Food Gift Hamper

Imagine lying back in a warm bath, bubbles up around your chin, soft candles glowing around the room and reaching out for a tall cool glass of bubbly, it won’t just be the bubbles in the bath tickling your nose if you treat a friend (or yourself) to a gift of chocolate and champagne. Go on, indulge in the gift of the finest Belgian chocolates, gift wrapped, along with a bottle of sparkling Brut champagne gift, this is a gift which can be indulged alone or in the company of a loved one for that romantic evening for two.

Christmas time!

• Always prepare your stuffing well in advance and allow to cool
• Store the turkey at the bottom of the fridge to avoid cross-contamination.
• Don’t buy your turkey too early – two days in the fridge is plenty.
• Allow 24 hours in the fridge to defrost a frozen turkey.
• Ensure the bird is clean by running it under the tap.
• Never cook the turkey the night before, but you can marinade it then.
• Cooking time: 1/2 hour per kg plus an extra ½ hour
• Always make sure that when you stuff your turkey you only stuff the neck cavity
• Cut and slice two or three onions and place these on the bottom on the dish and place your turkey on top of them, not only will they keep the turkey from resting in the juices they will also add flavour
• Before stuffing the turkey, you could use sliced lemons, oranges or onion to add flavour by placing them in the body cavity of the turkey.
• Make sure you season the skin of the turkey with salt and pepper and smear butter all over the skin.
• Place strips of streaky smoked bacon over the turkey about half way through the cooking time.

Warm Chocolate Cakes with Berries

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted softened butter, plus extra for buttering molds-8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped-1/2-teaspoon instant espresso powder-4 large eggs-4 large egg yolks-2/3 cup granulated sugar
-4 teaspoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting molds-3 tablespoons Frangelico or hazelnut liqueur
-1-cup fresh raspberries-1 cup fresh strawberries-Fresh mint, for garnish

Butter and lightly flour 6 (6-ounce) ramekins. Tap out any excess flour.
In a small saucepan, bring to a boil 2 inches of water. In a large glass bowl, add butter, chocolate and espresso powder. Lower heat and place bowl over the simmering water. Slowly whisk mixture until the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove bowl from heat and continue to whisk until all chocolate has melted. Allow cooling slightly.
In a large bowl, add eggs, yolks, and sugar. Using an electric mixer beat until light and fluffy and pale in color. Reduce speed to medium-low and slowly pour in the chocolate mixture. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overwork the batter. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Divide the batter between the molds. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chocolate molds onto baking sheet and place in oven for 7 minutes. If not baking immediately, cover chocolate molds with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 8 hours. When ready to bake, place refrigerated chocolate molds onto baking sheet and place in oven for 10 minutes. The top and sides should be cooked and dry and the inside will be runny.
Using oven mitts, carefully invert each mold onto a plate and let it sit for 10 seconds. Then lift 1 corner of the ramekin and the cake should slip out. Sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon Frangelico over each cake. Spoon berries around the chocolate cake and garnish with mint. Serve warm.

Rich Chocolate Cake

Prep time: 15 minutes | cooking time: 25 minutes | makes 12 slices

Well the name says it all. This is the richest chocolate cake around. To make it a 2 layers cake, multiply the ingredients by one half and divide into 2 separate spring form pans. If you don’t have spring form pans, cover the bottoms in parchment paper or it will stick.

Equipment: Spring form pans, 2 good sized bowls, a Wisk, saucepan

Ingredients: 3/4-cup whole-wheat pastry flour-1 cup all purp unbleached flour-2 teaspoons baking powder-1-teaspoon baking soda-3/4-cup good cocoa powder-1/2-teaspoon salt-1-cup plain soy milk 1/2-cup canola oil-1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar-2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch spring form pan with non-stick cooking spray.Sift together flours and baking powder and baking soda.In a saucepan, heat the soymilk on low-medium heat. When it is slightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder and Wisk well until it is dissolved. Remove from heat.Combine the other liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Add the cocoa mixture and combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until a toothpick or butter knife comes out clean. Let cool completely and frost with your favorite frosting.

