Baklava

I'm posting this in anticipation of New Year - I think baklava would make a  kick-ass addition to a New Year's party spread, and I'm not just saying that because I'm currently in Istanbul!

A somewhat non-traditional festive item, I was inspired by some leftover filo pastry (see: Christmas samosas). I love baklava but have never had the nerve to make my own. UNTIL NOW!

This, for me, is the perfect antidote to the normal Christmas fare. As much as I love my tins of garishly coloured and highly flavoured chocolates (and I do, the wrappers in my bin tell a tale..), these delicate, nutty, nibbly, shiny, sticky morsels are just perfection, and made an epic Christmas day dessert!

They’re fairly easy to make as long as you pre-buy your filo, which is totally acceptable because Mary Berry does it, damnit! I did find mine a little sticky and tricky to extricate from the pan, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

Also, I’ve gone a bit non-traditional by adding cinnamon (because it’s Christmas) and orange juice (instead of orange blossom, because I didn’t think ahead and buy it), and cooking a bit more after the syrup has been placed on. I have it on good authority that this is key to a good pastry.

Makes one lovely tray of deliciousness 

Christmas Samosas

That time period between Christmas and New Year’s is so weird. It interrupts your Christmas days off, with a few half hearted days in work with leftover turkey sandwiches. And I never know what to make for dinner. Everyone still has the memories of being stuffed from the lashings of food for Christmas dinner, and the bright tins of sweets are still piled enticingly high by the Christmas tree.

I think I’ve found the perfect little nibble-y meal for this weird in between time of the season, which also makes a welcome addition to the Christmas dinner table (it did on mine!) or as part of your party table for NYE.

These are meaty, with a sweet spice which is warming and delightful. Perfect dipped in some sweet chilli sauce, or alongside a veggie curry!

Cinnamon Baked Donuts

Merry Christmas, everyone!

And since you’ve all been very good this year, I’m going to give you all a special treat.. What if I told you guys that you could go from zero to donuts in about 25 minutes?

I will give you that secret. It’s a Christmas miracle!!

These are the best donuts ever. They are so good that they make grown men jump up and down with glee. They are so good that I bought a SECOND donut pan so that I could make them more 

efficiently. Donut pan you say? Yes, these are baked in the oven, so you need a little mould to make the shape, but it's well worth it!

Simply put, they are wonderful and special and great and I love them. In the madness of the Boxing Day sales, try and source a donut pan – you will NOT be sorry. I got mine on amazon for less than a tenner and I WILL use it a lot.

Chockladbollar

Well hello, festive treats from Sweden!

You may have seen a version of these lurking around your local IKEA. They are a traditional Swedish treat, and they taste great! I like to think of these as little Scandinavian balls of love. I associate them with Christmas, because that’s when my Swedish boyfriend and I ALWAYS head to IKEA to get all sorts of Swedish food and Christmas decorations.

If you’re not a coffee fan (I don’t like coffee, but I like coffee and chocolate!) then feel free to substitute the coffee for a dash of mint flavouring, or fresh orange juice, or even a sprinkling of cinnamon. The possibilities are endless! But coffee is the traditional flavour, and it really compliments the whole “ball of chocolate.”

Pizza Topped Burgers

How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Mmmmm, hello weekend!

What is a girl to do when she has some pepperoni which is about to go past its sell by date and she bought too much mozzarella?

Well..

Pizza burger time!

I’ll confess, I’m not a big cheese fan. I don’t like the texture of it when it isn’t cooked, and I really don’t like cheese that is strong smelling/tasting. For me, mozzarella is the perfect cheese – it’s got that classic “stringy” cheesey texture and it doesn’t taste overwhelmingly cheesy. I have tried to incorporate it into my life as much as possible.

The secret to the mozzarella here is to keep the heat trapped in to allow it to melt all over the burger. Unfortunately it doesn’t get crispy on top, I think I’d probably need a working grill for that! Everytime I put the grill on, the fire alarm also goes off..

Serves 4

Grilled Chicken and Mozarella Flatbread

I love this meal. It feels like such a treat! I am not very good with just throwing things together and making something cohesive and edible. I'm more of a one-pot kind of person. So what I do is steal ideas from my favourite places to eat. Which is what I have done here. Don’t judge, just make it.

And the other great part of this meal is that making it can set you up really well for leftovers! For instance, I was able to use the rest of the flatbreads as a makeshift  garlic bread by cutting into slices, putting them on their sides and covering them in garlic butter. I used up the pesto with pasta and on pizza, and I roasted a bunch of peppers at the same time (thrifty!) to use on top of pizzas and to make hummus. For this reason, it is a great meal for the start of the week, because it gives you a leg up on the rest of the week! We are talking some serious “meal prep” without filling a million Tupperware containers with sad looking rice-salads.