Christmas Leftovers - Fruit Mince

Whenever I think of Christmas, one of the first things that pop into my head is fruit mince tarts. I absolutely adore the combination of unsweetened short pastry with super sweet fruit served with a little dollop of cream.

I must admit, as I am getting older, the fruit mince that we purchase from the supermarket (Robertson’s) tastes more sickly sweet than super sweet. This year we mixed in equal amounts of Sunbeam mixed fruit.

This meant that we had more fruit mince than pastry! What a shame, into the toastie maker it went! I will not claim that a fruit mince toastie comes close to the taste of a fruit mince tart. It is different, but when served with ice cream it is a nice alternative. Perhaps this is a good alternative (sans ice cream) for those in a diet (assuming you do not butter your bread).

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Christmas Leftovers - Turkey, Cranberry & Brie

Sometimes I wonder why my family continues the tradition of a roasted Christmas dinner when it is the middle of summer, when some of my friends opt for a barbeque and cold salads. I must admit Christmas is the only time of the year that I eat turkey, so I do look forward to it.

To make life easier and the house a little cooler, mum roasts her turkey the night before and serves it cold with roasted vegetables. The thinly cut turkey is quickly warmed by boiling hot gravy, so we hardly notice that the bird was cooked long before the vegetables.

Cranberries are something that I discovered later in life. When I was growing up, cranberry sauce the traditional accompaniment to turkey was gravy, not cranberry sauce. I discovered cranberries when I was studying at university. One of the rolls served at the café was turkey, brie and cranberry. This roll was always a good backup when I arrived late for lunch and all of the BLTs had sold out.

I could not think of a better way to start the Christmas season, then with a turkey, brie & cranberry toastie. To be honest, I think I prefer the unheated roll version of this mix to the toasted sandwich version. I think the brie tastes better when it is firm (i.e room temperature), rather than when it is boiling hot and dripping everywhere.

Theme: Christmas Leftovers

Each year, I like to create an edible
centerpiece for my boyfriend’s family
Christmas get together.

So long November, welcome December! December is my favourite month of the year, not only is it a break from tuna toasties, but there is plenty of occasions to celebrate: Christmas, New Year and my birthday! This is going to be a very busy month. The period leading up to Christmas is always the busiest.

This is the time of the year when I become most active in the kitchen. Christmas time is all about cookies and chocolates, both of which I enjoy making (especially centerpieces for my boyfriends family Christmas gathering). Unfortunately, every day cooking falls by the wayside and I must admit we end up eating more than a few toasties. Thankfully, Christmas time provides a large and varied array of potential toasted sandwich fillings.

What a tasty toastie month this will be! Bring on the Christmas inspired toasties!

I wish you all safe and happy holidays!