t's a festive favourite but with so many different people to please making a trifle is often more complicated than its name suggests. Our Good Food experts and Good Food fans share their tips on getting it right. What our experts say: Use up leftovers Food editor, bbcgoodfood.com, Caroline Hire: "Use leftover Christmas pudding instead of sponge and Grand Marnier instead of sherry.'" Quick festive trifle Cookery assistant, Cassie Best: "For a gorgeous festive trifle I place slices of ginger cake at the bottom then layer up with clementine slices (which look great lined around the edge of the bowl) mixed with a little chopped stem ginger and a drizzle of sherry, amaretto or Grand Marnier, then top with custard, cream and flaked almonds."
Ingredients 1.3kg floury potatoes 300g lard 2 tbsp semolina Method Peel potatoes and cut into even-size pieces (Ivy House used Marfona and allowed 4 pieces per person). Put potatoes in boiling salted water. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Meanwhile, melt lard in a thick roasting pan in the oven at 220C/fan 200/gas 7. (Ivy House tried both goose fat and butcher’s beef dripping, but found neither as successful as good old lard.) Drain the potatoes and put back in the saucepan with a couple of tbsp of semolina. Cover the pan and shake it to rough up the potatoes. Remove the baking tray from the oven and put the potatoes in the lard, turning to coat each one in the melted lard. Return the tray to the oven and roast for 40 mins, turning the potatoes 2-3 times as necessary. Remove tray from the oven and put the potatoes in a serving dish. Return the dish of potatoes to the hot oven for 10 mins to dry any fat off. Serve straight away – roast potatoes wait for no man!
Ingredients 1.6kg ducks 2 sprigs thyme 2 bay leaves 4 tbsp honey 2 bunches watercress For the creamed cauliflower 1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets 2 shallots, finely sliced knob of butter 4 tbsp double cream For the garlic crisps 6 garlic cloves 300ml milk vegetable oil, for frying Method Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Dry the duck with kitchen paper and liberally season all over with coarse salt. Put the thyme and bay leaves inside the cavity, then place the duck on a rack over a roasting tray. Cook for 10 mins or until the skin begins to turn golden, then reduce the heat to 180C/fan 160C/ gas 4. Cook for a further 45 mins, basting the bird with honey every 5 mins or so for the final 20 mins of cooking. Your bird will now be roasted to medium – cook 10 mins more, if you like your duck well done. Set aside to rest, uncovered, for 10 mins. Meanwhile, make the creamed cauliflower. In a pan, cook the caulifl ower and shallots in the butter over a low heat for 20 mins until softened and any liquid has evaporated. Spoon into a liquidiser with the cream and whizz to a purée. Season and keep warm. For the garlic crisps, thinly slice the garlic cloves using a really sharp knife or a mandolin. Place the slices in a pan along with the milk and slowly bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and strain the garlic slices, discarding the milk (or save it for mashed potato). Leave the garlic to drain on kitchen paper. Cover the bottom of a frying pan with the oil and heat. Fry the slices, a couple at a time, until golden and crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon. To serve, carve the duck and serve alongside the creamed caulifl ower and sprigs of watercress, sprinkled with the crisp garlic slices.
Ingredients For the duck 1½-2kg/3lb 5oz-4lb 8oz oven-ready duck 2 tsp coarse sea salt (see 'Try' below) 4 tbsp clear honey 2 tsp sesame seeds For the red wine sauce 125ml red wine 150ml chicken stock (or water with a small sprinkling of chicken stock cube) knob of butter Method Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Score the duck breast skin with a sharp knife. This helps release excess fat from the skin as the bird roasts. Season the duck with the sea salt and pepper, then sit it on a rack set in a roasting tray and roast for 1½ hrs. Remove the bird from the oven and pour off the excess fat collected in the tray. Return the duck to the roasting tray, then spoon 3 tbsp of the honey over to cover the breasts and legs. Roast the duck for a further hr, basting with the honey every 10-15 mins. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top during the final 10 mins of roasting. Once cooked, remove duck from the roasting tray, and allow it to rest for 10-15 mins. Spoon the remaining tbsp of honey over the duck as it rests. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pour off any excess fat from the roasting tin, leaving behind a couple of tbsp of the honey and duck juices. Heat the roasting tray on top of the stove. Once the contents sizzle and become well caramelised, pour in the red wine, then boil for a few mins to reduce by about a third. Pour in the chicken stock (or water and stock cube), then simmer for several mins, also allowing it to slightly reduce to strengthen the flavour. Finish off the sauce (which is quite loose) with the knob of butter (for thicker gravy see 'Try' below). Season with salt and pepper and strain through a fine sieve, if you like. Now finsih it in style: Gary say's: I prefer to serve just the half duck on the plate. To do this, remove the duck breasts and legs from the breast bone by cutting either side of the breast bone, following its natural line. Drizzle any excess honey juices over and offer all accompaniments separately.