Recipe(tried): Oxtail for Sunday

Hi,
Yesterday was pretty cold here in S.Africa so as I was baking most of the morning,I thought a nice warming casseole would go down well,so this is what I made

OXTAIL CASSEROLE
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2 Tbls olive oil
2lbs whole oxtail
1 lb onions,finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 pint chicken stock
8 oz seedless grapes
6 sun-dried tomatoes finely chopped and mixed with1 Tbls tomatoe puree
1/2 tsp each of dried thyme,marjoram and sage
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbls freshly chopped coriander for garnish(or parsley)

Saute oxtail in heated oil til browned all over,place in casserole dish,saute onions and garlic for acouple of mins and add that also to the casserole.
Pour in stock to pan and 1/2 the grapes,the sundried tomatoe mixture and the herbs.Add heated mix to casseole ,season to taste and place in the oven at180C(350f)for about 2 1/2 hrs or til tender,add the remaining grapes 15 mins berore end of cooking.
I served it with these lovely sweet potatoes and steamed baby green beans.FLUFFY MASHED SWEET POTATOES
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2 cup Cooked, mashed sweet potatos
3 each Bananas, mashed
1/2 cup milk
Half cup Prune juice
3tbsp Honey
1 tsp Allspice
2 tsp Chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 375F. Combine all ingredients except ginger & beat till
fluffy. Pour into greased casserole & bake 50 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle with
candied ginger.

And for dessert i made British chefs Brian Turners wonderful Bannoffe cheesecake,it was rich and delicious(so I had 1 day with out checking to make sure everything was low fat!!!!!!,but I have lost wt so I had a tiny peice of this cheesecake!! Banoffee Cheesecake with Toffee Pecan Sauce
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Base
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4oz sweet oat biscuits(i used digestives-)
1 1/2oz melted butter
1 1/2oz pecan nuts
Filling
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3 medium size ripe bananas (8oz peeled weight)
1tbsp lemon juice
3 size 1 eggs
12oz medium fat curd cheese(I used plain cream cheese)
200g tub fromage frais
8oz caster sugar

Sauce
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2oz butter
3oz soft brown sugar
1 1/2oz pecan nuts
2oz granulated sugar
5oz golden syrup
5oz double cream

Topping
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3 medium size ripe bananas
2tbsp lemon juice
Preheat oven to 150 C/300 F/gas mark 2.
For the base:
Place biscuits in bowl and crush them. Add melted butter and chopped pecan nuts. Mix well and put in cake base. Pre-bake in oven for 15 minutes.

For the filling:
Blend bananas and lemon juice in processor until smooth then simply add the rest of the filling ingredients. Blend and pour over biscuit base. Bake on middle shelf of oven for 1 hour.

For the sauce:
In a saucepan, place butter, sugars and syrup and over a low heat let everything dissolve completely. Pour in cream and stir until smooth. Add the chipped pecan nuts and stir. Remove from the heat and allow to cool completely before pouring into a jug ready for serving.

Decorate with slices of banana that have been soaked in lemon juice and serve with the sauce.


Hope you,ll try some of these recs,I,m back to cooking light today so it,ll be steamed fish with a lemon sauce tonight and no dessert for me!!!!!