Christmas!

Well this year Christmas was certainly a gastronomic delight!  I'm dreading walking on the scales in 2011.  That, however, is something for another day as today I'll be posting about yummy Christmas hors d'oeurves.  Mmmm.

In This Post


Bell Burgers
Pear Bellinis
Beetroot and Dill Blini
Smoked Salmon Blini

Bell Burgers

We've been having Bell Burgers for as long as I can remember at Christmas.  For me, it's not Christmas without them!  My family and I were discussing this year the origins of the Bell Burger, and for the life of us we couldn't say.  Some people say that my mother introduced them, others say my aunt Gwynne.  I think this recipe has been kicking about in various forms (according to my research) since the 1970s but they never fail to delight those who eat them.  I'm always surprised that such, well, humble ingredients can make something so tasty!

Because the recipe uses ingredients that really can only be found in the US, I'll include a UK version that's almost as good (and that took me five years to get right...)

US Version

It's so simple...

  1lb ground beef
  1lb loose sausage (like Bob Evans)
  1lb Velveeta
  1 packet of party Jewish Rye bread (available in the bread aisle of most supermarkets)
  1 dash of Worcestershire Sauce

Using these proportions you can make as little or as many Bell Burgers as you like.  Now, I usually make two batches at a time so I get the maple Bob Evans sausage and the hot Italian Bob Evans sausage and mix the two so you get a sweet-spicy thing going on.  With the saltiness of the Velveeta it tastes brilliant.

First brown the sausage and beef in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, making sure you break up the meat with a spoon or spatula.  Once browned, drain off the excess fat and try a little while longer.  Add the Worcestershire sauce to taste.  Then cut the Velveeta up into smaller pieces, turn the heat down to low and melt the cheese into the sausage and beef mixture. 

You're good to go, just spoon about a dessertspoon's worth onto the party rye breads and either broil them until they're brown or put them in some tupperware and freeze them until you're ready to use them.  You can put them directly from the freezer into the oven and in about 10-15 minutes you've got Bell Burgers!

UK Version

  500g mince beef
  500g sweet chilli sausages, meat taken out of its casing (available at Tesco, Sainsbury's or Asda)
  500g primula cheese (it usually works out to about three tubes)
  1 dash Worcester sauce
  Rye bread


Now, the method is the same as the US version, however a little more work is involved in the UK version.  This is because the party rye breads described above can't be found in the UK.  Believe me, I've looked.  What I do is actually make my own rye baguettes (with caraway seeds - very important!) using a recipe in one of our bread books.  You could also try using stale caraway rye bread and cutting it to size but that doesn't really work out that well as the bread usually becomes soggy without a crust to support it.  


Everyone does enjoy the UK version of my Bell Burgers, but it really can't beat the original!  If anyone has any suggestions for improvement, do get in touch...

 
Pear Bellinis


  1 can pear halves
  1 sprig rosemary (plus more for garnish)
  1/2 lemon
  dried cranberries (for garnish)
  sparkling wine or champagne (preferably off-dry)

We saw this recipe in Bon Appetit I think it was and adapted it for our own use.  

Puree the pear halves in the blender along with some rosemary leaves, a little lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon.  Test for sweetness.  The puree should be sweet but tangy.  If you are not satisfied, add lemon or sugar to taste.  

Then spear four or five cranberries onto rosemary sprigs (with the leaves removed, except for the very top) and put in a champagne flute.  Then spoon a good amount of the pear puree into the glass.  Now the trick with these is to make sure you put enough of the pear puree in the glass to make the cocktail sweet and pear-y enough, but not too much so that you can still taste the wine.  It's a balance thing.  Try experimenting to match your own preferences.  I don't like the fact that I can't see the cranberries in the glass though.  Next time I might strain the pureed pears through a cheese cloth or use the pear nectar in the tinned pears for a clearer colour.



Beetroot and Dill Blini


This idea came to me from a friend who made this for a charity event we were organising.  It was so delicious I decided to try this myself.  I hunted high and low for buckwheat flour and finally prevailed, but if you can't find any feel free to use plain flour.  

The blini recipe I used can be found on Epicurious here.  The only difference was that I served the blini cold and used beetroot, sour cream and dill (plus smoked salmon and dill for some of them).  

What a yummy Christmas!  

Lxx