Cocktails and Canapes Just putting the final arrangements in place for our June ‘hands on’ Supper Club and cannot believe we are talking summer already… we have already had some stunning weather so I hope its not just me with summer food on the brain! This next event is going to be a wonderful, relaxed occasion to learn but most important enjoy some different flavours, ideas and techniques to create some simple yet sophisticated summer evenings for friends and family. Our eve

Further down the list of festive preparations, however, I cannot find a purple tractor for my 5 year old nephew, every other colour, the hunt continues! My blog from this time last year where I talked about Christmas present ideas and home kits were popular.  Here we are again and there are still some of my favourites on the Delicious Magazine, Gift Guide for this year (like to think I am accurate with my predictions). “For the experimental – home-curing kits for salmon or ba

Friday Foodie blog time and it happens to land on the 1st December 2017. An appropriate time to start the Christmas countdown. In our house the advent calendars for the children are up and on the local radio station this morning, in the breakfast show, the countdown to Christmas being sung out loud! Its easy for me to sit back and say what should have happened, or in an ideal world… but how far are you with the Christmas preparations? There are a lot of families out there tha

Goat’s Cheese Truffles These no fuss cheese bites look super pretty, and can easily be made a day ahead. Makes about 18 Ingredients: 250g rindless soft goat’s cheese log Toppings: finely chopped pistachios, finely chopped cranberries, finely chopped chives, mixed black and white sesame seeds Mash the goat’s cheese in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Roll the cheese into walnuit sized balls and put on a tray lined with baking parchment. Put your topping of choice into a small bowl

Date: Saturday 9th December 2017 Time: 11:30-2.30pm Venue: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Come and get all ready for Christmas…decorate your own festive wreath ready to hang on the door, lunch and a glass of bubbles to get you into the Christmas mood and a chance to see Christmas canapes demonstrated which can all be made in advance! Cost is £50 and includes all equipment needed for your wreath, food, and a glass of bubbles to get you in to the festive mood. #wreath #pre

Date: Wednesday 6th December 2017 Time: 7.30pm-10pm Venue: Crockham Hill Village Hall, TN8 6RP Come and get your festive entertaining sorted in advance with creative Christmas canapes ideas.  A chance to roll up your sleeves and make your own turkey wellington. Christmas cake decorating tips from Sally Boulton, for example make your own sugar paste robin ready to take home and pop on your cake! Cost is £30 and includes all food, a glass of bubbles to get you in to the festive

Makes: approx. 18 shortbreads Ingredients: 150 grams plain flour 75 grams grated parmesan 100 grams soft unsalted butter 1 large egg yolk large handful of finely chopped rosemary METHOD Mix all the ingredients together – using bowl and spoon, electric mixer or food processor as wished – until a golden dough begins to form a clump. Turn it out onto a surface and knead for about 30 seconds until smooth, then divide into two. Take the first half and, using your hands, roll it in

Our teenage daughter was born in the states, Tennessee to be precise so we used to celebrate Thanksgiving in a big way. It was a good time of year for family to come from the UK and visit away from the Christmas holidays and we found Thanksgiving was more popular than Christmas for bringing American families together. Falling on the fourth Thursday of November the festival dates from 1621, when a group of New England pilgrims served a feast to their Native American neighbours

It’s official the John Lewis Christmas ad is out… back in to London with BBC Good Food show today and feeling thoroughly festive. The Christmas lights are on in Oxford Street and I already sense it seems busier, how many shopping days till the day? I have been busy with more Christmas canapés this time beetroot, dill and goat’s cheese cups (yes I know the beetroot is still featuring on my menu!)  and Thursday evening my first drinks party for Christmas.  My homemade marmalade

Thursday 15th December 2016 Christmas Cake Decorating Workshop – Harris Room, Crockham Hill Village Hall Sally Boulton and I will be running this ‘hands-on’ workshop. Starting the evening with a selection of Christmas canapés and a glass of festive fizz, sit back and watch Sally in action. Showing us some beautiful festive decorating tips and ideas for your Christmas cake this year. Come and learn how to marzipan, ice and decorate a rich fruit and a madeira sponge cake. You w

