Solihull Living Nov - Dec 2020

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Paxton & Whitfield All Your Christmas Cheese Needs In One Place Paxton & Whitfield, the UK’s oldest cheesemonger, has a delicious range of artisan cheeses, fine foods, cheese hampers, homewares and experiences for Christmas this year. The company sources, matures and sells the finest artisan cheese from the UK and across the European continent. Its team works closely with cheesemakers to define the flavour profiles and ensure the optimal maturity of each cheese. With a superb range available from its website, you can select all the cheeses for your festive cheeseboard in one place. Its exquisite gift hampers feature delicious cheese; expertly paired with crackers, accompaniments and some with wines, to create luxuriously festive feasts. With prices starting from £20 for a Cheddar Cheese Lovers gift box right up to The Mayfair Hamper at £500, there’s a wide selection to choose from. Paxton & Whitfield also has a superb range of homewares for cooking and serving delicious artisan cheese at home. From cheese knives, cheeseboards and raclette sets, through to a six-person fondue set, at a variety of price points, they make excellent Christmas gifts for cheese lovers. New for Christmas this year is a range of exceptional cheese experiences to explore and enjoy with family and friends. Customers can join in the artisan cheese experience from home with the ‘Strictly Cheese Night’, the stunning tiered ‘Christmas Cheese Cake’ and themed cheeseboard selections; expertly designed to be paired with Champagne or Port. So just visit www.paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk for some impressive Christmas cheer and have everything delivered to the comfort of your own home! COMPETITION TIME Paxton & Whitfield is giving readers the opportunity to win a festive cheese gift before Christmas. The top prize is a Windsor Hamper (RRP £100) and two runner up prizes of a Cheddar & Ale Hamper (RRP £30). To be in with a chance of winning, simply head to www. minervamagazines.co.uk/ competitions and enter on that page - using the keyword ‘Paxton’. The competition closes 13/12/<strong>2020</strong> and the winner will be notified by email to arrange delivery. No cash alternative available, open to over 18’s only, T&Cs apply. 16 | www.solihullliving.co.uk
CHRISTMAS Who knows what form Christmas will take this year? With that in mind, we’ve left the main event ideas in your court and are serving up some delicious accompaniments that can be scaled to any party size... Sparkle CHRISTMAS SMOKED SALMON & CRÈME FRAÎ CHE BLINIS Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes Makes: 20 INGREDIENTS 125g self-raising wholemeal flour Pinch salt 1 medium egg, separated 150ml semi-skimmed milk 200ml pot full fat crème fraîche 1-2 tsp vegetable oil, for frying 1 ruby grapefruit 1 tsp hot horseradish sauce ½ x 20g pack fresh dill, chopped 1 pack Waitrose & Partners Christmas Citrus Smoked Scottish Salmon, cut into 20 strips METHOD Put the flour and a good pinch of salt in a large bowl. Make a well, then drop in the egg yolk. Follow with the milk and 1 tbsp of the crème fraîche, then whisk to a thick batter. Using a clean whisk, whip the egg white to medium peaks, then fold carefully into the batter using a metal spoon. Put ½ tsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Drop 1 tbsp of the batter into the pan, giving it room to spread to about 5cm across. Repeat until the pan is full. Cook for 1 minute, then fl ip with a fish slice and cook for 1 minute more, until puffed up and golden on both sides. Lift onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. Repeat to make 20 blinis. Segment the grapefruit, allowing the juice to drop into a separate bowl, and roughly chop the flesh. Stir the horseradish and most of the dill into the remaining crème fraîche, season, then fold in the grapefruit. Serve on top of the cooled blinis, with a twist of salmon, a sprinkle more dill and a grinding of black pepper. ROSE GIMLET A fruity and floral cocktail, with gin, lime and the delicate flavour of rose cordial. Add the final flourish with a sprinkle of rose petals Makes: 1 INGREDIENTS 50ml pink gin (or regular gin) 30ml lime juice 30ml Frobisher’s Pomegranate and Rose Cordial Rose petals for garnish METHOD Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the gin, cordial and lime juice then shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with rose petals. FESTIVE SPICED LATTE CAKE Preparation time: 25 minutes | Cooking time: 50 minutes Serves: 10-12 INGREDIENTS 250g unsalted butter, melted 300g self-raising white flour 1 tsp baking powder 250g Billington’s Light Brown Soft Sugar ½ tsp ground nutmeg, plus a pinch more ¼ tsp salt 1 tbsp instant coffee powder, plus 1 tsp 75ml whole milk 275g low-fat fresh vanilla custard 3 medium eggs, beaten 4 tbsp Billington’s Golden Caster Sugar 2 tbsp dark rum 200ml whipping cream METHOD Preheat the oven to 180˚C, gas mark 4. Use a little of the butter to grease a 23cm springform tin, then line the base. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Add the light brown soft sugar, a pinch of nutmeg and the salt. Mix well with your hands to smooth any lumps in the sugar, then make a well in the middle. In a cup, mix 1 tbsp coffee with 1 tbsp hot water. Stir into the melted butter with the milk, 175g custard and the eggs; whisk into the dry ingredients until smooth. Pour into the tin and bake for 50 minutes, until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. While the cake bakes, mix 1 tsp coffee with 2 tbsp caster sugar, 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp rum to make a syrup; set aside. Place the cake, in its tin, on a wire rack to cool. After 30 minutes, poke lots of holes into the top using a cocktail stick and brush with the coffee syrup. Once cooled completely, remove from the tin and put on a plate. Make the topping by whipping the cream with the remaining 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1 tbsp rum until very thick, then fold into the remaining 100g custard. Spoon and spread the topping onto the cake, then use a fine sieve to dust with the remaining ½ tsp nutmeg. www.solihullliving.co.uk | 17
Page 3: Contents A Note from the EDITOR 17
Page 8 and 9: A reflection on the experience of C
Page 10 and 11: ADVERTISING FEATURE We work, we pla
Page 13 and 14: COMPETITION Win a VAX carpet washer
Page 15: We train other dentists so you are
Page 20 and 21: Real Christmas Trees Delivered to y
Page 22 and 23: clear a descent amount of space. In
Page 24: Keeping cosy this winter New i8 fro
Page 29 and 30: therine dy Katherine Lady Housing K
Page 31: Key Workers’ Scheme Apply Now We

Solihull Living Nov - Dec 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?