Chilli venison casserole with chocolate

I made this Mexican 'mole' inspired casserole in the slow cooker at the weekend and, apart from having to deal with all the shallots, it was very easy indeed. What's more at this time of year it's so useful to literally throw several ingredients in the pot and a few hours later, as if by magic, have a delicious warming meal. My slow cooker was a Christmas gift from my parents last year and we use it constantly. As well as being an incredibly efficient bit of kit, there is something deeply reassuring about knowing that dinner is taken care of and you can get on with your day.

This is based on a recipe from Slow Cooking: Best New Recipes by Annette Yates and Norma Miller which doesn't look or sound terribly inspiring, but has become my slow cooking bible. It serves 6 people.

900g stewing venison, cut into cubes
3 rashers of streaky bacon
12 shallots, peeled and sliced into quarters
2 red chillies, seeds removed, finely sliced
150g cranberries
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
400ml stock (ideally venison or beef)
150ml port or red wine
freshly ground black pepper
55g dark chocolate

Firstly preheat the slow cooker to High. Place everything apart from the chocolate in the slow cooker, cover with the lid and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours. Everything goes straight in without having to fry the meat or shallots/onions first. Just before serving stir through the chocolate and check the seasoning. You might need to thicken the sauce slightly if it's a bit thin with some cornflour mixed with water.

The ingredients cook down beautifully resulting in a warmly spicy dish and meltingly tender venison. As a crunchy garnish I made a gremolata with a handful of breadcrumbs fried until golden with butter and a crushed clove of garlic, combined with finely grated orange zest and chopped parsley.

Served with steamed cabbage and a bottle of Rioja Reserva, it was a perfect winter meal.

Black truffle butter

This rather glamorous treat was a wedding anniversary gift from my husband last month and it really has been the gift that keeps on giving. The sheer pleasure of simply untwisting the lid and inhaling the powerful fragrance is amazing in itself, yet it lends itself to so many things. Anointing baked potatoes or plain pasta are obvious options or slipping it between the breast and skin of a chicken, but how about frying eggs in truffle butter? Total bliss. It transforms food instantly.

If you're wondering what to give foodie friends for Christmas, look no further. Thank you darling!

Piper heralds Christmas

Last week I got my first proper taste of Christmas when I emerged from Sloane Square tube station and gazed at all the glamorous Christmas decorations. The trees in Sloane Square sport large tasteful twinkly stars and Peter Jones in the background is draped with lights. My short walk up Sloane Street was just as festive as I headed to Le Cercle restaurant as a guest of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne.

Piper has had quite a playful, partying image, however, cellar master Régis Camus recently received the International Wine Challenge Sparkling Winemaker of the Year trophy for the eighth consecutive time. New owners EPI, who bought the house from Rémy Cointreau in 2011, seem keen to place more emphasis on the quality of the wine itself – we were served several with dinner and they stood up beautifully (much better than the simple party pop you might have expected in the past). The wines are Pinot dominant and a generous proportion of reserve wine is included in the blends resulting in richer, complex tasting fizz closer in style to stable mate Charles Heidsieck (also run by Régis Camus).

The wines all showed well, but the highlight of the evening was Piper-Heidsieck's prestige cuvée Rare from the 2002 vintage. This was served with foie gras crème brûlée, lemon brioche and cardamom crust: all very luxurious. Finely structured with layers of complexity and, although drinking well now, it will age magnificently for several more years. (It's currently in this rather blingtastic bottle, although the new owners might tweak the packaging in future.)

The main course, roasted monkfish, glazed celery and lovage, was served with the soon to be released vintage 2006: although it was overshadowed by the Rare 2002, it was rich and muscular and a good pairing with the fish. The cheese course, chic carnation like rosettes of Ossau Iraty with mandarin (and a 'smoked Lillet' foam), worked very well with Cuvée Sublime (demi sec).

The dinner ended with the classic French pairing of pink fizz and dessert (in this case white chocolate parfait with frosted strawberries). For me, this never works as the wine isn't sweet enough, but I was really taken by the deeply coloured, bold vinous style of the Piper's Rosé Sauvage. I could imagine it with charcuterie, steak tartare or at a smart picnic. Distinctive stuff.

