Cranberry Fizz - A non-alcoholic drink for Christmas

Photograph by Kevin Summers

Finding interesting drinks for those who don't, or can't, drink is always a bit of a challenge but I would certainly raise my glass to this gorgeously festive Cranberry Fizz from Lindy Wildsmith's latest book, Artisan Drinks.



Artisan Drinks celebrates the pleasure to be had from making your own drinks. With over 100 recipes for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, Lindy Wildsmith takes you from the freshly harvested ingredients to the finished product in your glass.  Along the way, she rediscovers artisanal techniques and takes a wholesome approach to sourcing natural ingredients for infusing macerating, pressing brewing and fermenting your own drinks.

Lindy Wildsmith is a great believer in the importance of good, seasonal ingredients and connecting with the land, people and business around you.  Her love of nature, the changing seasons and the countryside have inspired her interest in both curing and preserving an making drinks.

Kevin Summers has been a photographer for 20 years, working advertising, editorial and television commercials.  His main focus is still life and food photography and he has worked with Delia Smith and Nigel Slater.

In the Introduction, Lindy takes us back to her childhood memories as well as the revival in artisan food producers, but the message is clear, nothing is quite as good as the drinks you make at home yourself.  There are also a couple of pages on Sourcing and Seasonality, whether from the garden or foraged from the hedgerow, there is lots of useful advice and a helpful artisan drinkmaker's year chart.

Still waters run deep - Cordials, syrups and soft drinks contains everything you need to know to make and keep soft drinks safely.  The recipes include Italian lime siroppo, Ginger Cordial, Instant Lemon Sherbet, Rose Petal cordial, Spiced blackberry tonic and Rosehip syrup.

Family Fizz - Alcohol free sparkling drinks will be well received by most people and make a great alternative to alcohol at celebrations. Recipes include the classic Elderflower 'Champagne', Nettle Beer, Lavender Spritz, May's dandelion, ginger and liquorice beer and Cranberry Fizz.

A global resurgence - Beer, cider and perry we used to make our own beer years ago first from a kit and then we moved on to hops and fuggles.  I've never made cider but my mother has many stories of exploding bottles of cider made by my grandfather!  The recipes include Woodforde's Nog, Festive spiced ale, Three Counties cider and perry and Old English 'Champagne' sparkling perry.

A very good year - The wine list we made wine too, using everything from sloes to carrots, all those bubbling demi-johns used to be gathered around the inglenook fireplace. Recipes include Rhubarb wine, Clover flower or dandelion wine, Beetroot and Marjoram wine, Carrot Wine and Bully Lane red berry wine.

And now for something stronger - liqueurs, digestifs and pick me ups many of you may have made and enjoyed sloe gin, so here there are recipes for some alternatives. Recipes include Bourbon Shrub, Limoncello San Vigilio, Nocino (Italian Walnut Liqueur), Cherry Brandy and the delightfully named Herefordshire Vet - aromatic fruit liqueur.

Taking the plunge - punches, cups and party drinks as Christmas is just around the corner, these party drinks will certainly liven things up.  Recipes include Old English cider cup, Rosemary and Thyme perry infusion and Wassail - Christmas Spiced Ale,

Happy Hours - artisan cocktails and elegant mocktails for those who want to serve a sophisticated drink there are plenty of ideas, recipes include Bejewelled Pink Elephant, Damson Gin Fizz and Jumping Jack Flash.  Mocktails include Garden Path- Lavender ice cream soda, Tropical Storm , Flirty and Pussyfoot.

Oasis of Calm - teas, tisanes and spicy brews some great ideas for something other than breakfast tea.  Recipes include Herb garden tisanes, Lime and other flower infusions, Ginger root and lemongrass tea, Middle Eastern cardamom coffee and Hot tangerine and nutmeg chocolate

The book finishes with a comprehensive Glossary and Directory of equipment suppliers and on line retailers in many different countries

Cranberry Fizz
makes 2 litres (3 pints 10fl oz)
On festive occasions this stunningly colourful drink can be dressed up for the non-drinker at the party.  Vary the fruit in this recipe to make vibrant fizz at any time of the year - rhubarb in spring, soft fruits and cherries in summer and blackberries in autumn.

500g (1lb 2 oz) cranberries
Finely pared rind and juice of 1 lemon
Finely pared rind and juice of 1 orange
300g (10.5 oz) sugar cubes
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 litres (3 pints 10fl oz) boiling water
2tsp (10g) baker's yeast or 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of caster sugar
4 tsp (20ml) warm (not hot) water

You will also need
Large earthenware crock or deep bowl
Mouli-legume (food mill) or mincer
2 x 1 litre (1 pint 15 fl oz) sterilised plastic (PET) bottles with screw caps

Put the fruit in the crock or deep bowl and crush with a potato masher or the end of a rolling pin or, even better, put through a Mouli-Legume or mincer.  Add the citrus zest and juice, add the sugar cubes and the cream of tartar.  Pour the boiling water over the top, stir and leave to cool until lukewarm.

When the liquid has cooled sufficiently, mix the yeast and caster sugar with the warm water, stir into a paste and add to the liquid. Cover with a clean cloth and leave for 48 hours.

Using a slotted spoon, skim and discard any debris that may have floated to the surface.  Strain into a large jug and use a funnel to pour into bottles.

Making and keeping: Make in winter.  Keeps for 2-4 weeks in a cool place.  Once open drink up within a few days before the sparkle subsides.

I simply ran out of time to make this recipe so can't give you my opinion on the taste and ease of making.  I hope to make some before Christmas comes so we can enjoy it in the holidays. 

Artisan Drinks by Lindy Wildsmith
Published by Jacqui Small www.jacquismallpub.com (@JacquiSmallPub)
RRP £25.00

To order Artisan Drinks at the discounted price of £20.00 including p&p* (RRP: £25.00), telephone 01903 828503 or email mailorders@lbsltd.co.uk and quote the offer code APG236.
*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

Labels: Artisan Drinks, cider, Cocktail, cordial, cranberries, fizz, Jacqui Small Publishing. Beer, Lindy Wildsmith, liqueur, Mocktail, non-alcoholic, soft drinks, wine

posted by Janice @ 07:00 7 Comments

Cheesy Treats for Easter Weekend

It's not been possible for me to make any Easter treats to share with you, so instead I'm going to share some quirky recipes created by gastronaut Stefan Gates for Castello cheese which you can make to impress your guests this Easter. 
 


Chocolate eggs are so last Easter!! This year, speciality cheese brand Castello has paired up with gastronaut and foodie adventurer Stefan Gates to creatively craft innovative Easter egg recipes with a cheese twist. Stefan has turned tradition on its head with a cheeky take on the classic egg and soldiers, and a chocolate cream egg that is bound to make your guests do a double take.

Proving the versatility of cheese, Stefan has used the Castello range to devise playful recipes that are sure to inject some fun into your Easter weekend. And to ensure the holiday wows, top wine expert Matt Day has co-ordinated delicious and surprising drinks pairings to get the best flavours from your meal.

Stefan Gates said, “Castello cheeses are so versatile, from the tangy taste of Tickler extra mature cheddar to the lusciously soft Pineapple Halo - you can really have fun with them even turning some into a sweet treat. If you’re not constricted by cheese convention, you will be surprised by the flavour combinations out there. I wanted to rethink the Easter cream egg and traditional egg and soldiers turning them into crowd pleasers yet still easy to make at home.”

Ingredients (serves 4)
350g Castello Tickler Extra-Mature Cheddar (grated)
200ml fine strong cider
1 tablespoon of cornflour, mixed to a paste with 2tbsp cold water
½ tsp Worcester sauce
1tbsp truffle oil

Soldiers
8 slices sourdough
200g Castello Tickler Extra-Mature Cheddar thinly sliced
100g butter for frying
Juice of 1 lemon

Method
1.        Put a thick-bottomed saucepan on a medium heat, add the cider and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat, mix in the grated cheese, cornflour paste and Worcester sauce. Stir gently until all the cheese has melted. It should be as thick as Greek yoghurt, so if you need to thicken or loosen it add more cheese or cider. Keep it warm until you’re ready to serve
2.        Lightly toast the sourdough slices, then make four unbuttered sandwiches with cheddar slices inside
3.        Heat a large knob of butter in a frying pan until sizzling, then just as the butter turns brown, add 1 tbsp of lemon juice and turn one of the sandwiches in it to coat and continue frying until slightly crispy. Repeat with the rest of the sandwiches, then slice them into soldiers and put them on plates
4.        Stir ½ tbsp. truffle oil into the fondue, taste and add another ½ tbsp. if you need to (truffle oils can vary in strength). Put each egg-shell in an egg cup and fill with the fondue (there’ll be more leftover for seconds!) and serve

Drinks
Why not complement the savoury eggs with a chilled glass of champagne or an icy beer. Choose one of Matt Day’s suggestions to bring out the tangy taste of the Tickler:
Leffe Blonde Beer (£2.99 widely available)
Tesco finest* 1531 Blanquette de Limoux (£8.49)
Le Mesnil Blac de Blancs Champagne 2004 (Waitrose £33.99)

Who would have thought cheese tastes great with chocolate? True to form, Stefan surprises with a delectable dessert that is both quick and fun to conjure up. This recipe is the perfect way to enhance both the pineapple, papaya and almond aromas found in the soft cheese, Pineapple Halo.

Ingredients (for 2 eggs)

2 hollow chocolate eggs
½ wheel of Castello Pineapple Halo
4tbsp crème fraiche
Zest of one orange

Method
1.        Carefully slice the top off the chocolate eggs using a hot knife dipped in water from a boiled kettle. Put them into egg cups
2.        Put the cheese, crème fraiche and ¾ of the orange zest into a bowl and mix it together with the back of a fork. Fill each eggshell with the mixture, and then put the remaining orange zest on top to look like the yolk
Drinks
This naughty but nice chocolate treat works perfectly with one of the following:
Mimosa (Champagne, Grand Marnier, Fresh Orange Juice)
Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora (Ocado £7.49)
Fontana fredda Moscato D'Asti Moncucco (Asda £12.47)





For more information about the Castello range visit: www.castellocheese.co.uk


I was not paid for this post, but received some packs of Castello Cheeses to try.

Labels: Castello, cheese, chocolate, cider, Easter, Fondue, Mature Cheddar, pineapple

posted by Janice @ 20:37 3 Comments

Venison cooked in Cider and a Giveaway

Venison is one of those meats that many people shy away from.  Perhaps because they are not sure how to cook it, and then there is the 'Bambi' factor.  Neither of these reasons would put me off and I have cooked venison in the past but I find that it is just not readily available at the butcher or the supermarket. It's nice to know that I'm in tune with top chefs Valentine Warner and Ainsley Harriott who were championing Venison and Mustard on the Great British Food Revival and I couldn't  believe how closely Valentine Warner's views  about venison were to mine!

So I was excited to see that as part of  Flavour Fortnight in August this year, a Vension Farm Walk and tasting was offered by Millbank Parkland Venison just outside Lockerbie.


Millbank Farm is run by Emma Boyes with her husband Gareth, and after a walk around the farm to see the deer, Emma  prepared some recipes which we were able to taste.  The sausages and burgers were delicious and all the dishes were full of flavour.  I was intrigued to see what I could make with this local produce, so last month I contacted Emma to see if she would like me to make some dishes with venison from her farm.



Venison is regarded as the premier meat for the health conscious. With the lowest fat, lowest cholesterol and the highest protein content of any meat combined with high iron content and omega 3 it is ideal for those on a healthy or low cholesterol diet.
Venison: 6g/100g fat (beef/chicken/lamb/pork 12-20g/100g)
Venison: 198 kcal/100g (beef/chicken/lamb/pork 214-286kcal/100g)

Millbank Parkland Venison is exclusively sourced from 14 to 22 month old animals in prime condition, the meat is hung for the optimum period of 1 week, resulting in venison which is consistent, tender and of very high quality.
Not all venison is the same. Venison varies within species, age, gender, whether farmed venison or wild venison as well as the condition and health status of the deer. There are 6 deer species in the UK. Scottish venison includes fallow, red, roe and sika deer. We believe fallow and roe venison are of the highest quality due to the texture and flavour of the meat. At Millbank, through the choice of deer combined with how they manage and select the deer, they aim to consistently provide the very best culinary experience.

Millbank Farm Parkland Venison is Fallow Deer venison and wild Roe deer which are less gamey than  Red Deer venison and much more tender, it is low in fat and Millbank Farm venison is ethical, welfare friendly, stress free, low food miles, low carbon footprint, processed in their natural environment. This information and more is available on the Millbank Farm Parkland Venison website.

Haunch of Millbank Farm Parkland Venison in a Cider and Mustard Sauce

I wanted to come up with a recipe full of the flavours of autumn, which complemented rather than overpowered the venison, apples and squash seemed to be the answer!

Serves 4-6

1 small haunch of venison (approx 500g)
1tbsp olive oil
10g butter
6 sage leaves, chopped
150ml vintage cider
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
100g creme fraiche
1 tsp cornflour
salt and freshly ground black pepper



You could easily increase the quantities to serve a larger group, this haunch will provide two half inch thick slices of venison per person for 6 people, or three slices for four people.



1.  Heat the olive oil in a pan on a medium heat.
2. Brown the haunch of venison in the pan, then remove to an oven proof dish.

3. Add the butter and sage leaves to the pan juices  and cook for 1 minute, then add the cider and mustard. Let it bubble up for 2-3 minutes, then add to the venison in the ovenproof dish.

