. Chop the vegetables roughly.
3. Heat the beef dripping in a heavy frying pan and brown the jointed pheasant remove from the pan and place in a casserole dish.
4. Place the vegetables in the frying pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, add the red wine and bring to the boil.
5. Pour the mixture over the pheasant, season add the bouquet garni and cover, cook in the oven for 1 to 1½ hours until tender, if you want the juices a little thicker just reduce on the stove top until it is reduced as you would like it. Serve hot.

The hotel is situated in the hamlet of Whitewell near Dunsop Bridge in the Forest of Bowland, and when we lived there, it was a very popular spot for them as wanted to fish on the best 5-mile stretch of the river Hodder. As well as those who just wanted to explore this most stunning part of Lancashire, this area is/was known as Little Switzerland and named so it is said by Queen Victoria.

In the 1300’s The Inn at Whitewell was just a small manor house, lived in by the keepers of the Royal forest. The Royal connection remains as the Inn forms part of the Duchy of Lancaster Estate.

The Glens Tags: Lancashire, Whitwell, Game, Pheasant, Casseroles