Tesco Real Food sets SOS helpline to save Christmas dinner nightmares

Tesco Real Food has set up a unique Christmas dinner SOS helpline to rescue Britons from kitchen disasters as they prepare their festive feasts.

The supermarket has pulled together a crack team of expert chefs who will be on hand to offer personalised first rate advice on how to create the perfect Christmas dinner and avoid any potential nightmares.

Anyone running into difficulties on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be able to contact the team via the supermarket's Twitter site to get immediate solutions to their culinary problems.

Tesco senior marketing manager Breige Donaghy said: "Imagine the scenario - your guests are due to arrive for the most celebrated meal of the year and to your horror your turkey is undercooked, your bread sauce too thick and your roasties aren’t crispy enough.

"But instead of panicking, cooks will now be able to speak to our team of expert chefs who have cooked thousands of meals between them and who know all the tricks of the trade for putting on a fabulous Christmas feast with as little stress as possible.

"We think the helpline will prove especially useful to those embarking on cooking their first ever Christmas dinner. And our experts will also be around on Christmas Eve in case anyone needs help planning the big meal."

The team will include Cordon Bleu standard chefs as well as others who have been trained by top London cooking school Leiths and other top restaurants plus those who work with Tesco to develop recipes and inspire new dishes. Their combined experience totals nearly 100 years in the food business.

The team will run two help sessions. One will offer planning and preparation tips between 10am and 8pm on Christmas Eve and the other will help solve actual cooking dilemmas on Christmas Day, between 8am and 4pm.

Anyone wanting to contact the team will need to log onto Twitter on those days and then navigate to Tesco's Real Food Online Twitter page (@tescorealfood), and send off their question. They will then be sent a tweet with a solution to their problem

Breige Donaghy added: "This is the first time that any supermarket has ever tried anything like this and if it’s a success then we will look at running similar kitchen helplines for Easter and other big occasions."
 

FACTFILE:

On the Real Food website Tesco has developed a Christmas zone to help customers with everything they will need in the run up to Christmas. The tools on the site include:

- Easy-to-follow cooking videos
- Working out the right cooking times with a turkey timer. The timer can also work out the cooking times for salmon, gammon, chicken and beef.
- How to carve a turkey
- How to steam a Christmas pudding
- Cocktail recipe tool: users type in their preferred spirit or ask for suggestions based on taste and/or glass type.
- Advent calendar on the site for daily helpful tips on getting ready for Christmas.

About Tesco Real Food:

The Tesco Real Food website is packed with hundreds of healthy recipes to suit any occasion including vegetarian recipes and a recipe for strawberry yoghurt jellies. Whether customers are looking for a quick mid-week meal for the family or something for a special event, visitors are sure to find exactly what they're looking for. In addition, a range of step-by-step cooking tips and videos to help improve kitchen skills can be found, as well as healthy eating and cooking with kids sections. To make shopping even easier, every recipe has a ready-made shopping list that can be used to add all the ingredients to the shopping basket in just a few clicks.

www.tesco.com/food

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The Marilyn Factor Boosts Demand For Cakes, Puds And Dessert Course

Lake District cookery school, LucyCooks, is receiving support for its ‘Keep Cumbria Curvy’ campaign from an unexpected source – film viewers who have been to see the movie ‘My Week With Marilyn’.

The sight of the representation of Ms Monroe with real shapely curves and oozing sex appeal, despite being a reported size 14/16, is proving to women nationwide that it is not a sin to have a silhouette. Freed from the guilt that society has placed on food indulgence, women are booking themselves on to cookery courses as decadent as Classic Cakes and Bakes, Thrilling Three Courses and Canapés and Bubbles.

Top-selling courses at the Staveley-based cookery school near Kendal in the last two weeks have been Desserts – Queen of Puddings (April 20), Macaroon and Cupcake afternoon (January28) and the multi-generation desserts-focused Family Fun Day running on February 19.

LucyCooks front of house manager, Anna Morton, says: “Retro is the trend that’s dominating style, dining and fashion and it would seem that we are thankfully getting back to a time in which having a full and fabulous figure is something to celebrate, rather than hide away.

“Our message to male and female cooks is that you can indulge yourself with your favourite dishes, delve into delicious desserts and comfort yourself with cake, if you balance this out with some exercise to burn off the calories. It would seem that this view is definitely getting more backing thanks to the resurgence of the Marilyn factor”.

