Getting Christmas Wrapped Up with Hamper.com

December is fast approaching, and despite working two more jobs than I was this time last year, I feel that I've got this Christmas lark well and truly under control. I'm so organised that I actually hate myself right now. I've bought and wrapped presents, hand made a pom pom wreath , baked a Christmas cake, prepped ingredients (including a 2018 silver sixpence) for making a Christmas pudding on Stir it Up Sunday this weekend, and even planned my menus for the festive period. 

If you see me out and about with a smug grin on my face then kick me and tell me to get a grip and remind me that it's still only November!

LUXURY GIN HAMPER

Fortunately, for those of you that don't have Christmas wrapped up yet, there's still plenty of time for shopping before the big day. If you don't have the time or inclination to fight the crowds on the high street, or sift your way through the stream of 'hot deals' online, fear not, there is a simpler 'one stop' way to shop for your family and friends this Christmas, and you will barely have to lift a finger.

Whether your recipient is into wine, beer, gin, chocolate or even cheese, there are ready made Christmas hampers to suit all tastes and budgets at hampers.com.

I've received three such hampers, with the first being the Luxury Gin Hamper containing a half bottle of Hendrick's gin, a couple of Fever Tree tonics, chocolate limes, shortbread and olives. It arrived in a strong double walled cardboard box lined with wood shavings. The hamper.com website shows the contents of each box clearly on the page, in both the description and images scrolling underneath, and all hampers come with free UK delivery, and in many cases the delivery is next day.

CHRISTMAS CRACKER HAMPER

The second hamper I received was the Christmas Cracker hamper, which again arrived in a presentation box and was filled with treats to enjoy over Christmas, including a jar of luxury cranberry sauce and a Christmas pudding to serve 3-4.

CHOCOLATE INDULGENCE HAMPER

The final hamper would suit chocoholics out there, and is presented in a wicker basket, although disappointingly it wasn't the white one that was pictured on the website. There's a great selection of indulgent chocolate treats in the basket though, including a hot chocolate stick, truffles, popcorn and honeycomb.

LUXURY GIN HAMPER UNBOXED

Whilst it's definitely cheaper to put hampers together yourself, not everyone enjoys shopping for the individual items to fill a basket as much as me, nor may they have the time. Ready made hampers from hampers.com come with the utmost convenience and are available to deliver all over the UK, and a limited number of hampers can also be sent to many countries worldwide. If you don't quite see what you're looking for within the huge range of ready made hampers then it's also possible to create your own, and include anything you like from fresh apples and oranges to Wensleydale cheese and Champagne.

If you're looking to send a surprise to friends and family that you can't be with this Christmas, whether you're living overseas or they are, then sending a hamper is the perfect gift. Who doesn't love receiving a hamper filled with your favourite goodies!

What are you waiting for? Go and get your Christmas wrapped up too!

In collaboration with hampers.com

Cranberry Sausage Roll Garland

Sick of Black Friday deals yet? I actually thought it was last week because there were so many offers around, but then today morning my inbox has been rammed full of 'deals' to remind me that it is indeed today. Then, just as we think it's all over, then come the 'don't worry we've extended our Black Friday offers' and then Cyber Monday follows swiftly after. It's never ending. Who wishes we could go back to the time of January sales, when sales were in January and only in January.

If you're looking for a Black Friday deal here then I'm sorry to disappoint, but if you've come here looking for quick & easy home cooked food then you've come to the right place! 

Ta-da.

Ready made puff pastry with ready made sausages and cranberry sauce, all bundled together to make this sausage roll wreath which will be devoured in minutes at the family Boxing Day buffet or festive get together with friends.

I have a little confession to make about sausages. I buy a bag of 20 frozen sausages every week for 99p, and the family love them! My husband has never commented on a sausage as much as he's commented on these so now they get them every week in one of their favourite meals - bangers and mash, and I use frozen ready made mashed potato too!  Winning!

Yeah the sausages might not have a very high pork content, but they are a lot lower in fat than many other sausages, and they work perfectly in sausage rolls, so as long as everyone is happy and they enjoy eating them I'll continue to buy them. I'll still buy the lovely flavoured sausages for the bbq in the Summer, but when they all want 4 or 5 sausages (and more) for a meal, it's a lot more cost effective to buy these.

Iceland Christmas in July #PowerofFrozen

Last week, on one of the hottest days of the year, I got up at an unearthly hour to travel to London for one of the hotly anticipated summer events of the year - Christmas in July. If you've never been to a Christmas in July event it's where brands get to showcase their up and coming products aimed at the Christmas market.

The brand that I made this epically hot journey to see was, ironically, Iceland.

Last November I attended a pre Christmas event at the Iceland HQ and their food was amazing, so I was excited to see what they had on offer for this Christmas. Iceland's chef Neil Nugent was on hand to prepare some delicious food and served me up a delicious breakfast.

This wasn't like my usual breakfast, especially as I rarely eat fish, but I must say that Neil Nugent does prepare the best smoked salmon. This beetroot smoked salmon was served with a touch of lemon mayo, alongside Nacho Chicken and a cute pot of Crab Mac & Cheese. I'm so impressed with the quality & taste of Iceland fish & seafood that I am seriously considering popping my sushi cherry and trying one of their Luxury Sushi Platters this Christmas. 

It's difficult to know where to start with the food as there was so much on offer, from gifts, decorations and pet treats to cheese platters, nibbles, roasts and desserts. There is everything you could possibly need this Christmas to feed your guests throughout the Christmas period, as well as wrappings, lights and advent calendars - I absolutely *need* the wine advent calendar to see me through my usual 'wet December'! 

I'm definitely going to need a third freezer this Christmas for sure! There's way too much to show you here, so here are a few of my favourites that I'll be looking out for later in the year.

Not forgetting the award winning Mince Pies

You can find a few more products on my Instagram feed - scroll to the left to see them all.

Do you have a favourite that you'll be looking out for this Christmas?

a commissioned post for Iceland Foods

Pegboard Advent Calendar

The new John Lewis Christmas ad has appeared on our TV's, which means I can now mention the C word on my blog once again. The last few months have flown by and I can't believe that Christmas is almost here again. I'm determined to be organised this year and get the Christmas presents bought before the beginning of December, and it all seems to be going to plan so far. The tree won't be going up for another month as the decorator is coming to finish off our lounge just before then, although I will probably be pestered into putting one in the kitchen at the beginning of the month.

Last year I made a gingerbread house advent calendar, but I've kept it nice and simple this year with a pegboard advent calendar on my desk (waiting for the decorator to come before I hang it on the wall).

It takes only a few minutes to put together, and you can hang your favourite chocolates on it. I used these Lindor chocolate orange truffles, but if you want to go for a Scandi look you could use the milk truffles in red packaging.

You will need :

length of ribbon

24 mini pegs

Sharpie pen

24 sweets/chocolates

• tie loops in both ends of your ribbon & attach to hooks on your pegboard or wall
• number your pegs from 1 to 24 with the Sharpie
• place each peg over the ribbon, gripping both the ribbon and the edge of a chocolate wrapper

It's a simple, yet effective, advent calendar that can be used year after year with your favourite chocolates

I bought both the ribbon and pegs from Ebay.

As always, Lindt has a fab range of Christmas chocolates, including the famous Reindeer, and these mini Santas, bears and Santas Helpers, which make great stocking fillers.

I wonder how long it will be before they disappear from my desk!

I received a selection of Lindt chocolate to use in this post

Mincemeat & Salted Caramel Palmiers with Mincemeat Semifreddo

These palmiers are really easy to make, and a really delicious alternative to a traditional mince pie. If you're having guests around for a mulled wine these would be great to serve alongside, or with the addition on a scoop of semifreddo they would make a tasty dinner party dessert to wow your guests. The semifreddo is lighter than an ice cream, almost the texture of a mousse, with all the flavours of Christmas, and you don't need an ice cream machine to make it.

