Both of our families have European heritage, so we celebrate on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. My family are interstate, so one year we celebrate with my family, the other year with my husband's family. This year we are staying in Melbourne, which means I can be a bit more creative with what I make to eat.
This year, we have decided to do a roast duck and a roast turkey on Christmas Eve. The duck was our idea as we eat it quite a bit and love the richness of the meat. Orange and duck are a match made in heaven, so an orange sauce just had to be made to go with the bird. Duck a l'orange is a bit retro and a bit old fashioned, but I love the flavour. A few years ago I came across a recipe for a simple version of the sauce using fresh orange and marmalade. It gives a beautifully citrus flavour, but also some sweetness and a little bitterness. Perfect to foil the richness of the duck. Normally I would make the sauce and simmer the already cooked duck breasts in the sauce for a few minutes to take on some of it's flavour. To serve with the roast, I'm just going to put the sauce in a jug on the side, so people can help themselves.
I have also made this sauce to have with pork fillet, and it is delicious. It would go nicely with some chicken too.
Easy Orange Sauce For Duck
2 oranges
4 Tbs honey
4 Tbs red wine vinegar
4 shallots, finely diced
4 Tbs orange marmalade
400ml chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Zest the oranges into long strips and place in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside for 3 minutes. Drain.
Cut the ends off the oranges, stand on the end and then using a sharp knife, remove the skin and pith from the fruit.
Cut the orange segments between the membrane to separate them and reserve in a bowl.
Squeeze any extra juices from the orange into the same bowl.
Heat the honey in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add the vinegar, shallots, marmalade, chicken stock, reserved orange juice and zest and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until reduced slightly.
Add the orange segments to the sauce and season to taste.
Remove from the heat, cool slightly, then pour into a jug to serve.
If you are making the sauce just before you serve the duck, add any meat juices from carving to add some extra richness of flavour.
Caramel Ice Cream With Speculaas and Fruit
Dessert on Christmas Eve is not set and depends on who has been allocated to make it and what the weather is looking like. Tomorrow night isn't going to be that warm, but when I saw the recipe for this ice cream cake, I just knew that I had to make it.
My Kitchen Stories is a foodie blog that I've been following for a while now, with a collection of amazing recipes. Tania wrote about this caramel ice cream cake a few weeks ago and how easy it was to make without needing an ice cream machine. Not having an ice cream machine, I thought this would be perfect. My husband's family are Dutch, so the flavours were just right. Please check out My Kitchen Stories for some fantastic recipes and wonderful foodie photos.
I made my caramel by boiling a tin of condensed milk for 3 hours, but for an even easier version, you could buy a tin of caramel from the shop.
I am going to serve my version topped with fresh cherries, strawberries and blueberries, with a crumbling of speculaas biscuits on top. I can't wait to try it! From the taste of the mixture when I licked the bowl, this is definitely going to become a regular in our house.
1 tin of caramel condensed milk
400ml thickened cream
150g speculaas biscuits, crushed into chunks
Beat caramel and cream in an electric mixer on medium speed until thick and creamy.
Gently stir through biscuit pieces.
Pour the mixture into a lined springform tin and smooth the surface.
Freeze overnight.
Carefully remove from the tin and place on a serving plate.
Decorate with fresh berries or other fruit, extra speculaas biscuit pieces and whipped cream, if desired.
Cherry Ice Cream
On Christmas Day this year, we have been asked to bring trifle and ice cream. I am not playing around with the trifle, so it is just going to be layers of sponge roll, jelly and poached fresh cherries and strawberries with custard and a topping of toasted flaked almonds.
The ice cream however, is where I can get a bit creative. Cherries are so beautiful around Christmas time and so nothing could be better than fresh cherry ice cream. I have made this recipe before and it is so easy, especially when you don't have an ice cream machine. It really is like a frozen meringue with cherry pieces throughout. Light and delicious!
300g fresh cherries
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 egg whites
Pit cherries and roughly chop.
Place in a container and freeze overnight.
Place cherries in the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk and beat on medium for a few minutes to break up the chunks.
Add the sugar and egg whites and whisk on high speed for 5 minutes, or until doubled in volume and meringue looking.
Spoon into a a freezer proof container and freeze overnight.
This ice cream can be served straight from the freezer as it doesn't set particularly hard. Make sure you keep it in the freezer on a hot day, so it doesn't melt.
Freshly made, it would also be great as a mousse filling for brandy snap baskets or mini tarts. You could also serve it as an alternative to cream on fruit salad or even very decadent pancakes.
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