Frosty the Snowman - Mulled Wine

Cooold. Winter is starting to bite. I think we need a little warmer. It's Mulled Wine time people.
I drank one this weekend and it was OK. It lacked fruitiness and tasted of powder towards the end. Ground cinnamon will do that.
Any purist, will go totally bonkers when they read that I simmer the mulled wine until it reduces by a quarter. Well I like it like that and so do my friends. The flavours of the wine deepen and lift my spirits up. 


MULLED WINE


Ingredients for 4 to 6 glasses. Prep time 10 min. Simmering 20 min.

• 1 Bottle of fruity Red Wine. 
• 3 Clementines preferably organic, more flavour less pesticides.
• 2 Cloves
• Half a stick of Cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground Ginger
• 1 shot of Rum, Cognac or Cointreau. 
• 4 tbsp light brown sugar

1. Pour bottle in saucepan.
2. Juice 2 clementimes, add to the wine.
3. Cut the third clementine in two, sideways. Pierce halves with cloves. Add to saucepan.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients.
5. Simmer until it reduces about a quarter. DO NOT boil.
6. Taste. If it lacks a little punch add some more of your tipple of choice.
7. You can prepare this in advance but discard the cinnamon once reduced, otherwise the wine will have a bitter taste. Just reheat before drinking.

Cheers!

Baby It's Cold Outside - It's stew time!

With Christmas fast approaching, I will be posting some of my favourite festive recipes and some winter dishes that keep me going when I do not feel like cooking.
So to start you guys off, here is my stew of the moment. I recently discovered pig cheeks. Slowly braised in the oven they are just fabulous. Remember that it always tastes better the following day.

BRAISED PIG CHEEKS

Ingredients for 2 people. Prep time 10 mins. Cooking Time 2 to 3 hours depending on how tender you like your cheeks.

To cook this dish I use a Le Creuset pot. If you don't have one you can use any pot with a lid that can stand the oven heat. Beware of plastic handles as they will met... Pot ruined and funky smell!

• 6 to 8 Pig cheeks depending on how hungry you are
• A sprig of thyme, 5 sage leaves or any herbs that you like. 
• Dry to Medium Dry white wine - one that you would drink. You can also use Red wine if you want your dish to have a deep earthiness flavour.
• Chicken stock
• Flour
• Olive Oil or any good quality cooking oil
• Salt & Pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven at 160 C.
2. Pat dry the cheeks.
3. Salt and pepper the cheecks 
4. Flour them on both side- it will help with the browning and to thicken the sauce.
5. Put about 2 tbsp of oil in the pot, heat and then add the cheeks. Brown both sides - about 2/3 min on each side. If your pot is on the smallish sides, brown in batches. Take off the heat.
6. Add your chosen herbs.
7. Liquid time! Depending on my mood I either add the wine or the stock. Sometimes both of them. You need to add enough liquid to just cover the meat.
8. Put the lid on and stick in the oven for 2 to 3 hours depending on how famish you are. The cheeks are ready when you can cut them with a fork.
9. Serve with mash potatoes end ENJOY!!

Now, you probably want the Mash recipe... 

CREAMY MASH POTATOES

Ingredients for two people. Prep time 10 mins. Cooking time about 20 mins depending on the size of the potatoes.

• 7 to 8 medium Organic potatoes - yes ORGANIC. You keep asking why it tastes so good, well that is a BIG part of the reason.
• Organic Whole or semi skimmed milk. Don't even think about skimmed milk for this recipe. 
• Organic Cream or butter. Depends on how creamy you want it. It's winter, knock yourself out.
• Salt & Pepper

1. Thoroughly wash the potatoes. I do not peel them as I find the mash has a watery taste if I do.
2. Put in a pot with salt, cover with water. 
3. Cook until they are very tender. Pierce them with a knife. If it goes through easily, they are done.
4. Once cooked, drain them.
5. If you like your mash rustic, leave the skin on and mash them with a fork. If you want it looking all grown up, peel the potatoes and mash them with a food mill.
6. Once mashed, add 50ml of warm milk, a good knob of butter and the CREAM. It goes without saying that the more cream you put in, the silkier is the mash. It's not a time to worry about waistlines here. But if you do, skip the cream and add more milk. The amount depends on the consistency you are looking for.

Bon Ap!