A little bit late with the shout-out but thanks so much to everyone who made my pre-Christmas trip back home to England so amazing.
Firstly, my beautiful Uni girls who all made the effort to come dine with me in London and especially my amazing, thoughtful and talented friend Style Mouth. Fab cocktails, lovely food, extra-special company: what more could a girl ask for?
Well, maybe just a walk down Oxford Street to see the Christmas lights. To my surprise and delight, there was a Marmite theme going on this year. I love Marmite and have even managed to convince Cheri; not a bowl of soup goes by without him adding a massive spoon of Marmite. I rest somewhat traditionalist - marmite on toast all the way!
The trip just kept getting better once safely back home in sunny(?) Newcastle. Fitting my two families into 5 days was a challenge and I would have loved to spend more time with everyone, but it was definitely just what I needed. Christmas shopping with my Mam was one of the highlights, especially when I came across these limited edition Marmite Gold pots in Debenhams!
A bit of Christmas-elf style hinting meant that Cheri even got one in his Christmas stocking. The lucky devil! Blog post to follow when he finally opens it.
Hope you all had an amazing Christmas and New Year full of happiness, good food and most importantly, the people you love and who love you.
What to do with a left-over slice of smoked salmon? Spread it with some Boursin (soft cheese with herbs) and roll up the salmon, then cut into strips. Secure each mini-roll with a cocktail stick and serve with a glass of champagne or Prosecco for a delicious pre-Christmas amuse-bouche.
After Cheri recently found out that he is slightly iron deficient, I decided to use this piece of information as a greedy excuse to grill us some lovely steaks for dinner, accompanied by some new potatoes that I picked up for less than a euro at Leclerc, and which you simply pop in the microwave for 15 minutes. While I am a big advocate of home cooking, sometimes I just don't have the time to get out the pots and pans so I was eager to see what these time and energy-saving spuds would be like!
As Cheri likes his veg quite well cooked, I decided to leave the pommes de terre in the microwave for 5 more minutes (20 in total). We were both impressed with the results: the potatoes were well cooked, not too floury or watery as can sometimes be the case with vegetables cooked in the microwave, and the fact to cook them in their plastic packaging actually means they retain more nutrients than if you boiled them: lots of good reasons to try them out!
The time I saved on the spuds also meant I could make some caramelised red onions to go with the meal. After eating them several times with goat's cheese salads or with my filet de boeuf when eating out, I couldn't resist trying these beauties myself.
Recette: Caramelised Red Onions
Cut one or two red onions (1 onion will serve 2 people)into thin strips. Heat a knob of lightly salted butter in a frying pan over a medium until melted. Add the red onion and stir well, coating the onion with the butter. Fry until soft.
Sprinkle over some brown sugar and stir again. Leave to cook over a low heat until the onions start to become crispy (about 15-20 mins). Stir from time to time to avoid any sticking. Done!
The crispy texture of the slowly cooked onions combined with the sweet, syrupy taste is an absolute delice!
While I do normally only make them now to go with red meat, this is
also the perfect side dish for your festive cheese board if you're not a
meaty fan.
Pour yourself a big glass of wine (I chose a Bourgogne Pinot Noir) and get ready for Christmas!
