Buy Gressingham Duck for Christmas

Turkey too dry? Chicken just not quite got what it takes? Then why not get a Gressingham Foods Duck for the festive season?

Gressingham Foods shares some festive cooking tips and tasty whole duck recipes – perfect for December’s numerous celebrations.

Forget 12 days of Christmas, roast Gressingham duck is a delicious alternative any day of the yuletide calendar – be it Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year. It’s perfect for anyone looking for something special and different – and makes a delicious centrepiece to any festive celebration.

Gressingham whole duck (available in all major UK retailers and direct at Gressingham’s website – www.gressinghamfoods.co.uk) is packed full of flavour, easy to carve and feeds up to four guests. Its moist, juicy and flavoursome meat is delicious roasted thanks to the Gressingham breed’s high quantity of succulent breast meat and lower fat content.

December is a month for celebrating, partying and indulging – making it the busiest month in the social calendar. To save you time searching for the perfect recipe, Gressingham has shared one of its tastiest and festive whole duck recipes below. Gressingham Whole Duck with Cointreau, Rosemary and Caramelised Orange compliments the rich flavour of the unique Gressingham breed, is oh so simple to prepare and ideal served with all the traditional Christmas trimmings.

RECIPE

Gressingham Whole Duck with Cointreau, Rosemary and Caramelised Orange

(Serves 3 to 4)

Ingredients

1 Gressingham whole duck, weighing 1.8kg

200g sugar

Juice of 1 orange

3 tbsp Cointreau

1 small onion, peeled

5 large sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 small orange, cut into slices

150ml duck or chicken stock

Salt

Method

Preheat oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7. Place the sugar, orange juice and 2 tbsp Cointreau in a heavy based pan on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes or until syrupy.

Prick the skin of the duck and place the onion and one sprig of rosemary in the cavity. Sit the duck on a rack in a roasting tin containing 150ml water. Roast for 20 minutes.

Remove the duck from the oven, brush with some of the orange sugar syrup and sprinkle with salt. Roast for a further 30 minutes. Brush with more syrup and roast for a further 30 minutes, lowering setting to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

Dip the orange slices in the remaining syrup and lay on the duck with the rosemary. Brush all over with syrup and roast for a final 30 minutes or until the duck is cooked.

Transfer to a platter, cover loosely and rest in a warm place for 15 minutes. Pour off any fat from the roasting tin and place over a medium heat. Add stock and 1 tbsp Cointreau, stirring to deglaze. Add any remaining syrup and heat through. Serve with the duck.

A family business founded in 1971, Gressingham Foods – based in the heart of East Anglia – is the exclusive breeder of the famous Gressingham Duck. For those new to cooking duck, and to show it can be cooked with simplicity and ease, watch Gressingham’s helpful video tutorials on its website, presented by Gressingham’s in-house chef Vernon Blackmore. Just visit www.gressinghamfoods.co.uk/videos and watch how cooking and carving roast duck is foolproof – and easier than you think. To ensure Christmas Day is enjoyable and stress-free, follow Gressingham’s top tips on Christmas Day cooking success below.

Top tips for a stress-free Christmas dinner:

• Pre-order your duck to avoid missing out on the bird of your choice consider doing your grocery shop on the internet, allowing a few days in case you forget anything
• Buy online from Gressingham’s website, which features many of Gressingham’s classic duck and speciality poultry products that can all be delivered straight to your door
• Plan your meal well in advance
• Gressingham Duck’s versatility makes it ideal for the home cook and, to help you enjoy duck in all its guises, Gressingham has developed some great whole duck recipes – all available on Gressingham’s website. For a truly delicious meal try Christmas Roast Gressingham Duck with Honey and Rosemary Jus and Roast Potatoes
• Write a timetable so that everything runs like clockwork
• Prepare the vegetables and lay the table on Christmas Eve.

For more whole duck inspiration and recipes, stockists and to buy online visit www.gressinghamfoods.co.uk.

(EDITOR: And DO remember to use the duck fat to cook your roast potatoes in! By the way, based on taste alone, we at That's Christmas firmly believe that Gressingham ducks are going to be the next Big Thing for Christmas, so please remember to get your orders in early!)

FACTFILE:

Gressingham Foods is celebrating its 40th birthday this year.

A family business founded in 1971, Gressingham Foods is the only company in the world licensed to produce Gressingham Duck, a unique cross-breed of wild Mallard and Pekin renowned for its superior taste and higher percentage of breast meat. Having built on the success of the Gressingham Duck, the company has extended its product portfolio to include other duck breeds, geese and poultry as well as speciality meats and ready meals under the Gressingham Foods name. As a result, Gressingham Foods and Duck are sold by a number of the UK’s leading retailers and independent stockists, in addition to featuring on the menus of top restaurants nationwide.

Handmade Chocolates from Choconchoc for Christmas

There's one sure fire way to the heart of a chocolate lover at Christmas (or any other time of the year, to be fair!) is to give them chocolates.

But not any old chocolates! Oh, no. For if you seek out the best in chocolate sensation, taste and look, you can be certain of one thing, that the recipient of your gift will love you (and the memory of their very special chocolate present) for ever!

