Edible Gifts, Vegan Christmas Pie, Trifle, Turkey

&

Yorkshire Tea Time Treats Hamper

Welcome to my last review and commissioned recipe post of 2014! With only two days to Christmas Day now, I am sharing some fabulous recipes for an edible gift in a jar, a vegan showstopper pie, a Gluten-Free boozy trifle, a leftover Christmas pudding idea as well an old-fashioned milk jelly – and, I am delighted to share two reviews for a high welfare turkey and a Yorkshire tea time treats hamper……

Let’s start with my recipes……these five recipes were commissioned by Great British Chefs and comprise:

*****To access the recipes just click on the title*****

Edible Gift: Christmas Pudding in a Jar

By Karen Burns-Booth • 16 December
Tackle the thorny problem of what to buy family and friends with a homemade Christmas Pudding in a jar gift set.

Following on from another very successful recipe I created last year on Great British Chefs, Christmas Morning Muffins in a Jar, I decide to be even more ambitious this year and devise a PUDDING in a jar, and not just any pudding, but a Christmas Pudding! I thought that this would be the perfect gift for most of my family and friends, who all seem to be avid foodies…..plus, the gift isn’t just IN the jar, but the lucky recipients get to keep the jar too…..along with a wooden spoon and if you are really feeling flush, you could also add the pudding bowl.

Vegan Mushroom, Chestnut and Thyme Pithivier

By Karen Burns-Booth • 13 December
If you need to cater for vegans over the festive season, try Karen’s showstopper main course pithivier which is sure to please. Carnivores will be jealous of what’s on offer.

My special recipe for Vegan Mushroom, Chestnut and Thyme Pithivier turned out so well that even the carnivores want a slice of pie too…..which is always a good sign when food is so tasty despite its dietary or culinary genre. I used a bag of mixed frozen mushrooms that included shitake, chanterelles and chestnut mushrooms with a few other varieties added for colour, shape and texture. I know that you can also buy these mushrooms in tins too, which is handy to know as a tin of these in the pantry will be a godsend over the festive period for vegan or vegetarian recipes.

Gluten-free Peach Melba Trifle

By Karen Burns-Booth • 10 December
In Karen’s house, Christmas isn’t complete without a big, boozy trifle. This recipe is gluten-free too so nobody has to miss out.

Christmas time is always a good excuse to make and serve a big bowl of boozy, creamy trifle and I always make one for the Christmas Day tea time table. It’s big and blousy with loads of custard, cream and fruit as well as the essential sponge cake soaked in sherry or brandy, and if I didn’t make one, there would be a riot in my house! But what if you are gluten intolerant? It’s such a shame to miss out on this delectable treat and yet it is very easy to make some small changes and still have a decadent trifle that all can enjoy. You can of course make an authentic Crème Anglaise for the custard, which is just eggs, cream and vanilla, but, it is tricky to make if you are busy and a bit rushed.

Spiced a2 Milk Jelly

By Karen Burns-Booth • 15 December
Karen shares an easy recipe for delicious spiced a2 Milk Jelly, the perfect ending for Christmas Day dinner or tea.

By making the milk jelly with a2milk, it will be a treat that can be enjoyed by all including those who have been avoiding milk due to the uncomfortable symptoms they feel after eating dairy. For many people this may be the result of an intolerance to the A1 protein found in most cows’ milk. I’ve selected a2 Milk™ for the jelly because a2 Milk™ hand pick cows that naturally only produce milk containing the A2 protein (and no A1 protein), so you and your guests may find this easier on the stomach. I see this lovely recipe being the perfect ending for Christmas Day dinner or tea – especially if the milk jelly is decorated with crystallised fruits and nuts…..flaked almonds would be a nice touch too, with a nod to the earlier versions that were almond rich during the middle ages

Christmas Pudding Fritters with Destiny Sauce

By Karen Burns-Booth • 10 December
Made with a2 Milk™ and brandy; this festive sauce by Karen is a perfect accompaniment for Christmas desserts.

