Foods to Die For: Christmas Pudding (England)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Christmas Pudding (England)

      Over the past five years that I have catered parties independently I have come across one thing which I swore I would never attempt to make again while in a time crunch. This dish was Christmas pudding. To be fair it didn't have anything to do with the dessert itself, if made properly the dessert is a very rich way to end a good meal. But the first time I attempted to make the dessert I had once again bitten off more then I could chew.  The week before I was to cater the party is was working as the master electrician for a Christmas show which had me spending all of my time at the theatre and game me only about 5 hours to sleep every night, making it very hard to prepare anything. To make matters worse my obsessive compulsive client, who will remain nameless, had asked for a dish I had never attempted let alone perfected... Christmas Pudding.
      The recipe she had requested I use was the old way of preparing Christmas Pudding, which I will explain in just a bit, and require the use of suet, something else I will explain in just a moment. I had my pumpkin cognac cheesecake, a mass amount of sugar cookies, black forest cake, and a tower of cake truffles. And in the center off all these beautiful desserts was my first Christmas pudding, which had split in half when unfolded. Luckily with some powdered sugar no one had noticed my flop, but what my client did notice was that I did not flambe the thing during the course of the night. Something which she had wanted very much for the ascetic appeal.
      Now that I have grown from this experience the recipe I use it a bit different from the classic. But enough about horror stories from holidays past. The Christmas Pudding is the last of the suet puddings that still are actually made in England. The concoction uses bread crumbs and a variety of different dried fruits to create a cake like dessert which was originally made in a molded pan and flavored with chopped suet.
      For those of you asking yourself what the heck suet is, it is the fat extracted from kidneys. Usually beef kidneys. This is most likely more modern recipes from trend setting ladies like Betty Crocker do not call for suet as telling people that kidney fat is in your dessert tends to turn the stomach.
      The use of alcohol to flambe the dish was not introduced until 1714 when King George I brought the dish back to England after a very long Protestant ban on the dish. His kitchen staff was actually primarily French and they could not resist giving the dessert a bit of the famous French flair. George love it so much that it just stuck.
       The recipe I use now is what my one friend calls, a Caribbean Christmas pudding as I changed the liquor from brandy to dark rum and use panko bread crumbs (Asian coconut bread crumbs). If you really want an eye pleasing presentation at your Christmas dinner make this dish and flambe it, just make sure that you do so with a very long match.

Light Christmas Pudding

1 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup candied orange peel (recipe follows), finely chopped

1 cup maraschino cherries, finely chopped

1/2 cup dried currants

1/3 cup dark rum, plus extra if you intend to flambe the pudding

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon dried ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons lime zest

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

1 cup heavy cream

In a medium bowl combine the 1/2 cup rum and the dried fruits and orange peel. Allow to sit in the rum for about a half an hour giving a light toss every often.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and the spices. Stir in the lime zest and set aside. Cream together the butter and the brown sugar until it is very smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the bread crumbs mix well, and then add in the flour mixture. Fold in the rum soaked fruits and the the cream. Mix until well combined.

In a very wide stock pot or dutch oven pour about an inch of water into the pan and bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile heavily grease a 6 cup souffle pan and pour the batter into the souffle dish. Place either a trivet or a set of three inverted Ramekins into the pan of water.

Adjust the temperature on the stove so that you get a nice gentle boil going, place the souffle dish onto the trivet/ramekins. Cover the pot and steam, check about every 45 minutes so that you can replace the water if need be. Cook until the mixture has cooked through he center and risen slightly in the center. This should take about 3 hours.

Remove the pudding from the pot and allow it to cool. Invert the pudding onto your intended serving plate. Warm about an extra 4 tablespoons of rum in the microwave and pour over the pudding, ignite it with a long match and allow the flames to die down. Serve when the flames have died out with a dollop of whipped cream. Refrigerate all leftovers.

Serves 10-12

Candied Orange Peel

3 firm, ripe oranges

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Using a a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler, remove the orange peel making sure to leave behind the white pith. Use a knife to cut the peel into this strips and place the strips into a saucepan. Cover the orange peels with cold water, bring the water to a boil and drain. Rinse the peel under cold running water for a few minutes.

Return the peel to the saucepan with the sugar and water and cook until the peel is bright and shiny with no liquid remaining at the bottom of the pan. Spread the candied peel on a prepared aluminum foil covered cookie sheet. Allow to cool, making sure to separate the peel so that the strips do not stick together. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes 1 cup of candied peel

