Greg’s Crayfish Mornay Recipe

Ingredients

1-2 Crayfish/Lobster tails
2 cups of milk
1 small onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
60 grams of butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup grated parmesan, plus 1/4 cup extra
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
chopped parsley for garnish

It’s not Christmas Day without a Cray Mornay

Steps

Add milk, quartered onion, bay leaf and cloves into a medium size saucepan on a medium heat until the onion layers start to separate (5 minutes). Once the mixture has cooled slightly, drain through a sieve into a jug.
Add butter to a medium saucepan and melt at a low-medium heat. Once the butter starts bubbling slightly, season and add flour. Mix for 1 minute until combined, then lower the heat.
Add milk to butter/flour in about 4-5 stages, constantly mixing and only adding the next stage of milk once the current lot has incorporated with the butter/flour and is smooth. Once all of the milk is added, continue to stir until the sauce is a medium consistency. Take off the heat.
Add dijon mustard and 1/4 cup cheese to sauce. Stir until cheese has melted.
Preheat oven as hot as your oven can go, up to 240 degrees on grill.
Prepare crayfish/lobster by halving tails lengthwise, discarding the gut tract, and removing the meat. Cut tail meat into bite-size pieces.
Combine crayfish meat with sauce, season and add the combined mixture back into the shells. Sprinkle remaining cheese, parsley and breadcrumbs over sauce in shells. Place shells on an oven tray and grill for 5-10 minutes, or until breadcrumbs have browned. Rest for a few minutes and devour!

Pauline’s Prize Christmas Cake

Pauline’s Christmas cake tradition began back in 1978 when she was awarded the Australian and New Zealand Complete Book of Cookery as a school prize. She has been making it every year since, including this year. She makes it in July and douses it monthly with brandy!

Ingredients

1.134kg mized dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, dates or prunes, mixed peel, apricots or figs, currants, glace cherries)
6 Tbsp rum, brandy, or sweet sherry
227g Butter
1 1/3 (227g) brown sugar
1 tsp almond essence
2 Tbsp golden syrup
4 eggs
57g almonds or walnuts, chopped
2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
28g cornflour
2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 300-325°F (148-162°C)
Wash, dry and chop the dried fruits as required, sprinkle with the spirits or sherry and stand aside for a few hours or overnight.
Beat the butter, sugar, almond essence and golden syrup together until light and creamy, add the eggs gradually, beating well after each addition.
Stir in half the fruit, almonds or walnuts and the sifted dry ingredients.
Spoon the mixture into prepared 7-inch or 8-inch round or square cake tin and press down firmly.
Place into a slow oven and cook for 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Preparation of tin

Line the tin with 4 thicknesses of paper, 2 of brown and 2 of white or greaseproof. Care must be taken to mitre the corners well so that the cooked cake will be of an even shape. Allow the paper to extend 2-3 inches above the tin.

Rachel’s Classic Cheeseball

“In my family, Christmas Day (or really any celebration) is not complete without a classic cheese ball. We are particularly fond of it being rolled in sesame seeds and paired with some Snax crackers!”

Ingredients