Making cocktails this Christmas season? Make sure the answer is 1870!

Available to buy in Waitrose and priced at a very modest 89p for a 1 litre bottle, 1870 Mixers are the ultimate soft drink for a touch of luxury at home without a hefty price tag! 1870 Mixers can be enjoyed on their own over ice, or as the finest accompaniment to alcohol.

1870 are excited to announce the transformation of their classic mixer range, complete with exquisite flavours from around the world to compliment their pure Kentish spring water.

All of 1870’s seven varieties are made with pure spring water, bottled at source in Kent's Garden of England to deliver optimum taste and refreshment, in keeping with the brand’s heritage as a Great British mixer.

1870 have endeavoured to source the finest natural ingredients from around the world, to ensure a perfectly cosmopolitan blend of flavours. From Lemonade blended with Argentinian lemon oil and Ginger Ale made with fiery African ginger, to crisp Tonic created from the finest Brazilian essential oils, 1870 mixers have all been expertly blended using premium ingredients to deliver optimum taste. The range of seven variants can be enjoyed on their own as a refreshing drink, or as the finest accompaniment to alcohol. (EDITOR: And there's real Quinine in the Tonic Water!)

1870 are the original premium British mixers and the ultimate drink for entertaining, a special occasion, or simply relaxing of an evening. Grab a tall glass, plenty of ice and a dash of alcohol if you wish, for an exquisite taste sensation every night of the week.

For details visit www.1870mixers.co.uk

Available in 7 varieties – Tonic Water, Tonic Water Light, Soda Water, Bitter Lemon, Lemonade, Lemonade Light and Ginger Ale

Available in selected Waitrose stores nationwide, as well as all good independent and wholesale stores.

·         1870 is made by Silver Spring, one of the UKs largest independent soft drinks manufacturers. Founded in Folkestone , Kent in 1870. (EDITOR: Hence the 1870 name!)

·         All varieties are made with pure spring water from the Silver Spring in Kent .

·         Cocktails served at the ‘Around the World with 1870’ launch event were expertly blended with the following premium spirit brands: Crystal Head Vodka, Teichenne Kiwi, Four Roses Bourbon, Teichenne Raspberry, El Dorado 7, Teichenne Peach, El Dorado, Teichenne Apple, Goldschlager.

EDITOR: What about the all important question? Which is: What do they taster like? Extremely good. They compliment the spirit/s you are mixing them with, without overpowering the taste of the spirits, yet are strong enough to be ideal for serving chilled, as they come, over ice for a refreshing and non-alcoholic drink.)

Tasty gluten-free Mince Pies. And that's the Genuius of it!

There was a time when "gluten free" sent a shiver down the spine of anyone with an allergy or an intolerance to wheat and/or gluten.

Yes, years ago there were gluten free products but they lacked a good mouth feel and they did not taste particularly nice, either!


Mince Pies were a good example. Either the pastry was wrong and horribly dry and/or the mince mixture was cloying and not especially pleasant.

But then along came someone with a genuine desire to put all that right. To ensure that gluten free did not mean taste free!

That someone was Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, who created Genius Foods. And so set in train a move toward providing people with decent tasty foods that were indistinguishable from normal food because it was normal food itself!

The pastry of Genius Mince Pies is a real crumbly shortcrust pastry and the filling is a real and extremely tasty proper rich, moist and fruity Mince Pie filling. Together the combination is a truly classic Christmas traditional delicacy. So good, in fact, that you could serve it as your only mince pie. But you'd best be sure to get a good few boxes in! Because they will prove popular! Could you pass them off as home made? You know, you probably could, but as that's definitely not in the tradition of the spirit of Christmas, you'll not want to be doing that!

So, tuck into your Genius Mince Pies, whilst raising a glass of mulled wine to Lucina Bruce-Gardyne, the founder of this particular Christmas feast! (And yes, that was a reference to A Christmas Carol!)

