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Child Item

Make your own Christmas Prezzies!

Eviledna

Last year I made a number of food-related christmas gifts and they were a hit with everyone. I thought this year with all the doom and gloom we could get together and post some recipes for home-made food gifts that can be made cheaply and packaged well to make a load of lovely gifts.

So I'll start. Suggested rules are that you must figure out the overall cost (roughly), and make suggestions on how to package to preserve and make pretty/handsome

Last year I made Nigella Lawson's Chilli Jam [as suggested by the folks here] and it was a big hit.
Recipe:
Ingredients:

150g long fresh red chillies, each deseeded and cut into about 4 pieces.
150g red peppers, cored, deseeded and cut into rough chunks
1kg jam sugar
600ml cider vinegar
6 x 250ml sealable jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as Kilner jar or re-usable pickle jar

Method:

Sterilize your jars and leave to cool.
Put the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of red pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.
Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to the boil, then leave it at a rollicking boil for 10 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.
After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the hints of chilli and pepper start being suspended in it rather than floating on it), ladle into your jars. If you want to stir gently at this stage, it will do no harm. Then seal tightly.

Costs: Peppers and Chillis approx €4. Vinegar approx €3. Jam sugar: €2. 0.5L Kilner Jars 2.99 each in Atlantic Homecare (I bought 3). Packaging: simple gold ribbon/gift tag curled up and tied in a bow: €2 in euro2 shops.

Overall cost of pretty chilli jam gifts for 3 people: €19.99 or €6.66 each.
Costs can be lowered if you use non-kilner jars, but recycle old jam/coffee jars. The kilner jars add to the present as a storage jar for afters!

Any takers?

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namurt

trackguy wrote: »

Got started on my presents for this year.

I'm making chilli jam, pomegranate vodka, tomato ketchup, mulled pears, rhubarb pear and ginger jam, cranberry and apple chutney, lemon curd, mango chutney and apple, cider and sage jelly.

Hi Trackguy. That jelly sounds lovely, will definitely give it a try. Do you have the recipe for the rhubarb, pear and ginger jam? Also, what are the mulled pears like?

shinikins

This year I'll be making the Lemon Curd again, and Chili jam(I hadn't enough vinegar last year, and substituted with some Balsamic and the result was gorgeous!) I've been surfing around my favourite sites and have come across Peppermint Patties, Peanutbutter Cups(nom), and Sweet and salted Roast Chickpea's.

Looking forward to Christmas!!

baby and crumble

On the money saving thing, I saw really nice jars downstairs in Kitchen Compliments off Grafton St when I was hunting for a few bits yesterday. They were pretty, smaller than the massive jars you end up getting mayo in or whatever, and less that €2.50 each. Your yield would go a longer way, but the jars still look really pretty.

They're also running free demonstrations the nest few weekends on cake decorating and cooking Christmas presents. Just an FYI.

ballymac676

A friend gave me a big bag of cherry tomatoes yesterday and I was wondering what to do with them. Googled recipes of tomato chutney didn't have great reviews but problem now solved with the tomato ketchup recipe. So thanks for that

I made the beetroot chutney and it is very very good would recommend it to everyone but alas my lemon curd was a disaster. Not sure what I did wrong but think I will have to give this a miss in future!

Eviledna

The microwave fudge earlier in the thread is a great twenty minute treat if you're stuck for time

Live your dreams!:p

leahyl

Eviledna wrote: »

I'm the OP, but I gotta say that this thread only exists because of everyones great attitude on this forum over the years. Back in 2009 I got the Chilli Jam recipe here along with many others, and it's the contributions to this thread that have made it brilliant. A real diverse range of treats!:)

It's fairly rare on the net to have a thread that has not been sp@mmed or tr0lled at all, that's simply a group of people coming together to make nice things as gifts and share ideas, out of kindness. Tis the wonder of boards, and of the Cooking and Recipes forum ethos in general.

Back on topic, this thread originally had a cost-saving aspect, where to source ingredients cheaply, so as to help everyone save in these hard times. So if anyone feels like it, please recommend places to get the ingredients for their recipes, and the prices.

For the florentines above I'd recommend getting Dark Chocolate from lidl for less than €2, and pistachios and almonds from aldi for ~€4.

Well done to you and everyone on a great thread! I might not actually get to make anything but I can dream:)

MonGal

I love this thread! I made mango and apple chutney last year and have already received requests for more this year - it's particularly tasty with leftover turkey! The recipe is from BBC Good Food...I buy my mangoes/apples and as much of the other ingredients I can in aldi, to keep the cost down! this recipe makes approx 4 jam jars of chutney..

