Just for a bit of editorial opinion, the Brits are crazy about Christmas. Not necessarily the holiday itself, just the season in general. Every, and I mean every, restaurant has some sort of Christmas dinner, and you cannot go to church or class or anywhere without there being mince pies for consumption. I don't know how they don't gain a stone* in the month of December (actually, they probably do). The "Christmas dinner" is very popular here and every group you're in has to have one. For example, the International 16 and the Int'l Society have had one, and I made a Christmas pudding for our Student Bible Study Christmas dinner.
Actually, Josh and I made the pudding. I'd never had Christmas pudding, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think if you're going to cook, you might as well go all out, so we did. For the US folks, a Christmas pudding is sort of a fruit cake (not a fruitcake, just sort of an improvised sponge cake packed with fruit). Generally, you're supposed to make your pudding a month before Christmas and just let it sit in a cool dark place until you eat it, but we made it the day before and everyone at our Christmas dinner raved about it.
The original recipe and what we ended up actually making were quite different, so I'm posting the recipe we ended up with and pictures of the process. Also, I am putting the American and British measurements on here. Something else I learned: a British measuring cup is different. A cup is 10 oz where a US cup is 8. This may have been why my biscuits (scones) have turned out dry lately. Anyway, the recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (110 g) shredded suet* (we used vegetable suet)
1/4 cup (50 g) self-raising flour, sifted
1/2 cup (110 g) white breadcrumbs
1 tsp. ground mixed spice (in the US I think you can just use pumpkin pie spice, same mixture)
1/4 tsp. grated or ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 cup (225 g) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup/4 oz (110 g) sultanas (yellow raisins)
1/2 cup/4 oz (110 g) raisins
1 and 1/4 cup/10 oz (275 g) dried currants
1/8 cup (25 g) ground mixed nuts
1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
zest of one orange
zest of one lemon
1 bottle (200 mL) stout (we used Guinness)
2 large eggs
1 grated carrot (Josh's Granny's secret ingredient)
In a mixing bowl, thoroughly mix the suet, sifted flour, breadcrumbs, spices and brown sugar. Gradually mix in the dried fruits and nuts, then the apple, carrot and orange/lemon zests. In a smaller bowl, pour the stout in, then add the eggs and beat together thoroughly (the beer will probably foam up, but it doesn't really matter). Pour the egg/stout mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon. It should be stirred very thoroughly and let all involved have a turn. The consistency should be very wet/sloppy - it should fall instantly from the spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl. If it doesn't, add a little more stout (or, alternately, the recipe calls for 2 oz of rum, but we didn't have that). Cover the bowl and leave for half an hour (or overnight if you have plenty of time).
Pour the mixture into a lightly greased pudding basin (this is essentially a glass mixing bowl, 2 pint sized, that can withstand a lot of heat. You could probably use a Pyrex mixing bowl in the US, but it needs to be sort of deep because the mixture expands as you cook it.). Then, you cover the bowl with Saran wrap (the recipe said parchment, foil and string, but we were kind of lazy and didn't have that stuff). Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water. I don't think this part is feasible for the US people, but basically, we put boiling water into a wide, shallow slow cooker with a lid and let it steam for 6-8 hours until it's puffed up (you'll know it) and you can smell the deliciousness. You'll have to keep adding boiling water every couple of hours as the steam evaporates. We also replaced the Saran wrap once because it seemed to be getting kind of tacky and we didn't want it to melt.
Josh is showing off the cooking process. Note: there is a lid that goes on the slow cooker.
The lovely finished product. It's not very pretty, really, but it tastes awesome.
Leave out overnight or until you're ready to serve it (don't refrigerate). To heat, either steam it in the slow cooker until warm if you have time (an hour or two?) or do like we did and just microwave on half power for a while. Be careful if microwaving because the dried fruit can get molten and sometimes pop. Run a knife around the bowl and turn over onto a plate (something with sides is advantageous with the next part). If, like ours, it sticks to the bottom, just rearrange it or put something on top to make it pretty, like holly.
Heat a ladle-full of brandy over the hob* and when it's hot (don't let it get too hot, or it'll explode and set you and your house on fire), set it (carefully) alight and pour slowly over the top and sides of the pudding and watch it flame to the cheers of the assembled company. I enjoyed this part, since I'm kind of a pyro anyway. You can't tell from the picture, but there's a lovely blue flame over the top.
Serve with brandy butter (the bestest part!!! - it's almost like cream cheese frosting): equal parts butter and powdered icing sugar (1/2 cup - 1 stick was enough for us) and however much brandy you want (Josh used just a couple of spoonfuls, but you could probably liquor it up good if you wanted). Blend or smoosh together with a spoon and serve with the pudding. It helps to have Christmas crackers and party poppers about (see Andrew below in the fun crown and our vicar's wife, Rachel doing the honors).
*stone - British weight measurement (14 American pounds)
suet - vegetable or beef fat that's solid (like lard, I guess)
hob - the cooktop on a stove or "range"
That's all for now. I'll be in Northern Ireland for Christmas and in Dorset (southwest England) with Josh for New Year's, so expect exciting posts after my essays are finished.
To close, an English carol I find particularly poignant being in Manchester:
In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow
In the bleak mid-winter, long, long ago.
Our God, heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak mid-winter, a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,
Breastful of milk and a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him whom angels fall before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
Angels and archangels may have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim thronged in the air;
But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the beloved with a mother's kiss.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what can I give Him: give Him my heart.
Merry Christmas!
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