Vegetarian from Hell Pt2

Just in case anyone reading this post thinks I am having a go at Vegetarians please note that in "Vegetarian from Hell Pt1" I stated from the start of the post that it was not so. Nothing has changed and if someone wants to be a vegetarian then so be it. When I see some of the ways that animals are treated to produce so called "cheap food" I begin to understand more and more a vegetarians way of thinking. I will still be a meat eater but will be more selective on what I eat.

Perhaps if supermarkets stopped bullying the producers to get the cheapest price possible so they can sell at the best price possible the animal food producers might be able to spend more time and money on the health and well being of the animals they breed. Maybe if they stop trying to hood wink the customers with so called "2 for a fiver" or "2 for the price 1" offers and take a hit in the profits column, give a better price to the farmer in return for better animal conditions the animals will be allowed to live a better quality of life. Then again "Do pigs fly"

Supermarket dig over and on to meat of the post (sorry I could not resist the pun and hope it does not offend)

Christmas was approaching fast and the Head Chef and I were just finalising the food and provisions orders for Christmas. In kitchens big or small this is quite a task and it would be easy to overlook a vital ingredient if you are not careful. Final numbers for the Christmas package had been updated as well as details on any special dietary needs customers and vegetarians. We were well aware of one particular vegetarians needs but we also had a couple of guests who for health reasons were on a gluten free diet. There were 4 other vegetarians and 2 vegan's. I had been given the task of ensuring all the necessary ingredients and suitable substitutes had been ordered for the guests with special needs.

With the help of our wholesalers and fresh food suppliers the kitchen was able to order all the manner of produce so that our specials enjoyed where possible the same menu as the rest of the customers. Amongst the goods ordered were,
Christmas cakes, mince pies and puddings without animal fats,
Cheeses that were suitable for vegan's vegetarians and gluten free.
Soya based milks and creams,
Soya produce, soya milks, Tofu, and just about anything else with soya in
All sorts of beans and pulses,
Special sugars that contained no animal produce,
Caffeine free tea and coffee, etc
Chocolates and sweets that were vegan friendly
Specials breads for the gluten free diets.

The list was endless but we made sure that we had enough food substitutes to deal with any dietary and medical needs customers and any other eventualities that we did not know about. The first day of our Christmas package always started with the meeting and greeting of our guests with a "Grand Victorian Afternoon Tea" buffet and reception. The preparations would start very early in the morning along with all the other jobs that had to be done for the evening meal. Like many busy kitchens at that time year If you were not serving food you were always preparing food for the next meal. We were having a busy but pretty good day and besides the odd hick up which is to be expected things were pretty much running to plan.

The Afternoon Tea was due to be served from 3.30p.m. and run until 6p.m. to cover the late arrivals. With about 30 minutes to go the buffet tables spread out in the lounge were filling up with mountains of hand made scones, fruitcakes, biscuits, cream filled cakes, brandy snaps, sponge cakes, vanilla slices, Madeira cake, obligatory mince pies, shortbread's and more cakes and goodies than you can shake a stick at. Bowls of Chantilly cream and sugared strawberries dotted the tables for good measure. Added to this was all manner of sandwiches including smoked salmon, cucumber and all the traditional sandwich fillings you can think of. All of which was served with a vast array of fine teas, herbal teas, fruit teas, and speciality teas for the vegan's and vegetarians.

A separate table was filled with most of the goodies mentioned above and/or with safe alternatives for the gluten free diets, Another table was set well away from any other tables for the vegan's and vegetarians. The idea being that it allowed the guest to mingle freely amongst each other and avoid any nasty surprises. Prior to the afternoon tea being served the Restaurant Manager gave his final instructions to his staff. In the instructions were details of the special needs customers and in particular the lady who had sent the letter to the kitchen regards her 'Special needs'

The Boss had already been to the kitchen earlier and informed us that he was a little uneasy about this particular guest and had instructed reception to immediately inform him when the lady and her husband arrived so that he could identify her by sight. This was not a one off gesture by the Boss because he liked to meet and greet all guests as they checked in where possible. The lady and her husband duly arrived and the Boss played his usually part and warmly welcomed them. Enquired if they had a pleasant journey etc and treated them to his traditional Christmas welcome that he gave to all his guests.

