* Cocktails with Bompas & Parr – I’ve not been to one of their events, only read about them with great envy. Innovative and imaginative don’t even begin to sum up the descriptions that I’ve read. This would be an adventure in cocktails for sure, so could make for some interesting evenings in!

* Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails – again, another one for the adventurous, who will really enjoy the 80 rare and worth rediscovering recipes. You might want to have a quick scan of the book before you hand it over and maybe accompany it with a bottle of one of the rarer ingredients not perhaps already in the cocktail cabinet. My best recommendation for tracking down weird spirits is TheDrinkShop.com.

* Japanese Cocktails: Mixed Drinks with Sake, Shochu, Whiskey and More – I imagine you don’t see these on your average cocktail menu! Perfect for either a real cocktail mixing enthusiast, or for someone with a real taste for Japanese culture and tastes. Personally, I’ve had enough sake to last a lifetime, definitely an acquired taste that I failed to acquire!

* Margarita Mama: 80 Mocktails for Moms-To-Be – I’ll forgive the awful American title if it gives some alternatives for non drinkers to lime and soda! In fact, these are mainly recognisable cocktails just without the alcohol, but there are some great themed drinks like Baby Shower Shake and Shake Your Booties.

* The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion – amongst my favourite cocktails, there are several based on champagne. And I think a few well chosen additions to any sparkling wine improve it immensly (I had a Sparkling Violet last week, Prosecco plus Creme de Violette, lovely). A great starting point, as my perspective is these tend to be simpler cocktails to make. And very easy to drink!

Some festive spirit, whether including spirits or not! If you want to get them the appropriate hardward to go along with one of these books, then try barmans.co.uk or Drinkstuff.com. Cheers!

Write a quick comment

I know, it’s not rebuilding a village hall in 20 minutes, but love a good challenge. Here’s what I think might work:

* I wrote earlier in the year about the drinks by the dram service from Master of Malt, which would allow you to buy some very drink choices. £20.45 buys an Irish whiskey tasting set, or a premium rum tasting set will cost £24.45.  You could make up your own selection, with rum samples starting at £2.30 and whisky from £2.23. You could do whisky by country, by price, by year, whiskies with animals in their names (Famous Grouse, Pig’s Nose and Buffalo Trace perhaps?). Same applies to the rums, or mix them all up.

* Slightly over budget at £35 (but reduced from £50) is the Sake Experience at YO! Sushi from Red Letter Days. A multi-course meal will be accompanied by a variety of sakes to match the dishes, along with some expert notes. He also gets to take home some cups and a sake flask. Possibly worth googling to see if there are any additional discount deals running, or maybe cashback sites might bring this cost back in budget.

* If laying around with a good book might do the trick, then how about Amber, Gold and Black: The History of Britain’s Great Beers. He’ll get to know more than he ever thought he wanted to know about the huge variety of beers brewed across the UK. Or try Hops and Glory: One man’s search for the beer that built the British Empire. Great title, bound to be full of the kind of useless anecdotes that men seem to love.

* If you want to do something around actual beer, then Ales by Mail is a great source  from a huge variety of small breweries around the UK, as well as the US and Belgium amongst others. Either choose your own selection, or there a number of gift packs ready to go.

* Hmm, food trends. More tricky. I asked Dr Morgaine Gaye, as the only food futurologist I know, for her thoughts. Her first suggestion was Butch Cakes for Men, which is almost a great book title, and probably a great trend as well. Love the bacon on the cupcake idea, but then I’m one of those weirdos who love sweet and savoury tastes together. Her other suggestion was anything to do with marshmallows or wafers. Now, you could just pop to the corner shop for a bag of marshmallows and a packet of pink wafer biscuits. Or, for a laugh, try the My Mallow Cutting Kit at Firebox. Perhaps because it’s a trend, not much around as yet at a more sophisticated level!

So half a dozen ideas, almost all on budget, and hopefully to the brief! Be great to hear what you think, Jules, and even, eventually, what the recipient thought.

So, who’s next? Who’s got a new challenge for me?

Write a quick comment

* For those that like to cook up a roast on a regular basis, then I really like the Cut & Carve Tray, which will give you a secure place to carve, but also capture all the great juices. And it can go in the dishwasher, a definite plus in my book!

* Got a lover of breakfast in bed? Or want to drop a hint to a loved one? This oak breakfast tray would definitely cut the risk of breakfast being more on the bed than in bed.

* I’m not even mad keen on vodka, but love this vodka set. Perfect for shots, more likely to be sloe gin in our house than vodka. Fill the carafe with spirit of choice and put in the freezer, and stand it over the base filled with ice when ready to go. Pretty coloured glasses too!

