Christmas Baking

Today I made my Christmas Puddings, as a family we have always had home made puddings, my mother in law used to make them and they were so much moister than any bought in the shops. So when we started doing our own Christmases I took over the making of them.
When the family was all here everyone had to have a stir and a Christmas wish, I still have a Christmas wish but now it is more in line with a prayer. I usually pray that everyone in my family and friends will have a joyous Christmas, that they will remember who's birthday we are celebrating and give thanks to God for Jesus.

I am a bit miffed because I forgot to take a photo of the mixture before it was cooked, it looked so scrumptious but I do have a photo of my cooked pudding all ready for Christmas Day





This year for the first time I have made my own mincemeat I had to buy the fruit for the puddings and there was so much of it over I thought that home made mincemeat would be a brilliant idea, hope it taste as good as it smells. I didn't have any brandy but I did have Calvados which is an apple brandy so used that instead. It is now sitting in my fridge maturing for a few days before I use it.

 I also made my Christmas Eve Cornish Pasties, another tradition in our family ever since we lived in Cornwall back in the 70's.These I have frozen uncooked because they are much nicer cooked on the day we eat them.

Here is my recipe

8oz shortcrust pastry

8oz Beef skirt

1 medium size potato

1 average sized onion

salt & pepper to taste

I make my own pastry but you can used ready made. If you make it yourself bag it and chill it for a while in the fridge before using.

While the pastry is chilling prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the skirt into small chunks approx size of a fingernail (not if you have long well shaped ones though lol) and add seasoning

Chop the potato into small chunks and put them into a saucepan with water to cover and bring to the boil. (you only need to do this if you are going to freeze the pasties before they are cooked)

Finely chop the onion.

Cut the pastry into 4 equal portions and roll each portion out into a circle approx 7" in diameter, you could cut this with a saucepan lid but I don't bother as it is fairly easy to get into shape as you fold it and crimp the edge.

place a quarter of the meat across one half of the pastry circle add a good handful of potato and finally onion.

Wet the edge of the pastry all round and bring the edges together over the mixture, slightly lifting the back half so that the seam will be up a little not flat with the surface.

Wet the edge again and start to fold in the seam to make a twist effect.

Cut into the front of the pasty to let steam escape. I usually cut an initial so everyone has their own special pasty. This is very useful for me nowadays as my daughter in law is a vegetarian and I do her a cheese, potato and onion pasty.