Wednesday, 21 December 2011

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Tuesday, 20 December 2011

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Monday, 19 December 2011

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Bring me sunshine with Cartmel’s Lemon Drizzle Sponge Pudding

To help lift your spirits this spring, the lovely people at Cartmel Village Shop have created a delicious, individual, handmade Lemon Drizzle Sponge Pudding.

Colour mood charts show yellow as a happy sunshine colour and after the long, dark, winter months a little sunshine could be just what you need to get rid of those winter blues!

This tangy lemon pudding combines soft, zesty, lemon sponge with 33% finest lemon curd. With the increase in demand for personal pudding portions, Cartmel’s Lemon Drizzle Sponge Pudding will be available in individual 120g servings priced £1.50 or, if you really must share, 500g servings priced £4.25.

Simply take off the sleeve, pierce the lid and pop in to a microwave on high for 40 seconds (cat D/750W) or place in a pre-heated oven (180C, Gas mark 5) for 10-15 minutes. Remove film and turn out to serve immediately.

Cartmel Village Shop puddings are available to buy from the Cartmel Village Shop in Cartmel, Cumbria and online at www.cartmelvillageshop.co.uk as well as branches of Waitrose, Booths, Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, and independent fine foods shops. To find your nearest stockist contact the nice people at Cartmel Village Shop on 015395 58300.

Perfect Partners Wine Tasting At The Ambrette Restaurant At Rye 7-Course Tasting Menu With Matched Wines For £49.99

The Ambrette Restaurant at Rye is to hosting special wine tasting in conjunction with the Cranbrook-based wine and cheese merchants, Perfect Partners on Sunday 8th January.


Chef patron Dev Biswal will be serving a 7-course tasting menu with matched wines chosen by Perfect Partners co-owner David Clarke at £49.99.


Since its opening on 1st December, Biswal has witnessed his Rye-based clientele are ordering wines from the more expensive end of his wine list, than is the case at his original award-winning restaurant in Margate.


"Many of our customers here in Rye bottles of fine wines at around the £40 mark," said Dev. "At Margate they sit the shelves for a few months and I end up drinking them myself."


Having realised the preponderance of wine connoisseurs in the Rye area, Biswal approached David Clarke to help him create a special tasting menu to showcase the fine Indian dining and Perfect Partners' wines.


"The quality of most wines worldwide has improved hugely, but they still demand rigorous selection - some of the traditional wine regions disappoint, but the new areas astound at great value," said Richard Clarke, co owner of Perfect Partners, adding, "Our philosophy is to find quality wines, irrespective of label or country, that represent good examples of their grape variety and provenance at a fair price."

Set on Rye's High Street, the Georgian frontage of the White Vine House belies its medieval heritage. Beneath the dining room lies a C13th cellar, complete with stone spiral staircase. Refurbished in 2005, the once grand home is now one of the country's premier bed and breakfast venues, having secured a 5 star AA rating.


The Ambrette (formerly the Indian Princess) in Margate has received wide national press recognition for Biswal's unique style, that eschews what he calls a "fast food mentality" offered by many high street curry houses stuck in a "1940's time bubble." There are no poppadums, curries or Chicken Tikka Masala on Biswal's menus.

The Georgian Room seats 26, the Elizabethan Room 16, the and the Club Room 14 and the outside terrace a further 20 diners.

FACTFILE:

Dev Biswal grew up in Calcutta. He trained at the Dubai Sheraton, before moving to London, aged 26 in 2003 for spells at Mangoes and Eriki. He became a partner in The Indian Princess in Margate in December 2006, becoming patron and rebranding it as The Ambrette in 2010

The White Vine House accommodates 14 guests in 5 double rooms (one 4-poster), and a family room (sleeping four). Room rates from £130 to £180 a night including breakfast.

The original building was destroyed during one of the many French raids on the town during the 100 Years War. The Elizabethan Dining Room named for its exquisite and unique French oak panelling, which probably cost more than the original building, with each panel individually formed to fit the timber frame. The room is "signed" with a carpenter's mark visible just above the fireplace

Perfect Partners

Richard Clarke, studied Mechanical Engineering at Cambridge University, but was enticed into the food and wine trade with Jacksons of Piccadilly in 1972 as buyer of French cheeses, then wines, because of his speak rudimentary French gained from having spent a month working on a farm in Normandy. At Jacksons, Clarke was mentored by their wine consultant Harry Waugh, one of the first Masters of Wine and director of Chateau Latour, one of the great wines of Bordeaux.