Piper-Heidsieck have other events planned for the Christmas season including tastings with cheese and charcuterie at Searcy's Champagne Bar at One New Change at 6.30pm on Tuesday 10th and Monday 16th December (£39). For more information mail: events@searcyschampagnebars.co.uk. Searcy's Champagne Bars will also be serving a broad range of Piper-Heidsieck by the glass.

I attended as a guest of Piper-Heidsieck and First Drinks. For information about future wine dinners at Le Cercle check their website. This tasting dinner cost £49 per head.

Piper-Heidsieck retail stockists
Brut NV Waitrose £31.99
Rare, Vintage 2002 Harrods £175
Vintage 2000 Harrods £64.95
Cuvée Sublime TheDrinksShop.com £38.69
Rosé Sauvage Waitrose £24.99

Wine Gang Christmas Fair ticket offer

It really seems as though the year is racing by and Christmas is now very much on the radar. If you need some ideas for the festive season why not pop along to a Wine Gang Christmas Fair in November. The Wine Gang comprises five engaging and entertaining wine experts – Joanna Simon, Anthony Rose, Tom Cannavan, Jane Parkinson and David Williams – who will all be on hand to help guide you through the hundreds of wines available for tasting. There will be free 20 minute wine walks and bookable masterclasses (priced separately) – the Tokaji and chocolate masterclass at the London event sounds particularly tempting. There will also be a pop up shop with wines available at a discount.

The Fairs are taking place at the Guildhall in Bath (November 2nd), Vinopolis in London (November 9th) and the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh (November 30th).

The Wine Gang has generously offered readers of this blog tickets at a reduced rate: £12 instead of £20 and a 10% discount on tickets for masterclasses. Please use the code BLOG40 when you book tickets on the website. I might see you there!

(To get you in the mood, I've included a couple of pics: the one at the top was taken last year in Covent Garden and the shot below is to remind you to start organising your dry ingredients for stir-up Sunday…)

Turkey, pea and ham risotto

It's almost New Year, but you might still be wondering what to do with all the leftover turkey. Each year I make turkey and ham pies to freeze, but last night we used some of our leftovers in a risotto. I finely diced an onion and sweated it until translucent in some duck fat, then added the rice, stirring it for a while. Shredded turkey and ham came next with frozen peas and some fresh fennel (which had been used in a salad earlier in the week), gradually stirring in turkey stock. Once the rice had cooked and the consistency was creamy, I served the risotto with more fresh herbs and a slick of olive oil. It was delicious with our bottle of fresh, fragrant Guardiolo Falanghina from The Wine Society, although it would also be good with a fuller bodied, even oak-aged white – Burgundy would be a especially good. Happy New Year!

Grown-up soft drinks

I'm always on the look out for decent, grown-up soft drinks, but they do seem to be hard to come by. Too often the fall-back option is fruit juice, often sweet and inappropriate for food, and sometimes mineral water can fit the bill. San Pellegrino and Badoit can work for me with their salty bite, but, nevertheless, they are just water, so lacking on the flavour front.

However, just recently I've rediscovered my love for Fentimans drinks. In 2012 they introduced tonic water to the range – which the company claims to be the world's first botanically brewed tonic water (kaffir lime leaf features in the herbal infusion). It's fresh with a subtle complexity and, amazingly, the Light Tonic Water is nothing like the usual confected, synthetic tasting slimline tonics. I am partial to tonic water as I explained here back in January when we eased off the booze for a while.

Fentimans also offers the rather beautiful Rose Lemonade – a delicate, petal pink coloured lemonade flavoured with ginger and rose oil. This is a fabulous drink – deliciously perfumed and refreshing on its own (and rather special as a mixer with gin).

Another recent discovery is Hot Ginger Beer from the Devon based organic producer Luscombe. This is spicy, dry and an ideal winter tipple. On their website, they suggest drinking it with 'barbecued chicken or pork or anything with a sweet glaze or marinade. Or spicy Caribbean-style grilled fish – served with tropical fruit like mango. It also pairs well with Chinese food, especially sweet and sour dishes and stir-fried crab'. I'm happy to believe them.

If you can't get your hands on these (try Waitrose and independent grocers and wine merchants – eg Earth Natural Foods in Kentish Town) a good party option is a Virgin Breeze that you can make up in jugs or punch bowls. Simply mix together two parts grapefruit juice and one part cranberry juice (or to taste) for a dry tasting and pretty looking drink. With plenty of ice, it's great for the morning after, too, but that's another story...

