Alternate Mincepies - Christmas Hamper Special

If you are worried about over doing it with the mince pies this Christmas then fear not. This alternate christmas mincepies recipe by Delia Smith is one which you will adore. These mincepies are lighter than the usual mincepies you find and they are so much faster to make too. Now that's what I call a win win!
Ingredients:
6 feuilles de brick / pre-made puffed pastry
350g mincemeat (the best you can afford)
125g ground almonds
1 tbsp icing sugar
Alternate Christmas Pie Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180oC.
2. Lighlt grease 12 hole mini muffin tine with butter.
3. Lay the a piece of pastry on a clean, dry chopping-board then cut it into four equal wedges and put a dessertspoon of ground almonds into the centre of each one.
4. Top that with a dessertspoon of mincemeat, (the best you can afford).
5. Gather up the edges of one to form the shape of a money-bag, and press it into one of the muffin tins so that all the sharp edges stand proud.
6. Do the same with the rest of the pastry and filling.
7. Bake in the oven on the centre shelf for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
8. After that transfer them to a cooling rack.
9. Serve them warm, dusted with icing sugar, or if you want to bake them in advance, you can re-heat them (same temperature for five minutes).
These are great served with mulled wine or as a dessert with rum sauce or maybe some vanilla ice-cream.
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20% off shopping - Seven Dials and St Martin's Courtyard 1st Dec

Seven Dials, Christmas 2011

For one festive night only, Seven Dials and St Martin’s Courtyard, is hosting an exclusive 20% off shopping evening between 5 and 9pm on 1st December to enable you to get all your Christmas gift shopping wrapped up early.   With over 100 stores and venues across Seven Dials’ seven streets of independent boutiques, heritage brands, vintage stores and indulgent beauty and grooming salons plus popular St Martin’s Courtyard’s fashion, beauty and lifestyle boutiques and flagships taking part, this one off event will be the most relaxing yet productive way to shop this festive period.
There will be special festive in store activities and on the street entertainment and giveaways. There’s no better way to put you in the mood for Christmas.
Get your voucher and read more information

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Peanut Homemade Chocolates Recipe - Christmas Hamper Special

Making homemade chocolates whether for dinner guests or as a present is a really great way of showing someone you care.
Method:
1. Melt the chocolate slowly in a glass bowl over hot water. Stir and continue to melt. When done drip chocolate into moulds, with a spoon.
2. Only fill half way. Place a piece of waxed paper onto the counter or cookie sheet. Turn moulds over and allow the excess chocolate to drip out onto your waxed paper.
 3. Wipe edges clean so you don't have any chocolate around the outside edges. Freeze 5-10 minutes.
 4. Pour chocolate nto each mould up to the top. Wipe edges again. Refreeze. Take out of freezer and pop homemade chocolates out.
Peanut Butter Filling: 
86g peanut butter
86g icing sugar
1 tbsp melted butter
Mix together and use for filling for moulds
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White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge Recipe - Christmas Hamper Special

White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge 

Serves: 24

Preparation time: 1hr chill time
Cooking time: 20 mins
White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge Ingredients:

• 350 g (12oz) granulated sugar
• 25 g unsalted butter
• 175 ml (6fl oz) can evaporated milk
• 100 g (3½oz) dried sweetened cranberries
• 300 g (10oz) white chocolate, chopped
• 
  
  
  White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge 
  Method:
  1. Cut a piece of baking parchment large enough to line a 1kg (2lb) loaf tin.
  2. Put the sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a large heavy-based pan. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved completely.
  3. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. It is a good idea to set a timer for this.
  4. Immediately remove from the heat then add the cranberries and chocolate. Allow the chocolate to melt, then quickly stir the mixture and pour straight into the tin. It will thicken immediately.
  5. Spread into the tin and chill for an hour or so until firm. Cut into squares.
  6. Use a piece of card to make a festive box for fudge. Line with baking parchment, decorate with ribbon, and attach a message.
• Other edible Christmas Gifts
  
  
• Learn how to make an icing snowman
  Christmas Parcel decorated cupcakes
  Christmas Decorated Spice biscuits
  

  
  

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Christmas Cake Pops - Christmas Hamper Special

