Those nice people at Asda sent us a few samples to try from their Extra Special range. Here’s what our taster Joanna Biddolph thought of the treats in their goody bag:
Easy Christmas canapés with recipes from Leiths and Asda
Asda and Leiths collaborating? Yes, surprising. But no more surprising than Waitrose coming out with an Essentials range. Both are trying to appeal to people at opposite ends of their food spend spectrum. Don’t scoff cynically; make these recipes and scoff with smugness. They are ridiculously easy but impressively delicious.
Discovering the Real Beaujolais
Forget the wacky races of Beaujolais Nouveau, says Alan Kingsbury,instead go for the Beaujolais Crus as he did by tasting six of the best to be found.
Hartwell House
Hartwell House, incidentally a grade 1 listed as well as National Trust property, more than lived up to the promise of its grand, if over-familiar entrance. The main building, a seventeenth century mansion house, accommodates 33 guests at full capacity (a former stable block in the grounds has been converted to create a further 16 rooms and suites). This place is, as they say, steeped in a history – but in its truest and most tangible sense
Jun Tanaka Christmas Recipes
Born in the US to Japanese parents, Jun Tanaka has headed up the kitchen at Pearl since its opening in June 2004. During this time, the restaurant has gained an excellent reputation for its modern French cuisine, served in the beautiful surroundings of the historic Pearl Assurance building. He also cooks in Street Kitchen, a refurbished Airstream serving simple and healthy bistro style dishes
A bit of spice in your life with Spicentice
It was with some excitement that we broke open the box of samples from Spicentice and little packets of spice mixtures tumbled to the floor all around us. There must be around 24 spice kits in the range and we seemed to be knee deep in most of them.
The London Chocolate Festival 2011
I didn’t get a chance to try the chocolate churros stand, and I would have loved to have sampled the pretty boxes of Baruzzo Italian chocolates. Look out for the trembling stacks of cookies from Galeta and the various cake, fudge and novelty chocolates stalls.
How to make Hummus
You don’t have to as rich as David Beckham to sample the delicious dishes of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel & Al Khayal in Dubai. Executive Chef Maurice Fitzgerald has jotted down his recipe for Hummus for us. So get some pittas and get stuck in!
HIlton Christmas Festivities 2011
Take a look at this lovely line-up of foodie festivities on offer at Hilton this Christmas. From afternoon teas to kitchen tours, it will be hard to narrow down the ways to spoil yourself.
Christmas at Harrod’s
With this range of goodies you’re bound to give any foodie friend the gift of the season or even better, you could create your own Harrod’s Hamper, full of goodies from London’s iconic store, with all the cache that comes with that green and gold bag but without the humongous price tag.