Monday, 28 November 2011

November 28th - Not all Sticky Toffee Puddings are made equal

Dear Nigel,

Thought i'd make headway with the first of the Sticky Toffee Puddings today. They freeze well and are perennially popular, especially in wintertime. Last Christmas was a white Christmas - here in the Peak District anyway -. lovely for the kids sledging and avoiding schoolwork, less popular for all  those of us with heavy presents to deliver to relatives upcountry.( I think i still have one tin of quality street  wrapped  last year sitting in a cupboard somewhere.)

I have tried many a Sticky Toffee Pudding in pubs and restaurants and from farm shops and am becoming a bit of a connoisseur on said item. Sometimes there is a definite meanness with the toffee sauce - this is one recipe where more is definitely more and a veritable lake is far preferable to a dried-up spring. The choice of cream, ice cream or custard i usually leave open to the scoffer as everyone has their own favourite and this is not the time of year to be dictating such things. I like to use Lucy Young's recipes as i find them so practical, and this is a particularly good one. (Lucy Young is Mary Berry's side -kick, though i'm not sure she'd like to be described as such).

You find a particularly nice Celeriac in a farmers market; one of my favourite winter vegetables. I like mine mashed with potato but  you come up with a remoulade with shredded raw celeriac and walnuts in a dressing, using the rest of the walnuts in a coffee cake. Yum! I don't think i've ever tried celeriac raw before so i'm tempted to give it a go. Our farmers market is on Thursday and the nobbly vegetable man is always there.

Yours from comfort-food heaven,

Martha


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