mincemeat!

I've wanted to make a real mincemeat, and then Dan Lepard, the fantastic baker and food writer at the Guardian, posted a recipe.

Here's the boozy mix of currants, sultanas, prunes, raisins, apples and spices — it sat for a month, being mixed once and topped with booze a hanfdul of times (I used, at varying times, bourbon, brandy, or rum).

Here it is mixed again and topped off with a bit of rum, in my favorite crust (Tartine's recipe).

 Topped with lattice...

And completed.

 And voilà!

pâté de campagne / country terrine

Finally using my great-grandmother meat grinder for its intended purpose.


Here's a little over a pound of pork belly — it's on the lead side (that is to say, it's not all fat) so I used just the belly (no other cut of pork) with the liver. I used beef liver, since it's easy to find, cheap and local. I soaked it in milk to take out any overwhelming flavors.


Started with the belly, but alternated, per Jennifer McLagan's suggestion in Fat, meat and liver (belly being tough, and liver soft, it makes it easier). I then sautéed onions and garlic in lard and suet with some sugar, until caramelized.


Heavy cream, parsley, thyme, brandy, salt, eggs, pepper and a mixture of hungarian paprika and merquen ahumado, a great, smoky chili pepper that a friend passed onto me.


The meat gets mixed on slow as the spices, eggs and cream are added. Then the onions and garlic are added.


A bastardized version of several recipes, this was finished with strips of belly fat as I couldn't find caul fat for wrapping but also didn't want to go the bacon wrapping route (I wanted to taste liver and belly, not bacon).


Baked in a water bath until it reaches 165ºF — and the aged at least two days.


Voilà — simple, very rich (and best after a week), coarse like the pâté de campagne I tasted at wine tastings in the Loire as a student, and proving that beef liver can be great. Now if only I could find caul fat for the next try!

fire.

And this is how to get the most flavor out of mushrooms.

(Butter, olive oil, cremini, garlic, brandy).

Christmas Pudding.

Christmas Pudding. Here I start with two cups of raisins soaked in brandy, some shredded carrots and breadcrumbs (from a cranberry-sunflower loaf, to be exact). I followed that recipe but added four ground cloves and used candied lemon, orange and quince. Greased the pan bith butter but used suet as the fat for the pudding.


Here it is, a full recipe's worth in a 1.2L pudding tin.


Cover with wax paper, steam in a covered pot, partially filled with water, for 4½ hours at 450ºF.


Age for a few days, weeks, months. (This aged 2 weeks). Cover, re-steam for an hour.


Serve with hard sauce (butter, sugar, brandy).


Chilled hard sauce.


Finish with flaming brandy. This is my new favorite dessert. Moist, rich with flavor, and served with hard sauce, it is perfect.