In 1975 he moved to a small shipper/wine merchant who supplied the Hilton Hotels, The Ritz and Cunard Group owners of the QE2. The company was amalgamated in 1979 with a specialist in the duty free market supplying alrlines and ships. For the next 10 years Clarke advised Cunard, P&O, Sealink, British Caledonian Airways and many other airlines

In 1988, Richard and his wife Rosemary I bought Perfect Partners, Cheese & Wine Merchants of Cranbrook. Richard Clarke has witnessed a total revolution in the UK wine market. In the 1970s the only serious wines that were generally available here were French and German. Italian restaurants mainly offered a very basic range of indifferent wines. Spain, apart from Rioja and Sherry, provided bulk wines with little character.

Perfect Partners, Stone Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF T: 01580 712633

James Martin's Christmas Gift To You

To ensure you spend more time entertaining guests rather than stuck in the kitchen this Christmas, Life Fork & Spoon (www.lifeforkspoon.co.uk) is offering 10% off ALL orders of its delicious, restaurant quality meals and dishes delivered directly to your door, when you use code BBC10.
All recipes have been specially created by TV chef, James Martin and his team of experienced chefs, providing the perfect way to serve up gourmet meals in a matter of minutes this Yuletide.

Whether you are hosting a family Christmas dinner, or simply want to stock up on hearty home-cooked dinners over the festive period, Life Fork & Spoon is an easy and convenient way to enjoy professionally created, wholesome dishes without spending hours in the kitchen.

Order before the 23rd December and receive 10% off a great choice of starters, main courses and deserts that are sure to impress friends and family. Choose from filling dishes for one, such as succulent Minted Lamb Shank, spicy Chicken Balti Pie or hearty Shepherd's Pie.

To impress friends at a dinner party, the sharing starters and family-sized meals, such as delightful Pork Apple and Cider Terrine, Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Quiche, Luxury Beef Lasagne, Steak and Ale Pie and tempting Thai Green Curry, will bring that home-cooked look and taste to your table, allowing less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the festivities.

For the perfect end to your meal, choose from eight impressive desserts, such as James Martin's signature Sticky Toffee Pudding with a rich caramel sauce, or his White Chocolate Bread & Butter Croissant Pudding with a drop of whisky for extra flavour. Treat guests to family favourites, such as the zingy Lemon Drizzle Sponge or the luxurious Treacle Tart (serves 8-10), or serve up a tempting treat with the melt-in-the-mouth Mascarpone and Vanilla Cheesecake (served 14-16).

The mouthwatering meals are all created using top quality ingredients and choice cuts of meats, cooked with care and passion to bring handmade, real restaurant standard foods to your table.

James has also put together a selection of introductory boxes - a great way to explore the range. You can order a Dinner Party for Four or Six, Family Favourites and Gourmet Boxes, all containing a hand-picked selection of delicious dinners from the menu for you to enjoy.

The dishes and desserts are 'snap' frozen for extra freshness and can be used on the day of delivery or kept in the freezer for a later date or as a stand-by dinner. All meals come with easy-to-follow cooking instructions, with many using the sous-vide technique. James' advice is cook the products slowly and gently to produce the best results.

Ordering is quick and easy - simply browse through the options on the website, make your selection, choose a delivery date and time, checkout via the secure online process and your food will be delivered to your door ready for you to enjoy.

To ensure delivery before Christmas orders should be placed no later than 21st December.

Prices start from approximately £4 and with over 60 fantastic foods to choose from, including chicken, beef, pork, lamb, duck, pies, quiches, fish as well as seafood and vegetarian options, you will be sure to find something to suit all tastes this Christmas.

James and his team will be adding new dishes to the menu in the next few months so watch this space!

Visit www.lifeforkspoon.co.uk to see the menus and to place your order now. You can follow them on Twitter @lifeforkspoon or become a fan on www.facebook/lifeforkspoon.

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Sunday, 18 December 2011

A Must have foodie stocking filler! Some real hot sauces!

