Adventures in baking...

One thing our family have always done is made sure for big occasions no one person is left to do everything. Which means at Christmas the cooking always gets shared out... not just for the day itself, but for mum's Christmas Eve open house party... (and I have warned my sister's other half as it's his first year that mum will have already told "everyone" going all about him ..... she did it with me, though I am sure that was partly because she wanted to watch people's reactions to the fact that I would be bringing my girlfriend... *rolls eyes* .... I know, I know, I really am grateful for my parents, but my mother is sometimes a little too proud of having a lesbian daughter....)

For some reason, puddings and deserts always falls to me.... and as we don't do traditional in our house I am going to be preparing all three of my short-listed deserts this weekend.

There will be.... Hazelnut and Chocolate Meringue Roulade or Chocolate and Cardamom Cheesecake or possibly Apple & Plum Tart in Cinnamon sweet pastry.... the two that don't win the Christmas dinner vote I'll make again for Christmas Eve..

Now the first two I have recipes for or at least as near as dammit make up the bits that don't quite fit as you go along kind of recipes.... the last I just thought sounded like it would work..... I've started the filling off overnight by putting the apples/plums/sugar into the slow cooker (crock pot for those reading this not in the UK) and have made up the pastry.... it's only been going for about 30 minutes but it already smells rather nice...

Erm.... I might also have possibly sliced my finger a bit.... I didn't actually realise it at first as having no heating in and the fruit I was cutting having just come out the fridge my fingers when rather cold and white.... sitting in the lounge a bit later in front of the fire my circulation came back and, well, my finger decided to leak quite a bit...... it's safely under a plaster now....

Apparently in my baking weekend my sister wants me to produce bags of cookies for her Christmas Sale at the University to raise money for the prize her department awards to the student statistician with the highest exam marks in memory of their colleague who died last year..... looks like it might be a very busy weekend in the kitchen.... I must try not to blow anything up.... or burn anything.... or damage myself any more.... at least the first aid box is well stocked.......