193: Nigel's delightful trifle, p234

The final recipe, and fit for a celebratory meal with friends, on New Year's Eve, to follow the goosehttp://mousemeals.blogspot.com/2011/01/192-roast-goose-juniper-sauce-and-apple.html! I still don't much like trifle, so wasn't looking forward to this one, but other people seem to love trifle, so I decided safety in numbers... and the Limoncello trifle from the book was amazing and the first trifle I've ever liked, so maybe, just maybe...

And it was a hit. Inspite of not being able to get blackcurrants (doh, it was December of course... I should have gotten some ages ago and popped them in the freezer if I wasn't going to do the trifle straight away), darling hubby whilst on his goose chase, found some mixed 'black forest fruits' in the frozen section - blackcurrants, blackberries, cherries, and black grapes. So we used them instead. Near enough :) How slapdash I have become!

The cream mixture on top, all though a faff (three bowls required - mix egg yolk and sugar in one, whip the cream in another, whip the egg white in another...), was divine - not too sweet, but light and fluffy, and picked out by several guests as being particularly noteworthy. And the cake below was a mixture of berry juice soaked and dry and fluffy. Very good indeed, and seconds all round.

Phew. So, it is done. Finished. The whole book, 193 recipes, in 365 days.

192: Roast goose, juniper sauce and apple and lemon puree, p385

New Year's Eve! And the last two recipes! Hurrah! We searched high and low for a goose that wasn't going to bankrupt us and the hubby marvellously managed to find a frozen one in Sainsbury's for a mere £28, on Christmas Eve. Ha! We'd never had goose before, either of us, and ironically found out two days before Christmas that the aunt we were visiting for Christmas Day had decided to roast two geese for lunch this year - so we ended up having it twice in a week! Bizarre. Luckily we both really liked it on Christmas Day - phew.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture until we'd finished eating... whoops... but here's a picture of the carcass :)

It's not really a recipe in the book - no additions other than some salt, but I followed the cooking instructions exactly, and it was perfect. Not dry, not too fatty, crispy on the outside, and I did all of the accompaniments - the onion gravy from the pork leg with added juniper and redcurrant jelly (okay, cranberry sauce, but near enough...), the cabbage with orange and juniper, roast potatoes, and apple and lemon puree. Delicious. If goose wasn't so pricey, I would do this again. Frequently...

Now, on New Year's Day, the carcass has been picked, an enormous pot of stock has been made with the remains, there's a big tub of goose fat saved for future roasties, and I'm going to freeze some of the stock and use the rest to make some restorative noodle soup with the picked goose meat. Yum.

And here are the dinner guests post-goose: