An Accidental Masterstroke

September 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

MontanaWine Ice lollies, potato chips and even the humble sandwich are all popular foods that were discovered or invented by mistake and one of the most popular wines in the UK today was also discovered thanks to an accidental masterstroke.

Thirty years ago, at a time when Sauvignon Blanc was known only as a French grape variety, pioneering winemakers planted the first Sauvignon Blanc grapes in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. However, in what would turn out to be an accidental masterstroke and contrary to accepted practice, Montana planted their vineyard rows west to east rather than north to south. Surprisingly, this gave the winemakers a broader range of grapes to blend from, creating a unique approach to grape growing and resulting in a vibrant flavour never experienced before.

This fortuitous discovery raised the profile of New Zealand wines in the UK and created a huge demand for them. It put New Zealand on the map as a hub for wine excellence, in turn boosting their economy and tourism industries. Today, Montana is the world’s number one New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and continues to win awards the world over.

To find out more about the journey from grape to glass, have your wine related questions answered and take part in this exciting wine tasting event, simply pour yourself a glass and sit back and relax.

In the studio are Neil Phillips and Chris Scott, Wine experts from the UK and New Zealand respectively. Log on to www.webchats.tv on Thursday 2nd October at 7pm to learn more about New World Sauvignon Blanc, its heritage and what’s so special about the latest vintage from New Zealand.

Click here to submit questions before the chat

For more information and for your chance to win a Vintage Experience, a money-can’t-buy trip to New Zealand for you and your partner where you will experience the new vintage first hand and have the chance to blend your own wine. click on www.montanavintageexperience.com/win for your chance to win.

Filed Under: Beverages, Featured

British Cheese Week 27 September – 5 October

September 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment

OXO has designed the OXO Wire Cheese Slicer which makes serving up your favourite sliver of Cheddar a pleasure, as the wire slips effortlessly through the cheese with one stroke.

clip_image002Whether you’re making a hearty Ploughman’s or on the terrace enjoying a glass of wine, the Wire Cheese Slicer fits into any occasion. With its classically stylish and sturdy, die cast zinc construction it feels just as much at home on your cheese board as it does in any kitchen side board. The cheese slicer comes with two replaceable wires, which can be easily changed, by tightening them onto the cheese slicer head with its built in tensioning wheel.

Founded on the principles of universal design, OXO aims to develop products that are easy to use for the largest spectrum of people, making everyday living easier. Used by professional chefs such as Nigella Lawson and loved by cooks in-the-know across the world, the OXO range offers over 200 stylish, yet practical tools for the home from kitchenware and gardening to organisational and cleaning products, and is now more widely available in the UK.

OXO The OXO range is available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, Dunelm Mill, House of Fraser, Amazon, John Lewis, Selfridges and other leading cook shops. For stockist details, please call 0114 290 1455 or email info@hot-uk.co.uk

Filed Under: Events, Utensils

10 things you may not know about British food

September 29, 2008 By Leave a Comment
  1. BritishFoodFortnight Britain produces 700 named cheeses – that’s more than France!
  2. There are more than 2,000 varieties of apple grown in Britain. The Bramley apple is still produced from stock taken from the original tree where a pip was planted in the garden of a Mr Bramley in the early 19th century.
  3. Britain’s seasonal climate produces one of the greatest varieties of vegetables in the world. Each season’s crop gives us all the nutrients, minerals and trace elements that our bodies need at particular times of year. British Food Fortnight marks the busiest period of change in the seasonal food calendar.
  4. Britain’s meat is of such a high quality that breeding livestock and genetics from our native breeds are sought after by farmers around the world.
  5. No growth promoting hormones are allowed in the production of British meat.
  6. British pig farmers operate, by law, to standards of welfare higher than those of nearly every other EU member state. 70% of imported pork, bacon and ham is produced from a farming system that would be illegal in Britain.
  7. British chicken meat is the safest in Europe: 30% of European chickens reputedly have salmonella.
  8. There are 350 varieties of potato grown in Britain, each with its own unique taste, texture and flavour. And potatoes are the largest single source of vitamin C in the UK diet!
  9. 70,000 inspections are carried out every year to ensure that the £7.5bn worth of British food bearing the Red Tractor logo is produced to the highest food safety and animal welfare standards.
  10. Over 78,000 of Britain’s farmers and growers are farm assured, meaning that the quality of their production is guaranteed. This accounts for 65-95% of production, depending on the specific sector.
Filed Under: Events, Featured

