Figgy Pudding with Custard Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons rum extract (or flavored extract of your choice)
1 apple, peeled and cored and finely chopped
1 pound dried figs, ground or finely chopped
Grated peel of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups dried bread crumbs
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large egg whites, stiffly beaten

Directions:

Custard Sauce (recipe follows)
Sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Preheat oven to 325*F (160*C). Generously grease an oven-proof 2-quart bowl or mold; set aside.
Cream together butter and shortening. Gradually add sugar, egg yolks, milk, extract, apple, figs, lemon and orange peel. Add next 6 ingredients, mixing well. Fold stiffly beaten egg whites into mixture.
Pour into prepared bowl or mold and place into large shallow pan and place on middle rack in oven. Fill the shallow pan half-full with boiling water and slowly steam pudding in oven at 325*F (160*C) for 4 hours, replacing water as needed.

Custard Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1 large egg
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

In saucepan, scald milk and allow to cool.
Mix together remaining ingredients, except for butter. Add to cooled milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in butter, mixing well.
Serve pudding warm with custard sauce or sweetened whipped cream. Store unused portions in refrigerator.
Makes 12 servings.

Christmas Plum Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped beef suet
2 cups fine bread crumbs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 pint flour
1 cup seedless raisins
1 cup dried currants
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup citron, sliced thin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
4 well-beaten eggs
1 tsp of baking soda dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water

Directions:

1. Flour the fruit thoroughly.
2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, spices, and salt in the milk.
3.Stir in the fruit, nuts, bread crumbs, and suet. Then stir in the dissolved baking soda. Then add in the flour.
4.Boil or steam for 4 hours. Serve with wine or brandy (which may be flambed) or any well-flavored sauce.

Gingerbread Men

Ingredients:

3 and 1/4 cups flour
1.2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325'
2. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and cloves
3. Cream butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and molasses and beat on medium speed until smooth.
4. Scrape down bowl and add flour mixture, blend on low speed until just combined -- do not over mix!
5. Separate dough into 2 balls and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.
6. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. With floured cookie cutters cut into shapes. Gather scraps and re-roll dough until all is
used. Place on ungreased baking sheets about 1/2" apart.
7. Bake 9-11 minutes -- do not brown. Transfer to cool, flat surface and cool.

Preparing Icing:

1. Whisk sugar and milk until smooth but still liquid.
2. Add extra milk if the mixture seems dry.
3. Spoon icing into a pastry bag with small piping tip, or other icing dispenser.
4. Decorate as desired.
 

Stained Glass Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar and
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt hard candies (such as lollipops or life savers)

Directions:

Mix margarine, shortening, sugar, honey, eggs and vanilla. Add flour, soda and salt. Add flour and chill the dough overnight. On waxed paper roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Then cut out areas for "windows" or Roll dough into "snakes". Shape the snakes into cookies--leaving some open spaces. Place the cookies on a well-greased cookie sheet. Fill the openings with crushed hard candies or a whole life saver. Bake at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.

Christmas Plum Pudding

Note: You will need an 8 C pudding container i.e. a Round metal bowl, a cover, Steamer basket trivet or Rack and a roomy soup kettle Count on steaming pudding For at least 6 hours

Ingredients:

3 cups Crumbs from good quality White bread lightly packed (about 1/2 loaf)
1 cup Each of raisins, yellow raisins Currants chopped
1 1/3 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Each of mace cinnamon & nutmeg
8 oz Butter melted
4 large Eggs lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
1/2 cup Bitter orange marmalade
FOR SERVING:
1/2 cup Rum or bourbon heated Slightly before serving
2 cups Zabaione Sauce **
Holly sprigs to garnish (optional)

Directions:

Toss the crumbs in a large mixing bowl along with the two types of raisins, currants, sugar and spices. Then toss with the melted butter and all remaining ingredients except for the holly, rum/bourbon and zabaione. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Pack mixture into the container and cover with round of wax paper and lid. Set the container on steaming device and add enough water to come up 1/3 up the sides of pudding container. Cover kettle tightly bring to a simmer and let steam for 6 hours, checking water level now and then. Pudding is done when dark walnut brown in color and fairly firm to touch. Let pudding cool and then store in a wine cellar or the fridge. At least two hours before serving resteam the pudding. Unmold onto a hot flameproof serving platter and decorate with the holly. Bring to table along with the warmed booze and pour booze around pudding. Ignite and let flame. Serve with the zabaione.

Here is the recipe for Plum Pudding taken from "The American Domestic Cook Book For 1868"

Plum Pudding - Take half a pound of flour, half a pound of raisins, stoned and chopped, and some currants washed picked and dried; use milk enough to stir easily with a spoon; add half a pound of suet chopped fine, a teaspoonful of salt, and four well beaten eggs; tie it in a floured cloth, and boil four hours. The water must boil when you put it in, and continue boiling until it is done.

