That's what I'm doing for Christmas pudding this year, well, Boxing day as the evil witch has the kids on Christmas day this year. Lots of french butter, generous helping of cinamon and nutmeg, and home-made cremé anglaise. Job's a good-un.

Respec'

I haven't made pastry in years.
Mind you, I was never any good at it, something to do with my hands not being cold enough.

Wot, no custard?

Cheers!



I do tend to worry sometimes on that score myself - after all, how do you actually know what it too warm and what's okay? But I don't seem to have too much bother. I do enjoy making pastry. My first attempt at a pie, a week ago, was a midweek, so I thought I'd 'cheat' and use shop-bought pastry - until I realised the ingredients included vegetable oil and lemon juice. I went home and just made my own instead, with half butter, half lard. The pastry for the meat and potato pie was 100% lard.

When I were a lad, I used to think that cheese with fruit cake was the normal "done thing".
But it seems it's mainly a Yorkshire preference ... and one that I still have.

You get it in Lancashire too.

And the north east of England.

At wintertime in the restaurant we did this as a light alternative. Dried Apricots, chopped orange zest of choc chips can be swapped. Peoper christmas taste to them.

TUSCAN PUDDINGS serves 4
15 g (1/2 oz) 1 tbsp butter
75 g (2 3/4 oz) mixed dried fruit
250 g (9 oz) ricotta cheese
3 egg yolks
50 g (1 3/4 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
1 tsp cinnamon, or 1/2 cinamon 1/2 nutmeg
finely grated rind of 1 orange,
plus extra to decorate creme fraiche (soured cream), to serve
method
1. Lightly grease 4 mini pudding basins or ramekin dishes with the butter.

2. Put the dried fruit in a bowl and cover with warm water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.

3. Beat the ricotta cheese with the egg yolks in a bowl. Stir in the caster (superfine) sugar, cinnamon and orange rind and mix to combine.

4. Drain the dried fruit in a sieve set over a bowl. Mix the drained fruit with the ricotta cheese mixture.

5. Spoon the mixture into the basins or ramekin dishes.

6. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180C (350°F) Gas Mark 4, for 15 minutes. The tops should be firm to the touch but not brown.

7. Decorate the puddings with grated orange rind. Serve warm or chilled with a dollop of creme fraiche (soured cream), if liked.

So, it's not just Yorkshire.
Interesting.

Nice to see that education is spreading.

Mind, that said, where I grew up is only over the river from the dark place (but that is far enough thank you) and very close to Wensleydale itself.

I have a question.

Sultanas, raisins and currants. Can we just drop the pretence and name them all the same thing?

Oooooh, provocative or what?

I'll go first ...
Sultanas are light-coloured and only part-dried.
Raisins are dark sultanas.
Currants are dryer raisins.

Next ....

In my baking cupboard at home there is 2/3rds of a bag of sultanas, 2/3rds of a bag of currants and 2/3rds of a bag of raisins. They've sat there since this time last year, taunting me. There is nobody who would know the difference if I did the decent thing and chose sides in the currant wars.

My geordie wife and all of her relations thought I was completely fruitcake the first time I asked for cheese with christmas cake, I can't imagine eating a piece of christmas cake without a slice of wensleydale.

Chuck them in stir-fry's, lumps of chicken, sweetcorn, a little mustard, maybe some dried chilli seeds and sultanas (the big fat ones), salted peanuts or cashews go nice too - and then on a bed of simple boiled long grain rice.

Ey up lad, we don't often see you round these parts. Must come from livin' wi' three lasses

The wife's sister married a man of Kent - his reaction was somewhere between hilarity and horror. Still not won him around to the idea.

Quote ="vbfg"I have a question. Sultanas, raisins and currants. Can we just drop the pretence and name them all the same thing?'" No britishfood.about.com/od/glossar ... dfruit.htm

Quote ="vbfg"I have a question. Sultanas, raisins and currants. Can we just drop the pretence and name them all the same thing?'" No britishfood.about.com/od/glossar ... dfruit.htm

Thank you for your input. I feel chastened and am unlikely to confuse the different types of dried grape ever again.

Ah, civilisation hasn't quite reached the East of the Medway then.

Quote ="Big Graeme"No britishfood.about.com/od/glossar ... dfruit.htm'" Well, I've learned something from that ... raisins are actually from white grapes, even though the raisins are dark. I never knew that. Quote ="vbfg"Thank you for your input. I feel chastened and am unlikely to confuse the different types of dried grape ever again.'" I believe you are/were a hiking/walking/outdoorsy sorta guy? A pocketful of sultanas, raisins with a few nuts added is dead handy when you're out on the fells. Better than the broken mintcake or the ageing Mars bar that always turn up in my rucksack pocket, anyway.

Quote ="Big Graeme"No britishfood.about.com/od/glossar ... dfruit.htm'" Well, I've learned something from that ... raisins are actually from white grapes, even though the raisins are dark. I never knew that. Quote ="vbfg"Thank you for your input. I feel chastened and am unlikely to confuse the different types of dried grape ever again.'" I believe you are/were a hiking/walking/outdoorsy sorta guy? A pocketful of sultanas, raisins with a few nuts added is dead handy when you're out on the fells. Better than the broken mintcake or the ageing Mars bar that always turn up in my rucksack pocket, anyway.

Raisins are tough rather than particularly chewy and should only ever be eaten on the verge of death.

Sultanas burst in your mouth, taste vile and should never be eaten.

I have never tried a currant.

Very good natural laxative as I found to my cost when I ate a load when I was a nipper that I found in the kitchen cupboard



Nowadays I eat them in moderation.

I eat mine in teacakes.

Our deli/baker has just changed hands and we've finally got a proper baker again, he even knows what I mean when I ask for breadcakes. His teacakes are amazing, they're about the size of a flat cap and he brings them out of the oven at 09.15, so they're still hot enough to butter & eat without toasting. What's more, he only charges 30p too

My stir fry's are the standard fall-back when I walk in the door and ask all three of them "Whats for my tea then?", invariably the answer is a silence so the wok comes out and five minutes later I'm sat with a huge plate of grub and they're all staring wondering where the hell I got that from.