Yesterday I brought you 2 tasty Christmas Canapé recipes and today I bring you a classic recipe for the perfect Chestnut and mushroom Stuffing! Thanks again to PJ Taste for the recipes.

Chestnut and Mushroom Stuffing

You will need

200g pound fresh chestnuts
200g unsalted butter
½ lt breadcrumbs, such as rye or sourdough, crust removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
Punnet of wild mushrooms or 50g dried mushrooms
1 medium onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
Small bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Using chestnut knife or sharp paring knife, make large X on flat side of each chestnut through shell but not meat.

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Soak chestnuts in bowl of warm water to cover by 2 inches for 15 minutes, and then drain well. Arrange chestnuts in 1 layer in shallow baking pan, then roast in middle of oven until shells curl away at X mark, about 15 minutes. Wearing protective gloves peel away shells from chestnuts while still hot.

(photo source) 

In large pot boiling water, blanch chestnuts 2 minutes, then drain. Using kitchen towel, rub chestnuts to remove skins. Coarsely chop and reserve. Leave oven on.

Butter 9- by 13-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon butter.

On foil-lined baking sheet, toast bread in 350°F oven, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Place in large mixing bowl and set aside. Leave oven on.

In heavy frying pan melt 4 tablespoons butter. Add mushrooms and sauté, stirring, until golden brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Add another 2 tablespoons butter and heat until melted. Add onion and celery, and sauté until translucent, 6 to 7 minutes.

Add mushroom mixture plus parsley and thyme to bread and gently stir to combine.

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In heavy, small pot over moderate heat bring the stock to a gentle boil. Pour into bread mixture and gently toss to combine. Stir in egg, salt, and pepper. The stuffing is now ready to be used to stuff meat or cooked as it is in a casserole dish. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point and kept, covered and refrigerated, up to four hours. Bake until golden brown and heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

(Photo source) 

Come back tomorrow when we will be talking about the Christmas veg and potatoes.

For more information on PJ Taste go to:
http://pjtaste.co.uk
http://peterpjtaste.wordpress.com

(If not other wise stated photo credit to PJ Taste)

Diary Entry 2: Food and Drink

Once our venue was booked one of the next important things for us was to think about and plan the food and drink that we wanted on our big day. The beauty of our venue (Utopia ,Broughton Hall) is that there is total flexibility for us in deciding our food and drink.

Utopia Claire and Toms wedding venue........we are putting a marquee at the back to keep the wedding breakfast and dancing area seperate.

Having been to lots of weddings we felt that we had a good idea of what we would like for our wedding and we didn’t want to be restricted by a hotel menu that didn’t give us the options that we wanted. When we met with GFS catering we were so happy that they could be so accommodating to our ideas and we really feel that they have provided us with a great package.

We know that one of the best times at a wedding is that time after the ceremony when everyone has their first glass of bubbly and mingles freely. We also know that this is the time when guests are probably a bit peckish and so lots of canapés are a definite for us!

Conscious that it is these little extras that increase food costs we decided that it might be a good idea to remove the starter from the menu. We think that if people have enough canapés they won’t be as bothered about the starter! This also fits well with the gourmet barbeque that we have chosen for our main course. When we talked through the main course ideas with GFS we thought that the barbeque sounded amazing and we think that it is something a little bit different that will be interactive and fun for the guests.

Gourmet Yorkshire Barbeque
 Locally-Reared Peppered Sirloin Steaks, Halloumi & Roast Vegetable Kebabs (v)
 Nidderdale Lamb Koftas, 7oz Locally-Reared Steak Burgers
Variety of ‘Lishmans’ Award Winning Sausages, ‘Sykes House Farm’ Venison Burgers
Cajun Spiced Organic Salmon Fillets, Chilli Jam King Prawn Skewers
Lemon & Herb ‘Kilnsey’ Rainbow Trout Fillets, Spicy Homemade Bean Burgers (v)
Chicken and Mediterranean Vegetable Skewers

Salads
 New Potato and Chive Salad, Moroccan Spiced Couscous,
 Italian Pasta and Fresh Mozzarella Salad, Homemade Rustic Coleslaw
Tomato and Basil Salad, Oven Cooked Jacket Potatoes
Buttered Corn on the Cob, Dressed French Leaf & Herb Salad
Rocket and Parmesan Salad

Being a big dessert fan myself it was too difficult to pick one dessert but fortunately GFS are going to provide a selection of desserts and so everyone will get 3 mini desserts each!