Of course, Genius make a whole range of equally tasty Gluten free products, so to find out more, visit www.geniusglutenfree.com  or nip over to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/geniusglutenfree.

Simply Ice Creams Natural, home made, hand made goodness for the Christmas period

Offer your family and friends, favourite flavours such as Christmas Pudding, Heavenly Honeycomb Crunch, Brown Bread and Stem Ginger and Marmalade. Simply Ice Cream is made in Kent by Sally Newall’s team of helpers.

To learn more, simply visit www.simplyicecream.co.uk

The range is available at Waitrose £4.65 for 500ml tub and across London and the South East in various restaurants, cafes, fine food shops and delis.

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Add a touch of Italian Style to your Kitchen this Christmas, with Filippo Berio

Perfect for that hard to buy for foodie or as a yuletide treat for your own kitchen, the brand new Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil Special Edition tin makes the ideal gift this Christmas.

 

 

This special, limited edition 1L tin from Italian Olive Oil specialists Filippo Berio features one of Italy’s most iconic landmarks, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is located a short drive away from Lucca, Tuscany, the home of Filippo Berio. 

 

 

 

 

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil is rich and fruity and perfect on for salads, jacket potatoes, vegetables, pasta, meat and fish as well as being ideal for dipping, basting and marinating.

 

In 1867 when Filippo Berio first started producing fine olive oil, tins were used as packaging to protect the olive oil from sunlight and to preserve the oil’s fine flavour. Back then, Filippo Berio’s tins and their contents, won international acclaim and awards for quality and taste. To this day, Filippo Berio Olive Oil uses the same carefully selected procedure ensuring the olive oil tastes just as good as it did in 1867.

 

This unique, limited edition tin is available on supermarket shelves from mid October, RRP £6.49 and enjoy a price promotion at Sainsbury’s from 24^th Nov – 3^rd Jan where the tin is on offer at £4.49

 

Italian Christmas Recipes

Christmas isn’t just about gifts, it’s also about wholesome, tasty foods. These unique recipes from Filippo Berio will bring a touch of Italian festive flavour to your Christmas period; and when you buy 500ml bottles of Filippo Berio Olive Oil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil you’ll receive different recipes on-pack to keep and use year after year.

 

Crunchy Roast Potatoes with Garlic

PREP TIME: 10 MINS

COOKING TIME: 1 HOUR

SERVES: 4

You’ll need: 900g Potatoes – Peeled, 6 tbsp Filippo Berio Olive Oil and 6-8 garlic cloves – unpeeled

 

1.       Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F or Gas Mark 6 and put a large roasting tin in the oven to heat.

 

2.       Cut the potatoes into large, even chunks. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Drain, return to the pan, cover with the lid and shake the pan to roughen up the edges of the potatoes. Set aside.

 

3.       Add the oil to the roasting tin and return to the oven for 2 minutes. Tip the potatoes into the hot oil, then turn to coat in oil. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn over the potatoes, add the garlic cloves and roast for a further 25-30 minutes or until crisp and golden.

 

4.       Serve immediately.

 

 

Italian Chestnut Stuffing

SERVES 8-10 OR IDEAL FOR A 4.5kg TURKEY

You’ll need: 1 bulb fennel - trimmed and finely chopped, 4 shallots - finely chopped, 4 tbsp Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2-4 cloves garlic - finely chopped, 400g sausages (Italian-style), 200g peeled chestnuts, 2 tbsp fresh sage – chopped, 1tbsp fresh thyme leaves – chopped, 200g ciabatta bread - diced small,  Grated zest 1 lemon, 1 egg – beaten and salt and pepper to season

 

1.       In a large frying pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil, stir in the fennel and shallots. Cook over a medium heat until soft then add the garlic. Cook for another 1 minute before transferring to a bowl to cool completely

 

2.       Remove the sausage meat from the skins and chop or roughly breakup the chestnuts. Add these and all other ingredients to the bowl and season well. Mix together using your hands. This mixture can be kept in the fridge for up to 24hrs until needed.