Christmas Cake pops

Cake balls, cake pops, cakesicles have swept across the world of sweet toothed .
What are cake pops?
Cake pops are delicious little balls of cake coated in frosting. You bake up a cake, let it cool, tear it into little crumbs, stir in something to hold it all together, and roll it in balls. Easy!
They're very cute and are a great way to use up leftover cake. I know, I know, there's never any left over cake in my home either but you get the drift. The chocolate shell gives way with a little snap to a moist and soft inside, like a brownie that melts in your mouth. They're not as rich as chocolate truffles, but they are still quite sweet.
Christmas Cake Pops Ingredients
1 batch of chocolate cake (without the frosting mixture)
8oz soft cream cheese
2 cups icing sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp milk (or more, as necessary)
Christmas Cake Pops Mixture
1. Bake the cake and let it cool completely on a rack. It's best to use a moist cake recipe. It's best to let it cool overnight at least.
2. When completely cool break the cake into a large bowl creating crumbles with a fork or get stuck in and use your fingers. You need fine crumbs.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar,and milk together until smooth.
4. Pour into the cake crumbs and mix with a spoon. Continue mixing with your fingers, kneading and mixing until fully incorporated into the cake. Check to see if it will roll into a ball. It should: this makes a very malleable, easy-to-handle cake mixture. But if it needs a little extra moisture, add milk a spoonful at a time.
5. When the mix is completely done, cover with cling film and refrigerate until firm. [Note: You can leave the mix refrigerated for several days at this point. I left mine in the fridge for about three days before making the balls. You could probably also freeze this.]
Other edible Christmas Gifts

Cake pops ready for the fridge

Making Christmas Cake Pops
Lollipop sticks
12oz chocolate chips
12oz white chocolate 
Edible wax, optional
Coloured sugar crystals and other decorative sprinkles
Making Christmas Cake Pops Balls
1. Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with baking parchment.
2. Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll it into a smooth ball. If you want to use the lollipop sticks, stick one into the end of each ball, pointing upward, as you put the ball back down on the sheet. [Note: I cut the long lollipop sticks in half; they seemed a little long for the size of the balls.]
3. Repeat until you've used up all the mixture. As each sheet fills up, put it in the freezer so that the balls harden.
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Blue Melted White Chocolate

Decorating Christmas Cake Pops
1. Melt chocolate or white chocolate in a glass bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. [Note: If you want to make the coating a little more resistant to melting, add a small square of wax to the pot and let it melt too. Stir well.]
2. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered.
3. Dip in sugar, coconut, sprinkles, or anything else you'd like to decorate with. Put it back on the sheet to harden.
[Note: Don't put them back in the fridge as this will soften them - keep them in a cool place or freeze them!]

Other edible Christmas Gifts
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Christmas Jarred Roasted Peppers - Christmas Hamper Special

Roast Peppers for your Christmas Hamper 

I like to roast both red and yellow peppers over the flames of my gas hob. Take your time and allow the peppers to blacken and then allow to cool. Cut the pepper into three and de-seed. Pop the thirds into a jar - the jar in the above pic contains 3 peppers. Add in a little olive oil and it's done - how simple was that?!

Try: Marinated Feta Cheese
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Marinated Feta Cheese - Christmas Hamper Special

Marinated feta cheese is a great present, especially if going to party as it can be opened and enjoyed by all!
For one biggish jam jar or salsa jar:
Marinated Feta Cheese Ingredients:
1 block of good quality feta cheese (200 - 250 g) - cubed
1 very hot chilli (finely chopped) (I try to use 1 small habanero).
1-3 cloves garlic (depending on size and gusto at the time) (slivered)
herbs - fresh seems best: oregano always, rosemary usually, basil sometimes (chopped)
black pepper - freshly (coarsly) ground
olive oil - best quality you can afford
Marinated Feta Cheese Method:
1. Mix the feta and seasonings in a bowl first - I find that I distribute seasonings more evenly that way and - most importantly - make less of a mess.
2. Spoon it into a jar (using the spoon to push feta cubes in empty spaces to have as little in between space as possible). I stop about a centimeter below the top.
3. Then add enough oil just cover - but cover completely.
4. Screw the lid on and store in fridge untouched for about 2 days. Then I usually taste a bit to see if I needs any salt or more of any other seasoning. Then reseal the jar and keep refrigerated.
I like to add a ribbon if giving as a present.
Top Tip: Once you have finished the feta from the jar, use the rest of the oil for salad dressings, or to marinate more feta. You could also add sun dried tomatoes and marinate.