Besides being a genuine and a personal touch to meet and greet the guests on arrival it gave the Boss the opportunity to access the people he shook hands with and after leaving the lady and her husband to go to their room he issued several instructions to all departments. Trouble with a capital 'T' was his immediate response to the Head Chef and I when we asked about the lady in question. The boss was a shrewd judge of character and after 35 years of working in the catering industry and being a trouble shooter for a top nationwide hotel chain with international hotels he was more often right than he was wrong.

I took my cue and donned a clean apron and hat and went for a quick look round the buffet tables to check that there was plenty of food on display and at the same time do a quick check on the specials tables. Call it paranoia by all means but a buffet were guests move freely around with food on there plates, who then stop to greet each other and in doing so put a plate down on a nearby table whilst they shake hands is a recipe for cross contamination. Throw in a few guests who are not special needs and vegetarians/vegan's who see another table full of goodies and pile in the inevitable can happen. Good job we did not have anyone with a nut allergy. That would have been a nightmare. Although we did have that possibility reasonably covered.

In the lady's letter to the kitchen she pointed out that she did not eat animal or animal byproduce but went on to say that she ate fish, eggs, and cheese. This was what set the alarm bells ringing along with the bit about her past experiances with other hotels who ruined her Christmas because they did not know how to cook for her. Having received a mixed message from the lady had prompted the Head Chef and I to ensure all of her food was always double checked at all times to avoid mistakes. Over the top I know but when you are busy, tired and rush off you feet accidents can and will happen according to 'Sods Law' (often called something else but unprintable)

Bearing this in mind for her first meal at the hotel we went to extra lengths to ensure her stay got off to flying start and along with the cakes and sanwiches etc a special tray with sugars, teas, and soya milk was set up for her as was several other trays for the other specials in the hotel. At this point it might be worth pointing out that her husband was not a vegetarian. His wife definatly wore the trousers in their relationship and it soon became apparant before long that she did not like him eating meat in her company, smoking (was not so anti-social at the time), drinking and generally enjoying life if allowed too. There are no secrets in a hotel and if there are they do not last long and this gentleman was as henpecked as they come.

Their arrival in the lounge prompted a waitress to come and collect the tray alloted to them. The Restraunt Manager was walking on egg shells as he introduced himself and politely showed them the buffet table that they were to choose from. The manager left them to help themselves as the waitress delivered the pots of hot water, cups and saucers and their special tray of tea, sugars and milk to the table they had been alloted in the restraunt. The waitress who served them came to the kitchen later and told us how she had overheard the gentleman saying to his wife that he wanted to have a look at the other tables to see what was on offer and how his wife had quickly put the brakes on that idea. Plenty of laughs and giggles in the kitchen and one of the comis said "poor man" He said something else really but I can't tell you that for obviouse reasons.

Little did we know at the time but trouble was brewing. After availing themselves of 'their buffet' the lady began to pour out her tea and add milk & sugar. She took a sip of her tea and all hell broke loose. The combination of vegetarian tea & sugar combined with soya milk was not her 'cup of tea' and she sent the waitress back to the kitchen with the instructions "to get her some proper milk and get rid of this f*(7^%g c#%p!" So much for being a lady and from that point on it went from bad to worse.

To be continued...........

It's getting late so enjoy New Years Eve where ever you are and remember-

Confusious say "man who walk in bar New Years Day not feeling well, ask barman what good thing for hangover, get answer 'drink heavily the night before'


Remember drink aware - drink sensibbly IF YOU CAN'T THEN DRINK WATER JUST BEFORE YOU GO TO BED.

Is this man a Pratt?

