Christmas Plum Pudding

A lot of people in America have heard about plum pudding but few have ever tasted it. Plum pudding is most often referenced in old English Carols and Christmas stories and is also known as Christmas pudding. This steamed pudding, which is more like a cake, is filled with lots of dried fruits, nuts and even beef or animal fats.  Originally it also contained root vegetables and was doused in booze and hung on a hook for several weeks in a basement or fruit cellar. It was steamed in a pudding cloth, similar to cheese cloth and then boiled in water. Plum pudding wasn’t a dessert at all in the beginning. Because of the shortages in livestock, it was a way of preserving meat at the end of autumn. The meat was prepared along with dried fruits which acted as a preservative. It wasn’t until the 1800’s that flour, sugar and spices were added into plum pudding recipes.

“Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone, too nervous to bear witnesses, to take the pudding up and bring it in... Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper which smells like a washing-day. That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastry cook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that. That was the pudding. In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered, flushed, but smiling proudly, with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quarter of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top. “   Taken from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

There are a lot of traditions that go along with plum pudding.  Many families would make it on the 25^th Sunday of Trinity out of 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his 12 disciples.  When the pudding is set flame, it represents Christ's light for the world.  The traditional holly garnish represents his thorn crown.

Other families used to stir coins or small silver charms into the pudding.  Whoever got a coin in their piece would receive wealth and good luck. Don’t swallow it! Many times people would add symbolic charms that were boiled and then wrapped in a grease proof paper before baking.  It is also traditional for everyone in the family to simultaneously hold onto the wooden spoon, stir the batter for the pudding, and make a wish. They called this day “Stir up Sunday”.

"Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen" 

Taken from the Book of Common Prayer

A lot of people speculate on whether or not plum pudding actually contains plums. In fact, many recipes don’t even include plums (dried prunes). The old definition of prunes also included raisins as "prunes".

 

Plum pudding is traditionally served by saturating it with a lot of brandy over the top and lighting it on fire.  A sprig of holly is its typical garnish, but fresh holly is hard to find. It can also be served with a brandy or rum butter, hard caramel sauce, applesauce, ice cream, or powdered sugar. Often it is served with Sherry. It can be boiled traditionally in cheese cloth, in a makeshift double boiler (like my recipe below), or even steamed in a coffee can.

Plum Pudding

Makes 1 Large Cake

1 C Sugar

1 C Unsalted Butter

½ C Milk

½ C Brandy (or substitute another ½ C Milk)

2 Beaten Eggs

2/3 C Molasses

¼ t Salt

1 t Baking Soda

1T Baking Powder

3 ½ C Flour

½ C Pecans, Chopped

1 Orange (Zested, Segmented and Chopped)

3 ½ C Dried Fruits like Apricots, Prunes, Raisins, Dates, Cranberries

1 t Cinnamon

¼ t Ground Cloves

¼ t Nutmeg

¼ t Dried Ginger

Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Mix everything else except the fruit and nuts until thoroughly blended.  Add in the remaining ingredients.

Ok, here’s where it gets crazy….

Many recipes that I found had it steaming in a pan of water that is just to a boil and then covering it.  These recipes said that it takes 4 hours to cook, but mine took just under 2 hours.  Here is what I did.  I took a large pot and filled it as close to the top as possible, or at least to the top of where the cake was.  I used a silicone baking pan which may be part of my 2 hour trick.  I used a funnel to get the water filled up in the pot.  I covered it with a lid.

 

Steam until a toothpick comes out clean.

Super Boozy Rum Butter Icing

½ C Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 C Powered Sugar

4 T Brandy

Zest of 1 Orange

Pinch of Nutmeg
 

Cream the butter and then add the remaining ingredients. 

Either frost the cake and serve at room temp later or serve warm with icing dollop which will melt down into the cake.  Garnish with holly, nuts or dried fruits.

Painting on Glass

So here I am again, asking you to get creative. I wanted to quick get this post in because this glassware makes a super easy and cheap gift. For the wine glasses, I went to the dollar store so if you figure that you make 12 glasses, you'll spent about $25 and still have paint left over. I decided to make flower themed wine glasses.  

When picking the project keep in mind that the paint won't wash off but could potentially peel off.  You will want to not paint the food contact area. So for example, on a wine glass, you will paint the outside.  Also, you need to remember that if you can look down into the glass piece, you will need to paint backwards. For example, with a flower, you need to paint the center first, then the petals.  This way, when you look down the glass (to drink) you'll see the flower as if you would see it in nature.

The paint that you should use is an enamel paint.  These can be found at any craft store. Also, it is recommend that you either bake the glass (which sounds like a bad idea to me) or let it dry for 21 days.

To prepare your glassware, wash and dry it. Then with a cotton ball, rub it with rubbing alcohol.  If you make a mistake or even change your mind several days later, a doused cotton ball with alcohol will still help to remove the paint.

Painting it free style will be difficult for most people.  You may even be wondering if you can handle such a task.  If you print or sketch out a drawing of what you want to do it makes it much easier.  Also depending on the design, you can cut out a picture and tape it on the opposite side of where you'd like to paint.  Then just paint over the picture.  I'll show you an example further down in this post. Make sure to let the paint dry between layers so that it doesn't crack later.

