Christmas Food?

Question

My gran told me not to buy her anything for Christmas so I'm gonna make her something instead. So how do you make mulled wine, christmas puddings or mince pies?

Answer 1

English Plum Pudding

Fruit Mixture (To be made 4 days ahead)
1 pound seedless raisins
1 pound sultana raisins
1/2 pound currants
1 cup thinly sliced citron
1 cup chopped candied peel
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound finely chopped suet - powdery fine
1 1/4 cups cognac

Pudding
1 1/4 pounds (approximately) fresh bread crumbs
1 cup scalded milk
1 cup sherry or port
12 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Cognac

Blend the fruits, citron, peel, spices and suet and place in a bowl or jar. Add 1/4 cup cognac, cover tightly and refrigerate for 4 days, adding 1/4 cup cognac each day.

Soak the bread crumbs in milk and sherry or port. Combine the well-beaten eggs and sugar. Blend with the fruit mixture. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Put the pudding in buttered bowls or tins, filling them about 2/3 full. Cover with foil and tie it firmly. Steam for 6-7 hours. Uncover and place in a 250°F. oven for 30 minutes. Add a dash of cognac to each pudding, cover with foil and keep in a cool place.

To use, steam again for 2-3 hours and unmold. Sprinkle with sugar; add heated cognac. Ignite and bring to the table. Serve with hard sauce or cognac sauce.


Mincemeat Pie

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold shortening
1/3 cup cold margarine
1/3 cup ice cold water
1 jar (32 ounces) mincemeat
zest of 1 medium lemon
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons milk
2 tablespoons light rum, optional
chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Combine flour and salt in a mixing bowl, cut in cold shortening and margarine until mixture resembles small peas. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup ice water and quickly gather into a ball. Do not knead the dough or handle any more than necessary.

Wrap dough in waxed paper; refrigerate to chill, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Combine mincemeat with lemon zest; set aside.

On a floured surface, roll out about 2/3 of the chilled pastry; line a 9-inch pie plate with the pastry.

Trim edges and flute. Pour in mincemeat mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to 1/8-inch thickness and cut out 10 strips about 3/4-inch wide. Arrange 6 strips crosswise on pie and 4 strips lengthwise, woven in a lattice pattern. Trim ends of strips and press gently into sides of pie shell.

Beat egg yolk with milk; brush over the pastry. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and bake 25 to 30 minutes longer, or until done. If desired sprinkle with rum and chopped pecans or walnuts. Serve slightly warm with ice cream, if desired. Store pie, covered, in refrigerator.

Answer 2

hi i'm alistair 33, and a chef so lets get started
mulled wine: bottle of red wine a good one which is not to heavy on the pallet, the flavouring is spices like cinnamon cardoman vanilla clove ginger you can get mulled wine tea bags anywhere " tesco etc ". it is nicer if you make your own try and experiment. Now for something differant. Mulled wine ice cream. Make some vanilla ice cream this is easier than you think and ripple mulled wine through it like raspberry ripple ice cream .

5 egg yolks

2/3 cups sugar

1 cup half and half

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Beat yolks and sugar until blended. Pour in top of double boiler. Stir in half and half. Cook and stir over boiling water until thickens. Set aside - stir in butter. While cooling on a rack, stir occasionally until room temperature. Stir in whipping cream and vanilla.
christmas pudding borring try christmas tart:
like treacle tart but with christmas pudding spices instead, and serve it with the ice cream it works really well and will inpress anyone who eats it.
mince pies if you want to make them you need
1 lemon
150g raisins
150g sultanas
85g mixed peel
1 cooking apple, washed, cored and quartered
150g currants
150g brown sugar
150g shredded suet
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Wash the lemon and boil it whole in a saucepan of water for about 1 hour or until soft. Allow to cool and cut in half. Keep the juice, rind and skin but discard the pips.

Place the lemon, rind, skin and juice in a food processor along with the raisins, sultanas, mixed peel, unpeeled apples and process to a thick paste. Don't process the currants.

Tip the paste into a large bowl and add the currants, sugar, suet and spices. Mix well and pour in the whisky and rum. Store the mincemeat in jars or plastic containers in the fridge and it will keep for months.
.
i hope this helps
happy christmas
i am still available to work christmas day if you want me to cook christmas dinner my fee is £500 for the day.
it will be the best food you have ever had

Answer 3

Does your gran live alone? I'm only asking because I've found with my parents (who are now 84 and 86 yrs old), a large thing takes too long for them to get through when it comes to food. I give them instead little packages of home-made things - like 4 cookies of one kind, wrapped in saran with a ribbon, maybe a small box of unusual crackers from an Oriental grocery store, things like that. Just a couple of each kind per person. Small candies from the bulk section in your store - her favorite kinds - or they can be Sees candies if she prefers those - but just a couple. My parents love the variety and can work on them a little at a time.

Would your gran like something like that? And if you personally made her a card to go with the gift, I know she'd love that too. Doesn't have to be anything fancy - just something you took the time to make yourself.

Does she have a sense of humor? If so, a small toy in the package too - of something she would find cute and funny. My parents love the wind up toy spider that squiggles across the floor - they love to activate it when their friends are there.

Answer 4

Mulled wine is pretty easy. Take a pot and pour a bottle of red wine. Then some cinnamon sticks, orange slices and other spices that you like. Let the whole thing come up to a gentle boil until the house smells delicious.