   

Mincemeat & Salted Caramel Palmiers 

500g puff pastry

400g mincemeat

100g almonds, chopped

salted caramel sauce (or caramel sauce with a pinch of sea salt flakes)

• Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle
• Spread the mincemeat over the pastry & top with the chopped almonds
• Roll up each on the long sides towards the middle until they meet
• Cut slices approx 1cm wide and place onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper
• Press down with the palm of your hand
• Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 12-14 minutes
• Leave on the baking paper to cool down & drizzle with salted caramel sauce

Mincemeat Semifreddo

600ml double cream

grated zest of 1 orange
1 vanilla pod, split
300g mincemeat

4 eggs separated

50g caster sugar

• Heat the cream gently in a pan with the orange zest and vanilla pod
• Remove from heat and stir in the mincemeat
• Allow to cool and remove the vanilla pod
• Whisk the egg whites until stiff
• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale and creamy 
• Fold the cream mixture into the egg yolks and then fold in the egg whites, until well combined
• Add to a freezable container and place in the freezer for 1-2 hours until semi solid and then stir gently to distribute the mincemeat
• Freeze for a few hours more before serving
• Remove from the freezer around 15 minutes before serving

Mince Pies Two Ways

Years ago my Mum worked as a tea lady for a large company (before she was replaced by vending machines), and at Christmas she would make around 200 mince pies to give out to the staff on her floor with their morning cuppa. A couple of decades on and she still makes more than enough mince pies, but now we receive the benefit of her mass baking session, meaning that I very rarely make any of my own. When I do I usually make them one of two ways; either with a custard inside a shortcrust pastry case or in a puff pastry case (my personal preference).

The first batch I made this season were for Great British Chefs, using A2 milk in the custard. Since I first started using A2 milk a few months ago in my baked mini doughnuts with rhubarb & custard sauce and apple and custard tarts it has become Jack's favourite milk to drink, and he loves it when I have some 'special blue milk' in the fridge. You can find the full recipe for these Mincemeat & Custard Pies  here.

For my second batch of mince pies I used ready made puff pastry, which is great for having in the fridge over Christmas ready for when guests arrive - they will be very impressed when you nip into the kitchen & return less than 30 minutes later with a plate of warm and crispy mince pies.

Puff pastry mince pies - makes 12

1 pack of ready made puff pastry

mincemeat (shop bought or recipes here and here)

milk

demerara sugar

icing sugar

• Roll the puff pastry out to about 3mm thick
• Using pastry cutters, cut 12 discs large enough to line your 12 hole bun tin & 12 smaller discs for the lids
• Place the bases in the tin & top with a spoonful of mincemeat
• Brush with a little milk around the edge of the pastry & place on the lid and seal
• Sprinkle with a little demerara sugar before baking in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes, until golden, puffed up & crispy
• Dust with a little icing sugar before serving

Easy peasy, and never be without mince pies again. Oh, and don't go throwing those scrappy bits of puff pastry away - just trim them into bitesized pieces, brush with milk, scatter with sugar and cinnamon and bake in the oven - delicious dipped in chocolate sauce.

recipe for mincemeat & custard pies commissioned by Great British Chefs

Christmas Cake for Cheese

We've just finished our first Christmas cake, and when I say we've finished it I don't mean we've finished making it or finished decorating it, I mean we've actually just finished eating it. Yep, and we are only just over a week into December. Fear not as we have another two, one is currently being fed with dark rum on a weekly basis and the other is this one, which I made purely to eat with cheese.

I believe that eating fruit cake with cheese stems from Yorkshire, where they eat it with Wensleydale. I enjoyed mine with a slice of Wensleydale with apricots - I would have preferred plain Wensleydale but it was either apricots or nothing when my online shop was delivered. One of the very few times I drink red wine is around this time of year with cheese (the other is when I enjoy Sangria during the summer), and this cake, cheese and a glass of Lindeman's Bin 50 Shiraz was a perfect pairing on a cold wintry night.

It's a very simple recipe that takes very little preparation and can be made in one pan.