Stuffed roasted tomatoes with goat’s cheese and Mozzarella

September 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Italian Gino D’Acampo is one of the most charismatic and respected chefs in Britain today. Passionate and enthusiastic, he is hugely popular and loves nothing more than bringing his love of Italian food to life. Working together with Italian cheese brand Galbani, Gino has created a selection of great Italian dishes to make at home.

Stuffed roasted tomatoes with goat’scheese and Galbani Mini Mozzarella
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 beef tomatoes
2 tablespoons of crushed walnuts
180g goat’s cheese, without the rind and crumbled
150g Galbani Mini Mozzarella
6 thick slices of white bread
2 tablespoons freshly copped basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

With the help of a sharp knife cut a thin slice from the bottom of each tomato and discard.

Cut the top of each tomato and reserve, then using a teaspoon, carefully scoop out the seeds and most of the pulp and discard keeping the tomato shells whole.

In a bowl, mix together the Mozzarella, walnuts, goat’s cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper and spoon into the tomato shells. (3 Mini Mozzarellas per tomato).

With the help of an 8cm round pastry cutter, stamp out 6 rounds from the bread slices and toast on both sides.

Once ready, place the bread in a single layer in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish.

Place the tomatoes on top of each toasted piece of bread and cook in the middle of a preheated oven at 190º/375F/gas mark 5 for approx 15-20 minutes until the cheese mixture looks melted and golden. (Make sure that the tomatoes are not too soft).

Serve immediately with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top.

StuffedTomatoes

To see Gino’s video on how to cook Calzone al Dolcelatte click here.

Filed Under: Recipes

Hand Held Mandolin Slicer review

September 27, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The first in this set of reviews is for the Good Grip Hand Held Mandolin Slicer.

OxoMandolineI used the mandolin to prepare the slices of potatoes for our Lamb Hot Pot and I have to say I was very impressed. I tend to avoid using mandolins as I am extremely clumsy and have always been worried about cutting the tops of my fingers off! However, this hand held mandolin includes a food holder which means your fingers are not holding the food to be sliced and are no-where near the blade.

I also found it sturdy and very easy to use, it didn’t slip around at all. I like the fact that it has been designed to rest on the edge of a bowl/pan so you can slice directly into it rather than slicing on to a board first.

The blade is EXTREMELY sharp which made very fast work of the slicing, I sliced 4 potatoes in seconds. When it’s not in use the thickness graduator also acts as a lock for the blade and the food holder clips over the blade, so you shouldn’t slice your fingers by mistake.

I couldn’t find any cleaning advice on the packaging, but a quick look through the OXO website and I discovered that the slicer is dishwasher safe too, so you don’t have to worry about washing it by hand, which in turn means less risk of cutting yourself.

SlicedPotatoes Overall, I thought it was a very good product and I am no longer scared of using mandolins! I will be using it a lot because I could never cut such perfect, equal slices, even with my sharpest knife.

OXO focuses on creating tools that are perfectly suited to the task of making everyday living easier. The design team at OXO follow the principles of universal design – aiming to create products that are easy to use for the largest spectrum of people.

Used by professional chefs such as Nigella Lawson and loved by cooks in-the-know across the world, the OXO range offers over 150 stylish, yet practical tools for the home from kitchenware to organisational and cleaning products, and is now more widely available in the UK.

OXO The OXO range is available through a selection of national retailers including Lakeland, House of Fraser, Amazon, Dunelm Mill, John Lewis, Selfridges and other leading cook shops. For stockist details, please call 0114 290 1455 or email info@hot-uk.co.uk

Filed Under: Featured, Utensils
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