Answer 5

Here are 2 I like to make because everyone like these.

Christmas plum pudding

INGREDIENTS
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs
4 ounces shredded suet
3 eggs, beaten
1 small carrot, grated
1 apple - peeled, cored and shredded
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds
2 ounces preserved stem ginger in syrup, chopped
1/8 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/8 cup halved candied cherries
1/3 cup raisins
3/8 cup dried currants
3/8 cup golden raisins
4 ounces candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
4 plums, pitted and chopped
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1 1/2 teaspoons mixed spice
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup ale


DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine flour, bread crumbs, suet, eggs, carrot, apple, brown sugar, chopped blanched almonds, stem ginger, ground almonds, cherries, raisins, currants, golden raisins, mixed peel, plums, lemon juice and zest, mixed spice, baking powder and ale. Let each family member take a turn stirring and make a wish. If you have used more dry fruit than fresh, add a little extra ale to make the mixture less stiff.
Grease 2 large or 4 small pudding basins. Fill with pudding mixture about 7/8 full. Cover tightly with greased waxed paper, then foil; secure with string. Stand pudding on a trivet in a large pot of boiling water that reaches halfway up the sides of the pudding basin. Steam puddings over medium-low heat in boiling water 10 hours for large puddings, 5 hours for small puddings, topping off water regularly until quite firm and set.
If not serving immediately, let cool completely, then replace covers with fresh waxed paper and foil and store in a cool, dry place, basting from time to time with rum or brandy, for up to 3 months. To serve, reheat by steaming 2 to 3 hours.

Bread pudding

INGREDIENTS
20 slices white bread, cut into cubes
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins
12 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups scalded milk
2 pinches ground nutmeg


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly butter one 2 quart baking dish.
Combine bread cubes, butter, cinnamon and raisins; mix well and place in baking dish.
Beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Add milk, mix well and pour over bread cubes.
Sprinkle with nutmeg and bake for 25 minutes.

Answer 6

One Bowl Dark Chocolate Fudge

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup evaporated milk
2 (8-squares each) packages Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Chopped Pecans
Spray 8-inch square pan with cooking spray; set aside.
Mix corn syrup and evaporated milk in 2-quart saucepan. Add chocolate. Cook on medium-low heat until chocolate is completely melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and pecans. Beat with wooden spoon until thick and glossy. Immediately spread into prepared pan. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before cutting into 20 squares to serve.
Makes 20 servings.

Great Substitute:
Substitute whipping cream for the evaporated milk.

Make-Ahead:
Fudge can be prepared up to 3 weeks ahead for gift giving. Store between layers of wax paper in airtight container in refrigerator.

Mulled wine
Serves 6



Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time less than 10 mins







Ingredients
1 bottle red wine
60g/2oz demerara sugar
1 cinnamon stick
grated nutmeg
1 orange, halved
1 dried bay leaf
60ml/2fl oz sloe or damson gin (optional)



Method
1. Put the wine in a saucepan with the orange, sugar, bayleaf and the spices.
2. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Taste to see if you want the wine sweeter, and add more sugar to taste.
3. Off the heat, stir in the sloe or damson gin if you are using it.
4. Strain into heatproof glasses and serve at once.


Christmas pudding

Ingredients:

1½lb of raisins
½lb of currants
½lb of mixed peel
¾lb of bread crumbs
¾lb of suet
8 eggs
1 wineglassful of brandy

Stone and cut the raisins in halves, but do not chop them; wash, pick, and dry the currants, and mince the suet finely; cut the candied peel into thin slices, and grate down the bread into fine crumbs.

When all these dry ingredients are prepared, mix them well together; then moisten the mixture with the eggs, which should be well beaten, and the brandy; stir well, that everything may be very thoroughly blended, and press the pudding into a buttered mould; tie it down tightly with a floured cloth, and boil for 5 or 6 hours. It may be boiled in a cloth without a mould, and will require the same time allowed for cooking.

As Christmas puddings are usually made a few days before they are required for table, when the pudding is taken out of the pot, hang it up immediately, and put a plate or saucer underneath to catch the water that may drain from it.

The day it is to be eaten, plunge it into boiling water, and keep it boiling for at least 2 hours; then turn it out of the mould, and serve with brandy-sauce.

On Christmas day a sprig of holly is usually placed in the middle of the pudding, and about a wineglassful of brandy poured round it, which, at the moment of serving, is lighted, and the pudding thus brought to table encircled in flame.

Time: 5 or 6 hours the first time of boiling; 2 hours the day it is to be served.

Sufficient for a quart mould for 7 or 8 persons.


Mince pies
Makes 24 pies



Preparation time less than 30 mins

Cooking time 10 to 30 mins







Ingredients
1 quantity puff pastry
450g/1lb mincemeat
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt
55g/2oz caster sugar
60ml/2fl oz milk



Method
1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6.
2. Roll out the pastry until it is 2mm thick. Stamp out 24 7.5cm/3inch rounds with a pastry cutter and put in the base of 2 patty trays.
3. Fill each case with 2 tsp mincemeat and brush the edges with a little milk.
4. Stamp out 24 6cm/2½ in rounds for the lids and put on top of the mincemeat, sealing to the edges of the bases. Brush the egg wash over the pies and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown and cool or serve warm.
6. If you make them in advance, store in an air-tight tin and re-heat when needed.