Tasty Christmas gifts

Press, 23 November 1981, Page 12

Tasty Christmas gifts

Christmas gifts made at home are often more appreciated than those selected with care but uncertainty from the bewildering arrays in the stores.

A self-made offering is ; more ' personal and shows' .that, thought, and time has been spent, in making it. In the case of elderly relatives and friends and those who have little time at home, food items can be the best liked of all.

A special jam or sauce, different from what can be bought — a sweet or cheesy biscuit to enjoy with afterdinner coffee, or a box of favourite candies for the real sweet tooth. All of these, especially if in attractive containers, can bring considerable pleasure and satisfaction to both men and women.

Many types of low-priced containers in plastic or foil are available, and if decor-

COOKING with Celia I Timms |

ated or prettily wrapped these enhance the gift. Glass or plastic jars and gksses can be decorated with stripes in coloured plastic tapes — designs can be cut out of self- adhesive tape and pressed on to the container or drawings can be done with china markers.

Cover a screw top lid with closely coiled coloured cords attached with a suitable glue, or lop with a circle of gay check gingham or other cotton print cut out with pinking shears and tied on with cord or ribbon. Rum raisin sauce A delicious topping for ice cream when heated, it can also be used on plain cake or with creamed rice and would, ! am sure, be appreciated by anyone who received a jar of it. Store covered in :the refridgeratpr almost indefinitely. The following quantities will make 2 cupsful. ■ ’ ..-'7

Vi cup liquid honey .3 tablespoons butter or margarine Grated rind of 1 lemon 1 cup seedless raisins

2 tablespoons lemon juice J /2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon cornflour

Pinch of salt; cinnamon (optional) 2 tablespoons rum (or to taste).

Method: Combine honey, butter, rind and juice of the lemon with the raisins and 1 cup of water in small pan. Mix sugar with cornflour, salt and cinnamon and add, stirring over low heat until mixtu.e boils. Simmer for about ten minutes. Remove from heat and add rum, blending well. Reheat to serve. Cheese pot This could be a new taste experience and should be reserved for those who enjoy this sort of experience. It is of Hungarian origin and Hungarian paprika should be used if possible. Small pottery pots are ideal as containers. The following ingredients make 11/?I 1 /? cupsful; you need:

250 g cream cheese *2 green pepper, minced or

finely chopped 1 small onion, minced or finely chopped 1 large clove garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons caraway seeds 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika . 1 small can (20g) anchovies,

undrained 1 tablespoon olive oil 'A teaspoon dry mustard

Method: Beat cheese until soft then add the pepper, onion and garlic and ~ blend

well. Add anchovies including the oil, caraway seeds, paprika, oil and mustard and mix very thoroughly. Those who have a blender can do it all in that and produce a very smooth mixture, but some prefer the slightly crunchy mix obtained by using a wooden spoon and a basin. Store in fridge until ready to give. Chiuese-style plum sauce This is an adaptation of a Chinese sauce served with certain of their duck dishes, but it is very good with steaks and chops and roast mutton or venison. It is made using tinned piums, but these must be tne large purple plums, which are obtainable. To make about 2 cupsful you need:

1 large can purple plums (approx 800 g) % cup crushed pineapple,

drained 1 medium size apple, diced

small 1,125 g can pimentos */z cup white vinegar Vi cup sugar Vi teaspoon salt Method: Drain the plums and reserve one cup of syrup. Remove stones and cut roughly. Put in pan with the cupful of syrup and add remaining ingredients. Simmer slowly for one hour, stirring occasionally then force through a coarse sieve or blend in blender. Bottle and cover. .