A glass of celebratory bubbly
A woodlands board of homemade flat bread, smoked salmon, parma ham, cheese and
preserves
Roast pork belly with a chilli peanut sauce
Chicken & peach salad with orange blossom Aioli
Potato & chimichurri salad
Simple exotic tomato salad
Crème brûlée for a crowd
Chocolate truffles
Crafts & Table: A rustic woodlands Christmas, beautiful butter, festive dessert
presentation
Festively fabulous recipe index
500g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
500g yoghurt
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Place the ingredients in a food processor and whizz until a dough ball forms
Place the dough on a floured surface and knead to bring it together and roll into a sausage shape
Divide into 12 pieces and roll each piece out. Stack between paper until ready to fry
Fry on a very hot non-stick pan with oil or griddled pan for just under 2 minutes a side or until browned on each
side
Serve with a selection of deli toppings and preserves of your choice such as smoked salmon, cream cheese, caper
berries, figs, preserved ginger, parma ham, pecorino or parmesan, honeycomb, goats cheese, olives, sun dried tomatoes
and blue cheese.
A Rustic Christmas COOK 2013
FLATBREAD (12)
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PORK BELLY WITH CHILLI PEANUT SAUCE (8-10)
2x 1kg pork belly
2 cups of liquid –Savannah, Appletiser or ginger beer
2 whole apples sliced
1. Score the rind with a crafters/Stanley knife or a sharp knife into a large crisscross pattern. Rub sea salt or lots of
Maldon salt into the grooves.
2. Place the apple on a non-stick mat on a baking tray, add liquid and place the pork on top
3. Roast at 140 ˚C for 3 hours, topping up liquid if necessary
4. Remove pork, turn the heat up to 200 ˚C, remove the rind and place on another rack
5. Mix some brown sugar with a bit of the little remaining liquid and glaze the fat
6. Place the pork and the rind back in the oven and roast for another 20-30 minutes or until golden brown
Sauce
2 tablespoons oil
3 garlic cloves chopped or a good size teaspoon of crushed garlic
½ to 1 teaspoon Chinese chilli or chilli of your choice
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice (optional-don’t buy a bottle for only a teaspoon)
60 ml peanut butter
80ml hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup coconut cream
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1. Heat oil and fry garlic and chilli
2. Whisk as much coconut cream as you like to reach the desired consistency. Water can also be added instead of
coconut milk. This can also be cooled down and used as a salad dressing.
SIMPLE EXOTIC TOMATO SALAD (12-16)
2-3 punnets of mixed baby tomatoes (like Woolworth’s exotic tomatoes) halved
Combine the dressing ingredients and when ready to serve pour over the tomatoes. Serve in a glass bowl or Hurricane
vase.
COOK’S Notes: You can also serve these tomatoes with: 1 tub of bocconcini balls or buffalo mozzarella torn,
on a bed of cooked fine French beans or asparagus, in little phyllo cups (made in a muffin pan) or scooped into baby gem
lettuce leaves.
A Rustic Christmas COOK 2013
Dressing
1 bunch of purple salad spring onions, sliced
60ml olive oil
60ml white balsamic vinegar
60ml honey
1 teaspoon maldon salt
Fresh herbs of your choice-fresh basil or some chopped mint and basil , thyme or oregano
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POTATO AND CHIMICHURRI SALAD (12)
2 packets (700g each) baby/Mediterranean /Pink Fir potatoes, boiled and then halved while warm
Dressing
1 punnet of Italian parsley 30g
6 garlic cloves
¾ cup olive oil (or more if it looks to dry)
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Maldon salt
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon honey or 2 teaspoon sugar
½ punnet salad onions/ ¼ cup thinly sliced spring onions
Optional : 1 tablespoon capers or some caper berries to garnish
Blend the garlic and parsley and add the oil and vinegar
Add paprika, salt, honey and then add the spring onions and combine
Pour dressing over the warm potatoes and toss
COOK’S Notes:For a festive fillet coat a fillet with some of the sauce, roast in the oven for 1 hour at 150 ˚C, slice and
serve with remaining sauce.
CHICKEN AND PEACH SALAD WITH ORANGE BLOSSOM AIOLI (8)
Baby lettuce leaves of your choice
1 roasted chicken, boned and skinned, flaked, with the breast cut into slices
8 small peaches segmented (you can also use fresh figs instead)
Soft cheese such as Labneh or Danish feta
1/3 packet Woolies new dry roasted salty caramel peanuts, bashed slightly
Place all the ingredients except the oil and orange juice in a blender and blitz until combined. Add oil slowly until thick and
creamy.
Squeeze in orange juice until the correct consistency is obtained.
CRÈME BRÛLÉE FOR A CROWD (12-16)
5 x250ml tubs of cream
5-6 pumps of NoMu or Woolworth’s vanilla paste
16 extra-large free-range egg yolks
½ cup castor sugar
3 tablespoons mazeina
A Rustic Christmas COOK 2013
Aioli
1 extra- large free range egg
1 orange
1 teaspoon of the orange rind
½ teaspoon orange blossom essence
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sunflower oil
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1 cup or more castor sugar for caramel
1. In a large heavy bottomed pot (like a pressure cooker pot), heat the cream and the vanilla paste until just before
boiling point. Combine the mazeina with a little water and add to the cream, stir until thickened
2. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy
3. Remove from heat and slowly add the egg mixture into the pot of cream while whisking
4. Place the pot back on the heat and stir continuously for 10 minutes-iIt takes me 10 minutes on the small gas burner.
5. The custard will darken slightly and reduce by almost a half. When it becomes very thick, remove from the stove and
leave for 10 minutes to ensure it has split. If not pop it back on the heat.