* I can think of someone that would love an apple press like this and will be busy sending this link to BFF. Although imagine her fella is less likely to leave the end product as just apple juice! If you always have an excess and wonder what to do, then this could be brilliant come next autumn. Local pig keepers will thank you for the leftovers too!

* For someone who is vowing that next year they are going to grow their own, then give them a real incentive by treating them to some great seeds. The beginner’s vegetable garden seeds gives them some interesting but straightforward stuff to grow, like French beans, minature cucumbers, cut and come again Green Oak Leaf lettuce and cherry tomatoes. If they’re more experience, then check out the large variety of single seed packets, for things like Green Globe Artichokes or Red Rubine Brussel Sprouts.

There are also great courses for cooking and gardening for cooking, and kit for the kitchen and obviously for the garden. A  taste of the good life for Christmas Day and beyond.

Write a quick comment

It helped that we arrived there on a) an incredibly sunny evening and b) in need of a bit of a lift after standing at the Globe for 3 hours. So this little bit of India at the side of the Thames was a brilliantly welcome sight, as was the drinks and snacks menu. Saffron Pimms was in our hands as quickly as they could serve it. And it was truly delicious, giving a bit more fizz and spice to a classic British favourite.

To normal Pimms, they added pomegranate, orange, mint, ginger beer and a glug of saffron gin. Between the gin and ginger beer, you knew this wasn’t your average Pimms, but could very happily be converted. I’ve never ever seen saffron gin, and I thought I knew my gin. TheDrinkShop.com have one from Gabriel Boudier, but only the one, and I always think their range is pretty extensive. Brewed in France, this is small pot distillation, and also includes not only the saffron but also coriander, lemon, iris and fennel.

You’ve still got time to get to Dishoom Chowpatty Beach, open until October I think. We also worked through a couple of the snacks: Bhel, which is puffed rice, pomegranate and chutney, and also the Dishoom Frankie. I’d seen a few people write about this, a naan filled with spicy lamb mince, in glowing terms, and it really didn’t disappoint. Just the right amount of spice for me, nicely offset by the Pimms.

If I could find a reason to be back on the South Bank before they close, I’d definitely go back again. This time, put me down for a pitcher of the Pimms though please. A glass was really not enough!

Write a quick comment

I confused a British barman the other night, by asking him what the options were for my kir. To which he answered, a little superciliously, just blackcurrant.

Hmm, can’t think of a bar in France where you wouldn’t get a choice of at least two or three, thought it a rather poor show. I’m very partial to, in fact probably prefer, creme de mure, I find it richer but less sickly than cassis, but then I’ve always preferred blackberries to blackcurrants anyway. And it feels less like drinking Ribena as well.

The raspberry liquer always feel very summery, gives a pretty colour, and of course a floating raspberry makes it feel pretty celebratory too. Rose needs a light hand, as it quickly goes over to tasting like liquid Turkish Delight. Again, it’s pretty and girly, but not everyone’s cup of tea. I’ve never had Violet, although the bottle of creme de violette is still sat in the cupboard from my last trip to France.

I would say a bottle of creme de peche was a great standby, and again a taste of high summer. I guess it also makes the French version of a Bellini. There are so many other options, some of which might work with wine, and some, like Creme de Bananes, that I imagine would be simply vile. But certainly there is no need to stop at blackcurrant.

Photo by Pierre Guinoiseau on Flickr.

Write a quick comment

Every so often I come across, or someone contacts me about, a gift that really makes me go “fab, why did no one think of that before?” And the Drinks by the Dram service from Master of Malt is one of those, and was happy to try their service.

This is so simple, and yet works on so many levels:

• Budget conscious gifting: a 3cl dram of whisky starts at £2.45, for the Islay Mist

• Top up gifting: you’ve bought Dad other stuff but he’s a real whisky lover, but you don’t want to splash out on a full bottle.

• Travel gifting: hey, these are 3cl and will definitely go in your bag through security, meaning Dad can take away a drop of the good stuff without getting carried away in Duty Free.

• Fantasy gifting: if Dad is a real connoisseur maybe there’s a whisky he’s always wanted to try. Dreams of winning the lottery and blowing some of it on whisky. He longingly looks at listings for the Glenfarclas Family Cask 1952, but not its price tag at just under £1532. Not to mention that it’s incredibly rare. So you can’t buy him the bottle, but for £80 you can give him the drinking experience of his life, a real one off. Of course it’s not cheap, but will be a moment for Dad to treasure. Come on, its less than Take That tickets!