Food lovers wanting to free themselves from their food taboos can find a huge range of courses at www.lucycooks.co.uk that will give them a fabulous culinary repertoire and reward their bravery in standing up for the curvaceous Cumbrian. More information can also be obtained from 01539 822507.

Laverstoke Park beers for Christmas and the New Year

The first thing one notices about the beers that Laverstoke Park produces is that they actually do taste like beer.

Now, whilst the idea of beers that taste like beers might be somewhat confusing to some people, please let me explain what I mean.

I speak -or rather, write- as someone with considerable experience as a drinker of beers and as a writer on beers. Sad to say, some beers do not taste particularly pleasant.

I remember one brewer of organic ales who worked very, very hard to brew his beers. But somehow or for some reason he had decided to use smoked malt in all of his different types of beer. The result was not good.

However, it has to be said that the folks at Laverstoke Park know what they are doing!

Their Organic Real Ale is 5.0% ABV. It has a pleasingly light flavour, though the malty character of this finely crafted ale does combine nicely with the yeast and the hoppy goodness, though there's a rather nice and welcome surprise, a fruity undertone that means it will go very well with Christmas dinner, Christmas cake, mince pies and will be a great toast for the Queen's Chirstmas Message!

Next we come to the Laverstoke Park Organic Real Lager. At 4.5%
 it is a good, decent strength and is exactly what a lager should taste like. It has the characteristically lager style taste (not all lagers do!) and it is a light and refreshing beer, ideal for those who know their Continental style beers.  Ideal for drinking with all Christmas foods, and for just drinking whilst you think nice thoughts about what Christmas really means. I would suggest getting in a good supply of this Real Lager and watching every film version of the Charles Dickens novel a Christmas Carol that you can!

www.laverstokepark.co.uk

It must be Aldi for Christmas

If you are worried about what to buy for your Christmas and New Year food this year, do not worry! Just shop at Aldi, instead!

Aldi has an undeserved reputation and I want to show you why this is wrong. I was shopping in Aldi not so long ago and met a retired Lieutenant Colonel I know who had a trolley brimmed with Chirstmas shopping.

He was clearly very happy to be shopping in Aldi and he explained why: "I was a base commander in Germany for a number of years and Aldi is one of the best supermarket chains over there. And when you are stationed over in Germany for any length of time, you get a taste for certain German foods. Especially at Christmas time, because the Germans certainly know how to celebrate Christmas with mulled wine, Stollen, cheeses and so forth. And I know I can get all of these items -genuine, good quality German stuff, too! all at a fraction of the price I would pay in a delicatessen or a high end supermarket!"

And there are genuine British goodies that are available, too! The mince pies -especially when warmed in the oven!- are absolutely delicious (better than those at premium prices elsewhere!) the Stollen pieces are to die for, the four bird roast is a real treat and please do not forget  the goose fat roast potatoes!

There's a stunning range of beers and wines and the selection of Champagnes and sparkling wines is excellent and all at prices that might make you think you have joined Dr Who for a quick trip back to the 1980s!


To find out more and to locate your nearest Aldi store, please visit www.aldi.co.uk

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Christmas Dinner - In A Cake? Here's the recipe!

Christmas Dinner - In A Cake? Whatever next?!

Why not try a slice of Weeton's of Harrogate's new 'Christmas Dinner Cake' made from all the trimmings - minus the turkey, however!

The Christmas Dinner Cake - which was baked exclusively for Weeton's by its multi-award winning cake supplier Allison Whitmarsh, of Proper Maid in Huddersfield ­- contains carrots, parsnips, cranberries, Christmas spices, chestnuts - and of course, the sprouts.

"We all know that vegetables are great in cakes but who knew you could get an entire Christmas dinner in there!" says cake connoisseur Allison. "While the cake was baking there was a definite whiff of sprouts, but the end result is absolutely delicious - Christmas dinner never tasted so good!"

Weeton's operations director Jo Loftus says she can't wait to sample her first sweet slice. "Allison has been providing us with delicious cakes for sometime now and we didn't think she could beat some of her more unconventional flavours, but this is festive and fantastic," she says. "There'll be no running around like a headless turkeys this Christmas - just serve a slice of this Noel novelty and you've got Christmas dinner licked!"