Other edible Christmas Gifts
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Marinated feta cheese, rhubarb chutney and roasted peppers

Christmas Carols in London - St Martin in the Fields

St Martins in the Fields has a whole months worth of Christmas carol programmes starting tomorrow. The evening concerts start at 7pm and there are some earlier concerts at 4pm suitable for families and shoppers.
St Martin in the Fields Christmas Carol Programme
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Rhubarb Chutney - Christmas Hamper Special

Rhubarb Chutney Ingredients:

Fresh Rhubarb

500g/1lb 2oz rhubarb
200g/7oz soft brown sugar
3 onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
100g/3½oz tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
200ml/7fl oz red wine vinegar
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 clove
1 pinch of saffron
Rhubarb Chutney Method:
1. Place the rhubarb, sugar and a splash of water in a pan and cook on a medium heat until the rhubarb is soft.
2. Add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, thyme, vinegar, lemon juice and zest and the spices.
3. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring occasionally, then simmer for about two hours, stirring frequently, until the chutney is thick.
4. Fill the jars but allow to cool thoroughly before you put the lid on.

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Christmas Spice Biscuits - Christmas Hamper Special

Snowflake Decorated Biscuit

Ingredients:

200g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
50g dark brown sugar
100g salted butter, cubed
50g black treacle

Christmas Pudding Biscuit

Christmas Spice Biscuits Method:1. Preheat oven to 170oC
2. Sift flour, baking powder and all the spices into a bowl
3. Add sugar and mix well
4. Add butter and using your fingertips rub the butter until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs.
5. Make a well in the centre and add in the treacle
6. Mix the mixture to form a soft dough and the colour is even throughout the mixture
7. Lightly dust the surface with a little flour and roll out the mixture with a rolling pin making sure it's all even before you use your chosen biscuit cutter.
8. Put the cut out biscuits onto a baking tray covered lined with baking paper. Make sure you don't put them too close together. 
9. Cook for 12-16 minutes until have darkened slightly. 
10. Remove trays from the oven and transfer the whole sheet of parchment to a cooling rack. 
11. Allow to cool fully before you decorate.
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Christmas Tree Biscuit

Other Ideas:
Pierce a hole in your uncooked biscuits before placing them in the oven if you want to create Christmas tree decorations!

Other edible Christmas Gifts
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Edible Homemade Christmas Gifts

Christmas Pudding Biscuit

The act of giving seems to be gradually slipping away year after year as presents become more expensive and less and less personal. Many presents aren't treasured for very long but memories are. I like to give friends and family presents which I have made myself as it does seem more personal. Yes, it takes effort and forethought but the pay off is so much worth while. Christmas is only a month away. You can make some of the presents now which will save you time and help spread the cost of Christmas. I will be doing one homemade gift a day Here is a selection of christmas gifts that I make. They make great presents seperately or collectively as a hamper. I will be adding one Christmas gift idea a day at 3pm London time.
Sweet Handmade Christmas Gifts:
Decorated Edible Christmas Tree Decorations - Do before - workshop available
Cake pops - Do before  (can be frozen)
Cardamom Shortbread
White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge
Alternate Mincepies
Handmade Chocolates, ganache, peanut, peppermint workshop available
Florentines
Christmas Present Cupcakes
Sugar Paste Snowman
Savoury Handmade Christmas Gifts:
Jarred Roasted Peppers - Do before
Rhubarb Chutney - Do before
Sausage Rolls - Do before
Marinated Feta Cheese - Do before
Cheese Straws
Other Christmas Ideas

Alternate Christmas Cake - Red Velvet 3 tier cake or cupcakes
Christmas Cards - Do before - workshop available

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Marinated Feta Cheese and Jarred Roasted Peppers

Hamper Ideas:

Savoury Party Hamper

Cheese Straws
Sausage Rolls - Do before
Rhubarb Chutney - Do before
Marinated Feta Cheese - Do before
Jarred Roasted Peppers - Do before
Christmas Cards - Do before - workshop available

Sweet Delights Hamper
White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge
Alternate Mincepies
Cake pops - Do before (can be frozen)
Decorated Edible Christmas Tree Decorations - Do before - workshop available
Christmas Cards  - Do before - workshop available

Chocolate Lover Hamper
Cake pops - Do before (can be frozen)
White Chocolate and Cranberry Fudge
Handmade Chocolates, ganache, peanut, peppermint
Florentines

Workshops available for:
Chocolate making
Card making
Cupcake Decorating
Biscuit Decorating

Other Christmas Gift Ideas:
Decorate your own Christmas baubles
Make Snowman Christmas Cupcakes
Make a cute sugar paste Christmas snowman
Bake Christmas Parcel Cupcakes

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Host a workshop at your home for friends and family

Getting creative with friends & family can be fun!!

