Gourmet Recipes

Ingredients 100g of Flour (plain) Pinch of salt 1 egg 300ml of milk Oil to grease frying pan Gourmet Mulling Syrup (Ice cream or fruit optional) Method Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl, whisk in egg and milk until smooth. Set aside for one hour. Gently heat a lightly greased frying pan. Pour the batter into a jug for easier pouring. Pour about three table spoons worth of batter (or your preferred amount) into the pan and tilt pan to spread evenly. When edges are golden lift edges with a knife and flip pancake over to cook other side. Place pancakes onto plates and drizzle with Selsley Herb & Spice Co Gourmet Mulling Syrup. Ice cream or fruit can also be added.

Simply the best 'cookies' you will taste anywhere. Whilst we cannot guarantee that consuming quantities of these will lead you to lose inches off you waist, we can guarantee you will earn brownie points with the rest of your family. Ingredients 8oz (225g) of butter 8 oz (225g) of brown sugar 8oz (225g) of granulated sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 6 oz (175g) of plain flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 10 oz (300g) Organic Pertwood Porridge Oats Chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chunks (to taste - but we advise adding them all) Method Pre-heat oven to 350oF/175oC. Cream butter and sugars. Add vanilla and egg, followed by dry ingredients. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 8-9 minutes until very light golden colour.

Ingredients 225g luxury dried fruit 50g glace cherries, halved 50g ready to eat dried apricots, roughly chopped 100g soft brown sugar 4tbsp Drink Me Spiced Chai 100ml boiling water 25g blanched almonds, chopped 225g self raising fl our 3 large eggs, beaten Method In a bowl combine the dried fruit, cherries, apricots, and sugar. In a jug mix the Spiced Chai with a little of the boiling water to dissolve it then stir in the remainder of the boiling water. Pour the Spiced Chai mixture over the fruit mix, stir thoroughly then cover and leave for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 160c/325f/gas mark 3 and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin. In a clean bowl combine the almonds and flour. Then make a well in the centre and stir in the fruit and Spiced Chai mixture. Add the beaten eggs and stir until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth over the surface. Cook on the middle shelf in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until well risen and golden (and a skewer when inserted into the

Why spend another Christmas Eve rushing around trying to get your Christmas shopping done? It's one of the busiest and most stressful shopping days of the year. Everybody else has left it until the last minute too. Thousands of people trying to find the perfect present, with time rapidly running out and shelves getting emptier by the minute. And then there's the wrapping to do. So rather than spending the run up to Christmas in a mad panic, why not order some fantastic Christmas food hampers from Real Food Direct? They're packed full of gourmet food goodies, and if you're no good at wrapping we can do it for you. Then you can spend Christmas Eve in true festive spirit. Visit friends you haven't seen for a long time. Hand-deliver your presents and stop by for a glass of sherry and a mince pie. Or just put your feet up and relax. How about that for a stress-free Christmas? At Real Food Direct, we have such a variety of Christmas food hampers that you'll find

The big talking point this Christmas in some circles is not just how much should we spend but should we be buying Christmas gifts at all? The PC brigade would have us all leading dull austere lives, or so it seems. For my part I think it’s good for the soul to give presents and it’s great to receive them, this is the tradition of Christmas. But having said that, maybe the politically correct “thought police” do have a point. I don’t subscribe to their preferred martyrdom at Christmas but like many other people I do wonder at the senseless giving and acquiring of so many useless gifts. I feel like screaming when I get yet another scented candle in a box..... So here is my idea, instead of budgeting to allocate a spend level to all the various members of a close group of friends say your sister's family or neighbours that you socialise with, amalgamate the individual budgets and buy one big family present. So why not buy them a Christmas gift hamper? “It will cost a fortune” yo

These individual apple puddings are perfect comfort food for the cold winter months. They’re delicious served with crème fraiche or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serves 4 75g Unsalted Butter 75g Clear Honey 4 tbsp Double Cream 4 Eating Apples (I used Cox’s), peeled, cored and thinly sliced 120g Dean’s Butterscotch Shortbread Rounds Method Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the butter, honey and cream in a small saucepan and heat, stirring until melted, to make a caramel sauce Divide the caramel sauce between 4 ramekins, top with a layer of apple slices, then half the crushed shortbread Layer with the remaining apples and shortbread, then pour over the rest of the caramel sauce Place on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling Allow to stand for 5 minutes then carefully turn out onto plates (you may need to run a sharp knife around the inside of the ramekin) Serve with crème fraiche or vanilla ice cream and a dusting of ground cinnamon