This young man is indeed a Pratt. His name is David Pratt and he has just been given the honour of the fastest red card in actual play in football history. He was sent off after three seconds of play. I love my football and on occasions I have been known to get a little over enthusiastic on the field of play but this will take some beating as did some of the referees that are mentioned at the bottom of this post.

It reminds me of when I used to play for a local football team whilst I was still a Chef and a relatively fit young man. That is if you call a young man who once got dropped from the the team because I was drinking cans of beer whilst leaning against the post when my side was encamped in the opposition half. I had just been given the goalkeepers jersey after the other fair weather keeper had 'Tore a Stocking' in mid-week training. We were thrashing the opposition and the score was 5 nil after only about 25 minutes. I just happen to have a six pack in my goal keeping carrier bag that was on the floor in the back of the net. I popped open a can and started to enjoy the delights of a coldie. One thing lead to another and I opened another of the cans.

Meanwhile our team was still in the opposition half and I was still propped up against the left hand post when for some reason one of my side back passed to me from deep in the opponents half and one of the opposition was in hot pursuit of the ball. What happened next was a something you might see in a Laurel & Hardy film. I was just taking a slurp of my beer when I was shouted at and looked up in surprise to see the ball and the advancing player bearing down on my goal. I had the can in my right hand and was still leaning against the left hand post when I realised that the ball was travelling in the general direction of the right hand goal post and might just end up in the net if I did not do something about it.

A split second of panic was replaced with a burst of frantic action as I raced out to meet the oncoming player and the ball. With the beer can firmly gripped by my right hand as I did not want to spill my beer, I ran out to kick the oncoming ball up field. The ground in the goal was full of mud as was normal for that time of year and as I swung my right leg at the ball my standing left leg slipped on the mud and the ball shot under my foot and I went down in a heap with the opposition player. I landed on top of him and the ball got stuck in the mud about 6 feet from the goal line.

We both grappled with each other as we frantically tried to get up and reach the ball. Neck and neck we raced to the ball and he lunged forward with his foot at the same time as I dived headfirst through the mud. I just managed to get to the ball first and divert the ball out of play with my left hand via the base of the post. whilst at the same time both of us ending in the back of the net in a crumpled heap and covered in mud.

As I was getting up from the floor I noticed the manager on the sidelines throwing a wobbler and he started screaming all sorts at me. I thought that was a tad bit over the top as no harm was done and they did not score from the ensuing corner. The real good news was that I did not drop my can of beer although I did manage to get some mud inside the can. This I only found out later when the ball was cleared up field and the normal business of pummeling the opposition out of sight resumed. I had to drink the remains of the beer through gritted teeth but it was to be expected when your can is full of mud.

The game finished and it was a total massacre an we beat the opposition 12 nil. Later in the dressing room after a wonderful hot shower and a few more beers the manager came up to me and started having another go at me. He ranted and raved and then told me I was dropped from the team. There is no pleasing some folk is there. We have just ended a loosing streak, two badly needed points in the bag, a right walloping of the opposition, team spirits lifted and he wants to drop me. Some people take the local Saturday morning football league matches a bit too serious if you ask me. Just like another gentleman from a team that we used to play against. The gentleman in question was not a full shilling and also came from an area

"Where the men where men and the sheep were pregnant"

He unlike the gentleman above who has the dubious honour of being the fastest sending off in history was as far as I know possibly the only non-league player at the time to have a world wide life time ban from football handed to him by the footballing authority's. He was a little quick with his temper as well as his fists and had knocked out 2 referees and a few other players during matches. I always did wander why one or two of our players seem to develop a sore knee or a bad back just before we were due to play the team he played for.

He once got sent off whilst still serving a ban for a previous sending off. He came into our dressing room after the match and asked one of our younger players who he thought was their "Man Of The Match'. The words were out of the young boys mouth before we had time to act and he said it was the player that had been sent off in the match. It was true the lad that got sent of was their 'Man Of The Match' but the lad with the short temper and the the quick fists thought the young lad was 'Extracting The Urine' and started a punch up and soon the whole dressing room was involved.

Such was the joys of Non league football.

I do miss the fun and games.