This was an extremely busy week. Back to normal after half term, and Halloween on a school night, which I can never remember! It didn’t cramp our style too badly but I think we had a lot less visitors… The Spirit of Christmas has been on all week at Olympia in South Kensington. I got up for the day with Sue and we had a great day, although slightly rushed – I realised my watch was still on summer time, so we missed the Champagne Tasting. It really got me in the mood, I cannot

Ingredients: 175 g unbleached plain flour 2 and ¼ tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 25 g cold butter, small dice 75 g strong cheddar cheese 50 ml buttermilk (or dairy or non-dairy milk with a little lemon juice added) 1 tsp grain mustard 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin’s for preference) ½ raw or cooked small beetroot finely grated extra flour for rolling surface a little milk for brushing on the scones (optional) Method: Preheat oven to 220 (200C fan). Sift the flour an

Last Friday thoroughly enjoyed an excellent evening at the Vaults, underneath Waterloo. I have never ventured down Leake Street (sounds something out of Harry Potter books) but we found the ‘downside-up cocktail bar’… again another first! ‘Rococo Chocolates was holding a Scrumdiddlyumptious event to celebrate Roald Dahl 100 – celebrating 100 years of the world’s number one storyteller and the launch of their 8 new artisan Roald Dahl chocolate bars inspired by his wonderful st

Autumn Schedule of classes-Alive with Flavour-September to December 2016 All classes include ingredients, recipes to take home, and everything you need on the day. Thursday 6th October 2016 10-2pm – A Day of Flavours – Join me in the most beautiful surrounds of the Kingscote Wine Estate, Tithe Barn Cookery School. The day commences at 10am with coffee and biscuits while I take you through a ‘fuss free’ Autumn Dinner Party Menu – 3 courses. Part demonstration and part ‘hands o

These are delicious for a picnic, snack or as an accompaniement with other things for lunch. I made these with half a red pepper which I thought was tasty you could use a little broccoli or other vegetable like sweetcorn. Ingredients: (makes approx 50 small puffs) 125ml milk 1 egg, lightly beaten 250g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated 4 slices ham, finely diced 300g red onion, finely chopped 1/2 red pepper, small floret of broccoli (optional) finely chopped 150gm self-raising f

Recipe (Makes about 14 mini crab cakes) Ingredients: – Crab Cakes 2 thick slices day-old crust-less white bread 70 g green beans 4 spring onions 2 cans (170 g each) white crab meat, well drained 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander 1 clove garlic pressed 3 cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled 1 lime 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper Method: Preheat oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6. Cut bread into 2.5 cm cubes. Chop bread to make br

Just back from a fantastic weekend in Benicasim, about an hour north of Valencia, Spain. I have made the decision that I will need to do two blogs one that covers all the delicious food we experienced and the other all the adventures six ladies could have in one weekend (it was a long one). So back to my favourite subject FOOD…. The best meal of the weekend for me was on Saturday afternoon we went As Villa Sofía. This looked just like a beach cafe and we had been earlier in t

These make the perfect bite size muffin for canapes as well as full size muffins delicious with salad or in a picnic. Ingredients: 200 g smoked salmon 4 eggs 100 g full fat plain yogurt Sprig of dill ½ lemon 200 ml rapeseed oil 300 g plain flour 4 teaspoons baking powder Sea salt PRE-HEAT OVEN TO 180˚C/160˚C fan/gas 4 Line your muffin trays with cases. This mixture makes enough for  2 mini muffin trays about 24 bite-sized muffins or 12 regular size muffins. Cut the sm

Fancy sitting in your own kitchen or living room with your friends and learning some new entertaining ideas over a glass or two of wine?  When I am finished you sit and enjoy the rest of the evening eating all the delicious prepared food. All ingredients are included and a glass of fizz on arrival, recipes to take home, and I bring all my own utensils, everything I need (take it all away with me too). Party Themes Available – Canapés, Summer Entertaining, Pimms & Puds, Thai S

Thursday 16th June 2016 – Westerham Village Hall Come and learn the secrets of Summer Entertaining, learning time-saving tips and some delicious new recipes using seasonal produce, with Jo Banks and Sally Boulton. For the first section of the evening a few of the favourite canapé recipes will be demonstrated, followed by some tasting with a glass of wine. Then there will be time to roll up your sleeves and have a go with recipes like feta cheesecakes and parmesan shortbreads