Today’s recipe is a simple one, but a traditional one nevertheless; it’s fried Christmas pudding with a brandy infused sweet white sauce using a2Milk. We always called this Destiny Sauce when we were little, it was my grandmother’s name for it, although it was more often made with single cream, port and a little bit of sugar – but she also used to make a white sauce with sherry sometimes too. I remember these little fried slices (or fritters) of leftover Christmas pudding with fond memories; my grandmother (and mum) always used to cook them every year, with the leftover Christmas pudding.

Copas Turkeys:

These turkeys are extremely high welfare that is evident in the presentation and taste. So why are they so special?

Why Special?
They combine the very best, centuries old production methods with state-of-the-art facilities, exceeding all farm assurances schemes & welfare standards currently operating in the UK.

Care & Attention (for High Welfare)
Well looked after Turkeys We only opt for traditional turkey breeds from specialist British hatcheries, as these grow at a natural pace & allow us to maintain a natural, compatible diversity within our flocks.

The turkeys enjoy an oat-rich, nutritionally-balanced, natural cereal diet that’s ethically sourced & completely free of growth promoters or other nasties.

During the day, the Free Range Bronze & Free Range Organic turkeys are truly free-range, which means they stroll around the cherry orchards & grass meadows taking in the fresh air as soon as they’re old enough (usually six weeks old) & not just for a few weeks towards the end of their lives. Due to their long (& happy!) lives, Copas Turkeys are wandering around outside well before most cheaper alternatives have even hatched!

Whilst many products are dressed up with fancy packaging, they are confident that theirs simply reflects the superior eating quality of the product within (& we all know that the secret to a great meal is starting with the right product!).

Each Copas Turkey comes with cooking instructions & a pop-up cooking timer, which we found extremely helpful, so no matter what your culinary experience, you have everything you need to ensure a perfect turkey cooking experience this Christmas!

The turkey was well packaged and we cooked it according to the attached instructions – we were rewarded with a SUBLIME golden, moist and very flavourful turkey. We award Copas Turkeys a TEN for welfare, provenance, service and taste.

Happy Environment

Keelham Farm Shop:

Food tastes better from the Farm!

I was sent the Yorkshire Tea Experience taster box, RRp £20, see above. My lovely box arrived with a big red bow on it and comprised:

This hamper turns an afternoon cuppa into something special. You’ll find everything but the sandwiches for afternoon tea Yorkshire style. Enjoy award-winning Chocolate Tiffin, hand crafted Ginger Parkin biscuits – perfect for dunking, rich buttery fruit cake, our own Seriously Fruity Keelham Strawberry Jam and lots more. All to be enjoyed whilst having a cup of our favourite refreshing Yorkshire Tea. A perfect gift for anyone who likes a mid-afternoon lift.

Yorkshire Tea Experience contains:
Botham’s of Whitby Rich Golden Tea Biscuits – 200g
Botham’s of Whitby Rich Butter Fruit Cake – 200g
Grandma Wild’s All Butter Shortbread Melts, made in Steeton – 150g
Keelham’s Own Seriously Fruity Strawberry Jam – 340g
Keelham’s Own Lusciously Tangy Lemon Curd – 310g
Lottie Shaw’s of Elland Handcrafted Ginger Parkin Biscuits – 275g
Lottie Shaw’s of Elland Milk Chocolate Tiffin – 200g
Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea – 125g

I was delighted with the contents which were luxurious and yet practical too….and at only £20 this is a bargain! They offer next working day delivery for £4.99 if you order before 2pm on weekdays. Or you can choose a date to have your Taste Boxes delivered. If you prefer you can collect your taste box for free at a convenient date from their farmshop in Thornton.

A BIG fat 10 from us here, for packaging, range of treats, provenance and price.

Have a very Merry Christmas, although I will be back  between Christmas and New Year to share some FABULOUS Belvoir Cocktail recipes….

Karen