Vegetarian from Hell pt1

I may of spoke to soon in my previous post about the snow. It has just started sleeting and perhaps it might start to stick. We will wait and see and in the mean time I will tell you about a Vegetarian from Hell.

Let me tell you from the start that I have nothing against vegetarians. In fact I rather enjoy some of the foods that they usually eat as they are full of flavour and many of the dishes are very tasty. I also understand their point of view about the killing of another animal for food and how it upsets them. I will never be a vegetarian but will avoid were ever possible foods that I know that have been intensively fed and inhumanely treated in order to provide supermarkets with cheap food that they make huge profits on by fleecing the (good/bad) producer and then selling to the customer at top prices.

Living in France and having free range chickens that provide us with fresh eggs daily means that from now on I will never buy battery hen eggs and the carefully worded equivalents that have been invented by the supermarkets and producers. You might know the ones that I mean. They are the ones in boxes with pictures of chickens walking about freely and have words like barn fed, and barn reared on the packaging to try and kid the public that the hens are well looked after and are 'free range'. They never actually say the words 'Free Range Chickens'. Those that do say something like 'free to range about' and really mean free to range about with 3-4000 other birds in an area fit for 3-400 and are never let out of the building/sheds that they live and sleep in.

Excuse me I digress from the reason for the post will get to the matter in hand

It was about 6 weeks before Christmas and a letter was delivered to the kitchen by one of the receptionists. It was marked FAO The Kitchen and as the Head Chef was off duty I opened it in my capacity as Sous Chef and started to read the contents. I read it and then reread it to check that my eyes were not deceiving me. It started out with the usual Dear Sir etc and the usual opening pleasantries and then started to get very interesting to say the least. It sort of went along the lines like this below.

Dear Sir,

My name is Blah blah Blah and I and my Husband have booked for your Christmas package at your hotel and will be staying with you for 5 Days etc etc. More Blah Blah and then this-

"I am a vegetarian and have stayed at several other hotels for the Christmas period in the past and they did not know how to cook for a vegetarian and ruined their stay."

(When I read that the hairs on the back of my neck started to stand out, alarm bells started ringing in my head and I felt an odd feeling in my stomach. I continued to read and came across this bit-

"I am a vegetarian and if you do not know what a vegetarian is I will tell you."

And she proceeded to tell me in great detail that she did not eat any animal produce and any animal by-produce. More Blah Blah blah and then the lady in question after telling me in precise detail on what she did not eat, went onto say once again in precise detail on what she did eat. She then hit me with the sucker punch to end all sucker punches and went on to say that-

"I eat fish, eggs, milk, and chicken" followed by more Blah Blah Blahs.

She ended the letter with more Blah Blah Blahs and asked that the kitchen be informed on her needs and hoped that the kitchen would understand and provide the necessary foods to ensure that she would not have another Christmas like she had experienced in the past at other hotels etc etc etc.

I know I am perhaps not the best educated man on the planet and did not go to University or Eton College but even I know with my limited experience of working in kitchens for over 10 years that 'fish, eggs, milk, and chicken' are all byproducts of an animal. The letter was mind blowing and once I had finished laughing and chuckling I got my act together and rang reception and asked them to contact The Boss and ask him to come to the kitchen when he had the time. He duly arrived a little latter and I showed him the letter. I can not describe to you the looks and frowns that shot across his face as he read and reread the letter.

After have another laugh with Boss and a short discussion on what to do, he said that I must show the letter to the Head Chef as soon as possible and nearer the time the guest is due to arrive I must arrange that we have a complete selection of totally vegetarian products for the lady in question and any other vegetarians that might be staying with us at the Christmas package. I duly showed the letter to the Head Chef on his return and after a good laugh he filed the letter in his Christmas menu & orders folder so that we would not forget.

Well I will end now and will tell you in the next post what happened when the lady arrived at the hotel. I have just popped outside and in the short space of time of writing this post it has started snowing big time and is going to stick. Just chased the chickens out of the front garden again. Over half an acre of land to free range around in and they want to be in the small front garden. Dooooh!

