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| Dark & Mint Lindor Balls |
"Even as an adult I find it difficult to sleep on Christmas Eve. Yuletide excitement is a potent caffeine, no matter your age."
- Terri Guillemets
I can't actually remember much of Christmas Eve as I write this entry on Friday 28th December. It was a bit of a nothing day I suspect. I can remember going to work and I can remember the Marketing Manager asking rhetorically on a number of occasions, "Why the hell are we here Jess?" and frankly, I could see her point. It was quiet and boring in the office with half the staff away already enjoying their holidays.
I do remember that I had to enter an incident for my offsider which always takes the better part of a day anyway and I remember texting Mr Smart from the supermarket on my way back from the bank while I bought things for Christmas Day and having him add orange juice to the shopping list, but beyond that it was a relatively dull day deserving only a place in obscurity. I shall make up for such dullness now by including the recipes for both Broccoli Salad and Icecream Christmas Pudding and a special Guest Blog on Gingerbread Creativity by Mum to swiftly follow!
Broccoli Salad (Make this the night before)
2 or 3 heads of broccoli cut into small pieces (do not use the bulk of the stalk)
1 cup of creamy mayonnaise (I prefer S&W Whole Egg, Best Foods is good too)
170g packet of Ocean Spray Craisins (dried cranberries)
1 cup of fried bacon pieces
1 cup of grated cheese
I usually cut up broccoli first then toss the cheese and cranberries in and mix gently, then add the mayonnaise and stir thoroughly until everything is coated, then add and mix in the slightly cooled bacon pieces. I should mention that my 'cups' are pretty generous too.
Cover with Gladwrap and keep in the fridge until serving. Making it overnight allows the raw broccoli to soften slightly and the flavours to mingle.
If you want to, you can use slices of the broccoli stalk to make cut out shapes to garnish the top. I have a mini star-shaped cookie cutter which I use to do this. You can also sprinkle pine nuts on top at the last minute before serving but I rarely do this. Slivered almonds would work too.
Icecream Christmas Pudding (Make this the night before too)
150ml milk
125g marshmallows
1 heaped teaspoon of instant coffee
1 heaped teaspoon of cocoa powder
50ml Drambuie (or sherry, or rum, or Cointreau etc.)
300g of dried fruit and nuts*
300ml thickened cream
1 heaped dessertspoonful of icing sugar
Put the milk, marshmallows, coffee and cocoa into a saucepan and heat gently until melted (don't let it boil and keep stirring it especially if you have an electric stovetop like me). Allow the mixture to cool. Mix the dried fruit and nuts with the Drambuie (or other liquor), stand for at least half an hour so the liquor soaks in and then add in the cooled milk/marshmallow mixture and stir through. Freeze that for a little bit so that it thickens up while you whip the cream. Put the thickened cream and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the fruit/nut/milk/mallow squishyness then freeze the whole lot in a pudding-shaped basin** overnight.
To turn out, carefully run warm water over the outside of the pudding-shaped basin until it melts itself free. Decorate as desired and I recommend cutting it with an electric knife.
*You can use any combination of dried fruit and nuts that you like but I use sultanas, currants, raisins, red and green glace cherries, almonds and Brazil nuts. The nuts need a rough chop or finer if you don't like chunks. You can also add extra mini-marshmallows just after you've folded the whipped cream in before freezing.
**If you don't have a pudding-basin the old-style green Tupperware lettuce storer with lid (minus the lettuce spike) is what I (and Mum) use.
So there you go, hope you all enjoy making them and eating them as much as I do!
Tonight's dinner was, I am almost ashamed to admit it, Domino's Pizza. Almost the lowest of the low excepting Pizza Hut. I had already decided on pizza for dinner but I rang my normal pizza place, Wanda Pizza, and found it was closed for the holidays until mid-January! I had a real junk foody pig out and watched the rest of the Muppet Christmas Movie which I'd started almost a week prior. Despite groaning inwardly about the number of unnecessary calories I was willingly consuming, I enjoyed having a quiet evening and allowing myself a night off from worrying about the state of the house and getting ready for Christmases.
Today's food was:
- Breakfast was a Ham & Cheese Danish Square from Baker's Delight.
- Lunch was a Bento Box from Sushi Sushi with a little Japanese mayonnaise.
- Afternoon snacks, spread across the afternoon, were three chocolate chip cookies, a Lindt hazelnut praline chocolate, about a third of a tin of BBQ Pringles and seven Diamond Creek chocolates.
- Dinner was three-quarters of a large BBQ Pork Meatlovers pizza, a half serve of Cheesy Garlic Bread, a serve of Cheesy Bites, two small tubs of Ranch Dipping Sauce and a serve of Cinni-Bites for desserts. Carb overload!
- Today's advent calendar Lindor Balls were dark chocolate and mint-flavoured milk chocolate.
Tomorrow is going to be the quietest Christmas I think I have ever experienced but I am really looking forward to it. Just me, Mr Smart, Mr Smart Snr and Pizza Cat.
Jess
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