A luxurious taste of Christmas

I can hardly believe how quickly the year has flown by – Christmas is upon us yet again. I'm doing some final preparations before this year's gastronomic extravaganza kicks off at the weekend and I've been reminded of some highlights from last year.

My brother celebrated his 40th early in 2010 and a couple of years earlier at The Sampler in Islington I laid my hands on some claret from his birth year. He generously decided to share it with us all at Christmas, bless him. I thought it would be fun to partner it with another claret – a comparatively youthful 1990 (although maturing nicely). A traditional, if rather cerebral choice for the turkey, but absolutely delicious – both freshly structured and beguilingly complex – and an interesting contrast to the fuller, spicier wines we often have at Christmas. Southern Rhône being a particular favourite (which we'll be having this year). The clarets topped the bill after an apéritif of ever-elegant Pol Roger, and a gently aromatic, dry Gewürztraminer from Blanck was perfect with our starter of smoked fish. We concluded with some PX – practically Christmas pudding in a bottle. Heady stuff.

Something that featured in last year's dinner was this magnificent and totally decadent stuffing. It's a recipe by Heston Blumenthal from Waitrose Kitchen magazine that includes chestnuts, cranberries, caraway seeds and brandy, sliced and fried in black butter before serving. This year I'll be preparing it in advance to take to my parents' whose turn it is to host and it'll be enjoyed alongside my (late) great-aunt's lemon and herb stuffing. Even if you're having goose, poulet fermier, a turkey crown or smaller game birds for your festive feast, this will make a memorable 'trimming'. A truly luxurious taste of Christmas.

Cranberry and caraway stuffing
Serves 6
280g unsalted butter
7 slices white bread, crusts removed
50g dried breadcrumbs
1 onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
1 tbsp groundnut oil
200g sausagemeat
60g cooked chestnuts, chopped
60g dried cranberries
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
15g parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp caraway seeds
140ml brandy
100ml chicken stock
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 180°C, Gas Mark 4. Melt 250g butter in a saucepan and heat gently until it goes brown and smells nutty, then strain through a fine sieve. Set aside 175g of the strained butter.

Dice the bread slices and combine with the breadcrumbs in a large bowl.

In a small frying pan, melt 15g butter; add the onion and cook on a low heat until soft. Add the celery and remaining 15g butter and cook for 10 minutes, then add the bread mixture.

In a separate pan over a high heat cook the sausage meat in the groundnut oil until browned, breaking it into evenly sized pieces as you go. Add this to the stuffing with the chestnuts, cranberries, sage, parsley and caraway seeds, then return the pan to the heat. Pour in the brandy and boil vigorously for 1 minute so the alcohol evaporates. Scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan.

Combine 125g of the brown butter with the chicken stock and mix with the stuffing. Season with salt.

Stir through the beaten egg (the mixture should be very moist) and spread on to a parchment-lined baking tray so that it is 1.5cm deep.

Cook in the oven for about 20 minutes, then remove and set aside until ready to serve (this can be made the day before).

Slice the stuffing into rectangles, about 5cm x 7cm. Fry in batches, using 1tbsp of the remaining brown butter for each batch, until golden all over.

Smoked garlic and anchovy butter

Garlic – I love it and can't bear the idea of not having any handy in the kitchen. Not only does it transform dishes, but it's good for you, too, being high in Vitamin C and with properties that may help prevent heart disease and certain forms of cancer. As it's also antibacterial, it's useful for fighting colds so, as winter sets in, a warming bowl of vegetable soup, seasoned with some garlic, ginger and citrus juice will do you more good (and will certainly taste better) than the odd mug of Lemsip (which often makes me feel worse – vile stuff). You could even go the whole hog and have garlic soup.

Recently in Swanage I bought some gorgeous oak smoked garlic from The Purbeck Deli. This mouthwatering shop likes to focus on local produce and the garlic came from the Isle of Wight, which, on a bright day you can see across the water from this magnificent stretch of the Jurassic Coast. Back in London some of it was included (whole cloves with skins on) in a chicken roast, but ideally I wanted to preserve it in some way. It's such a rare treat. I decided that the best way to do this was to make a garlic and anchovy butter which could be tucked away in the freezer for using to dress up steak or vegetables. It's ideal for the busy Christmas period when you might need to conjure up an impromptu supper with friends or want spoil yourself with something a bit special. This 'cheffy' detail – despite being incredibly easy – can put a dish into another league.

