It's been an extraordinarily busy week, hence my lack of posts. I won't bore you with all the mundane stuff, but it has been a full but very good week.
So as a result I was a few days late bottling my Christmas pudding vodka. Oh well, a few extra days steeping can't hurt.
So the unpromising brown liquid, still has a rather unpromising look, but in actual fact it is absolutely delicious! Very Christmassy and very tasty indeed.
I have 2 bottles for presents and a small half bottle for ME.
I will decorate the bottles somehow before Christmas, to make it look as good as it tastes.
As promised, with the steeped fruit residue, I made Chirstmas Mincemeat, to use as filling for all my mince pies and anything else I can think of.
I made this in the slow cooker, because I didn't really fancy having the oven on for 3 hours just for that. It works perfectly in the slow cooker and really doesn't cost much to run.
All the steeped fruit went in, with some soft brown sugar, suet, orange and lemon juice (I had this frozen already from when I used the zest for the vodka), some almonds, spices and a chopped up bramley apple. I then had this on high in the slow cooker for an hour, then on low for 2 hours, stirring every half hour or so. When it was finished I left it to go cold in the slow cooker and then added a couple of tablespoons of rum. This went into 4 sterilised jars, 2 large and 2 regular.
It smells wonderful (OK, it tastes wonderful, couldn't resist a little taste). I now HAVE to perfect my pastry to make the most of this mincemeat in my mince pies. I have had some good tips from all of you, in your comments for the last few posts, so I will be making use of those, thank you all.
Those jars of mincemeat look delicious. I`m sure you will find a suitable pastry recipe to utilize. Home made mince pies are also on my Christmas to do list. All my ingredients have been prepared and my pastry sits in the freezer until needed.
ReplyDeleteTry Delia for pastry, look at her website. Or, do what I do... buy it ready made! I know it's cheating but I'm just too busy to make it at the moment, and I know it works! Also, if you like sausage rolls, check Delia's Christmas recipe out. Make them now and pop them in the freezer so you can cook them from frozen as and when you need them. Again, I cheated and used ready made puff pastry and there are now about 100 in the freezer - I make them for my daughter, daughter-in-law and I keep some here. These are the best sausage rolls I have ever tasted, cooked a few last night just for quality control, the plate was empty by lunchtime today as hubby polished them off with his home made soup.
ReplyDeleteDecoration idea: Get some glitter glue (you can get 3 bottles for £1 in Poundland) and trace intricate patterns on the bottles. Just swirls, or maybe snowflakes if you're feeling creative. It'll jazz up the bottle and look nice afterwards, although I think it would wash off if they spilled too much vodka down it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I make by pastry by hand, if you have a food processor it is supposed to be very simply. Put in the flour and fat, whizz until breadcrumb stage then drizzle in water until it forms a ball. As soon as it starts to form, stop adding water. Carefully remove, wrap in cling film and put in fridge for 1/2 an hour to chill out. Then roll out and use. You can miss out the fridge step if you feel the pastry will be usable. I also exchange a couple of tablespoons of plain flour for S.R, it never fails and you can re-roll and re-roll it!
ReplyDeleteHow long did you steep the vodka for in total - was it a week? I really want to make this - I woke up the other day in a panic convinced it was a week before chrimble and running through my head was 'but I haven't made my christmas pudding vodka yet'!! If I make it please can I blog your recipe; with suitable credit of course?
ReplyDeleteI steeped it for a week in the end, but that was because I was busy, it actually only needed steeping for 3 days. Of course you can blog the recipe! I hope you make it and enjoy it.
DeleteI have to say, I love this blog.
ReplyDeleteI have copied down your recipes for your christmas pudding vodka and mincemeat and fully intend to use them this week.
Thank you
Ohh I've heard of this, I sounds so lovely. I made spiced vodka this year for gifts, and its delicious! like a orange limoncello. Thanks for commenting on my blog. The Ana Mum Diary x
ReplyDeleteExcuse my ignorance, but how is the flavored vodka used? Do you drink it straight or is it used in mixed drinks?
ReplyDeleteDrink it straight in very small servings!
DeleteOk! I'm sure it's delicious.
ReplyDelete