One such crafter of highly delectable chocolate comestibles is Choconchoc.

From their special confectioners establishment nestled deep within the heart of rural Somerset, they design and produce some of the most exquisite chocolate treats known to man or woman.

Flo and Kerr. The chief chocolate makers choose only the finest of ingredients, such as the best quality Belgian chocolate, top quality milk and so on to ensure that whoever opens their box of Choconchoc chocolates will receive a treat not only for the mouth but also for the eyes.

Because not only are they highly desirable chocolates, they are also works of art in miniature. So much so that it is something of a struggle to begin eating them!

But don't just take our word for it! Visit www.choconchoc.co.uk to see precisely what we mean! Or give them a call on 01373 830013.

Jack Daniel's Smokey Sweet Glazed Ham

Here's a stunning recipe that will make a fantastic roasting joint for your Festive Feasting!

Serves 6 Method: Oven

1.5kg boneless pork leg (roasting joint) 1 bottle Jack Daniel’s Smokey Sweet Barbecue Glaze

Preheat oven to 356F/180C. Spread the glaze evenly over the pork joint using a pastry brush.

Roast in the preheated oven uncovered, until internal temperature measured with a meat thermometer reaches 70 degrees C, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven, and leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing to serve.

Serve with crispy roast potatoes and steamed vegetables. Serve with a pot of Jack Daniel’s Smokey Sweet Glaze to dip.

(EDITOR: And please do not forget the other Jack Daniels sauces in the range, available from all good food stores)

Eisberg brings alchol free but tasty wines to the Christmas table

Fancy a ruby rich Cabernet Sauvignon, a fresh aromatic Riesling or a smooth Chardonnay but want to cut back on the alcoholic units? Or do you want to offer real wine to drivers who do not wish to run the risk of drinking and driving?

Then just switch your usual bottle of wine for Eisberg non alcoholic wine and experience the real taste of wine, without the alcohol and with only a third of the calories.

Eisberg alcohol free wine is made in exactly the same way as your favourite wines, but with one difference.  At the end of the process the alcohol is gently removed using one of the world’s most advanced processes, leaving all of the flavours of the wine, but none of the alcohol.

There are four varietals in the range: A refreshingly aromatic Riesling, a creamy crisp Chardonnay, a juicy succulent Rosé and a fruity red Cabernet Sauvignon.

Suitable as an accompaniment to any meal, or simply to sip with friends, Eisberg contains 0.05% alcohol and only 34 calories per 125 ml glass, making it a great alternative to calorie laden booze.

Eisberg’s alcohol free range of wine can help combat the cravings, so if you fancy the real taste sensation of your favourite wine, you don’t have to go without.

The full range is available at Morrissons, and selected wines are available at Tesco, Waitrose, Co-op, Booths and Bargain Booze, priced at RRP £3.20-£3.60.

(EDITOR: We enjoyed a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was delicious and went very well with white meat, so will be ideal for the Christmas table. My wife, something of a connoisseur of red wines declared it to be “8 out of 10 for taste.”)

Door2Tour.com launches its Christmas Cracker Offer

Door2Tour.com, the website tour consolidator, has launched an offer for customers booking a Christmas Market, Festive or New Year Break via the website during August 2011 by offering £20 off future coach holidays.

Christmas is less than 22 weeks away and figures from Door2Tour.com have shown August is the time of year when people start considering and researching places for their Festive or New Year break. With this in mind, and to try and help ease the financial burden of trying to afford a break away, Door2Tour.com has launched their August Christmas Cracker.

Rachel Jones, Online PR & Marketing Co-ordinator for Door2Tour.com, said: "Our customers are constantly facing financial hurdles in 2011 from increases in petrol costs, energy bills soaring through the roof and the cost of food rising combined with salaries stagnating. People are certainly feeling the pressure so we thought we'd offer a little helping hand to those desperate to get away from the doom and gloom and treat themselves to a break away with our August Christmas Cracker Offer where they can save £20 on their next holiday."

More families are struggling to be able to afford a holiday in 2011 and even if they can afford a break, when they return they are faced with huge credit card bills due to them putting their holiday on the plastic. It is also thought that people going on holiday this year are likely to spend more than they did in 2010.

Some families are shunning the idea of an annual holiday and opting for days out instead, thinking that this will be a more cost-effective method of keeping everyone entertained during the School Holidays. Unbeknown to them, research has shown that families are rumoured to end up spending an average of £2270 on activities for their children during the school summer break with many overspending their budget by at least £550.

Rachel concluded: "We understand that for some of our customers, it is becoming increasingly difficult financially to afford a break away in 2011 so this Christmas Cracker offer is perfect for them when considering their next holiday - think of it as an early Christmas gift from us."

To take advantage of this fantastic offer, customers simply spend over £350 and book online on the Door2Tour.com website or make a booking via the call centre between Monday 1st August and Wednesday 31st August 2011 inclusive. The special Christmas Cracker luggage tag icon will be placed against tours that apply.

www.door2tour.com

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