Ingredients
3 1⁄4 large ripe mangoes , about 1kg/21⁄4lb
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 onions , halved and thinly sliced
thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger , peeled and cut into thin shreds
10 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds , lightly crushed
¼ tsp black onion seeds (Nigella or Kalonji are good)
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 Bramley apples , about 500g/1lb 2oz, peeled, cored and chopped
1 large red chilli , deseeded and finely sliced
375ml white wine vinegar
400g golden caster sugar
1 tsp salt

Method:
1. Cut each mango in half down the sides of the flat stone that runs through the centre of the fruit, so that you end up with 2 fleshy halves. Now take each mango half and cut into the flesh, making quite chunky diagonal pieces - take care not to cut through the skin. Turn each half inside out, then slice away the chunks of mango that stand proud from the skin. Cut the flesh from around the stones, trim off the skin and chop the flesh.
Heat the oil in a large, deep sauté pan, add the onion and fry for a few mins until starting to soften. Stir in the ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for about 8-10 mins until the onion is golden. Stir in all of the spices, except the turmeric, and fry until toasted.

2. Stir in the turmeric, add the apple and pour in 500ml water, then cover the pan and cook for 10 mins. Stir in the mango and chilli, then cover and cook for 20 mins more until the apple is pulpy and the mango is tender.

3. Pour in the vinegar, stir in the sugar and salt, then leave to simmer uncovered for 30 mins, stirring frequently (especially towards the end of the cooking time so that it doesn't stick) until the mixture is pulpy rather than watery. Spoon into sterilised jars.

Eviledna

I'm the OP, but I gotta say that this thread only exists because of everyones great attitude on this forum over the years. Back in 2009 I got the Chilli Jam recipe here along with many others, and it's the contributions to this thread that have made it brilliant. A real diverse range of treats!:)

It's fairly rare on the net to have a thread that has not been sp@mmed or tr0lled at all, that's simply a group of people coming together to make nice things as gifts and share ideas, out of kindness. Tis the wonder of boards, and of the Cooking and Recipes forum ethos in general.

Back on topic, this thread originally had a cost-saving aspect, where to source ingredients cheaply, so as to help everyone save in these hard times. So if anyone feels like it, please recommend places to get the ingredients for their recipes, and the prices.

For the florentines above I'd recommend getting Dark Chocolate from lidl for less than €2, and pistachios and almonds from aldi for ~€4.

leahyl

Thanks for keeping the thread alive guys! I brought it back to life a few weeks back in one of my mad Christmas frenzies! I'm trying to lose a few pounds before Christmas though so it's torture looking at all the yummy Christmas recipes!:pac:

Note I am not the OP! Just came across it when searching for Christmas food or something!

baby and crumble

Hey all! Looking forward to making a few of those recipes! I stuck up a thread yesterday about an old family recipe I found. I have (kind of) figured out a recipe from it, and someone said I should put it up in this thread. The original can be found on : this thread

Here is is though:

700ml Bushmills (Had a full bottle I got as a pressie and I'm not a fan of Irish whiskey)
rind of 2 lemons & 2 oranges
180g of caster sugar
pinch of safron
2 small lumps of sugar candy (found randomly in the Asia Market on Drury St! It's in a little green bag for like €1.50)

All into a 1.5 litre bottle, shook up til things are dissolved and here we go! Shake it every day for a month or so. Fingers crossed!

saraocallaghan

Oh I am so glad I found this thread! I'm going to go baking mad this Christmas

Thanks for all the recipes everyone. Once I get started baking I'll take photos and put them up!

Eviledna

Spotted a recipe I just have to try this year, Nigel Slater made them on his show a couple of weeks ago. I'm a firm believer that there is nothing on this earth as good as the combination of salt and sweet!:)

Sea Salt Chocolate Snaps (Florentines for all the world!)

trackguy

Made tomato ketchup tonight. It's from The Preserving Book by Lynda Brown. It turned out very well, I was tasting it with a teaspoon and was yearning for some chips!

1kg tomatoes, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
a good pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp of ground mace
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
60g soft light brown sugar
150ml red wine vinegar

Put all the ingredients except the sugar into a large pan and bring to a boil. Put on the lid, reduce to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes. Take off the lid and cook for another 15 minutes.

