We decided to try something a little different this year. My wife and I both love the taste of traditional air-dried hams, but were intrigued to find out that the very clever people at Woodside Farm in the Weald of Kent are producing a new delicacy which, in time, we feel, will be just as famed for flavour as the more traditional air-dried hams.
They use only the highest quality lamb reared on their own Kentish farm. The meat is produced only in accordance with the exacting Farm Assurance Scheme standards.
They cure it, then they marinate it in red wine, honey and herbs. They then cold smoke it over oak sourced from their very own farm's oak woods!
The flavour is a bit different. It looks just like a fine smoked ham, but it has the taste of best Kentish lamb, intermingled with just a hint of smoke flavour and the other ingredients.
It's ideal for eating as a snack, with a salad, as a starter or as part of a main course. I can well imagine this being served up as a starter at a Christmas or New Year party! If you can resist nibbling it allbefore you serve it to your guests!
Woodside Farm also sells boxes of half a lamb, lamb sausages and burgers, plus a variety of lamb cuts. They also supply lamb shanks, ideal for catering customers in part due to their high quality but also due to their remarkably keen prices.
Also tested by our team of taste testers was their new product, lamb biltong. Not all of our taste team liked it, but then, they do not like biltong. All the other tasters declared it a very tasty version of biltong, but better than some biltongs, as the meat was still reasonably succulent and not like leather.
To find out more please visit www.woodside-farm.com
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Muscadet Sevre et Maine
Muscadet Sevre et Maine is an excpetionally good white wine. It is not too sweet, yet nor is it too dry.
It is deliciously fruity undertones and a compelling finishing in the mouth.
It can be drunk with friends after a hard day's Christmas shopping, at a party or at Christmas dinner, in the opinion of this wine taster. My opinions tend to vary from other wine tasters or tasters as I go by what I like, not what tradition dictates!
To find out more, visit www.chereau-carre.fr
It is deliciously fruity undertones and a compelling finishing in the mouth.
It can be drunk with friends after a hard day's Christmas shopping, at a party or at Christmas dinner, in the opinion of this wine taster. My opinions tend to vary from other wine tasters or tasters as I go by what I like, not what tradition dictates!
To find out more, visit www.chereau-carre.fr
Crosta and Mollica Biscuits and Italian flatbreads
From the famed Piemonte region of Italy, come Crosta and Mollica biscuits and Italian flatbreads.
The biscuits are light and buttery (ideal if you want some special biscuits but want something a little lighter than the traditional shortbread biscuits) and will be a welcome addition to anyone's Christmas time dining table.
Or ideal if you want some nice biscuit treats for the coffee table when you are watching the Queen's Speech on Christmas afternoon.
For an extra and slightly naughty treat, dip them in some Port for a truly decadent taste sensation. I did not believe how good this would be until I tried it. It really is delicious!
And as for the flatbreads? These are light and tasty and, as they are made with olive oil, very healthy, too. (Traditional Italian flatbreads are made with lard, you see.)
What to do with flatbreads at Christmas? Ideal with some turkey or ham slices, perhaps with some crumbled cheese. Or some Mozzarella.
To learn more please visit www.crostamollica.com
The biscuits are light and buttery (ideal if you want some special biscuits but want something a little lighter than the traditional shortbread biscuits) and will be a welcome addition to anyone's Christmas time dining table.
Or ideal if you want some nice biscuit treats for the coffee table when you are watching the Queen's Speech on Christmas afternoon.
For an extra and slightly naughty treat, dip them in some Port for a truly decadent taste sensation. I did not believe how good this would be until I tried it. It really is delicious!
And as for the flatbreads? These are light and tasty and, as they are made with olive oil, very healthy, too. (Traditional Italian flatbreads are made with lard, you see.)
What to do with flatbreads at Christmas? Ideal with some turkey or ham slices, perhaps with some crumbled cheese. Or some Mozzarella.
To learn more please visit www.crostamollica.com
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Prepare for Christmas with the Festive Gift Fair
Half the fun of Christmas is finding
unusual and perfect gifts. If you like a lot of choice, this is the
Christmas Fair for you! There are amazing special show offers, wonderful fabulous ideas
and gifts from the affordable to the exotic.
You do not have to do lots of hard work tracking down that elusive, perfect Christmas gift. Because the Gift Fair organisers have done it all for you!
They have brought together in one place 325 stalls, just crammed to bursting point with literally thousands of neat gifts for all ages and tastes. And this year there are 100 plus new firms attending.
There's even a present crèche so you can leave your goodies in safe hands, whilst you continue to browse and buy or whilst you have a well-deserved meal!
And to add to the truly festive spirit you can enjoy the great music from a variety of Christmas musical entertainment – from live bands, choirs and brass bands.
They have brought together in one place 325 stalls, just crammed to bursting point with literally thousands of neat gifts for all ages and tastes. And this year there are 100 plus new firms attending.
There's even a present crèche so you can leave your goodies in safe hands, whilst you continue to browse and buy or whilst you have a well-deserved meal!
And to add to the truly festive spirit you can enjoy the great music from a variety of Christmas musical entertainment – from live bands, choirs and brass bands.
It's the The 17th Festive Gift Fair and you have to know that it promises to
be a 'Showstopper' of an event, so head along to Birmingham’s NEC to
find a gift and tick your list!
What's there?
What's there?
- Crafts
- Christmas Decorations
- Games, Toys and Stocking Fillers
- Food & Drink
- Gifts for Cooks & Gardeners
- Fashion, Handbags & Jewellery
- Health & Beauty Gifts
- Baby Gifts
- Decorative Accessories for the Home
- Gadgets
- And much, much more!
BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW and prepare for
some GREAT Christmas Shopping at The Festive Gift Fair open 09.30 –
17.00 from Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th November.
For more information on Exhibitors and
Visiting the Fair, visit www.festivegiftfair.co.uk . Save
money by booking in advance – adult tickets are just £8.50.
Book by phone by calling The Ticket
Factory on 0844 581 0808/0809
Or Book online at
www.theticketfactory.com
Sunday, 4 November 2012
Gallo Wines, for the perfect accompaniment for Christmas
With Turkey: Barefoot Merlot
The perfect combo of cherry,
boysenberry, plum and chocolate flavours. Raised right, it’s well
rounded with mild tannins.
The Barefoot Wine
range has a RRP of £6.69 and the 7 varietals are Pinot Grigio,
Sauvignon Blanc, Moscato, Merlot, Shiraz, White Zinfandel and
Cabernet Sauvignon, Barefoot Wine is now available at Tesco,
Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, Co-op, across the
convenience channel and in an increasing number of pubs, clubs, bars
and restaurants. www.barefootwine.com
www.barefootwine.com
Christmas Pudding: Gallo Moscato
This sweet light to medium-bodied wine
has flavours of juicy peach, citrus, pineapple and orange blossom,
which complement a crisp, refreshing finish.
Gallo Moscato has a RRP of £6.79 and
will be available from UK retailers including ASDA, Morrisons,
Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Co-op. Please
visit www.gallofamily.co.uk/moscato
for more information.
(EDITOR: These wines are also perfect
for unwinding with once the children are in bed on Christmas Eve, or
when listening to Christmas Carols on the radio. These are some pretty awesome wines from the Gallo family of California.)
Weanie Beans goes for Christmas
Award winning, artisan coffee company
Weanie Beans, has unveiled its range of distinctive and
delicious Christmas products, proving itself to be a cut above the
rest when it comes to innovation and quirkiness, while keeping its
own blend of hand-roasted coffee at the heart of every product.
From unique gift sets to moreish coffee blends, mulled drinks parcels to stocking-filling confectionery, spoil your loved-ones this holiday season with a tantalising offering designed to suit every palette. With prices ranging from just £3.00 for Chocolate Coffee Beans to £30 for the legendary Camping Coffee Kit, Weanie Beans makes the perfect purse-friendly gift this Christmas. Further information on all of the Weanie Beans Christmas range along with all prices are available from the official website.
Here's an example of what they can do for you to help you spice up your party this Christmas:
Get your party started with a kick! This Gift Set is all you need for some grown up festivities. We've put in the effort to make delicious mulled wine or mulled cider so you don’t have to - just pop a parcel in a pan with your booze or fruit juice of your choice, and you have perfect mulled drinks every time. For the non-drinkers, there is a proper grown up hot chocolate with our chilli hot chocolate and nibbles to get your guests talking. (£22)
From unique gift sets to moreish coffee blends, mulled drinks parcels to stocking-filling confectionery, spoil your loved-ones this holiday season with a tantalising offering designed to suit every palette. With prices ranging from just £3.00 for Chocolate Coffee Beans to £30 for the legendary Camping Coffee Kit, Weanie Beans makes the perfect purse-friendly gift this Christmas. Further information on all of the Weanie Beans Christmas range along with all prices are available from the official website.
Here's an example of what they can do for you to help you spice up your party this Christmas:
Gift Set of Chilli Hot Chocolate,
Mulled Wine Bouquets, Mulled Cider Parcels and Chilli Chocolate
Almonds.
Get your party started with a kick! This Gift Set is all you need for some grown up festivities. We've put in the effort to make delicious mulled wine or mulled cider so you don’t have to - just pop a parcel in a pan with your booze or fruit juice of your choice, and you have perfect mulled drinks every time. For the non-drinkers, there is a proper grown up hot chocolate with our chilli hot chocolate and nibbles to get your guests talking. (£22)
To find out about the entire range visit their website at http://tinyurl.com/bmyussl
For a perfect Christmas you need Kitchen Devils
Whilst your true love might not have a
kitchen knife at the top of their Christmas list, it makes sense to
get kitted out with Kitchen Devils in the lead up to the big event.
Whilst Kitchen Devils can't promise
lords a leaping or swans a swimming, they can promise super sharp
knives, with a 15 year guarantee that are comfortable to use and easy
to look after.
The clever folk at Kitchen Devils have a selection of six little
devils all at heavenly prices that will help with any festive
dilemmas.
Kitchen Devils Carving Set, £19.49 –
don't hack at the turkey with a bread knife use a Kitchen
Devils carving set and make a proper job of it. (EDITOR: The slices look better and there's a reduced risk in the calls to A&E caused by 'wrong sort of knife' accidents!)
Kitchen Devils Vegetable Knife, £7.99
– sprouts and parsnips, carrots and potatoes the list goes on and
this super sharp little knife is up for the challenge.
Kitchen Devils Large Cook's Knife,
£12.49 – this fabulous all rounder can tackle anything –
chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing.
Kitchen Devils Kitchen Scissors, £11.49
– snipping sausages, bacon, sage, parsley, smoked salmon, string
around the pudding and troublesome packaging too – how does anyone
manage without kitchen scissors.
Kitchen Devils Sharpening Steel, £12.99
– get all your knives in tip top condition with a few sweeps on the
steel.
Kitchen Devils Bread Knife, £12.99 –
turkey sandwiches anyone? Need we say more!
The Kitchen Devils range is available
at Asda, Tesco, Lakeland, Amazon, Dunelm Mill and independent
kitchen and hardware stores or go to www.kitchendevils.net
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