Meringue Topped Mince Pies and Mini Mince Pies with Lids - Recipe

We ate all the crumble topped mince pies and because I've got lot's of mincemeat to use up I decided to rustle up these little beauties.

A cloud of crispy meringue

If there was a popularity contest for mince pies these would come third - first place is given to the crumble topped mince pies, second place to mini mince pies with a pastry lid and third place goes to meringue topped mince pies.

Mini Mince Pies with lids

I always use Delia's mincemeat recipe (it doesn't boil over) and if there is any left it keeps well.

You will need: 12 cup bun tin, greased and mincemeat

Recipe: for Meringue Topped mince pies or use the sweet pastry to make mini mince pies with lids.

For the sweet pastry:
225g plain flour, 115g butter, 50g lard, 25g icing sugar, 1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Sift flour into a bowl add the butter and lard. Rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the icing sugar and then the beaten egg. Bring together to form a smooth dough. Place in plastic bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Roll out just over half the pastry to 3mm thickness and cut out circles large enough to fit the base of the tart tins.
3. Place a dessert spoon of mincemeat into each pastry base.

Meringue Topping
2 egg whites
100g golden caster sugar

1. Whisk 2 egg whites to the soft peak stage. Gradually whisk in 100g caster sugar teaspoon by teaspoon until the meringue is stiff and glossy.
2. Place blobs of meringue on top of the mince meat and bake for 20 minutes, until pale golden. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the Mini Mince Pies - follow the sweet pastry recipe and cut out lids to fit the tops of the mince pies. Place a dessert spoon of mincemeat into each pastry base.  Wet the lids and press on to the sides of the pastry bases. Cut twice into each pastry lid and place the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes.  When they come out of the oven sprinkle with plenty of caster sugar. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then remove the pies to a wire rack. They will freeze successfully.

Berta upe Tilmantaitė | Myanmar

Photo © Berta upe Tilmantaite- All Rights Reserved

Viewing Vimeo's Staff Pick "A Handful of Myanmar" made me realize that it had been quite a while since I posted photographs or video of this wonderful country.

Myanmar is currently one of the hottest travel destinations. Tour groups, solo tourists, travel photographers are flocking to this wonderful Asian nation, and its hotels are virtually overbooked. Some may say that this influx of tourism (mostly Western), which increased almost 90% over the past 3 years, will eventually be detrimental to its culture, character and personality. Despite the recent cancellation of large tour groups from the US, the UK, Australia and France, Myanmar is planning for a significant tourist influx in the coming couple of years.

A far cry from when I visited in 2001 and 2002, when tourists were few...partly put off by the country's poor infrastructure and by the notion that tourism helped to retain the military junta in power.

Berta upe Tilmantaite is a Lithuanian multimedia journalist, photographer and story teller, currently based in Vilnius. She obtained her MA in International Multimedia Journalism from the University of Bolton / Beijing Foreign Studies University (Beijing) after graduating from Vilnius University.

I am featuring her work from Myanmar here, but also explore her other galleries of the Himalaya region, Tibet, Indonesia, Borneo, Mongolia, Thailand, Georgia and Portugal. Her video titled A Handful of Myanmar was a Vimeo Staff Pick.

Sponsored Video: Express Yourself With Canon #LEGRIA Mini

I’m always looking for fun ways to present content differently for the blog and how to make food as visually exciting and appealing as possible.

Good lighting, great props, some attention to styling and snapping away whilst getting straight into the action are some of my tried and tested methods to get great visuals but what if you’re looking for something new or unique?

Canon have introduced a nifty little video camera called the Legria mini and are challenging us foodies to create a-maz-ing content to inspire readers.

At just the size of your palm, this small camera is perfect for presenting a recipe to camera without the need for a camera assistant.  Imagine being able to put it on the work surface as you whizz, chop and create. It’s also light and versatile allowing you to capture every moment, which can be pulled together as a mini package afterwards.

The camera also boasts great sound and picture quality - so nothing to worry about if you’re a technophobe.  With wireless syncing ability with a smartphone or tablet – it’s just made life easier for all of us.

Let's take a look at the video to see what’s possible using it both inside and outdoors.  In the video they even put it in the fridge (I’m not sure I would go that far but it’s nice knowing it’s an option). With Christmas creeping up on us - this will be an ideal gift to get those creative juices simmering.

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Canon but all thoughts are our own.

Dude You’re Screwed! Premiers Dec 8, 2013 at 10PM

Dude You’re Screwed! is the newest survival show from the Discovery Channel. Stupid name, I know. We’ll see how the show actually turns out.

The show is based around five survival experts. Here are the credentials provided by the Discovery Channel:

• Terry Schappert, a Green Beret, A -Team leader, medic, sniper and close combat specialist
• John Hudson, an Extreme Survival Instructor for the UK Royal Air Force
• Matt Graham, a primitive skills expert and a desert survival instructor
• Jake Zweig, a former Navy SEAL, certified in Surface Warfare & as a dive safety officer and helicast master
• Tom Moore, a veteran Army Scout, bush craft master and wilderness guide

Each episode one of them will be dropped in a remote area of the wilderness without being told ahead of time where that will be. He then has 100 hours to make his way out. The other four experts will do some backseat driving, watching the progress on a television set, and commenting along the way. From the description, the show gives me a Bear Grylls vibe, which is not a good thing, but I’ll watch and see how it turns out.

The show airs this Sunday, December 8, 2013 at 10PM on the Discovery Channel right after the Naked and Afraid two hour premier.

Naked and Afraid Season 2 Starts Dec 8, 2013 at 8PM

That’s right, Naked and Afraid returns for season two. The new season is set to premier on December 8, 2013 at 8PM on the Discovery Channel.

For those of you not familiar with the show, the premise is that one man and one woman are dropped off in the wilderness. They are each allowed to bring only one tool, and nothing else. By nothing else, I mean, not even clothing. They then have to survive 21 days. The “no clothing” rule understandably seems to limit the show to areas where the temperatures will not cause immediate hypothermia, such as deserts and jungles. In season one, some of the people managed to make it, others did not.

Season two premiers with a two hour episode, where they will actually have four (4) people trying to survive together. I think the show is quite good at demonstrating the difficulties created by starvation, as well as the psychological impact of such a challenge.