Blitz in a food processor and pass through a nylon sieve. Return to the cleaned-out pan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes until it has thickened slightly.

Immediately funnel into sterilized jars. I got 2 x 380ml jars from this recipe.

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10907

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10907

Milkymoo

Selenra could you post up or pm me your plum an apple preserve recipe please? I've been looking for something similar to use up our plum crop.

Dinkie

Finally - This is the recipe for the beetroot chutney. Its really easy to make and goes down well with most people. I buy the beetroot in the vacuum packs (it save on price and the effort of having to cook it).

It makes 3 full smaller size kilner jars (bought in ikea and tesco).

1kg (2lb) cooked beetroot
500g (1lb) onions
500g (1lb) sugar
1 teasp allspice berries crushed
1 teasp mustard seeds
1 teasp coriander seeds
5 peppercorns (I use about 1/2 teasp ground black pepper as I don't have corns)
1 tablesp salt
500ml vinegar (I use cider vinegar)
60g (2oz) flour

Put beetroot and onions in a blender and pulse until chopped finely (not pureed).

Combine beetroot and onion iwth sugar, allspice, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, peppercorns, salt and enough vinegar to cover.
Bring to boil
and then simmer 25 mins
Mix flour to a paste with water
Add to beetroot and stir in
Boil for 5mins to thicken.
Pour chutney into sterile jars and cover when cool

I'll add a pic of the finished product tomorrow when I can find my camera.

Mozzerella

I have never made this, but am definately going to buy the ingredients to at least try it soon. Making mozzerella was mentioned in another thread and have been dying to make it ever since. You can use whole milk, but I'm planning on getting unpasturised milk from a friends farm to try it.

This is the link to the recipe I'm going to use:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2189956_make-mozzarella-cheese.html

Good luck and let me know how you get on if you try it!

Ophiopogon

Finally made the chilli jam from the first page, I half the recipe but only got one jar out of it. I think to make it set you need to reduce it more. It tastes nice and all but I think I'm going to stick to Jamie Olivers chilli pepper chutney, I think it has more flavour.

Was going to make up a batch of apple butter but I have no more jars.

Also was told a good tip for how to tell if your jam is ready. Put a saucer in the freezer an hour before cooking. When the jam has been boiling for its allotted time, spoon a small amount onto the saucer. Run your finger through it and if it crinkles it is ready.

trackguy

shinikins wrote: »

Trackguy, I've made apple jelly since childhood and have always used more than one muslin draining overnight. Obviously there is less pulp in each, but you get more liquid yield in total. I also double strain them-there is always more juice!!

My lack of patience got the better of me yet again!

Thanks for the advice

shinikins

Trackguy, I've made apple jelly since childhood and have always used more than one muslin draining overnight. Obviously there is less pulp in each, but you get more liquid yield in total. I also double strain them-there is always more juice!!

trackguy

Got started on my presents for this year.

I'm making chilli jam, pomegranate vodka, tomato ketchup, mulled pears, rhubarb pear and ginger jam, cranberry and apple chutney, lemon curd, mango chutney and apple, cider and sage jelly.

That's the plan - the number of items will, inevitably, be revised downwards!

I started with the apple jelly.

The ingredients are 450g cooking apples, 1 lemon, granulated sugar, 600ml cider and 25g sage.

Chop the apples and lemon. Put them in a large pan and add 600ml of water. Bring to the boil, half cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the apples have pulped. Mash gently with a potato masher.

Tip the pulp into a sieve lined with muslin and leave to drip over night. Don't force the pulp at all, as this will make the jelly cloudy.

The next day, measure the juice. For every 600ml of juice you will need 450g of granulated sugar. Add the juice to a clean pan with the cider and the sage. Bring to a simmer. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until it reaches setting point.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes before ladling into sterilised jars and sealing.

The yield was a little disappointing given that the recipe said I would get 1.25 kg. The jars pictured are only 380ml jars and I didn't even get 2 full ones. That said, it smells amazing.

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10847

picture.php?albumid=1851&pictureid=10847

Dinkie

Trí wrote: »

Hey - thanks a million for this. To be honest, I don't want it to be chili overkill by making the harissa. I'm already putting in chili jam.

Don't really like the sound of the cucumber thing... nor the dukka.. No offence to the recipe providers.;)

Really interested in the mozzarella and cheese crackers.. Were they listed in this thread? I cant find it at all. If not, do you have a linky?

Any other ideas anyone. Cheers.:)

ballymac676 wrote: »

Read the whole thread with great interest. Ideas are really good. If you get a chance could you please post the recipe for Pickled beetroot. Thanks

Sorry, I was meant to do this ages ago. I'm away for work at the moment, but will post links / recipe this weekend.

fitzcoff

I have nothing to do with this company but have heard from someone in a business that these guys http://www.doyledist.com/ are very reasonable for gift baskets. Just looking at the site and it doesn't say if they sell to the public but the photos on the site look like it is laid out as a shop, so if someone needed baskets etc, this might be the place.

I personally are not going to use baskets etc for my stuff as I have picked up a few dinky jars in shops over the last while but someone might be interested

Padraig Mor

For those thinking of doing quite a few hampers and who have a registered business, this crowd seem to have very good prices for baskets and related packaging - cellophane, wood shred etc if you are buying a lot. Also decorations and nice touches like little wooden spoons to go with your jars of preserves! Some instructions on how to create some nice presented hampers too. Trade only - not sure how strict they are on this. Shipping £19 stg.

ballymac676

Read the whole thread with great interest. Ideas are really good. If you get a chance could you please post the recipe for Pickled beetroot. Thanks

Eviledna

Howdy folks! I've been away for a while lately and it's great to be back and see one of my favourite threads resurrected

Last year the contribution to this thread actually made my Christmas, and this year I'll definitely be making the chilli jam, gingerbread house, baileys fudge and a few new ones!

For those looking for a festive recipe for diabetics, my OH's grandad was diabetic and I used to make the following fruit cake for him which he loved:

Sugarless Fruit Bars
Servings: 20
"A fruity and flavorful bar without the sugar."
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup chopped raisins
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut dates and prunes into small pieces. Boil dates, prunes, raisins, and water for 5 minutes. Add margarine. Mix and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
3. Mix the eggs, vanilla and nuts. Add to the fruit mixture. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and add to the fruit mixture. (If you want a spicy bar add 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg to the flour.)
4. Spread in 7 x 11 inch pan and bake for 25-30 mins

This could easily be used as a Christmas cake too. Sadly my OH's grandad passed away two years ago and he is missed every day. This recipe gave me great joy, making him a sweet treat which he longed for.

Ophiopogon

I think the diabetes issue was addressed in the last couple of pages? I don't think there is a suger substitute suitable for the chilli jam. Maybe I am wrong but I thought that diabetic jam relies heavily on the natural sugars in fruit that would not be present in chilli.

I just made a batch of the ginger cookies from the first page. Certainly smell nice.

EDIT: Om nom nom!!! Think I'm going to be putting on my christmas weight early this year.

Cunning Stunt

Hi all,

is there a substitute for sugar that I could use in these recipes in general?
Would love to make up a hamper for my OH's parents as we are spending Christmas with them this year, but my OH's father is diabetic

SlimCi

Gingerbread cookies and the lemon curd turned out really gorgeous!:D

Wurly

Dinkie wrote: »

I made some harissa, dukka and some of the pickled cucumber from a recipe someone gave earlier in the thread. I saw a recipe for cheese crackers somewhere also (as well as a recipe for mozzerella if your feeling v. creative).

Hey - thanks a million for this. To be honest, I don't want it to be chili overkill by making the harissa. I'm already putting in chili jam.

Don't really like the sound of the cucumber thing... nor the dukka.. No offence to the recipe providers.;)

Really interested in the mozzarella and cheese crackers.. Were they listed in this thread? I cant find it at all. If not, do you have a linky?

Any other ideas anyone. Cheers.:)

Dinkie

Trí wrote: »

Guys - does anyone have recipes for mini christmas puds or mini christmas cakes? Or maybe some mince pies? I could google this but want to get the tried and tested recipes. I trust you folk.;)

Also - does anyone have ideas for savoury items to put in the hampers? Im gonna make the chili jam and the beetroot chutney. Any other ideas?

I made some harissa, dukka and some of the pickled cucumber from a recipe someone gave earlier in the thread. I saw a recipe for cheese crackers somewhere also (as well as a recipe for mozzerella if your feeling v. creative).

Wurly

Guys - does anyone have recipes for mini christmas puds or mini christmas cakes? Or maybe some mince pies? I could google this but want to get the tried and tested recipes. I trust you folk.;)

Also - does anyone have ideas for savoury items to put in the hampers? Im gonna make the chili jam and the beetroot chutney. Any other ideas?