Host a workshop at your London home for you and your friends. I will provide materials, expertise and inspiration to create creations.
Workshops available are:
- Chocolate Making
- Cupcake Decorating
- Cardmaking
- Biscuit Decorating

Chocolate Making WorkshopChoose either ganache, pepperming or peanut fillings or chocolate truffles and get crafty with friends!

Cupcake Decorating WorkshopChoose from a variety of colours and themes

Cardmaking WorkshopMake two cards from a variety of designs, birthday, christmas, easter, mothers day

Biscuit Decorating Workshop
Choose your theme and away we go!

General Workshop Information

Each workshop lasts for 2.5 hours. In that time you will be able to fill a gift bag of chocolate or biscuit goodies, make two cards or a box full of cupcakes. Groups of 4 - 6 work best as I am able to give you enough time individually. The smaller group, the more goodies we can make.
Total Cost of Workshop: £85. Evenings and weekends available. Full payment required upon booking confirmation via PayPal or Bank Transfer.

Book your workshop now!

Select a date to host your Chocolate Making workshop: * Weekends and evenings only

Full Name: *

 

Your email address: *

Your phone number: *

Address

House / Flat name or number

Street Name

Town within London *

Post Code *

Need assistance with this form?

                       

Other edible Christmas Gifts
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Adventure Holidays over Christmas

Get away this Christmas
For many people, getting away over the Christmas holidays it’s about making the most of the time off and enjoying a sense of adventure in winter surroundings, often learning new skills and developing a new hobby/skill set in the process. The new skill I learned last year was how to clean a sheep skin rug – it’s a long story. This year I am determined to go away and escape the entrapment that is Christmas and its traditions.

Ice climbing in the Southern French Alps is becoming an increasingly popular adventure holiday. Those willing to face the cold can go on week long trip where all essential skills are taught, enabling individuals to progress in their own time from climbing frozen waterfalls to tackling obstacles further afield later on in the week. This may be an ideal trip for couples or groups with a head for heights, a love of extreme sports and who are slightly crazy. Basic Essentials of Climbing Ice (Basic Essentials (Globe Pequot)

Adventure holidays in winter are, however, not limited to couples or those without children with one of the most popular destinations being Finnish Lapland. The area may be ideal for visits with Santa Claus but there is much in the region to get the adrenaline flowing. Such wintry pastimes as a guided husky dog safari and sleigh rides with reindeers are available with higher octane options such as snowmobiling for those that that crave a rush. For individuals wishing to really push themselves there is the option of staying in an igloo for the night giving a real sense of adventure to the time there. Now, that’s my idea of outdoor comfort! Lapland (Bradt Travel Guides)

Another popular Christmas adventure holiday is a weekend trip to Norway exploring the region in search of killer whales. The area of Tysfjord in the north of the Scandinavian country is the whales’ destination in winter as they search for food, most notably herring. Tourists are required to view the whales from the safety of the boat but as the weekend progresses there is the option to join the whales in the water with the help of a dry suit and snorkel. This is a unique experience which would make any Christmas holiday a memorable one. Norway: Country Guide (Lonely Planet Country Guides)

All of these places, however, are a little too chilly for me and I shall dream of escaping to warmer climes and I shall let you know how I get on.

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Bedouin Pizza / Araies Iahma Recipe

Araies Iahma Ingredients:1lb minced beef/lamb/turkey
1 medium onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1 green chilli
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tomatoes
1 tsp salt
flat bread
1 tsp cumin
Araies Iahma Method:
1. Mix the meat with the chopped tomataoes and onion in a food processor.
2. Add salt, chilli, garlic and cumin to the meat mixture and mix well.
3. On 1 flat bread place some meat mixture, brush olive oil round the edge and put another flat bread on the top. 
4. Brush the top with olive oil.
5. Make in oven @180oC for between 8-10mins, turn the pieces and keep in oven for another 5 mins.
6. Serve hot from oven.
Read:
Middle Eastern Cookery Workshop at Petra Kitchen
My Jordan Diary
Things to see and do in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Useful arabic phrases

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