Stuck for ideas for male stocking fillers this year? – Well, here’s a ‘must have’ for every woman to give to a man, and every food loving male to add to his Xmas wish list.
So, add a bit of a kick to Xmas with a unique connoisseur chilli sauce specially chosen by Hot-Headz!, stockists of the largest selection of all things chilli in the UK (www.hot-headz.com). It’s quirky, original, has fantastic novelty value and is something that will be used! In fact we believe a bottle of chilli sauce is THE perfect stocking filler for any discerning male foodie of the species, guaranteed to bring Yuletide cheer and warmth! A perfect ‘secret santa’ gift for the office Xmas party too!

We all know there is a love hate relationship between men and chillies. They can’t resist the temptation of tingling taste buds and yet when they indulge they end up asking themselves ‘why on earth did I do that?’ whilst swilling down gallons of water to kill the heat (big mistake by the way; see the FACTFILE for details!)- and then they go and do it again! It’s all down to the endorphins that chillies make us produce by creating a sense of euphoria, along with a pinch of male bravado no doubt!

And with a bottle of superb provenance chilli sauce from Hot-Headz! typically costing from £3.99 to £6.99, it won’t make a dent in the old wallet. So why not buy a bottle or even a few.

Here are our top five ‘connoisseurs’ recommendations to choose from, gradually moving up the heat scale from ‘beginners mild’ to ‘it’ll blow your head off’ (In addition to the heat, the range of flavours, colours and textures are genuinely quite remarkable and varied, just like with wines, so why not try a few and do a tasting):

1. Tapatio Hot Sauce - This year marks the 40th Anniversary of this Mexican inspired sauce that's found on every table top in bars and restaurants across the USA. A robust cayenne pepper sauce with great flavour and a sweet citrusy tang that's good for all round use. A perfect ‘easy on the heat’ sauce for the chilli novice! Hot-Headz heat rating: 3/10. £3.99 (EDITOR Makes the perfect genuine Mexican/American foods)

2. Brother Bru-Bru's Mild African Pepper Sauce - a mouth watering blend of chilli peppers, garlic and Brother Bru Bru’s rare African spices. Brother Bru Bru is in fact no other than session musician Bruce Langhorne who used to play with Bob Dylan. It's a fact that Dylan wrote Mr.Tambourine Man about Bruce. Yes that's him on the label! Splash it on or in everything! Hot-Headz heat rating: 5/10. £3.99

3. Pyromania! Wanna play with Fire? Made with habanero peppers and chipotle "Chee-Poht-Lay" (smoked jalapeno) peppers for a wonderful rich and smoky hot sauce that's great on everything from eggs and vegetables to fish, meat, rice, pasta and tofu. Getting warmer. Hot-Headz heat rating: 7/10. £3.99

4. Hot-Headz own ‘Who Dares Burns! Crushed Naga Hot Sauce’ - Now we're getting serious! A whopping 65% chilli pepper content gives this all natural sauce a killer heat with fresh, fresh flavour! The Naga Bhut Jolokia is the Guinness Book of World Records holder of the Hottest Chilli in the World. We've skilfully blended these deadly hot chilli peppers with select ingredients to make the tastiest Naga sauce on the market. In skiing parlance, this is definitely black run. Hot-Headz heat rating: 9/10. £3.99

5. Mad Dog 357 - Claiming to be the ‘World's Hottest Sauce’ this is about as hot as you can go without being classed as a food additive. This ‘not for the faint of heart’ sauce has a blend of 160,000 scoville super hot cayenne peppers, fiery hot red habanero peppers and finally a whopping 2,000,000 scoville pepper extract. Totally off-piste! A tongue scorching 357,000 Scoville unit sauce. Hot-Headz heat rating: 11/10.
£7.49 (EDITOR: Ouch, ouch, OUCH!!! This really did burn my tongue and I am not a chilli novice!)

(Collectors Edition with bullet key chain containing tiny tasting spoon! 600,000 Scoville units - £9.95)

To purchase: Go to www.hot-headz.com to order on-line OR Call: 01453 731052. P&P (UK Mainland): £2.00 - £6.75 depending on no of items ordered. Free delivery on orders over £100. Some products in the selection may need to be altered due to availability.

FACTFILE: Best to avoid water or beer if you can, to calm your poor tongue and mouth. Milk is the best method to cool them down.)