Christmas Beef Madras

Ingredients
450g diced beef
1 tbsp butter / 3 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp madras curry powder
1/4 tsp chilli powder
2 large red chillies
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp cranberry sauce
Handful of dried cranberries
1 beef stockpot
1 x 400ml tin of tomatoes

Method
1. Seal beef in oil / butter - remove from pan, and fry off onion.
2. Add curry powder and cook for a couple minutes, before adding in stockpot and tomato puree - finally add tinned tomatoes, chilli powder, chillies, cranberry sauce, and cranberries.
3.  Bring to simmering point and add sealed beef.
4. Cook in a low oven for 2-3 hours until beef is tender.

Status
Should serve 4 - cooked at Christmas one year and came out well - can adjust spices to taste.

Vanilla Cream Shortbread Biscuits

Ingredients: Biscuits
110g sugar
110g butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
225g plain flour
Ingredients: Icing
50g softened butter
110g icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Cream butter and sugar with vanilla extract - add egg yolk and plain flour
2. Rest mix (refrigerate overnight if possible - can also freeze at this point)
3. Roll out / cut to size required - refrigerate before baking at 180C for 6-8 minutes
4. Cream icing sugar, vanilla and butter for icing - once the biscuits are cool, sandwich together with icing, and dust with icing sugar

Status
Made once - mix makes a lot of smaller biscuits - very nice!

Mini Lemon Meringues

Ingredients: Lemon Curd
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
3 lemons, juice of
75g unsalted butter

Ingredients: Meringue
2 egg whites
150g granulated sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Method:
1. Beat egg whites until foamy, and the salt, and begin to sprinkle in sugar while continuing to whisk until the mix is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks.
2. Fold in lemon zest and vanilla extract - form into 25 small meringues, and bake for c. 2 hours at 100C - remove from oven and allow to cool.
3. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks in a large heatproof bowl until well combined - add the sugar and stir in the lemon juice.
4.  Add the butter and set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water (making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water).
5. Stir with a wooden spoon until the butter melts, then use a whisk to continuously stir the ingredients and cook for 10-12 minutes until the curd thickens.
6. Once cool sandwich two mini meringues together with the curd, and place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes before serving - will keep in freezer for a few weeks, but only a couple of days outside.

Status
Won a bake-off heat with these!