BRAISED BRISKET OF BEEF - POT ROAST

Here is some real comfort food for a cold winter's day - Casserole of Braised Brisket of Beef.

You will need a rolled brisket of beef and a selection of root vegetables. I use onion, leek, carrot, parsnip, celery and swede and a couple of cloves of garlic.
Vegetable or beef stock.
Thyme and bay leaves.

Prepare the root vegetables and cut into fairly large chunks.

Place in the base of the casserole and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Lay the joint of brisket on top of the vegetables.

Add more seasoning, a sprig of fresh thyme and a couple of bay leaves.

Pour some hot stock into the casserole nearly to the top of the vegetables.
Bring to simmering point on the hob.

Cover with a sheet of foil and then the casserole lid.

Place in a moderate oven and cook for three hours until the meat is meltingly tender.

To Serve

Remove the meat and slice thickly.

The vegetables can be served with the meat and some boiled potatoes.

Use the juices in the casserole as a sauce.

Delicious! Enjoy!

ICING THE CHRISTMAS CAKE

I made two Christmas cakes a couple of months ago and wrapped them well to mature. You will see that I gave the recipe in my blog for the golden jewelled cake.  I also made a traditional dark cake.  Visitors always enjoy a slice of home made cake.

After the almond icing had been applied and left overnight I prepared the Royal Icing to cover the cake.  I prefer to make my own icing to the ready rolled icing available in the supermarket. It is simple to make and only needs a few ingredients.

Ingredients

400g/1 lb Icing sugar
2 Egg whites
Few drops of Glycerine

Method

Sieve the icing if it is lumpy.
Lightly whisk the egg whites.
Add the icing to the egg white and continue to beat until it is shiny.
Add a few drops of glycerine - this keeps the icing more pliable and prevents it hardening too much.

It is now ready to use.

I dampen the top of the almond paste very lightly with a pastry brush dipped in cooled boiled water.  This helps the icing to stick to it.

Use a palette knife to spread the icing over the top and sides (if you have almond pasted the sides). Smooth out carefully if you wish to pipe a decoration.  Otherwise rough it with the knife to create a snow scene.  Add any decorative items e.g. snowman, star, etc.
Leave to dry and then cover.

Tip. If the icing is too stiff to spread smoothly, dip the palette knife in a jug of boiling water.  Shake off the excess water before using. You should achieve a nice smooth finish.

ALMOND ICING FOR THE CHRISTMAS CAKE

Now is the time to make the almond icing for the Christmas Cake I made some weeks ago.

Ingredients

100g/4 oz Icing Sugar
100g/4 oz Caster Sugar
200g/8 oz Ground Almonds
Few drops Vanilla essence
Few drops Almond essence
One Free range egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional: 1 teaspoon orange flower water

Method

Sieve the sugars and add the ground almonds, mixing well.
Add the beaten eggs and flavourings and mix to a soft paste.
Knead the paste until it is quite smooth.
If it is not to be used immediately wrap in cling film to prevent it drying out.

How to use

Unwrap your stored Christmas cake and brush the surface and sides with beaten egg white or sieved melted apricot jam.

The matured cake

Dust the worktop with sieved icing sugar and roll out the almond icing into a large circle.

Use your rolling pin to pick up the paste by rolling it over the pin.
Hold it above the cake and  gently unroll,  covering the top and down the sides.

Lightly roll the top to make the icing stick and press the sides to make it adhere to the cake. 

 I use a clean jam jar to roll around the outside, this ensures that the paste sticks and air bubbles are removed.
Leave to dry overnight before covering with Royal Icing.

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

It is a crisp, winter morning with beautiful sunshine. Just the sort of day for a warming bowl of soup.

I popped out into my garden and pulled four lovely leeks and one carrot. Using these and other stored ingredients from my garden - potatoes, onion and garlic - I prepared them to make the soup.

  We had a lovely free range chicken on Sunday, I had boiled up the carcass to make delicious chicken stock, and had this strained and in a bowl in the fridge.  I always keep some celeriac in the fridge at this time of year to add to soups.

Ingredients

Leeks

Potatoes

Onion

Garlic

One carrot

Piece celeriac or stick of celery (optional)

Salt, freshly ground pepper and freshly ground nutmeg

Chicken stock (Knorr stock cubes are good if you haven't fresh stock)

Cooking oil and butter

Method

Trim the leeks, keeping some of the green, wash well and chop into chunks.

Prepare all the vegetables and cut into chunks, the potatoes can be quartered.

Put a little cooking oil and a knob of butter into a large saucepan with a lid. When it has heated, add the vegetables, except the potatoes, and allow to sweat with the lid on the pan - do not have the heat too high.

When the vegetables are transparent and lightly cooked add the potatoes, stock and seasoning and simmer until cooked.

Puree the vegetables with a hand blender or liquidiser.

Check for seasoning and serve.

Delicious! Enjoy.