Happy Christmas!

So, I am currently writing this drinking Bailey's on ice and thinking about wrapping the last few presents before Father Christmas arrives tomorrow night. Christmas is the best time of the year. Ideally, it would be drawn out for another four weeks in order for me to actually have time to bake and cook everything in my head. 

Although it is a time for gluttony and decadence, in the run up to Christmas I actually like to eat as fresh as possible. That's why below I have included the recipe for a really quick dish I made for dinner this week. A white bean stew with spinach, mint and aubergine. Warming but fresh and a nice rest for the tummy from the stodge. It also works very well with left over Turkey thrown in for a post christmas dinner. 

I'm back in the Peak District this week, in actual fact, I've been here for nearly a week now. The annual visit to nearby Chatsworth house was exquisite and wouldn't be complete without a mince pie and a stop by the award-winning farm shop. 

I've been doing a lot of dog walking, visiting friends and family and getting some rest in before a hectic new year. 

I'm going to be part of a family team tackling the Christmas dinner this year. The course I have been designated is the pudding. In my opinion, the most difficult, but the best course. I've been weighing up a few options as people often don't feel the need for pudding after a huge christmas dinner. I will let you know how I get on and of course, I will do a post on the pudding I choose. 

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
200g of quinoa
600ml of chicken stock or water
1 can of butter beans
2 handfuls of spinach
1 small handful of mint leaves
1 lemon

 Method

Wash the quinoa is a fine sieve and place it in a pot with the stock, a pinch of salt and some ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a low heat and let this cook for around 10 minutes.
While this is cooking heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium heat, chop up the onion finely add a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes. Throw in the garlic for the last minute being careful not to burn it (nothing worse than burnt garlic).

Drain the quinoa if there is any excess water then, poor the onion mix into the quinoa and stir.
Wash the butter beans in a sieve and add into the quinoa with the spinach and a few tbsp of water. Cook for 10 minutes,, keep moving so that it doesn't burn on the bottom. 
Zest the lemon, finely chop the mint and throw these both plus the chilli flakes over the top and stir, then take it off the heat and serve.

Have a wonderful christmas & a happy new year!

Nigella's Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cheesecake.

Please excuse the look of this cheesecake. It may look a little rough around the edges, but believe me, what it lacks in beauty it more than makes up for in taste. 

Here at the Bravington Kitchen, things have been very hectic and festive. We had our house Christmas dinner last night and we may have indulged slightly (this is a complete lie, there's nothing 'slightly' about a four course dessert, a vomitoria was almost required). I've included some pictures of the festivities below for your enjoyment (or not). 

So, all this festive indulgence got me thinking about my favourite recipe for a Christmas treat. 

This peanut butter & chocolate cheesecake just hits the spot. Perfectly rich, indulgent and has that comforting claggy texture of something utterly naughty. The mixture of sour cream and chocolate in the topping is delicious as it is easy and covers a multitude of sins, if like me, you are impatient in taking it from the tin too soon and the top cracks. This recipe is from Nigella Lawson's Kitchen, one of my go-to cook books. 

My song of the week this week is the beautiful and talented Jessie Ware- Tough Love

Ingredients

for the base

• 200 grams digestive biscuits
• 50 grams salted peanuts
• 100 grams dark chocolate chips
• 50 grams soft unsalted butter

for the filling

• 500 grams cream cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 125 ml sour cream
• 250 grams smooth peanut butter

for the topping

• 250 ml sour cream
• 100 grams milk chocolate chips
• 30 grams soft light brown sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3/325°F.
2. Then process the biscuits, peanuts, dark chocolate chips and butter for the base in a food processor.
3. Once it comes together in a clump, turn it out into a 23cm / 9inch springform tin and press into the bottom and up the sides to make the crunchy crust.
4. Put in the fridge while you make the filling.
5. Process the filling in the cleaned or wiped-out processor bowl, putting in the cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks, sugar, sour cream and peanut butter and whizzing to a smooth mixture.
6. Pour and scrape the filling into the base in the chilled springform tin and cook for 1 hour, though check after 50 minutes. The top – only – should feel set and dry.
7. Take the cheesecake out of the oven while you make the topping.
8. Warm the sour cream and chocolate with the brown sugar gently in a small saucepan over a low heat, whisking to blend in the chocolate as it melts, and then take off the heat.
9. Spoon and spread the topping very gently over the top of the cheesecake, being as careful as you can in case you break the surface of the cheesecake. (not that anything bad will happen; you’ll just have chocolate marbling the cake a bit.)
10. Put it in the oven for a final 10 minutes.
11. Once out of the oven, let the cheesecake cool in its tin and then cover and put into the fridge overnight.
12. When you are ready to eat the cheesecake, take it out of the fridge, just to take the chill off: this will make it easier to spring from the tin. don’t let it get too warm, though, as it will become a bit gooey and be hard to slice.

I took the finished one to work for the staff meeting, its such a crowd pleaser. I guarantee if you make it, it will be gone before you can save yourself a piece. 

Also, please let me know if you make anything form here, I love to see things you make so send me a picture. 

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