White Wine and Pomegranate Gelatin (Nigella)

Cook Like A Star, featuring Nigella Lawson comes to an end today. After a whole month of cooking and baking from Nigella's recipes, there are still many more that I've wanted to try, which I 3will, in time.   There are a total of 113 entries and I would like to thank everyone who has joined Zoe, Anuja and me, as we cook and bake from The Domestic Goddess's recipes together. And also to those who has visited and left comments, which are always welcome with appreciation. 

I've noticed many chocolate fans among us, as the bakes with chocolates are the most popular ones submitted. Most of Nigella's chocolate recipes are good! She is truly a domestic goddess, with her fuss-free style of preparing a meal, really relates to home cooks like us, and most of her recipes are simple and easy to put together with scrumptious and delicious results.

There are many more drafted posts, bakes and dishes that I've cooked from Nigella's recipes that I did not have enough time to post them all in one month! Well, I'll save it for the coming months!

Today is my last post for this event, and here is a delightful refreshing jelly, strictly for adults! These are made with white wine and it is so good. This recipe is taken from Nigella Christmas, and it is most suitable for Christmas and any festive occasion, but then, you do not really need any special occasion to enjoy it!

From the book, Nigella has used a gelatin mold, but I have made into two individual servings in glasses (refer Nigella's notes at the bottom), as the balance of my white wine is enough for half a recipe. Nigella recommended to serve this with a drizzling of Cointreau and heavy cream, but I had it plain with just the pomegrante seeds scattered over. I could not find the ruby-red pomegranate and have to make do with the lighter pink ones. If you are serving to guests, try to get the ruby-red ones, as they make a very attractive striking appearance.

If you have an already opened bottle of white wine around, give this a try. You would love it! Trust me!

Here's a glass of White Wine and Pomegranate Gelatin to each and everyone! Cheers!

Prosecco And Pomegranate Gelatin
(adapted from "Nigella Christmas", Nigella Lawson)
1 x 750ml bottle Prosecco or other white wine
1 cup water
1-1/2 cups superfine sugar
1 cup water
4 teaspoons unflavoured powdered gelatin
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple sec, plus more to serve
seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds from a container
flavorless oil for greasing
heavy cream to serve (optional)

1. Lightly grease a 1-quart gelatin mold with flavorless oil and sit it on a small tray so it's easy to convey it to the refrigerator later.
2. Pour the Prosecco into a saucepan, add the sugar and stir to help it dissolve (but do not stir once the pan is on the heat). At the same time, put the water into a large jug or bowl and sprinkle over the gelatin, letting it soak for 5 minutes.
3. Put the pan on the heat, bring to the boil and let it boil for a minute.
4. Add the vanilla and keep the pan bubbling gently for another minute, before taking it off the heat.
5. Carefully ladle about 1 cup of the wine-sugar mixture into the jug and stir well until the gelatin has dissolved completely.
6. Pour the jugful of liquid back into the pan (which must be still off the heat), whisk again, and tip it all back into the jug, before pouring it into the prepared gelatin mold. (This may sound a kerfuffle, but it ensures the gelatin is thoroughly dispersed).
7. Put the filled-to-the-brim mold, still on its tray, into the refrigerator and leave to set overnight. It has a gentle set, which is what makes it so delectable.
8. Just before you are ready to serve, fill a sink or plastic washing-up bowl with warm water to come about halfway up the mold, and sit the as-yet-unturned mold in the warm water for half a minute.
9. Take the mold out of the sink, wipe the water off the outside and place your serving plate on top. Then, with one hand on the plate and the other on the mold, tip them both over and lift off the mold to reveal the gelatin. It will look smaller than it did in the mold; that's expected.
10. Dribble the Cointreau (or your choice of alcohol) over the gelatin (putting the bottle on the table so people can anoint with more as they eat) and scatter with pomegranate seeds, a few on top, but most around the side. It spoils the jewel-like clarity of the gelatin, but this is out of this world with a little heavy cream poured over each portion. Put a small jugful on the table as encouragement.

Note : If you want to dispense with the worry of unmolding, simply divide the warm gelatin mixture between six stemmed glasses of under 1-cup capacity each and set in the refrigerator.

#87/100

Thank you everyone, for your support!  Cook Like A Star next featured chef in September is The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I'm sure most of you are already a fan of Ree Drummond, I am! She's funny, has a lovely sense of humor and I just love the way she writes. I'm a regular reader of her blog and she has tons of delicious recipes on her website. 

The hosts for next month's Cook Like A Star featuring The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond are Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Be sure to join them as they cook and bake with Ree's recipes.  If you do not have any of her books,  here's a list of some links that you might find helpful. 

The Pioneer Woman

Foodnetwork (Ree Drummond)

Foodnetwork (The Pioneer Woman)

Land O Lakes

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is NIGELLA LAWSON. Cook Like A Star is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and the co-hosts for this month are Anuja from Simple Baking and me, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. Cook or bake any of Nigella Lawson's recipes and link your posts to any of the hosts' linky which will stay open for the whole month of August. All submissions to this event must be current posts, published within the current month of this event, any older posts will be deleted. Please mention and link Cook Like A Star somewhere in your post. Do join us, everyone is welcome!

