Recipe ideas

[Chancer]

Some friends and I are having a picnic on Saturday and each of us usually makes and brings a couple of dishes, I am also doing an evening dive sesion in Belgium with my club tomorrow night and we usually share our casse croutes afterwards, I would like to make something different, not French although it does not need to be English for both occasions.

I will start by telling you what English ingredients I have in my cachette!

Colmans mustard powder

Picallili (actually bought from Lidl)

Birds custard powder

Mushroom ketchup

Worcestershire sauce

aperetif cups (mini canape bases from Belguim)

Vol au vent cases (again from Belgium)

Asda raisin and sultana mix

Asda cherry, berry and raisin mix

Dessicated coconut, creamed coconut, coconut milk

Red and green Thai curry paste (the proper stuff)

So any ideas for a savoury dish either entrée or main that can be eaten cold and a cold dessert would be gratefully recieved.

I woud really like to make a trifle but I dont think one can buy flavoured jelly in France, am I wrong? Or does anyone know how to make a suitable substitute for jelly in trifle, I have gelatine.

Many thanks in advance

[Russethouse]

Real trifle does not have  jelly !  [:)]  And there is some debate about whether it has fruit too......

[Patf]

I agree, RH, you don't need jelly for trifle;

From your ingredients the obvious savoury suggestion is  curry - but do you like cold curry? Perhaps it would be ok - the first proper curry I ate was in Malaya and it was cold, or anyway lukewarm. Quite a surprise.

[Chancer]

Yes I did read some references to that when I used the search facility, however I am still none the wiser as to how to make a real trifle without jelly.

Pray tell! [;-)]

[Chancer]

My posting overlapped PatF.

I did think of making a biryani and serving it cold or trying to keep it warm, however I do find that my friends whilst they like to think of themselves as adventurous in restauarants (in reality they get served food made to the French palate), when faced with something unknown and made by an Engishman to boot they usually find an excuse to refuse.

I have more success with finger food and aperos as they can try a little first and usually always hoover up whats left after tasting it but faced with a serving of biryani I reckon they would chicken out.

Once I made a tarte d'abricot in England to a French recipe and brought it over to a diner party in a chilly bin, it was refused by everyone.

Recently I made a chocolate and walnut cheesecake which everyone thought looked great but wanted to know what it was before eating it, I told the guests that I would tell them afterwards and served them, there then followed a stalemate where no-one would even dare try a mouthfull, well you can imagine their reaction when I explained it was a gateau à fromage!

However they were stuck with a plate of a weird and horrible sounding foreign dish in front of them, I thought one lady was going to pretend to faint, luckily a child had the guts to try and gave it the thumbs up and the rest followed like sheep.

[Russethouse]

 For trifle I use trifle sponges but you could use swiss roll sliced up, or any similar plain sponge in the base, soak with sherry then if wanted add fruit, I like tinned peaches. Then make thickish custard so it will set when cold and pour over. Wait for it to cool and add a good layer of whipped cream and decorate with flaked almonds and cherry halves...

[Chancer]

Thanks Russethouse.

The biggest challenge here is getting the ingredients, trifle sponges or swiss roll is out, I will either have to bake a sponge or use madeleines, then we are on to the cream which wont whip, luckily I got some good tips from the thread I opened on this subject.

Cadburys flake for the top? - er I dont think so!

You mention fruit if wanted, can one really call something without jelly and fruit a trifle?

[partout]

When I was overseas, I was unable to buy trifle sponges, and yes I made a plain sponge and used that instead, but I also used quite sucesfully champagne finger biscuits, I think they are called 'BOUDOIR' no comments lads.... add a little strawberry jam and some sherry, also, when making the custard add a couple of spoons of sherry.

[Doodle]

Hi

I have a recipe for cherry berry flapjacks but you will need oats and golden syrup - if you can get your hands on these items I will send the recipe - they taste extremely good, i made them for a charitable fete and they were thoroughly enjoyed by the french and the english.

You can buy flavoured jelly in the 'U' supermarkets, the last one I bought was .99. However, I have discovered gelatin leaves .75 for a pack of 9 and I tend to use 3 which you soak for 5 mins in very cold water and then when they've gone squidgy I mix them with a warmed raspberry coulis to melt them and then pour over frozen raspberries or frozed mixed red fruits from 'U' and by using frozen fruits it sets in no time at all. I also make it in individual dishes (plastic ones for picnics). The gelatin doesn't taste just sets so you get a lovely taste of real fruit.

Hope this helps and best wishes for the picnic.........Chris

[Théière]

Trifle on telly at the moment Loose women ITV

[suein56]

[quote user="Chancer"]

The biggest challenge here is getting the ingredients, trifle sponges or swiss roll is out ...[/quote]

As I introduced our french friends to homemade trifle I now have to make it regularly. For the sponge I buy quatre quart from Casino or elsewhere - choose the one made with butter. Coat the chunks of cake with good strawberry jam or raspberry jelly. If in season I buy a fresh pineapple for the fruit element, as it tastes brilliant; though tinned will do. Instead of sherry I use pineau de charente as our friends all have seem to have a sweet tooth. We used to have amontillado or dry sherry, which they all tried - to drink - but didn't like.

Apart from that very much like RH's recipe - use thick custard, then whipped cream, chopped almonds and/or grated chocolate for the topping.

Sue

[just john]

Coronation chicken goes with anything, rice or salad or vol au vent or sandwiches, can be as easy chucking chicken and raisins into to a mild curry sauce and cooking through then allowing to cool, add yoghurt or cream,

or as complicated as http://www.waitrose.com/recipe/Coronation_Chicken.aspx 

followed by an easy instant trifle; 
individual dishes or large bowl, broken sponge of any origin or madelines whatever, large splash of cointreau (best!) or pineau, chopped oranges or apricots whatever, covered with Creme anglais or even custard, topped with whipped chantilly cream (even out of an aerosol is allowed for this), sprinkle glace fruits, I like a bit of ginger, or chopped nuts.

A chilled glass of Cremant de anything or any bubbly is a pretty good accompaniment.

Voila!

 

 

[osie]

I would do a beef stew with the

Colmans mustard powder

Picallili (actually bought from Lidl)

Birds custard powder

Mushroom ketchup

Worcestershire sauce

and put them in the

Vol au vent cases (again from Belgium)

A Savory rice

Asda raisin and sultana mix

Asda cherry, berry and raisin mix

Some white fish dish with the

Dessicated coconut, creamed coconut, coconut milk

Red and green Thai curry paste (the proper stuff)

Banana and custard pudding

Birds custard powder 

I should mention that this is more of a ready steady cook suggestion rather than something I would go out and purchase.

[Gardengirl]

I also make trifle like Russethouse.

''Once I made a tarte d'abricot in England to a French recipe and brought it over to a diner party in a chilly bin, it was refused by everyone.''

I can't imagine life down here without tartes et tartelettes d'abricots! Apple and fig have their place too of course, but we all eat a lot of the apricot variety!  [:D]