Seven Swans a-Swimming

Televisions across the globe are already full of Christmas cooking shows old and new, but sadly it seems that the brilliant Cradock Cooks for Christmas don't feature in the UK schedules this year. To console myself I am armed with my trustee booklet and will be sharing a series of special posts showcasing their creations. To get us all in the Christmassy mood, as if we need any motivation, Fanny shares another fun idea to get the young ones involved - Edible Swans. Presumably creations based on the other 11 Days of Christmas would push us all over the edge.

The small fry are still not trusted to do any actual cooking of course, it is all about garnish and presentation naturally. Ingredients are eggs and potatoes, all cooked by the parents perhaps? Fanny does urge the young ones to 'go to work on a hard boiled egg' though - by which she isn't echoing the famous advertising slogan but instead wants them to SAFELY do a spot of slicing. Just a sliver from the base lengthwise so that it stands 'steadily' is all that is required at first, followed by two small slices from each side, also lengthwise. Then it's the potatoes. As it's Fanny, she wants them mashed and coloured with harmless food colouring - green of course.

Once they are a lovely, ahem, shade of green they need to go into a piping bag ready for the assembly.

Fanny reassures the young folk if they aren't keen on piping that they can 'fork up' the seasoned mashed potatoes instead, but either way they need to cover the 'saddle' of the swan and start to come down over the cut sides before sticking in the cut bits to make the wings. Another smaller piece of egg slice makes the tail and these little swans are almost ready to swim off. Fanny gives a template for the head and neck, but it's really just a bit of a pipe cleaner shaped like a '2' and pushed into the end of the egg. And there we have it, swans ready to swim and present to your parents while you sing along - and they actually look quite cute. Let's hope no-one asks why on earth they have green feathers...