Cook Like A Star featuring Nigella Lawson, from 1st August to 31st August 2013

And I'm sharing this with :
Cook-Your-Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Festive Couscous And Moonblush Tomatoes (Nigella)

From my previous post, we had a "Dinner with Nigella", African Drumsticks which I have served with Festive Couscous and Moonblush Tomatoes. I'm sharing today, the recipes for both the couscous and the tomatoes.

A Nigella Meal : African Drumstick served with Festive Couscous and Moonblush Tomatoes

Festive Couscous recipe is from Nigella Christmas. And in the book, she has included a roasted Cornish Hen recipe, where some of the roasting juices is mixed into the couscous. Since I did not make the roasted Cornish Hen, I have replaced the roasting juices with some lemon juice, to taste. I have made only 1-1/4 cup of couscous but kept the amount of the spices as per the full recipe. In place of the golden raisins, there's an option to use either dried cherries or dried cranberries and I have used the latter. I could not find any pomegranate and have omitted that, it would be lovely if the couscous is sprinkled with the ruby red pomegranate! Overall, a very nice couscous dish, just make sure you get the seasoning right, it makes a lovely side dish for roasted chicken, meat or fish.

Festive Couscous
(adapted from "Nigella Christmas", Nigella Lawson)
3 cups quick-cook couscous (I made only 1-1/4 cup)
1/2 cup golden raisins (replace with dried cranberries)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt (salt to taste)
3-1/3 cups freshly boiled water, from a kettle (1-1/3 cup water)
lemon juice to taste
seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 1/2 cup seeds from a container ( did not use this)
handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Put the couscous into a heat-proof bowl or a pan with a tight-fitting lid, add the golden raisins, spices and salt, and give everything a stir.
2. Pour the freshly boiled water over and cover with plastic wrap or the lid; let it sit for 10-15 minutes, by which time it should have absorbed the water.
3. Fluff the couscous through with a fork to separate the grains, then carefully pour in some of the juices that have collected in the roasting pan of Cornish hens. (There's a roasted Cornish Hens recipe that comes before this in the book, to replace the roasting juices, I just added some freshly squeezed lemon juice).
4. Fork through again and check the seasoning before transferring to a serving dish.
5. Drop half the pomegranate seeds over the mounded couscous, mixing them in gently with a fork.
6. Scatter the remaining pomegranate seeds over, sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and serve.

Moonblush Tomatoes : We love cherry tomatoes, almost in any roasted chicken that I made, there would surely be some cherry tomatoes around, used mostly in some salad. For this time, they are a star of their own. I like the name Moonblush Tomatoes, Nigella has named it as such, simply because she left the marinated tomato halves in a very hot turned off oven overnight, and the next day, you will be rewarded with lovely "moonblush tomatoes". I did not however left it in the oven overnight, as I've only decided to make this on the spur of the moment, a couple of hours before dinner time. So I have marinated the tomatoes, and baked them at 200C for 30 minutes. The next time, I would try Nigella's method of leaving them in the oven overnight. 

These Moonblush Tomatoes are delicious! They can be used in salad, with bread, in sandwiches, pasta and very good eaten as they are. I would definitely make these again.

Moonblush Tomatoes
(adapted from "Nigella Express", Nigella Lawson)
1 lb, about 24 in number, on-the-vine cherry or other baby tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder (my addition)

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the olive oil, salt, thyme and sugar. 
3. Put them in the oven and immediately turn it off. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day without opening it.

#81/100
#82/100

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is NIGELLA LAWSON. Cook Like A Star is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and the co-hosts for this month are Anuja from Simple Baking and me, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. Cook or bake any of Nigella Lawson's recipes and link your posts to any of the hosts' linky which will stay open for the whole month of August. All submissions to this event must be current posts, published within the current month of this event, any older posts will be deleted. Please mention and link Cook Like A Star somewhere in your post. Do join us, everyone is welcome!

Cook Like A Star featuring Nigella Lawson, from 1st August to 31st August 2013

And I'm sharing this with :
Cook-Your-Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Italian Roast Potatoes with Garlic and Thyme

A simple side dish of roast potatoes with garlic and thymes. Perfect with roasted chicken or meat alongside with some greens. I made this to serve with Nigella's Georgian Stuffed Chicken from my previous post.

I used roasting potatoes and an extra head of garlic, well, we can never have enough of garlic, can we? :) The potatoes are cut into half or thirds of the same size and mixed with dried thymes, unpeeled garlic cloves, and olive oil. They are then baked for about 1-1/2 hours until the potaotes are tender, turning them two or three times in between. Season with some salt to taste and sprinkle with some chopped fresh parsley before serving. I did not use any parsley since I do not have any.

These potatoes are excellent served with the roasted chicken. It smells really nice while these are baking, with the garlicky aroma fills the kitchen.