 Assiette of Desserts
A delightful selection of our favourite desserts
 Crème Brulee, Tarte au Citron and Rich Chocolate Torte

• In the evening we are going to have lots of cakes which we are going to ask friends and relatives to bring with them

• We are also going to have cheese and biscuits on offer for those with a more savoury tooth.

• Later on GFS will be providing sausage and bacon butties which they will lay informally on rustic platters throughout the room.

As for the drinks, we are paying for a standard drinks package that comprises of 2 glasses of prosecco before the meal, half a bottle of wine at the table and a glass of prosseco for the toast. There will also be a cash bar open all day which will provide a selection of wines, beers and spirits.

We’re really happy with the food and drink we have chosen and hope that our guests will enjoy it too!

* FOOD TIP 1, as Claire says to cut down on cost instead of servicing canapes and a starter, just serve a good quantity of canapes, these can act as a starter as well.

*FOOD TIP 2 bring in your own cake/dessert table by asking your guests to contribute! Your guests will love getting involved and helping out, you could even put on a cake making competition for them

*FOOD TIP 3 when catering for an evening reception with things like bacon butties, never cater for every guest, only about 70% of your guests will eat the evening food, if that!

Photo credits:
Canepes: Focaccia Canapes,  Breakfast canapes,  Parmesan cups ,  Bacon Lettuce and Grape ,  Crab Salad

Cake Table: Yellow cake table,  Dessert Bar, vintage tables and cake plates,   White draws,  Pastle cake table

Cheese: Top left,  Top right,  Bottom left,  Bottom middle,  Bottom right

A Brief History about the farm.
In 1947 my granddad Hector Andrew started our dairy farm. We are located in Dungworth on the top of one of the seven Hills Sheffield is built on.
When my grandad first started delivering his bottled milk in Sheffield, a pint of milk had the same value as a loaf of bread and a pint of beer.
60 years later my Mum, Dad and Brother are running the farm. Today the milk price is so poor three UK dairy farmers a day are giving up producing milk. We didn’t want to be next so Our Cow Molly dairy ice cream was born!
We have been producing our ice cream since 2007 and have had great support from the people of Sheffield.
The big difference in our ice cream is that we use fresh milk and cream, not many ice cream producers can afford to buy in so much dairy product, but we have 80 cows so that’s no problem for us!

I have to admit I am quite new to the ice cream, after a tasting a month or two ago, I took my husband up to the farm to investigate and buy some for our selves………………..we were REALLY impressed and have to say have been addicted to it ever since.

The ice cream is made with the farm’s milk and cream, to which we add only the best quality ingredients.
The ice cream is pasteurised and then left to age over night. By doing this all the ingredients bond together naturally helping the mixture to stabilise. The result is a rich, creamy texture that makes Our Cow Molly taste great!

The Ice cream comes in various yummy flavors:
VANILLA, STRAWBERRY, MINT CHOC CHIP, CHOCOLATE, RASPBERRY RIPPLE, PANNA COTTA, BANOFFEE, RUM & RAISIN, JUST MOLLY, CORA’S CHAOS, IRISH CREAM, LEMON & GINGER, SNICKERS, WILD CHERRY CHEESECAKE, BLACK FOREST GATEAUX, JAM ROLY POLY, and FERRERO ROCHER.

So far my favourite has to be the snickers but I still have a few left to try!!

Not only do Our Co Molly create the best ice cream to sell in their farm shop with a mixture of other farm goodies, the amazing ice cream is sold in a variety of shops and restaurants in and around Sheffield, for a full list go to the website.

Now if you are wondering what all this has to do with weddings……..well I’m getting to that part. Our Cow Molly is also available for hire………………….

The Wedding Cart

The 1st option is the Wedding Cart.
For a small charge you can hire the cart and staff with a choice of 4 flavours of ice cream scooped in to tub or into quality waffle cone. Transport in to Sheffield is free.

The 2nd option is the 4.5 L ice cream tubs to be used by the caterers for the wedding breakfast available in any flavour on the website.

The 3rd option is 120ml single serving tubs, the hotel or wedding venue usually have a large platter of ice with the small individual tubs sat it the ice to make a large display.

With all 3 options the bride and groom are able to try any ice cream before they decide on the flavours………….that’s got to be a reason to book!!

So go visit the farm and say hello to the cows, donkeys, sheep and chickens, while trying out THE best ice cream in the world, honestly I’m not exaggerating!! My husband agrees, and he knows his food!

For more information about having Our Cow Molly Ice Cream at your wedding go to www.ourcowmolly.co.uk or Vist the farm at:
Cliffe Cottage, Hill Top Road, Dungworth, Sheffield, S6 6GW
Tel. 0114 2332683

Or contact me here at Boho and I can give you some more details about prices.