Bye for now

"I'm dreaming of a white in between Christmas and New Year" sung to the voice of Bing Crosby. Trust me you would not want to hear me sing it. The only time I sing in public is when the car engine can make make more noise than I can. (Loads of smily and winky emoticons)

No snow but very cold at our gite in Creuse.

We have had no more snow and Christmas was sadly not at white one here in Creuse. Can't win them all but the weather is certainly making up for it. The temperature has plummeted and although it has not snowed we have had hailstones. I have just had some fun and games with the animals when I went to let them out. Our top male rabbit who is called Buck would you believe had escaped and it took 10 minutes and several trips round the male rabbit enclosure before he was tempted back in with a huge curly cabbage leaf.

Job done and just about to congratulate myself when I noticed that one of the other males had escaped whilst I was chasing Buck. He did not put up much resistance and was easily captured. On to the chickens to let them out and try and catch a couple of mad chickens that have been out all night. The chickens must have a death wish as they keep escaping in the late afternoons. There are too many Monsieur Reynard's (Foxes) in the area to make that a wise idea. I chase them back in and they escape again dooooh. They love getting in to the front garden and after several times round the garden via the caravan or the bushes I frequently give up.

Because the weather is so cold at the moment it is perfect for making tasty winter soups for lunch time and having noticed that we have a lot of onions knocking around I have decided to make a French Onion soup. Not one of those wishy washy ones that you sometimes get but one that is virtually all onion and only a little juice to complement it.

The recipe if you can call it a recipe is very simple. Take at least 10 medium onions / 6 or 7 if large. (red onions can also be used) Peel and remove the core of the onions and slice. Place in a suitable sized container a soak in red wine for at least 1 hour. (The red wine can be drained off afterwards and used in the stock.) Add a bay leaf and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce if you have some to the onions and red wine.




The stock for the soup can be made from any stock cubes you have to hand but a beef one would be better. To your stock add 2/3 bay leaves, a little sage, a twig of fresh rosemary if you have some in the garden and a hint of chili powder & paprika to give it a little bit of a bite. A pinch of garlic powder( fresh or paste) can also be added to the stock along with a good dollop of red wine (use the wine from the soaking onions). Use up any bits and bobs of red wine that you might have left over or white wine if that is all you have. Place the stock pan on the stove and bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to simmer. If you have the time we ideally want the stock to reduce down by at least half to give the soup plenty of body.

With the onions soaking and the stock reducing it is time to look for the other ingredients that will make this soup stand out from the normal run of the mill onion soups in my opinion. The price of food being what it is these days means that most people can not afford to waste food and go out and buy items of food that do not have a dual role. Cheese is one of them and also what we need to finish off the soup with. Take what ever cheese you like or have left over and grate. If you have it add some Parmesan cheese and mix with grated bread. A bit fiddly and a danger to the finger tips but any bread that you have that is not as fresh as you would like will do. Dried breadcrumbs are a good substitute.

We will also need some more bread and this can be unsliced or sliced. An Unsliced loaf, cob or a fat french stick would be better but sliced bread can be used. Due to the way Artisans make fresh bread in France it does not have any shelf life and so we always have bread left over that is excellent for grating and toasting. Nothing gets wasted and any left over gets fed to the chickens and geese. Time to drain the onions and add the wine to your stock. Put a little butter & oil/olive and garlic to taste in a deep sided pan and when hot add your onions. Stir with a wooden spoon until nicely sweatted and leave to cook down on a low light. Your stock should have reduced down by half now and after being sieved can be added to the onions. Do not add to much stock. Add enough to cover the onions plus 1 pint of extra stock. A slug of Brandy/Port/Madeira is optional. Then return to the heat and reduce down further. Any extra stock can be saved for another day.