Roast Goose with Sage
& Onion Dressing
Serves 8

To have a proper Victorian Christmas feast, you must have roast goose with the classic sage and onion dressing. The onions are parboiled first, so the stuffing will be pleasantly mild, and with the addition of apples, it is milder still.

Ingredients:

9 pound goose 2 teaspoons coarse salt
For The Stuffing:
3 medium onions, peeled
4 large apples, peeled, cored & chopped (use tart apples, Granny Smith are best)
2 tablespoons loosely packed dried sage leaves, crumbled
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, cut into tiny bits
Garnishes: sliced apples, parsley or watercress

For The Brown Gravy:
Gizzard, neck, heart, liver and wing tips of the goose, chopped
1 onion
1 carrot, sliced
1-2 tablespoons rendered goose fat or cooking oil
3 cups stock or beef bouillon
½ bay leaf
3 sprigs parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

For The Port Wine Sauce
½ cup port
1 teaspoon mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Directions:

Oven: 450
Rub inside of goose with salt and set aside.

Parboil onion in boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and, when cool enough to handle, chop them finely.

In large bowl, combine onions, chopped apples, sage, pepper and butter. Stuff cavity of goose and Sew or skewer the openings and truss in the usual way.

Roast goose at 450 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and turn the goose onto its side. After 1 hour, turn goose onto its other side. For the final 15 minutes, roast goose on its back. Baste every 20 minutes during entire roasting time. (Allow approximately 15 minutes per pound for the total weight of the stuffed goose, or 2 ½ hours for a 9 pound stuffed goose. The internal temperature should register 180 degrees when done, the legs should move up and down freely, and the juices should run a pale yellow.)

Prepare the gravy while goose is roasting. In a large saucepan, brown the goose parts, onion and carrot in the fat. When they are nicely browned, add the stock and seasonings. Simmer, partially covered, for about 1 hour, skimming occasionally. Strain, degrease and pour into a warmed sauce-boat for serving.

For the optional port wine sauce, combine the ingredients in a small saucepan. Just before serving the goose, slit open the breast and pour the sauce on top.

Mincemeat
Makes 1 ½ quarts or 2 ¾ pounds


It is a good idea to prepare this mincemeat at least a few days in advance to give the flavors a chance to mingle.

Ingredients:

2 large lemons
2 small tart apples, pared, cored & grated
2 cups raisins
2 cups dried currants
Generous ¼ cup coarsely chopped citron
Generous ¼ cup coarsely chopped candied orange peel
2 cups (½ pound) loosely packed grated beef kidney suet
1 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon mace
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup brandy
¼ pound lean round beef, ground (optional; see note)

Directions:

In a small saucepan, cover the lemons with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove lemons and cut them in half and remove pits. Chop lemons finely.

In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix very well.

Press the mincemeat into large sterile jars with tight fitting lids and store them in a cool place until needed. Should the mincemeat at any time seem dry and crumbly, perk it up by stirring in more brandy.

Note: This recipe makes enough for 2 8-inch covered pies or about 3 dozen Mince Pies Royal (see recipe). If you plan to bake the mincemeat in pies or tarts, you will find that adding the meat at the last minute enriches the flavor. If you do this, do not plan on storing the mincemeat for more than a few days in the refrigerator.

7 pounds of flour
2 pounds and a half of sugar
2 pounds of butter
1 pint of water, with a teaspoonful of volatile salts dissolved in it.

Directions:

Work the paste well; roll it thin and cut it in small cakes with a tin cutter; lay them on tin plates and bake in a quick oven for fifteen minutes.

Vanilla Half-moons
(approximately 80 pieces)

Ingredients:

8 oz. flour
3 oz. sugar
6 oz. butter
2 egg yolks
4 oz. ground almonds
Seeds of 1.5 vanilla bean
8 oz. powdered sugar

Directions:

Cut vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds. Mix flour, sugar, butter, egg yolks, almonds and vanilla (1/2 vanilla bean). Make 2 strands out of the dough and let stand in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Slice each strand into 40 pieces.
Using your hands, roll each piece into an approximately 2 inches long strand, pull ends to form a half-moon or a "C". Lay onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes. Mix powdered sugar and rest of vanilla seeds (1 vanilla bean). Carefully, roll hot half-moons into sugar and vanilla mixture. (approximately 40 calories per piece).
TIP: You can use 2 oz. ground almonds and 2 oz. ground hazelnuts for a slightly different but delicious taste.

1/2 lb butter or margarine
1/4 lb powder sugar
Vanilla to taste approx. 2 Tablespoons
1 lemon zest
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 lb flour
2 oz cornstarch

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Using a pastry bag with a star tip pipe cookies in the shape of an "S" onto a sheet pan covered with panliner (parchment paper).
Bake at 350 F for approximately 10 minutes.

Cookies may be dipped halfway into melted chocolate or filled with jam or truffle cream.

Gingerbread Men Cookies

Ingredients:

6 cups flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 Tbs. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Mix together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until completely mixed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done they will be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

MORE TO COME.....