Tag: mincemeat

Christmas food to make now

Thinking about Christmas? Why not get super organised and start preparing some of your food and Christmas treats in advance?

Christmas can be stress free this year with these simple Christmas recipes that are ready to be prepared in advance. When it comes to Christmas Day you’ll have more time to spend with your family and less time slaving away in the kitchen – sounds good, right?

There are plenty of Christmas recipes that you can make weeks before the day. One of which is classic Christmas cake. We’ve got the ideal recipe from Mary Berry which you can make up to 3 months in advance and leave to mature for a greater taste. Or you could pop it into the freezer and leave until you’re in the mood for decorating it – perfect!

How about making some classic mince pies? Just use a jar of ready-made mincemeat and pop in the freezer once cooked. All you need to do is reheat them before you serve them Christmas day.

You can even prepare your gravy months before (bet you didn’t know that!) by saving any leftover meat juices from your Sunday roasts. Mix the juices with gravy granules and pop into a suitable container to be frozen until needed.

We’ve got plenty more recipes like these so you’ll have no problem getting organised this Christmas. Take a look for yourself…

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Mary Berry’s mincemeat bread and butter pudding

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This comfort food pudding is wonderful at any time of the year – not just at Christmas!

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It is essential to make this in a shallow dish so that you get maximum crunchy top. It rises like a souffle, so serve it at once straight from the oven.

Ingredients

50g (2 oz) ready-to-eat dried apricots
2 tbsp brandy or rum
12 thin slices white bread, buttered
1 x 450g (1lb) jar luxury mincemeat
50g (2 oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
300ml (½ pint) double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
150ml (¼ pint) milk
1 tbsp demerara sugar

Method

Well-butter a 28cm (11in) fairly shallow round china ovenproof dish. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/Fan 160ºC/Gas Mark 4.
Snip the apricots into smallish pieces and soak in the brandy or rum whilst making the pudding.
Make sandwiches of the bread using the mincemeat, but don’t fill right to the edges because these are trimmed off. Cut off the crusts and cut each sandwich diagonally into four. Arrange the sandwich triangles across the dish, slightly overlapping.
Beat together the caster sugar, eggs, cream and vanilla extract. Stir in the milk.
Scatter the apricots over the bread. Gradually pour over the cream mixture, making sure all the bread is coated. If you have time, leave the pudding to stand for 30-60 minutes (to allow the bread to absorb the liquid, so it becomes light and crisp during cooking). If you have no time, don’t worry – you can still bake it straightaway.
Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top of the pudding, and bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes until well-risen, crisp and golden. Serve warm with creme fraiche or cream.

Top tip: It is essential to make this in a shallow dish so that you get maximum crunchy top. It rises like a souffle, so serve it at once straight from the oven.Mary Berry’s Christmas Collection is available from Amazon, RRP £16.99.Win Mary Berry cook books

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Nutritional information

Guideline Daily Amount for 2,000 calories per day are: 70g fat, 20g saturated fat, 90g sugar, 6g salt.

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Today’s poll

What’s your budget to spend on food and drink for Christmas this year?

£151+ 27%
£101-£150 16%
£71-£100 12%
£51-£70 10%
£31-£50 9%
Less than £30 10%
I don’t know yet 5%
I’m not setting a budget 11%

Thanks, your vote has been counted!

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Cranberry and mincemeat filo tarts

Have you seen our recipe for sugar and spice cookies yet? They are the sweetest gingerbread men we’ve ever seen. You can loop some ribbon through the top and hang them from the tree as delicious decorations, or wrap them in cellophane, pop them in a gift box and you’ve got a lovely gift to give. You could also get the kids to help you decorate them and use them as presents for teachers or grandparents. They’re really easy to make, ready in just 1hr 20 minutes and using Tesco’s Finest ingredients will make sure you’ll end up with the tastiest biscuits in town! Enjoy. Nichola Palmer – Recipes Editor, goodtoknow

Fed up of traditional mince pies? Make this year’s festive finales more memorable with our fabulous cranberry and mincemeat tarts

Serves: 8
Prep time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Skill level: Easy peasy
Costs: Cheap as chips

270g packet (6 sheets) filo pastry,defrosted if frozen
410g jar mincemeat
125g (4oz) fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tsp icing sugar
8 x 7.5cm (3in) Yorkshire pudding tins, brushed with butter

Filo pastry makes a much lighter case than the traditional pastry – perfect for those Christmas buffets or post-dinner nibbles

Set the oven to Gas Mark 6 or 200°C. Cut the stack of filo pastry sheets into 10cm (4in) squares. Cover with cling film while you work with them.
Layer up 4 filo pastry squares in the base of a tin, brushing each layer with butter and arranging the pastry at alternate angles, like the points of a star. Repeat with the rest of the pastry to make 8 tarts. Bake for 10 mins until crisp and golden.
Spoon the mincemeat into the filo tarts and push several cranberries into each one. Bake for 5 mins, just until the cranberries are softened slightly.

By Woman’s Weekly