You should end up with a fairly thick onion soup. For serving the soup a high sided soup bowl is ideal but the traditional flatter soup bowl will be OK. If using a high side bowl ladle the soup into the bowl 3/4 full. Slice, cut or carve a thick chunk of bread and place on the top of the soup so it seals in the soup and is more or less level with the top of the bowl. Cover the chunk of bread with your grated cheese mix and sprinkle with paprika and herbs of your choice. Place the bowl/s of soup on an flat baking tray and bake in the oven or glaze under the grill. When then topping is golden brown serve with extra bread/garlic bread for a virtual meal in it self.



If you only have shallow bowls for the soup slice, cut, or carve a thick chunk of bread, coat with cheese mix and glaze under the grill. When the topping is all brown and golden fill your bowl with soup and float your chunk of bread on top of your soup and serve as above. The good thing about this soup is that if you leave it to go cold and re-heat it the next day it increases the flavour. Sort of like a meat stew or casserole where they always seem to taste better when cooked for a second time.

Just of late I have been using and eating a lot of vegetables. The way the price of meat in France is going might force any one to turn vegetarian. Not that there is anything wrong with being a vegetarian. In fact there are many tasty and delicious recipes for food that does not include meat. In my work as a chef I have had the pleasure to cater for all manner of vegetarians and their tastes but on a few occasions I have had deal with the 'Vegetarian from Hell'. There was this lady who........I will tell you all about her in another post.

Keep warm and bye for now.

P.S. Don't forget

Don't forget to leave a carrot for Rudolph

a glass of Brandy for Father Christmas.

Have you ever wandered why Santa only comes once a year.

Well can you imagine the hang over he must have after eating a mince pie and drinking a glass of Brandy in every house that leaves them out for him.....Hic

Bye

Merry Christmas

Twas Christmas Eve in the 'Work House'

Or in the kitchen as it was more commonly known as at the hotel I was working in.

Mulled wine with a Twist....hic

Like many chefs and waiters & waitresses at this time of year my colleagues and I were in the middle of a very long shift that in my case started with preparing breakfast for over 150 guests on Christmas Eve morning. We took in turns to be the duty breakfast chef and this meant starting work at 6 a.m. I am quite lucky in some ways because I am the type of person who can get up early and after only a few minutes and a strong cup of coffee be full of life. Some staff I have worked with take hours to be up to full speed and they are as grumpy as 'bear with a sore head'. Throw in a hang over as many staff in our hotel often had and you have a recipe for fun and games. Perhaps their hang over was the reason for being like a 'bear with a sore head'

By the time you get to service time for breakfast you have had a couple of hours of hard work to get your blood flowing and clear up any hang over that you may have had when work first started. There are not many advantages for doing the early shift but one of them is if you have a "Mal de Tete" you can suffer in relative peace and quite and work off some of the inevitable side affects. So when the late starters roll in for work I am often full of mischief by then and like most people I can spot some one suffering from the after effects of to much beer from the night before dead easy.

The dour looks on their face, the slow movements with head down, the face the colour of pea soup and wincing slightly as they mumble quietly to my over cheerful and at the top of my voice "Good Morning" are often good indicators of a hang over and the one that really nails it is when they get the full whiff of cooking bacon and sausages they immediately rush their hand to their mouth in a vain attempt to prevent what's known in the trade as a "multi coloured five fingered yawn" as they dash for the toilet. Time for a bit of kitchen music to help them on their way and a suitable sized pan and lid or large ladle being banged together usually does the trick.

Fairly soon things would begin to liven up and a busy day of constant cooking and serving of food lies ahead for most of the staff and many are very lucky if they get a couple of hours off. The only staff in a hotel at Christmas that follow their normal work routine are the receptionists, hall porters and the "Management". Booo Hisss and a few other unprintable comments. I say that as a laugh because like all places I have worked in there are good and bad management and the complete and utter "@;'!&" that was our Food & Beverages manager.(referred to F&B for short from now on) He was the most miserable "B" that you could imagine and no body had a good word for him. Even his boss did not like his methods.