In a food processor blitz a pack of unsalted butter with the peeled cloves from a head of smoked garlic. Once smooth and creamy, add two tins of drained anchovies and continue blending. Finally season to taste with lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of sea sea salt (I use Maldon). Turn out, roll into a log shape and wrap generously with clingfilm. You might need to leave it in the fridge to firm up, supported on each side. Freeze and, when required, unwrap one end and slice with a hot knife (you can warm it up in a jug of boiled water – don't try to use a knife straight from the drawer as it won't pass through the hard, frozen butter). Absolutely delicious.

Turkey and ham pie: post Christmas comfort

Every year I have a routine after Christmas which is to use up the leftover turkey and ham for pies to stash away in the freezer. There is something so comforting about luxuriously creamy pies and it is a great way of making sure the leftover meat stays deliciously moist and tasty. What's more, they are absolutely delicious in their own right (as opposed to just being a handy way of using up leftovers).

Last weekend we enjoyed the first of these pies from the freezer on a bitterly cold Sunday evening and it was so welcome. I don't bother with potatoes when serving these pies, just some vegetables on the side, so it's a very easy meal.

Preparing the pies, I use a generous base of turkey and ham and add some softened diced onion, fried mushrooms, peas, sometimes carrots or other vegetables (depending on how much I need to bulk out the meat). Using the pan juices, I make a creamy sauce with stock, double cream, dried tarragon and plenty of seasoning.

I top the pies with bought pastry – short-crust or puff depending on how I feel and what I have handy. This year it was short-crust. I like to decorate them all with pastry leaves made with the off-cuts. Then cover the pies with foil and carefully position them in the freezer.

De-frost the pies before cooking. I glaze the surface with beaten egg (though not shown in pic) before cooking them at 180°C for about 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.

Wine
Refreshing, supple reds would be good here – a particular favourite is Cabernet Franc from the Loire, such as Chinon or Saumur-Champigny. Red Burgundy would also work well, its lifted acidity balancing the richness of the dish.

Lemon meringue pie: a big flouncy slice of retro glamour

My husband Nathan has a soft-spot for lemon tart, especially the River Café version, and cooks it beautifully. It is gorgeous – the buttery richness balanced by clean, intense citrus flavour and, yes, lemon tart does have a restrained, chic quality.

However, secretly, I've always preferred lemon meringue pie, in spite of it being a bit brash and outmoded. Perhaps it's because I'm a child of the 1970s and it reminds me so much of family meals and holidays; there was a restaurant where we were taken as a special treat in Albufeira on the Algarve that served a magnificent version, crowned by a three-inch high meringue. I have always wanted to emulate this and recently the opportunity arose. Over the Christmas holiday we were visiting family for dinner and offered to take along a pudding. So, once Nathan had completed his River Café tart I relieved him of the egg whites (all 12 of them) and, with the help of my new Kenwood Chef, attempted to gild the lily.

Crostata di limone (from The River Café Cook Book with my meringue topping)
Pastry:
350g plain flour
150g unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes
100g icing sugar
3 egg yolks

Filling:
finely grated zest and juice of 7 lemons
350g caster sugar
6 whole eggs
9 egg yolks
300g unsalted butter, softened

Meringue:
8 egg whites
300g caster sugar
extra caster sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 4

Serves 10–12

Firstly make the pastry. Pulse the flour, salt and butter in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, then the egg yolks and pulse. The mixture will immediately combine and leave the sides of the bowl. Remove, wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least an hour. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Press the pastry into 30cm loose-bottomed flan tin, bake blind and leave to cool.

Meanwhile make the filling. Put all the ingredients except the butter in a large saucepan over a very low heat, and whisk until the eggs have broken up and the sugar has dissolved. Add half the butter and continue to whisk. At this point the eggs will start to cook and the mixture will coat the back of a spoon. Add the remaining butter and continue whisking throughout the cooking process to prevent the mixture from curdling. Remove from the heat, place on a cold surface and continue to whisk until lukewarm. Raise the oven temperature to 200°C/gas 8. Spoon the lemon filling into the pastry base and bake for 5 minutes until set. Remove the tart from the oven and set aside.