Chocolate cake with hazelnut semifreddo

Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes plus freezing time-6 ounces bittersweet chocolate-1/4-cup butter, plus extra for buttering the pan-4 egg yolks-1 1/2 cups sugar, divided-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, divided-7 egg whites, divided-1/8-teaspoon salt-1/4-cup cocoa, sifted-3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts-1 cup whipping cream-1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the chocolate and butter in a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat until melted and just combined, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow cooling until just warm to the touch but still melted.

2. While the chocolate is cooling, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Slowly drizzle one-fourth cup sugar into the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy and airy. Beat in 1-teaspoon vanilla until combined.

3. Separately, beat four egg whites with the salt to soft peaks. Drizzle one-fourth cup sugar into the whites and continue to beat to stiff peaks. Set aside.

4. Fold the whipped egg whites gently into the whipped yolks, then fold in the melted chocolate and cocoa.

5. Spread the batter into a 15-inch by 10-inch baking pan, which has been buttered, lined with parchment paper, and buttered again. Bake the cake for 10 to 12 minutes, until set. Turn the cake out onto a rack to cool.

6. Place the cooled cake on a cutting board and cut three rectangles from the cake, each the dimensions of the 9-inch loaf pan (these rectangles will form layers in the final dessert). Set aside.

7. Make the hazelnut praline: In a small saucepan, combine one-half cup sugar with 2 tablespoons water. Heat to boiling (dissolving the sugar), then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the syrup turns golden brown, several minutes. Stir in the toasted hazelnuts, then pour out onto a lightly buttered baking sheet and allow cooling. Break the pralines into pieces and coarsely process in a food processor; you should have 1 1/2 cups crushed praline. Set aside.

8. Make the semifreddo: Whip the cream to stiff peaks, and then fold in the amaretto liqueur and remaining vanilla. Separately, whip the remaining three egg whites. Gradually beat in the remaining one-half cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the whipped cream, along with 1 cup of the crushed praline.

9. Assemble the cake: Line the loaf pan with plastic wrap. Place 1 layer of the cake snugly into the bottom of the pan. Evenly spread one-third of the semifreddo base over the top of the cake, and top with a generous tablespoon of the crushed pralines. Repeat with the remaining layers, for a total of three layers. Sprinkle the remaining praline evenly over the top of the cake. Freeze, wrapped in plastic, until ready to serve.

10. To unmold the cake, dip the base of the frozen loaf pan quickly in a bowl of hot water to loosen the cake. Remove the cake (still wrapped in plastic) from the mold. Gently unwrap the cake. The cake can be served whole on a serving platter garnished with orange slices or kumquats, or can be sliced.

Health care professionals tell us the importance of eating 5 portions of fruit and veg

per day, here is your chance to make a great start by giving the gift basket. A rustic basket packed with delicious seasonal fruit which is not only good for the heart and body but also for the soul, when you see the look of joy on your loved ones face. The fruit basket is a truly unusual and healthy gift and one that is sure to please those who are conscious about their health.

The importance of the 5 rations of fruit and vegetable to the day:

We have heard much speak on the 5 rations of fresh fruit and vegetable to the day. In Spain campaigns forthe awareness have become of the importance of such ingestions. But, why it is important to consume these 5 rations per day? With these 5 rations we assured the contribution of vitamins and minerals that the organism needs throughout the day, besides obtaining to a hydric contribution importance, since the fruit is water in 75-90%. Without forgetting the antioxidant contribution, fiber and the absence of cholesterol. This helps us to prevent cardiovascular diseases, digestive upheavals, some types of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, besides helping us in the fight against the overweight and the obesity, since the caloric contribution is under (less than 70 Kcal percent grams of food) and increases the sensation of satiety. To contribute these 5 rations is easy if one sets out it, for example: a natural juice in the morning, a piece of fruit to noon, to accompany with salad the food, a milkshake of fruit in the tea and vegetable trimming in dinner.

If after your parties over, you find that you have an excess of wine which has been opened do not despair it can be saved for another day, in fact for a further 6 days if stored correctly. The key factor to keeping wine is not to let oxygen come into contact with the wine, if you can find a small container of a size in which the wine can be poured until almost overflowing then you can cap the container ensuring that just a little wine spills out. This way you can be sure that there is no air in the container and it can then be stored in a refrigerator for up to 7 days.