• Themed gifting: treat him to samples across a particular theme, whether that’s Indian Whisky, Lowland Whisky or just Grain Whisky, or across a particular distillery, or a particular year.

I liked the packaging, BFF thought it looked like samples. And she didn’t mean of whisky. I think it’s all about the contents, it was well packaged and it would have an element of surprise for Dad as well. If you can’t decide on your own selection, then there are some pre-selected choices to go for as well. Not just limited to whisky, and we had a Gosling’s Golden Bermuda Rum to try, one of over 20 to choose from.

Definitely worth a look in my book. My thanks to Master of Malt for the samples we were sent.

Write a quick comment

I was interested to find myself being followed by Dr Morgaine Gaye on Twitter last week, who has the fabulous title of Food Futurologist. Which is an amazing title, and in my next life that’s what I want to be!

Her website and blog are beautifully designed, and there’s some great stuff on here. I loved the post on big bold numbers on food packaging, which does seem to be a real trend. For now! I love the observation that some of these are about dictating steps to follow, and some are because they might have run out of names!

It would seem most of these are yet to come to market, but I guess if you’re trying to buy for a shallow type of foodie who wants good looks as well as good taste, then these might suit for those who want to capture a trend:

* The chutney and pickles from Jamie Oliver were the ones that came first to mind for me, as their graphic labels have been out for about 18 months. Stylish labelling, and a number of choices including this mango chutney. As you’ll get from the label this is half a pound of chutney for £4.

* Chocolate by Trish not only looks smart, but has done all the hard work, not only sourcing great chocolate, but this one gives you very tasty shards, all ready to be scattered over any dessert. There are also chocolate buttons to go at too, but definitely too good for the kids!

* Tequila seems to have been going more and more upmarket, and Calle 23 fits the bill here. Founded by Sophie Decobecq, whose background is in the cognac industry, but has gone on to produce a fine tasting, and fine looking tequila, for savouring, not knocking back!

Tasty and trendy then! Check out Morgaine’s writing for interesting stuff around food developments and trends. You’ll find me scratching my head somewhere working out how to become a food futurologist. May settle for director of curiosity/nosiness though!

Write a quick comment

More to Wales than...

How could I forget? Today is St David’s Day, which will see Dr T come over all nostalgic for his homeland. We’ll have a bit of Bryn Terfel on, the legend of Gelert will be told, and no doubt a pint or two of Dark will be drunk. That said, there are a few other decent food and drink producers from Wales that he could be indulging in. Here’s a few to consider if you need a gift for an expat, or just a good food lover.

* You’ll probably need to start with some excellent Welsh lamb, so try the Organic Lamb Box from Slade Farm Organics. Prize winning, fed on their mother’s milk on organic clover pastures, this box will give you a fantastic selection of different cuts, including shoulder on and off the bone, leg and burgers. Enjoy some now, and some would make for great barbecuing when we get some warmer weather.

* For something smokey with great taste, try the Gourmet Hamper from the Black Mountains Smokery. Taking this beyond just good smoked salmon, they’d also get smoked chicken and duck breasts, smoked boned whole quail and smoked Welsh Dragon sausages amongst others. A real family business, producing great food with great taste.

* My next one was recommended by one of the world’s greatest Pimms drinkers, and she’s pretty good at brownies too! Kate Jenkins from Gower Cottage Brownies reckons Aerona is possibly even better than Pimms when mixed in a similar way. Made from Welsh Aronia berries, which I know nothing about, and the website will do nothing to enlighten you. I’ll take it on Kate’s recommendation that is worth a try for a lover of unusual drinks, or just a Welshman looking for an alternative to the Englishness of Pimms!

* For something a little different to spread on their toast, then how about the Blackcurrant and Liquorice Jam from Pant Glas Bach Preserves? A nostalgic taste, those sweets of childhood preserved in a jar. Will definitely liven up breakfast time!

* If you want a great Welsh hamper,then try either Y Bwrti Deli’s All Year Gift Hamper, or else I’m very fond of Bodlon. Their selections start at £9.50, and go up to a spectacular vintage apple crate of goodies at £150. Lovely though. Also a really good source for Welsh homewares as well. I’m thinking of buying Dr T the Welsh national anthem tea towel, as I don’t think he knows the words. I also really like the ceramics from Keith Brymer Jones, like the Cariad mugs. Lovely wedding gift for a lovely Welsh couple. Or perhaps a couple with links to Wales. Keith, get them to the Palace now!

There’s so much good food related stuff going on across Wales that you could criss-cross the country from now until next St David’s Day and you’d still be finding great stuff to eat and drink, great places to eat, and great places to stay. Just stay out of Chip Alley!