Finally, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Continue whisking while gradually adding the sugar. The egg whites should now be stiff and glossy. Spread the meringue over the tart, taking it right to the edge to cover it completely. Dust with the remaining caster sugar. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly, serve and wonder why it's been so long.

To further spoil yourself, pour over some chilled double cream and enjoy with a glass of suitably frothy Moscato d'Asti – refreshing and grapey. Lemon meringue pie may not be retro chic, but it's certainly retro glamour.

PS While we were finishing off the pie, we were watching the televised version of Nigel Slater's autobiography, Toast which made me feel even more proud of our efforts! It reinforced what a sense of occasion can be conjured up by this old classic.

Red cabbage with orange and spice

Red cabbage is one of winter's highlights. This beautiful vegetable costs very little and goes an incredibly long way – so much so that I end up freezing most of it. We love it with any type of meat and it is particularly good with game. This version includes orange and is fabulous with duck and I'm really looking forward to having it with our Christmas dinner, especially the gammon. Juniper would be another nice addition and would be particularly good with pork. It's also seriously wine-friendly (notably red Burgundy).

This recipe is based on one from a favourite cookery book, Leith's Cookery Bible (although orange isn't included in the original).

1 small red cabbage
1 onion, sliced (red onion also works well)
30g butter
2 apples, peeled and sliced
1 large orange, zest removed in large slices with a small paring knife
juice from the orange
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
2 teaspoons wine vinegar or cider vinegar
a pinch of ground cloves
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The book says this serves six but, as I like to use a larger cabbage and ramp up the other ingredients, it can serve up to 10.

Start off by shredding the cabbage, discarding any hard stalks. Rinse well.

In a large heavy pan (a preserving pan is ideal), melt the butter and fry the onion until soft. Add the drained, but still wet cabbage, the apples, sugar, vinegar, cloves, orange juice and slices of zest; season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Cover with a lid and allow to cook on a low heat for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally, until soft and reduced in bulk. During cooking, if the cabbage starts drying out, add more water. Check seasoning before serving – it may need more salt, pepper or sugar.

Christmas pudding soufflés

This recipe is based on one by Richard Corrigan that appeared in Waitrose Food Illustrated (as was) and I think it must have been the November 2009 issue. I cooked these soufflés on New Year’s Eve last year and they went down extremely well. The recipe is sufficiently festive, but with a grown-up dinner party feel – a really useful dessert for this time of year (and quite manageable as it can be prepared in two stages). I made them again recently to use up the final chunk of last year's Christmas pud that had been lurking in the freezer. Again, the soufflés were fabulous.

9 eggs, separated

65g caster sugar

250ml whole milk

1 vanilla pod, split

15g plain flour

10g cornflour

150g Christmas pudding, crumbled

15g butter, softened, to line moulds

1 tablespoon icing sugar, to dust

Serves 8

For the soufflé base, in a large bowl whisk together three egg yolks and 50g caster sugar until thick and creamy.

Meanwhile, heat the milk and vanilla pod together in a pan until boiling. Whisk all the flour into the egg-and-sugar mixture before adding the milk, still whisking as you pour. Remove the vanilla pod. Pour this mixture into a large saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until thickened. Stir in the crumbled Christmas pudding and leave to cool – this can be done the day before if you refrigerate the mixture until you are ready to cook the dish.

To make the soufflés, preheat the oven to 240°C/gas 8. Brush eight 8cm ramekins lightly with butter. Chill for five minutes. Brush with more butter, then dust evenly with the remaining 15g caster sugar.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to form soft peaks. Beat half the whisked egg white into half the soufflé base, then fold in the remainder of both mixtures. Spoon into the ramekins, smooth over the tops with a knife and cook for seven to eight minutes, until risen.

Dust with icing sugar (although recently, when these pictures were taken, I didn't bother).

The original recipe points out that at Corrigan’s restaurant, the soufflés are served with an Irish whiskey-flavoured ice cream. This prompted me to serve them with generous glasses of Baileys – absolutely gorgeous! You could also serve them with some good quality malt whisky with a splash of water (as suggested by Waitrose Food Illustrated). You can see from the picture below that I was tempted to try some treackly Pedro Ximenez with them, but ended up sticking with the Baileys.