Yums! We finished the whole tray of these roasted potatoes, even the garlic!

Italian Roast Potatoes With Garlic And Thyme
(adapted from "Nigella Christmas", by Nigella Lawson)
3 lbs (about 8 medium) white potatoes, such as Yukon Gold
cloves from 1 head of garlic (unpeeled)
2-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 cup olive oil
kosher salt or table salt to taste
1-2 tablespoons chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut the unpeeled potatoes into 1-inch cubes and put them into a large roasting pan, or divide them between 2 pans.
2. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves and sprinkle the thyme and olive oil over. Move the potatoes around so that they get slick with oil, evenly covered in thyme and dispersed with the garlic cloves.
3. Roast the potatoes in the oven for 1-1/2 hours, depending if they are in one pan or two, or until golden: if they are crowded in one roasting pan they will take longer to crisp up than if they are spread well apart.
4. When the potatoes come out of the oven, turn them out onto a warmed platter to serve, sprinkling with a little salt and a light scattering of fresh parsley.

#68/100

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is NIGELLA LAWSON. Cook Like a Star is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and the co-hosts for this month are Anuja from Simple Baking and me, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours.

To link your post to Cook Like A Star: Nigella Lawson, please click here.

And I'm sharing this with Cook-Your-Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

and :
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz. Helen's Country Cottage
See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

Chile Jam

Don't be mistaken, this Chile Jam, is not meant to be spread over your bread or toast for breakfast like the regular jam! But then if you would like to do that, no one would stop you! I did try actually, haha! It is quite nice, considering that this is not spicy at all. According to Nigella, this Chile Jam is usually eaten with cold meats or a cheese plate. 

An equal proportion of Red Chile and Red Bell Pepper is used for a mild spiciness. For a spicier kick, Hot Red Chile may be increased, and use less of the Red Bell Pepper. I used equal amount of both, I would love to have a spicier taste, but then, I have kids in the house, and too spicy is a no-no!

Half a cup of chopped Red Chiles, about 4 large. I only made half the recipe from the original recipe below. Since I do not own a food processor, I chopped the chiles instead. 

Half a cup of chopped Red Bell Pepper, about 1 medium.

Apple cider vinegar, sugar and powdered pectin are boiled until sugar and pectin dissolves. Chopped chiles are then added in, leave to boil for about 15 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, about 40 minutes until the chiles are suspended in the jelly. Ladle into the sterilized jars.

The vibrant red colour of the Chile Jam. I could not get a nice shot of the jars without any reflections on the jars. I tried putting them on the counter, near the window, in various places, in the end, I gave up. 

That is, until much later at night, when I wanted to store the jar in the refrigerator, my goodness, it looks so lovely in the refrigerator, no reflections at all!  Hahaha! Imagine that, the best shot is taken from my refrigerator!  

The vibrant red, beautiful Chile Jam! There are lots of way to use this Chile Jam, as a marinade, as a sauce dip, etc...   I'm really looking forward to use this soon. I have been eyeing this recipe ever since I saw it from my sister's Nigella Christmas cookbook more than a year ago! Now I have a copy of this book, got it real cheap at a recent sale. Don't you just love sales, especially when there's cheap and beautiful cookbooks around? Hehehe!

I'm submitting this to the Christmas Giveaway in The Sweet Spot, any dish or bake, sweet or savory, with green and/or red in it. Please hop over to The Sweet Spot for more details. 

Chile Jam
(adapted from "Nigella Christmas" by Nigella Lawson)
Makes 1-1/2 quarts
1 cup seeded and roughly chopped fresh red serrano chiles (5 oz unprepared)
1 cup cored and seeded roughly chopped red bell pepper (5 oz unprepared)
5 cups sugar
1 x 1.75oz box powdered fruit pectin, such as Ball's original fruit pectin
2-1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
6 x 1 cup resealable jars, with vinegar-proof lid, such as French hermetic seal jars or reuseable pickle jars

1. Sterilize your jars and leave to cool.
2. Put the cut-up chiles into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the chunks of bell pepper and pulse again until you have a vibrantly red-flecked processor bowl.
3. Dissolve the sugar and pectin in the vinegar in a wide, medium-sized pan over a low heat without stirring.
4. Scrape the chile 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 15 minutes.
5. Take the pan off the heat and allow it to cool. The liquid will become more syrupy, then from syrup to viscous and from viscous to jelly-like as it cools.
6. After about 40 minutes, or once the red flecks are more or less evenly dispersed in the jelly (as the liquid firms up, the bits of chile 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.

Make Ahead Tip :

Make the jam up to 1 month before using or giving. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Once opened, store in the refrigerator and use within 1 month.

kitchen flavours notes :
*  For a slightly softer set, use less 1 tablespoon of the pectin. I guess the quality of the pectin varies. The one I used has no brand, other than the indication that it is from France. But it does not effect the taste of the Jam, really good.
* For half the recipe, I only got about 2-1/4 jars of 250ml-sized jars.