Tis the Season... for edible gifts (1) - Wine Jelly

Christmas tools around really quick! the older one gets, the faster time flies by. Christmas here is is kinda like Chinese New Year back in Singapore. Lots of visiting, feasting, and exchange of gifts (instead of "ang pows")

This is our 3rd Christmas here and we have been recipients of many little tokens of friendship, both edible and non edible and have experienced warmth and love. So in turn, since we're not too hot in the arts and crafts department - we  decided to make edible gifts. This year it's Wine Jelly and Cinnamon Bread.

Jars filled, waiting for labels

We chose my favourite varietal - Cabernet Sauvignon and set about filling our apartment with wine fumes as the jelly cooked. We did taste a glass - quality control of course, and pronounced it good everyday drinking wine, perfect for jelly.

all nicely labelled, ready to be delivered

Hints:
First make sure you have enough jars - I often get caught out with insufficient jars because I had not factored in the volume created by dissolved sugar!
Also ensure that your pot is large enough to contain the "roiling boil" that occurs - the hot jelly liquid rises up quite a ways in the pot. A large pot will save faint hearts from angina. You may stir the boiling wine mixture with a wooden spoon to try and prevent the scalding hot jelly from overflowing.

The recipe below makes 12 x 250ml / 24 x 125ml jars of jelly

Ingredients:
1.5L Red Wine (your favourite)
1 Cup (250ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice - about 4-5 large lemons
2 pkg (2x 57g) Bernadin Fruit Pectin
9 Cups extra fine granulated sugar

Sterilise the Jars:
There are various ways of sterilizing jars - I'll detail the two that I use most often

Oven Method:
1. wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse well and place on baking tray
2. place in cold oven and bring temperature up to 110C / 225F for 30min
3. allow to cool slightly before filling (in other words, leave in oven till ready to fill)

Dishwasher method:
This is great is you have a larger quantity of jars and haven't yet washed them.
1. place jars and lids in dishwasher
2. wash at the hottest setting
3. allow to dry (use heat dry setting) before use.

Sterilise the Lids:
1. place lids in large pan
2. pour boiling water over the lids and let sit for 10min.

Method:
1. Pour wine and lemon juice into large pot - whisk in pectin till dissolved
2. Measure sugar, set aside
3. Bring wine mixture to boil
4. Add sugar to wine mixture, bring up to a railing boil and boil hard for 1min (exactly)
5. Remove from heat
6. Skim foam if necessary
7. Bottle up to 5mm of rim of jar
8. Place lids (shake off any water) onto jars (hot!)
9. Carefully place rings over lids and screw down firmly.
10 Set aside on tray to cool.

I love sitting back after all the effort and listening for the lids to go "thuk" as the lids get sucked in and seal off the jars during the cooling process. Once the jars are well sealed and cool, wipe any sticky jelly drips off the sides and label.

Wine jellies are great with cheese and crackers and they also make a fantastic glaze for roasts.

match made in heaven? wine jelly, cheese and crackers

Cuban Roast Pork Christmas Dinner

It's sometimes hard to think of Christmas when the weather is hot and sunny. Our minds are so conditioned to dream of a Northern Hemisphere White Christmas, with chestnuts roasting o'er an open fire, warming ourselves with hearty meals to ward of the wintry blasts....

But I'm not complaining, we were blessed with a fantastic weekend of weather down in New Zealand this Christmas. To set the scene for a very tropical Christmas, I scoured the internet and decided to try a Cuban theme: Cuban Roast Pork Shoulder (Lechon Asado), accompanied by Beans and Rice (Moros y Cristianos).

Ground cumin, pepper, garlic and salt

Cuban Roast Pork
Ingredients:

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• zest of 1 orange
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 3 Tsp lemon juice
• 3 Tsp fresh lime juice
• 2kg pork shoulder, trimmed and tied

Pork shoulder and marinade

Method:

1. Toast the cumin and black peppercorns in a dry pan, then grind them up with coarse sea salt, oregano and chopped garlic
2. Add this to the orange, lemon, lime juices and sherry.
3. Score the skin of the pork shoulder, then trim and tie.

   

   Pork shoulder, trimmed and tied

4. Place meat in a large zip-lock bag or non-reactive bowl, pour over marinade and leave for 24h -36h in the refridgerator (minimum 6-8h). Turn over 2-3 times to ensure marinade gets to all parts of the meat.
5. On the day that you are going to roast the pork, take it out of the 'fridge and let it come to room temperature - this will take about 2h at least. 
6. Preheat the oven, 165C
7. Transfer pork and marinade to roasting pan, cover tightly with foil and roast for 1h.
8. Remove foil cover and roast for another 1.5h, or until an instant read thermometer inserted into the centre reads 70C. Baste the meat (not skin) every 20-30min to keep it moist.
9. At the end of the cooking period, if the skin has not become nice and crackly, crank up the heat to 200C for about 5-10min. (Keep an eye to prevent the skin from charring).
10. Remove from oven and rest for 10-15min before carving.

Cuban Roast Pork

Rice and beans are a common accompaniment. This dish has many variations and is sometimes called Moro's y Cristianos, with the black beans representing the Moors and White grains of rice, the Christians. Not very PC, but heck, it's delicious, just call it by the humble moniker, Beans n Rice.

Cuban Beans and Rice

Beans and Rice

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 2 cups water (approx)
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 finger pinch of salt

1. Fry the garlic in a bit of olive oil till golden, add the rice, fry in oil till all the grains are coated with oil, add the water. (I was taught to add enough water so that if I placed my middle finger on the surface of the rice, the water level will come up to the first finger crease - ie just enough to submerge the distal phalanx. This works with any quantity of rice in any sort of pot)
2. Add remaining ingredients, give it a good stir and bring it to boil. 
3. Simmer for 10min over low heat (lid off), then
4. Cover with lid, turn off the heat and let the rice steam for another 10min before eating.

A nice bit of salad to serve alongside this meal would be beetroot and citrus salad or just a simple green salad.

Enjoy!