28.12.10

Do we have any marscapone?



said The Captain at 5.30pm on Christmas Day

"Of course we do!" Said The Mother Hen, somewhat indignant that her husband would call into question the contents of her Christmas larder.

The Mother Hen is Margot. Christmas comes in a van. Fast forward to 6 min 50 secs.

The marscapone was for the seafood dressing, an unusual and delicious inclusion from a recipe The Captain sourced.

Then The Other Miss Pickering delighted us with a Salted caramel chocolate tart. The recipe for which she has kindly given me. Be warned it is addictive, and you will need some strong espresso to go with.

Pastry
175g Plain flour
15g Icing sugar
90g Salted butter, chilled and cubed
1 Egg yolk

Filling
300g Golden caster sugar
250ml Double cream
200g Salted butter
150g Dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
¼ tsp Sea salt

Make the pastry,line a tart tin and bake blind.
Heat the sugar and a tablespoon of water in a pan and heat without stirring until it turns amber.
Add of the 200ml double cream, stir in 175g of the butter and simmer for a few minutes.
Pour into the pastry case and chill.
Melt the chocolate and remaining cream and butter in a pan, pour over the tart and sprinkle on the sea salt.
Chill for a few hours.

What of the turkey? Well, it is now residing in the freezer along with the bread sauce, 3 different types of stuffing, the pudding and various other accompaniments.

We will do Christmas when all family members are well and not residing in an Isolation ward. The importance of family has never been more prominent.

Like a court jester, The Hound raised spirits by donning a number of outfits. There are more.

4 comments:

Mother Hen said...

With very grateful thanks to all of you for the cooking and entertainment of older members whilst we were donning plastic aprons and latex gloves to enable us to visit the patient on Christmas Day. Pleased to report that I still managed to sport a very sparkly statement neck adornment which coordinated a treat. I feel that starters and dessert only on Christmas Day, coupled with copious amounts of champagne could be the way forward and my pantry with its' copious, varied contents is once again exonerated. You all laugh but Margot is amongst us! xxx

Anonymous said...

To be surrounded by those you love the most feeds the soul more satisyingly than any food can. In saying that it looked delicious and when times are hectic, the less is more approach, has to be the favoured one. I have a feeling Christmas will be coming to the Scholey home anytime soon, maybe at Spring house. As a final point, you can always rely on the hounds to show us how it really is.Latex gloves and statement necklaces? Are we back on the Jilly Cooper Mother Hen? Love to all and I hope things settle very soon. BTW copped that pud recipe, reckon even I would enjoy that one. Mrs T-J xxx

flwrjane said...

Both GG and I have you up on our computers, It's like BBc night here.

But we're wondering who is sick, are they getting better quickly, and is that tart soft or hard in the middle.

God, Americans can be so demanding.

xo Jane

Em said...

That sounds Delicious I must try that.
I was collecting my daughter from College the other day in Stamford and drove past the most quaint florist.
I though Mmm that's a very familiar name. It has just clicked, silly me. I must pop in one day, as it looks lovely, a real treat..x