The Christmas Dinner Cake, which is topped with a cream cheese frosting and decorated with cranberries and white chocolate curls, will be available to try at Weeton's café throughout December, plus this unusual sweet treat is available to order this festive season.

And in case you want a slice of the action at home...

...that Christmas Dinner Cake recipe in full!

7" Cake serves 6-8

Ingredients

185g Wholemeal Chapatti Flour

135g Soft brown sugar

55g Dark brown Sugar

1 tsp. ground Cinnamon

1 tsp. Mixed Spice

1 tsp. Bicarbonate of Soda

30g Cranberries

30g Chopped Chestnuts

2 Eggs

110g Vegetable oil

40g Sour cream

125g Grated Carrots

50g Grated Parsnips

50g Chopped Sprouts

Filling

50g Roses orange Marmalade

80g Philadelphia

40g Vegetable Margarine or Butter

40g Icing Sugar

Cranberries and White Choc Curls to decorate

Method

1. Mix together the flour, sugars, bicarb, cranberries and chopped chestnuts

2. Add the eggs, sour cream and oil and beat well

3. Mix in all the grated and chopped vegetables and beat well again

4. Grease and line 2 x 7" sandwich tins

5. Pour the prepared mixture into the tins

6. Bake 180°C for approx. 30 mins until cooked (test with the tip of a knife to ensure all

the mixture is cooked through)

7. Leave to cool

8. When cool spread the orange marmalade onto the bottom half of the cake

9. Mix together the Philadelphia, margarine/butter & Icing Sugar until smooth

10. Spread 80g of the prepared icing onto the top of the marmalade and sandwich

together

11. Spread the remaining 80 g of icing onto the top of the cake

12. Decorate with cranberries and white chocolate curls

Weeton's is located at 23/24 West Park, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ, 01423 507 100,

info@weetons.com, www.weetons.com.

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King of Beers? The crown belongs to W J King, Brewers!

W. J. King area proud traditional brewer based in Horsham, West Sussex.

Although they declare themselves to be a new style micro brewery, they are clearly more akin to the master brewers of yesterday, when each town of note -and with a good supply of water- had at least two or three breweries, each producing some extremely fine beers all under the watchful eye of the master brewer.

And this is what drinkers will get this Christmas and New Year should they be fortunate enough to find themselves drinking beers brewed by W J King.

Because W J King are proper, traditional brewers of finely crafted ales who do not compromise on brewing technique or on the fine ingredients that they use.

Their IPA, for example, is a fine example of this style of beer. Although it is heavily hopped, this is not over done so the high hop content is well balanced and there is a wonderful fruity tang that supports the hoppy bitterness.

There Market Porter is another fine beer. My wife -an expert on Porter style beers- has declared this the finest Porter she has drunk in many a year!

It is darkly roasted, and yes, one can imagine Victorian market porters using this to slake their considerable thirst before heading back, satisfied, for several hours more hard work. And then, after work, imbibing some more of it before making their way home.

These are only two beers from their extensive range of CAMRA recognised and bottle conditioned beers. To find out more and where to buy them visit www.kingbeer.co.uk

You must get a selection in for Christmas and the New Year.

Ooo-Er Missus - A Little Sauciness From Olives Et Al

Chilly round the edges, dark nights and dull days call for turning up the heat and that's what the dedicated bunch of oliveers at Olives Et Al have done with NEW Chilli Harissa.

This little pot of heat begs to be dolloped onto chicken breasts, stirred into sauces and soups, plonked onto roasted veggies, smothered under a blanket of cheese on toast, scrambled up with eggs and even speed-dated with cous cous - it could even be used to warm up a cold fish.

Made with seriously hot chillies, which have been crushed with garlic, coriander, cumin, fennel and paprika, Chilli Harissa is an essential ingredient in tagines, curries and chillies, or try a teaspoon rubbed into a chicken breast (or a halved aubergine for a vegetarian version) and baked for 20 minutes - it's the ultimate in a hot, speedy supper! For lots of other quick and easy to make with one hand tied behind your back recipes, pop on to www.olivesetal.co.uk

Olives Et Al's NEW Chilli Harissa is suitable for vegetarians (not on chicken of course!) and vegans and is gluten free. The rrp is £4.00 for 180g jar.

Olives Et Al's products are available in good food retailers, delis, farm shops, food halls and online at www.olivesetal.co.uk

(EDITOR: This would make an idea addition to leftover turkey, I feel.)