Raspberries and Cream - 1 Basic Recipe, 2 Decadent Desserts

Raspberries are such a great fruit for adding a hit of flavour to desserts. As soon as the sunny weather comes the hot, comforting puddings are swiftly replaced with fruity desserts. I have to admit, I cannot resist a creamy fruity dessert hence why today's post contains not one, but two raspberry desserts!

Both recipes use the same basic recipe but used in two different ways you have two delicious alternative desserts. This makes dessert preparation so easy, especially when entertaining and you have guests who have different preferences, or as in our case, children who like different desserts!

For adults, Manchester Gin's raspberry infused gin added to the raspberry coulis makes these desserts an exquisite treat! When you pair the sharp flavours from the raspberries with a creamy cheese sauce you are left with a truly indulgent dessert.

This is what I did...

Rich Venison Ragu

Game is such a lovely rich meat that we do not have as often as we would like. But this does make it a treat when we do have it. I will admit to buying this venison a few weeks ago when it was in the reduced section and put it straight in the freezer. Venison is a mince that I like to take my time cooking, I like to spend time perfecting the meal, it is not a meat that I like to cook when in a rush. With venison mince I find that the slower it is cooked, the tastier it becomes. So during the half term holidays I took the opportunity to put together a recipe that I had planned. During a shopping trip to our local TKMaxx to pick up some gourmet pasta I found a lovely Sicilian herb mix. These two ingredients were the finishing touches that I needed to create a rich ragu dinner.

This ragu takes just over an hour to cook but believe me it is certainly worth the extra effort. The extra time allows the flavours to marry together to create a deliciously rich sauce that you will not be able to resist!

This is what I did...

Easy Giant Couscous and Mixed Bean Salad

As soon as the good weather comes I love getting creative with my salads. Trying new ingredients and new flavour combinations is all part of the fun of recipe development. Now that I am working full time I am constantly making meals that can either be heated up as leftovers the following lunch time or bulk making salads that will give the hubby and I lunches for a couple of days.

This recipe came along after a compromise between the hubby and I. I enjoy couscous but he does not like the regular small couscous but he does like giant couscous. He finds it to be more filling and more of a satisfying addition to a salad. I find couscous of any size such a versatile ingredient that can be adapted to fit each individual meal. If I am adding chicken I cook the couscous in chicken stock, if I am using vegetables I use a vegetable stock. I find that cooking the grains in stock injects so much flavour to the dish.

This salad is not only an easy meal to make but also keeps well in the fridge for up to three days. It made a delicious salad, especially when served with some crunchy fresh bread!

This is what I did...