So does this make sense?  Check out the 5 million photos I've posted for guidance!

Christmas Themed Wine Glasses

Old Fashioned Christmas Candy or Presents

Let it dry inbetween coats

Paint the bottom

How About Painting a Cake Plate?

Here I printed out cute sweet treat clip art and cut out my favorites.  I then taped them onto the top of the cake plate.

Flip the cake plate over, and paint on the bottom side. Remember what I mentioned above about the order that you paint in.  The top of the plate will be seen. If for example you have a cherry on top of a dollop of whipped cream, the cherry needs to be painted first.  If there's sprinkles on top of frosting, the sprinkles need to be painted first.

Decorate the edges and the stand freestyle.  Wait 21 days to dry before using.

Simple Yet Elegant Appetizers

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Apricot Glaze & Lemony Arugula Salad

Serves 4

12 Large Raw Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined

6 Slices of Bacon

½ C Apricot Jam

1 Orange, Zested and Juiced

1 Bag of Prepared Arugula

1 Lemon, Zested and Juiced

1 T Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Cut the bacon in half and wrap it round the shrimp. Set aside.

Mix the jam, orange zest and juice.  Warm in the microwave.

Heat a sauté pan and cook the shrimp, turning when the bacon gets nice and crispy.  The shrimp should be cooked by the time that the bacon gets crispy on each side.

Toss the arugula with the lemon juice, zest, olive oil and a little salt and pepper.  Assemble the plates and serve!

 

 

 

Peeling and Deveining Shrimp

I prefer to purchase shrimp in the shell because I feel that it retains its “shrimpy juices” and flavor.  When bought already peeled, the flavor may get washed away when rinsed for defrosting.  First you just peel them down to the tail.  I find that the bottom of the shrimp is a good starting point to peel it apart.

 

Now to clean out the poop vein!  Yes poop vein.  I think this part is the point where squeamish housewives decide to buy precleaned shrimp.  Again, it’s optional, but it’s better and typically cheaper when shelled.  Cut a small slit down the top of the shrimp. 

Pull out the vein. This vein is where the shrimp poops. You won’t die if you eat it but it’s a little yucky. This vein can be black and stringy, clear and slimy or an apricot color slimy vein. Pull it out and lightly rinse it off if needed. Now you’re ready to cook!  

 

 

Marinated Mushrooms

Serves 6-8

2 Lbs Whole Mushrooms

1/3 C Balsamic Vinegar

¼ C Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1T Herbs (fresh or dried like basil, oregano, thyme, etc.)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the mushrooms for about 5 minutes and chill under cold water.  Marinate the mushrooms with the remaining ingredients for at least 1 hour.

 

 

Lemony Roasted Artichokes

Serves 6-8

2 Cans of Whole Artichokes

1 Lemon

1 Sprig Rosemary, Chopped

1T Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Cut artichokes in half and put them on a foil lined baking pan.  Zest the lemon.  Cut off the remaining rind and quarter it.  Cut into thin slices and make sure that all the seeds are removed.  Mix all the ingredients together and bake for about 30 minutes.  Serve hot or chilled. 

 

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my cast iron grill pan. This is a great way to grill your favorite items all year round.  Many appetizers tend to be meat or carbs so this is a nice alternative for your buffet.  Below isn’t much of a recipe, just a quick and easy idea that you can interchange with different veggies.

 

 

Grilled Zucchini and Peppers

Serves 6-8

2 Zucchini

1 ½ Lbs Sweet Mini Peppers

2 T Olive Oil

¼ C Basil Pesto

Salt and Pepper to Taste

 

Cut the zucchini into sticks and peppers in half. Toss in oil.  Heat the grill pan and grill the veggies. Season with salt and pepper and toss with pesto.  Serve Hot or chilled.

 

 

 

 

 

Bruschetta with Crostini

Serves 6-8

1 Fresh Baguette, sliced

About 2 T Butter
2 Tomatoes, Seeded and Small Dice
1 Small or ½ of a Large Red Onion, Small Dice

2 Large Cloves of Garlic, Minced

4 Large Basil leaves, Chopped or Chiffonade

1 T Olive Oil

¼ C Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Mix all the ingredients except the baguette and butter and let the bruschetta marinate at least 1 hour.  Tomatoes tend to need more salt than most veggies. You may want to strain it a little bit before serving depending on how juicy the tomatoes are.

I prefer the crunchy yet softness that comes from toasting the bread in a sauté pan. Heat a sauté pan and melt the butter.  Toast each side of the bread and then serve!

 

Try it with Sautéed Sea Scallops!!!

 

Fresh Sea Scallops

About 2 T Butter
Flour to Coat
1 Lemon, Cut in Half and Seeded
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Lightly dry the scallops with a paper towel.  Toss in flour and make sure to shake off the extra flour.  Heat a sauté pan and melt the butter.  Cook the scallops, flipping after you see a nice brown crust form on each side.  Sometimes the scallops are too large and my need to be finished in the oven.  It depends on your liking but if the scallop is really fresh it should be just cooked, like al dente is to pasta. However, many people like them cooked well.  The choice is yours. 

 

 

Serve it long side the bruschetta with a little lemon juice on top at the end of cooking.  The trick to the nice presentation of bruschetta is to use a circle cookie cutter.