 

3.       Cook the stuffing either in the neck of the turkey (adjust the turkey cooking time according to new weight), or in an ovenproof dish for 45mins- 1hour until golden brown on top.

 

Find out more at www.filippoberio.co.uk and Twitter @filippoberio

 

Now the shopping is Divine, as well as the chocolate!

The Divine Chocolate Shop has been redesigned and enhanced to make for a seamless shopping experience for every Divine customer. It offers something for every age and chocolate palette and there's more choice than ever before - customers can stock up on their favourite chocolate flavours as well as choosing beautiful gift sets with unique combinations that can't be found anywhere else. The gift sets range in price from £12.50 to £50.00 and all come packaged in elegant powder blue and pale green boxes.

Visit the Divine Chocolate Shop here: www.divinechocolate.com/shop and start your Chirstmas shopping in earnest!

As well as gift boxes there are over 40 individual products for sale including the following hugely popular lines: strawberry white chocolate, raspberry dark chocolate, and a dark chocolate infused with ginger & orange.

Baking enthusiasts can stock up on Divine's plain white, deliciously dark 85%, and the acclaimed 70% bars, of which Charles Campion, food critic for The Independent describes as "very fruity, with a good texture and a long finish".

Spruce Up Your Festive Feasts With Castle MacLellan's Luxury Pâtés

Castle MacLellan is offering food lovers top tips on how to make festive entertaining easier, but just as indulgent, with a selection of mouth-watering recipe and canapé ideas using their luxurious premium pâtés.

Made from the finest Scottish ingredients, sourced from local independent producers, Castle MacLellan’s core range of pâtés comes in five delicious varieties, ideal for hassle free Christmas feasts and New Year party snacks.  Each flavour provides simple recipes to inspire quick and easy dishes and stylish, flavoursome canapé suggestions.

Rannoch Smoked Duck Pâté with Bramley Apple Jelly - A deliciously smooth duck liver pâté with pieces of Rannoch smoked duck, complemented by locally produced Bramley apple jelly and aromatic tarragon

Chicken Liver Pâté with Scottish Heather Honey - A smooth, rich and creamy chicken liver pâté enhanced with the sweetness of Scottish heather honey

Scottish Smoked Salmon Pâté with Lemon Juice and Horseradish - A blend of Scottish smoked and poached salmon, enriched with cream, lemon juice and horseradish

Luxury Orkney Crab Terrine with Lemon Juice and Galloway Mustard - A luxurious blend of Orkney crab enriched with créme fraiche and enhanced with lemon juice and locally produced Galloway mustard

Oven Roasted Mushroom Pâté with Garlic & Thyme - A rich, creamy, oven roasted mushroom pâté made with full fat soft cheese and créme fraiche, and seasoned with a hint of garlic and thyme (suitable for vegetarians).

For hosts who want to impress with their festive banquets, Castle MacLellan pâtés can be used to create impressive but easy to prepare dishes and warming winter fare.  The on-pack  suggestions feature mouth watering recipe ideas such as Mini Duck En Croutes With Beetroot Chutney or Orkney Crab Spring Rolls.

The luxury pâtés are also great served as a snack straight from the fridge, making ideal and stylish canapés for New Year celebrations. Simply top artisan oatcakes, blinis and brioche with your favourite flavours or serve sandwiched between palmiers or smothered on fresh crusty bread.

Castle MacLellan has been making the finest fresh luxury pâtés since 1982 and is dedicated to sourcing the very best local ingredients from small, independent companies rooted in Scottish heritage and provenance. The company remains an established and trusted brand, working with a number of local suppliers, which include Rannoch Smokery and The Orkney Fisherman’s Society.

Castle MacLellan pâtés are available in supermarkets throughout the UKincluding ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose as well as independent stores priced from around 99p to £2.35.