4. Cover with foil and bake in the oven at 180C for 45 minutes.
5. Once cooked, lift the venison onto another plate cover with foil and allow to rest.
6. Pour the  mustardy juices into a small saucepan and heat until simmering.
7. Mix the teaspoon of cornflour with the creme fraiche and add to the juices.
8. Cook until slightly thickened.
9. Carve the haunch of venison in thick slices and serve on butternut squash and apple puree with the sauce poured over generously.

Butternut Squash and Apple Puree

1 medium butternut squash
2 Cox's Apple Pippins
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt


1. Heat the oven to 200C
2. Peel, deseed and chop the butternut squash into cubes. Cut the apples in half and take out the core with a teaspoon.
3. Put the 3tbsp of olive oil into a roasting tin and add the butternut squash and the apples to the tin and roast in the oven until the squash is tender, about 30 - 40 minutes.

4. When the squash and apples are soft, remove the apple pulp from its skin and puree both with a stick blender or liquidiser, season to taste.  The consistency should be similar to mashed potato.


The Millbank Farm Parkland Venison should be served slightly pink to be enjoyed at its best.  The flavour of the meat is excellent and goes really well with the sharp heat of the mustard and creme fraiche sauce and the sweetness of the butternut squash puree and cider.

If you would like to try some Millbank Farm Parkland Venison you can buy it from the
online farm shop  or take part in the giveaway below for a chance to win a taster pack for two people containing 2 rump steaks, 2 vension burgers and a ring of venison sausage.  Details of what you need to do are in the Rafflecopter widget with opportunities for bonus entries.   Please remember to read the terms and conditions.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Labels: apples, butternut squash, cider, creme fraiche, Flavour Fortnight, giveaway, Great British Food Revival, Millbank Farm Parkland Venison, mustard, venison, win

posted by Janice @ 20:20 126 Comments

Summer Beef Pot Roast

I got a nice piece of brisket on special offer, it's not something I would normally cook in the summer, but we are not having much of a summer and it was pouring with rain yesterday and just the day for a nice slow cooked meal.

I looked around to see if I could find some inspiration for a summer version of a pot roast and found this Summer Garden Beef Pot Roast at the 'Only Sometimes Clever' blog.  I followed the recipe pretty much as is, although I used sweet smoked pimenton paprika and my basil isn't ready yet so I used some fresh thyme and rosemary. Oh, yes and rather than add water, I added 500ml of still cider which worked brilliantly giving the sauce a little sweetness.  Of course, I don't have a 'crockpot' so I cooked my beef for about 4 hours, first hour at 160C and then turn it down to 140C for the next three.  Keep taking it out every hour to hour and a half,  poking at it to see how it's getting on because it will depend on the size of your beef and the amount of vegetables you have in there.


I used the first courgette (zucchini) of summer from my garden.  I have two plants in a big planter and they have been loving the mild, wet weather we have been having.


This is the roast after a couple of hours, the pot was full to the top with veggies when it went in but they had melted away, so there was then room to add the new potatoes cut into big chunks, skins still on.

I used some gravy powder to thicken the juices, but you could serve them as they are or use a little cornflour mixed with water.  It's a great meal, the garlic permeates the gravy and the beef, the tomatoes and peppers add sweetness and the potatoes are there to mash into the gravy and get all the the juices mopped up.  Everything in one pot also means less washing up!

Labels: Beef, Brisket, carrots, cider, courgette, garlic, one pot, pot roast, potatoes, red pepper, summer

posted by Janice @ 18:56 4 Comments

Irish coddled pork with cider

This recipe was in this month's BBC Good Food Magazine as a Treat for 2. I doubled it up to make it a family meal and replaced the cabbage with brussels sprouts which I cooked separately as I hate cabbage and sprouts which are overcooked. It was very nice indeed and I would definitely make it again.

small knob of butter
2 pork loin chops
4 rashers smoked bacon cut into pieces
1 carrot, cut into large chunks
2 potatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 small swede, cut into chunks
1/4 large cabbage, cut into smaller wedges
1 bay leaf
100ml/31/2fl oz Irish Cider (I just used English Cider)
100ml/31/2 fl oz chicken stock

Heat the butter in a casserole dish until sizzling, then fry the port for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from the pan. Tip the bacon, carrot, potatoes and swede into the pan, then gently fry until slightly coloured. Stir in the cabbage, sit the chops back on top, add the bay leaf, then pour over the cider and stock. Cover the pan, then leave everything to gently simmer for 20 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the vegetables are tender (I put it in the oven). Serve at the table spooned straight from the dish.

Labels: cider, one-pot, Pork chops

posted by Janice @ 14:52 3 Comments