Christmas Cake for Cheese

150g dates, chopped
125g raisins
125g currants
125g sultanas
115g butter
115g soft dark brown sugar
1 tbsp black treacle
100ml Lindeman's Shiraz
2 eggs

50g walnuts, roughly chopped

50g almonds, roughly chopped

150g self raising flour

• Add the dried fruit to a large saucepan with the butter, sugar & black treacle
• Stir over a low heat until the butter has melted & sugar has dissolved
• Remove from the heat and stir in the wine
• Allow to cool before beating on the eggs
• Stir in the nuts and flour until well combined
• Pour the batter into a greased & lined loaf pan
• Bake in a preheated 140C oven for approx 1.5 hours, until a skewer inserted comes out clean

Fruit cake and cheese? Go on, I dare you to try....

This post has been commissioned by Lindeman's

Mincemeat Pancakes with Salted Caramel Sauce

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas now that we're into December, although we haven't got our tree up yet as it still feels too early (or actually I can't be bothered with the task of building it just yet).

I made some mincemeat a few weeks ago, but other than making just one batch of mince pies and some mini mincemeat loaves the majority of it has been sitting in the cupboard waiting for my festive baking to kick into gear.

I decided to make a batch of mincemeat pancakes for an after school snack, and topped them with a drizzle of homemade salted caramel sauce (recipe here). I'm currently on my pre Christmas diet so only tasted a small spoonful of pancake and sauce but I could have quite easily eaten the whole lot, cleared the bowls away and the kids would've been none the wiser when they walked in and found me in a sugar daze. I was very disciplined though and saved the rest for the husband and kids, but I think I'll be making these again on Christmas morning when I no longer have to worry about my diet!

Mincemeat Pancakes - makes approx 6

125ml semi skimmed milk

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

75g mincemeat (shop bought or use my recipe here or here)

100g self raising flour

oil for frying

• Mix the milk & lemon juice together
• Whisk in the egg & then stir in the mincemeat
• Add the flour and stir until just combined
• Heat a little oil in a pan and spoon a tablespoonful of batter into the pan (make 2 or 3 at a time if you have room)
• Allow to cook until it begins to puff up & is golden brown 
• Flip over and cook for a few minutes on the other side

Using up the Christmas leftovers - Turkey Cottage Pie

Forgive me for talking about 'after Christmas' when we are barely into December, but I'm going to anyway, because we all need ideas for using up the leftover turkey.

I was provided with a Bernard Matthews Golden Norfolk turkey to cook and make a dish with the leftovers.

In the past I've made turkey spring rolls, curry, soup and lots of lots of sandwiches to use up the leftovers, but in the new year when I can't look at another buffet I crave a good home cooked comfort meal. This turkey cottage pie is exactly that; a warming, satisfying dish topped with buttery mash.

Turkey Cottage Pie

tbsp olive oil
large onion, chopped
clove of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled & diced
400ml turkey stock (reserved from roasting the turkey)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
tbsp dried rosemary
1 courgette, diced
leftover turkey
tbsp cornflour
approx 1kg mashed potato

• Heat the oil in a pan & fry the onion until starting to brown
• Add the garlic & carrots & fry for a minute longer
• Add the stock, worcestershire sauce and rosemary
• Stir well & place the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes
• Add the courgette & turkey and simmer for a few minutes longer
• Mix the cornflour with a little water and add to the pan, stirring well
• Transfer to an ovenproof dish and top with mash
• Place in a preheated 180C oven until the mash is golden brown

It definitely made a nice change to the usual turkey curry.

I was recently invited to a 'Bootiful Ideas' event hosted by Bernard Matthews at the fab Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, London. During the event we were given some food styling tips by stylist Olia Hercules, had chance to meet other bloggers and sample some existing products as well as give our views on some potential new ones - fingers crossed that my favourite makes it to the shelves!

It's always nice to attend blogger events and meet new bloggers, especially when the kids are invited too, and this time I got to spend a day with my budding food stylist Hanna.

We even got to take a few samples home and Jack was treated to a 'Turkey Munchkin'.