For more details and recipes please visit www.castlemaclellan.co.uk

Give your winter soups a bit of a boost with Wing Yip

With winter around the corner it’s time to leave the lunchtime salads and sandwiches behind and opt for a warming soup to help us through the cold days.

Packed full of fresh ingredients and spicy flavours, Oriental soups are an inspiring alternative to the typical tomato, chicken or vegetable.

Served as a filling meal in a bowl, delicious and nutritious Oriental noodle-based soups are perfect for hungry appetites on a chilly day.

Leading Oriental grocer, Wing Yip, stocks a range of ingredients that are perfect for creating big saucepans of tasty and wholesome soups.

Mr Wing Yip said: “Soups are easy to make at home and are a great way of experimenting with new flavour combinations from simple ingredients – and ensure you add some Oriental spices and Wing Yip soup pastes to liven up the tastebuds.”

Wing Yip is the UK’s leading Chinese grocer, with stores in Birmingham, Manchester, Cricklewood and Croydon. With over 3,000 products from the Far East stocked online at www.wingyipstore.com and in store.

To get you started try the following popular Oriental soup recipes at home.

Hot and Sour Soup

This soup is popular because it has so many different flavours - pepper hot, slightly sweet and savoury. Our version uses spicy szechuan bean sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 jar Wing Yip Spicy Szechuan Bean Sauce
• 113g lean pork (finely sliced into strips)
• 28g Dried sliced Chinese mushrooms (soaked & shredded)
• 14g Wood Ear Fungus (soaked and shredded)
• 1/2 pkt Soft Tofu (cut into 1cm cubes)
• 850 ml (11/2 pts) chicken stock
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp Red or White Wine Vinegar
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 spring onion (finely chopped)
• 1 heaped tsp cornflour (mixed with 2 tsp water)
• 2 tsps peanut or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Preparation

1. Heat both oils in a large pan and gently fry sliced pork for 5 minutes.
2. Add Wing Yip Spicy Szechuan Bean Sauce, fungus, mushrooms and stock. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
3. Add pepper and vinegar, adjust seasoning, then the diced tofu.
4. Bring back to the boil and add cornflour.
5. Then add beaten egg in a stream, stirring carefully with a fork in a circular motion. Turn off heat and cover pan for 1 minute.
6. Serve with chopped spring onions to garnish.

Thai Spicy Noodle Soup

There are many versions of this ever popular street food but the vital ingredients are; good quality stock, lime juice, chillies and fresh herbs to garnish. A meal in a bowl, this recipe is quick and easy to prepare using a Tom Yum soup base. Recipe is for one so do double quantities if cooking for more.

Ingredients

• 1 small chicken breast or 100g minced pork
• 1 tsp cornflour (if using minced pork)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed with the flat side of a knife)
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 400-500ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp Mai Siam Tom Yum soup paste
• 5 Pak Choi leaves
• 1 handful bean sprouts
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• 3 sprigs fresh coriander
• 2 sprigs mint (take the leaves off the stems)
• 2 tsp Mai Siam fish sauce (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp sugar (to taste)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 1-2 lime wedges
• 100g Mai Siam flat rice noodles (dry weight)

Preparation

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan and quickly fry the garlic.
2. Before it burns, add the chicken stock and bring it to the boil.
3. Add the Tom Yum paste and when the soup is boiling, add the sliced chicken breast.
4. If using minced pork; season lightly with fish sauce and pepper, add 1 tsp of cornflour, mix well and form into balls the size of a small marble.
5. Drop the meatballs into the boiling stock and add fish sauce and a little sugar to taste.
6. Meanwhile, prepare the noodles in another pan by boiling in hot water.
7. Strain and keep aside.
8. When the meat is cooked, add the noodles and pak choi.
9. When the pak choi is al dente, take the noodles off the heat and pour into a large bowl.
10. Garnish with beansprouts, coriander and mint leaves.
11. Serves, steaming hot, with lime wedges.

www.wingyip.com/

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