Photo by zoonabar on Flickr.

Write a quick comment

January was all about eating up the leftovers, and generally trying to waste an awful lot less food. It’s a theme that’s continued throughout the year as we adopt more frugal measures for economic reasons as well as just being more environmentally sound. Faux pastor has figured large in the year, I highly recommend it as a great standby recipe for using up leftover roast.

Ta dah! The finished faux pastor

I think I missed out on February’s best meal, as Dr T and MGG went to The Field Canteen at Riverford. There were lots of vegetable dishes, but MGG was most impressed by the puddings. One day I’ll get there too, just have to settle for the veg box deliveries and the great recipes that come in the box.

Anyone for seconds?

March was about getting ready for Easter, for which I wasn’t very well prepared on the marzipan front. But I did get a great recipe from Domestic Jules for a Simnel loaf.

In April, we skipped off to sunnier climes, and ate our way round Majorca. Lots of memorable meals, lots of good tapas, and something to show you why you should always keep your chefs busy:

When chefs have too much time on their hands

It was also the month that the bee hive, and the strange outfits arrived.

Beekeeping: it's all glamour

There was some glorious weather in May, and one of the hottest days saw us at the Derbyshire Food Fair. Plenty of good food, both for eating then and there, and lots to bring away for another day.

The spoils we bore triumphantly home!

June. Oh, I remember June. It goes down as the only time in my life that I have been served a starter that looks like an arse. Really.

By July we were heading off to France, and it was the usual couple of weeks of eating and drinking, still discovering new places and new things to eat. We had great breakfasts, and we had an amazing dinner at Sa.Qua.Na in Honfleur, which really was dining at the next level.

The amuse bouches

August was about barbecues, but obviously good ones, as no photographs exist. In September I was in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and discovering the joy of food courts out there.

What you get for HK$35

I might be heading back there in a few weeks time, great dim sum, and very cheap.

In October we had a great day at the East Midlands Food Festival, where it was all about wood fired pizza ovens, and particularly the great pizza from Hot Rocks Artisan Pizza. It disappeared pretty darn quick, hence no photo.

In November we were eating and drinking well, as I had a great hamper from The Spanish Food Company, which I did share with my friends. In return they had to help me out with tasting gin, so we had a comparison for the SW4 Gin I’d been sent. A good night was had by all.

And so to December, which always bring great food. Our Christmas Day was team cooking with BFF to turn out some spectacular beef, pretty decent soup and some great puddings. But most of all it was a chance to share a great dinner with great friends and family. Which for me is really what food is all about. So here’s hoping for lots more of the same in 2011, and the same for you and yours.

Write a quick comment

This all started out when the guys from SW4 Gin spotted something I’d written, and sent me a bottle to try. And it’s pretty much been sat in the cupboard since waiting for some tasters to work with me on this one. An impromptu dinner on Saturday threw two other gin lovers into the mix and so the time was ripe.

SW4 is a London gin, in the style of the original London Dry Gins of the mid to late 19th Century, and there has most definitely been a renaissance in gin generally, with London leading the way. So I decided to pair this against something else from the area, The London No 1. Okay, I admit it, I knew nothing about this one, but the bottle is such a pretty colour. Except it turns out it’s not the bottle but the gin that is blue.

And as the counter balance to two new tastes, I added my old standby, Plymouth. There was some science, all were mixed the same, one measure gin to two measures tonic (Fevertree, my favourite) and two lumps of ice. Our thoughts? Here goes:

SW4 – this turned out to be our least favourite. Maybe our palettes are not sophisticated enough, as the website describes it as the super-premium gin for the silent majority. Hmm. We all found it very dry and somewhat lacking in flavour. Most thought it most like Gordons. I’d buy Gordons if I wanted that kind of taste.

The London No 1 – dry but smoother, more rounded, with slightly medicinal tones, in a good way. In fact one taster described it as a nice version of what you get at the dentist to swill your mouth out with. He meant it in a good way. We all loved the colour, and the taste.

Plymouth – the oldest of the gins, been around since 1793, and was included in the first known recipe for a dry martini. It’s one of my favourites. We all found it to be the smoothest of the lot, slightly sweeter, with more fruity and floral notes.

So, the elder statesman of the gin world was our favourite, although I would say it was a close run thing with the London No 1. Those two glasses were empty by the end of the test. Now I have gin testers I think I’m working up to Sipsmith, Jensen’s Old Tom and Berkeley Square. If you’ve got a gin lover to buy for, then I highly recommend TheDrinkShop.com which has a huge range to choose from.

Write a quick comment