6. Scoop a bit of the excess oil and discard.
7. Place the mixture in a food processor and blend for a while, until its smooth and creamy. Cool for 5 minutes and
repeat.
8. Pour into a glass bowl and cover with cling wrap
9. Refrigerate. A wide flat bowl will take 2 hours a tall vase will take about 4 hours.
10. Heat the sugar in a pot stirring only occasionally until it melts to caramel
11. Remove from heat and pour thinly onto a non-stick mat
12. Wait for 2 minutes to cool and then beak the caramel into small shards
13. Serve with berries and shards of caramel
CHOCOATE TRUFFLES (12-15)
225g dark chocolate (50%)
100ml cream
Icing sugar
Melt the chocolate and cream together gently and allow to cool slightly in the fridge. Use a heaped teaspoon or melon
baller and roll in your palms to create a ball. Dust with icing sugar, roll again until smooth and store in fridge until needed.
Serving suggestions
Roll the truffels in cocoa powder and decorate with a gold or silver leaf (Kadies in Fourways)
Insert a cinnamon stick or a porcupine stick to serve, or dust with gold glitter
Hessian: Available at Nursery’s or Chamdor
Burlpap placemats R29 Mr Price
Trees-on sale from @ Home last year (from R799 reduced to R199)
Tree chalkboard stars R50 for 10 Santos Parkhurst
Brown bottles R6.90 Consol
Wooden boards R300 Babylonstoren
Wooden hearts Santos Greensode R60-R88
Pinecones, leaves and sticks from outside
Buck head Typo R250
Brown paper, doilies, string Wespack –Doilies also available at In Good Company and Typ
Crackers made from old newspaper and twine
Chocolates, caramels and nougat Woolworths, served in tuna tins layered with brown paper or on boards
Craft sticks Baking Bitz Randburg R24 for 12
Hessian flowers Baking Bitz Randburg R15 each
Christmas wreath Wespack R9-add photos and star pegs
Christmas bunting: string, pegs, photos, socks filled with greenery, porcupine quills and sticks
Stamp stickers party shop at Rock Cottage (R50)
Glass dome R78 and Cake stand R270 Fanel Glass
Rolling pin covered with Hessian, small pine cone, string and Christmas tag
Wands and straws In Good Company
A Rustic Christmas COOK 2013
A WOODLANDS CHRISTMAS TABLE
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Printables
Go to www.cookstudio.co.za under festive
Beautiful butter
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Make star and tree shapes from butter with cookie cutters
Sprinkle gold glitter onto the star shapes
Decorate squares of butter with gold leaf, twigs, leaves or stars
Cut squares of greaseproof paper and wrap a square of butter up like a toffee
Coat the butter squares or balls with fresh edible flowers
OTHER FABULOUS AND FAMOUS FESTIVE COOK DISHES
For recipe access, just purchase a COOK file for R140 and print all the old notes
If you have purchased a file please take an extra set of complimentary inserts
Starters
Spicy tomato shots with cooling yoghurt (Birthdays and Book clubs)
Festive phyllo and camembert parcel (Christmas cheer)
Goat’s cheese bruschetta with a strawberry & basil salsa (an African Christmas)
Oven baked Prawns with feta and sundried tomato (keep calm it’s only Christmas)
Baked Danish feta serves with crusty bread (Mamma Mia-different takes on Greek salad)
Sides
Roast butternut salad with an Asian dressing (Winter warmers and comforts)
Fresh cherry couscous salad (an African Christmas)
Strawberry and poppy seed salad (Spring into shape)
Bean and mango salad with honey mustard dressing (an African Christmas)
Rainbow rice salad ( Walking on sunshine)
Butternut and avocado salad with an onion, coriander and mint dressing (an African Christmas)
Red winter slaw with caramelised macadamia nuts, papaya with an orange and maple dressing (Chocolate & Orange)
Halloumi, corn and red pepper salad (Down the Garden path)
Crunchy pecan and carrot salad (Down the Garden path)
Avocado and parmesan salad with a strawberry and olive relish (Keep calm it’s only Christmas)
Desserts
Star studded raspberry ripple shots (Keep calm it’s only Christmas)
Boozy nougat trifle-with boiled condensedmilk & Sally Williams liqueur (Christmas with Cook)
Chocolate celebration torte with gold chuckles (Christmas Cheer)
Double cheese Italian dream dessert with a caramel toffee drizzle ( Delizioso)
Gold dusted berry pavlova (an African Christmas)
Condensedmilk ice-cream with silly sprinkles (Down the Garden path)
Pasteis de nata (around the world in 2 hours)
Cheats Ferrero Rochers (Chocolate and Orange -under crafts)
A Rustic Christmas COOK 2013
Mains
Slow cooked balsamic beef fillet (Christmas with Cook)
Glazed salmon with wasabi and ginger Aoli (an African Christmas)
Sticky Asian roast pork neck (Fireside fare)
Honey glazed gammon with a sweet mustard sauce (Christmas with Cook)
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