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Dictionary of Cooking Terms

Al Dente: Italian meaning 'to the tooth' used to describe pasta or other food that is cook only until it is tender but not yet soft.
Baste: to spoon or brush food as it cooks with melted butter or other fat, meat drippings, or liquid (try a small amount of wine).
Beat: Making a mixture smooth by adding air from a stiff stirring motion with a wooden spoon, spatuala, or electric mixture.
Blanch: To plunch a fruit or vegetable into hot water for a short time, then into cold water to stop the cooking process. Used to cook vegetables while keeping the color. Great to loosen skin from fruits and vegetables.
Blend: To mix two or more ingredients with a spoon, fork, or spatula just until combined
Boil: Heating a liquid until it begins to reach a consistent boil.
Braise: Cooking teqhnique to where food is first browned in fat, then cooked on a low heat covered in a small amount of liquid. first done on the range then finished on the range or in the oven.
Bread:to coat food in a type of carbohydrate. Usually done by first coating in a liquid then coating in a type of breading (bread, crumbs, or crackers).
Broil: to cook food directly over or under a heat source with no covering.
Candied: To either cook in a sugar or a sugar syrup. Either the syrup is poured over the food or it is cooked in the syrup until translucent.
Carmelize: To melt sugar over low heat until it browns. This term can apply to the cooking of meats as well with you are creating a thick brown coating to the meat.
Chill: to cover and place in the refrigerator in order to reduce the temperature.
Chop: to use a knife or cleaver to cut food into small pieces. When chopping food the pieces should be larger and more course then minced food.
Cool: to remove from a heat source and allow to come down to room temperature.
Cream: to beat until a mixture is soft and smooth. When applied to mixing a fat, such as butter or shortening, and a sugar you should mix until fluffy.
Curdle: Most commonly occurs in milk based sauces and in some egg products. It is when the Curds(the lumps most commonly associated with spoiled milk) seperate from the Whey (the liquid). Usually trigured by heat.
Cut In: a term used when you mix shortening with flour. Usually done with a pastry blender or two knives. Cutting continues until the mixture reaches the "Small Peas" phase.
Dash: adding an ingredient that is less than 1/8th of a teaspoon. Usually can be measured with a small amount of the ingredient in the palm.
De-Glaze: Done after cooking in a pan and fat has been removed. Liquid is added to the pan and heated while stirring to remove the brown bits and possibly create a base for a sauce.
Dice: to cut food into small uniform cubes.
Dredge: to lightley coat food which will later be fried. First dredge in a liquid then in crumbs, this process may be repeated for a better coating.
Egg Wash: Brushing a pastry with either a whole egg, egg white, or egg mixed with water or milk. Usually done to give better appeal.
Flambe: To add liquor to foods and set ablaze with with a long match or flame from a gas range.
Fold: A technique used to gently combine a light, airy mixture (such as egg whites, or heavy cream) into a heavier mixture.
Fry: A generic term used when cooking food in hot fat over medium to high heat. If "Pan Frying" a shallow layer of fat is added to the pan and the food is not fully emersed in the fat. If "Deep Frying" then the food is completely submerged in the hot fat to cook.
Garnish: An edible decoration given to finished dishes.
Glaze:A mixture applied to food which hardens or becomes firm and adds flavor and a glossy appearance.
Grate: To rub a food item on a grater that separates the food into very fine particles.
Grease: To rub the bottom and sides of a pan with butter, shortening, cooking spray, or oil.
Grill: To prepare food on a grill over some form of heat source. Usually hot coals, gas flame, or wood.
Knead: To work dough with the heal of the hand pushing down against the dough and then folding.
Marinate:To allow a food to stand in a liquid to tenderize or add flavor.
Mince: to cut food into very small pieces. When mincing food the pieces sould be larger than a long grain of rice but smaller than a dime.
Poach: To cook food in hot liquid just below boiling point, being careful that the food holds its shape while cooking.
Puree: To process foods to a smooth mixture in a blender, food processor, food mill, or sieve.
Reduce: To boil a liquid until the volume has "reduced" by evaporation, which thickens the consistency of the liquid and amplifies the flavor.
Render: To melt animal fat (ie bacon) over low heat to separate it from any meat. The remains are called cracklings (named for the sound made by when chopping the remains)
Roast: To cook uncovered without any added liquid. Usually done in an oven.
Roux: A mixture of flour and fat which, after being cooked slowly, is added to soups, stew, chowders and sauces to thicken.
Saute: To cook food quickly in a small amount of fat in a skillet or saute pan over direct heat.
Scald: to bring to a temperature just below the boiling point where tiny bubbles form at the edge of the pan.
Scallop: To bake food, usually in a casserole, with sauce or other liquid. A crunchy topping is usually added during the end of the baking process.
Score: To cut narrow grooves into the skin of some sort of meat.
Sear: To brown the surface of the meat very quickly with intense heat.
Shred: To tear the food narrow strips either by hand or by the use of a machine or tool.
Sift: To pass dry dingredients through a fine mesh sifter so any large pieces can be removed. This process also adds air to the ingredients.
Simmer: To cook food genly in a liquid on a heat low enough that only tiny bubbles begin to form.
Skewer: A long thin pointed rod that comes in various sizes. Used to hold the food in place during the cooking process.
Skim: To remove fat or foam from surface of liquid with a spoon.
Soften: To let cold butter, cream cheese, etc stand at room temperature until it reaches a soft consistency.
Soft Peaks: To beat egg whites or whipping cream till peaks are formed when beaters are lifted, but the tips still curl over.
Steam:To cook in a small amount of water in order for steam to form and cook the food lightly. More water may be added when all the original water has evaporated.
Steep: To extract color, flavor, or other qualities from a substance by leaving it in liquid just below the boiling point.
Stew: To simmer slowly in a small amount of liquid
Stiff Peaks: To beat egg whites or whipping cream until the peaks stand straigh when beaters are lifted, but are still moist and glossy.
Stir Fry: A Chinese method of cooking diced food in a small amount of hot oil over high heat, stiring consitently
Toss: To turn pieces of food over multiple times in order to mix the ingredients together.
Truss: A method which allows food (mainly poultry) to hold its shape during the cooking process. This is done with either cooking twine or bamboo skewers.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Christmas Pudding (England)

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