I should point out at this time that the boss was a good egg and although he wanted his "Pound of Flesh" he was fair and would always buy drinks for the kitchen and restaurant when it was busy and was prepared to get his hands dirty to get the job done. I have watched him take off his dinner jacket in service and wash pots to help the KP's catch up and then put his jacket back on and serve in the restaurant. Then clean up and go and talk with guests. An excellent manager in my books.

The hotel I was working at like many in the area offered a Christmas Package and basically the guests would arrive sometime in the day on Christmas Eve and begin a 3/4 day orgy of food and drink from breakfast time to bed time and beyond. This intern meant the restaurant and the kitchen were working all day non stop everyday. Just giving you some background information to set the scene.

In the immortal words of Frankie Howard

"And so it came to pass"

As the day wore on the guests started arriving in droves for the first of many feasting sessions which always started with a 'Grand Afternoon Tea' Meanwhile many of the kitchen and restaurant staff are still working and preparing for the evening Gala meal and have had no break. Along comes Mr F&B misery guts and starts giving some poor sod a rollicking in front of all the staff for something pretty trivial. I can't recall the exact details but it did involve word like "if you don't buck up you will get the sack etc" Like I said earlier he was a right "B" and many off us were looking forward to the day when he would drop a clanger and be in danger of loosing his job.

The kitchen Gods were smiling on us that day and some of our prayers for his demise were partially answered quicker than we thought. Meanwhile the final preparations for dinner were carrying on and staff took it in turns to go and have a quick wash and clean up ready for service. I was still in the kitchen along with the Head Chef (Hong Kong Fooie) He loved Judo/Taekwondo stuff and was always practising on the chefs. He was from Yarrrkshire as his wife used to say and he was a complete nutter. Part of the Christmas Eve events involved making a "Mulled Wine" that was served with warm mince pies and roasted chestnuts to the guests on their return from Midnight Mass. He and I were overseeing the making of the Mulled wine.

Tradition was we always started making the mix in the late afternoon when the kitchen was at it quietest and there was room on the solid tops for the huge pan that we used. As I mentioned before in a previous post the Mulled wine was a good way to use up all the crap wine and unsold Beaujolais. It was also a way for the F&B manager to get a full allowance for entertaining the guests and at the same time clear out any wine that would never be sold.

We started gathering all the ingredients that the kitchen would supply and rang for the duty F&B to come to the kitchen and supply us with the booze we required. We were in luck and the assistant F&B manager was on duty at the time. He was an OK guy but a little green behind the ears. It was his first position as a F&B manager and was eager to please. As he found out to his cost later he was a little to eager to please and fell for our cunning plan. We told him that as we were making a batch to supply over 150 people we would need plenty of red wine, any odd bottles of white wine laying about and 2 bottles of brandy (cooking quality) 2 bottles of whiskey, a bottle of gin, a bottle of vodka, a bottle of Madeira (cooking quality) a bottle of dark rum and a bottle of port.

We were only having a laugh with the F&B assistant and were stunned when he later turned up with a porters trolley full of booze. Not only had he gave us all that we asked for on our so called list he gave us best quality brandy and dark rum. It took all our inner strength to not bust out laughing and give the game away. After the F&B had left I jokingly said to the Chef "I should of asked for a crate of beer" but he said that that would have give the game away for sure. We proceeded make huge batch of Mulled Wine and at the same time sample some of the better quality ingredients. Needless to say that did not involve the red or white wine.

One bottle of brandy, 1 whiskey and the bottle of port disappeared into the Chefs kitchen drinks cabinet strait away and I was told it was for Ron ....later on. I do believe that some of the whisky, rum, vodka and gin actually made it into the pan but from what I can remember it was not much. Meanwhile there was this massive pan on the solid top stove and during the next 3 hours suffered from sever reduction as it was sampled by all the kitchen staff and a few of the restaurant staff. It reduced down by so much we had to call the F&B assistant again for more red wine.

Amazingly dinner was served without any problems and there was just about enough Mulled Wine left for the guest when they came back from Midnight Mass. The Boss had rumbled us earlier but after a quick word with the Chef in his office he was satisfied that we would more than make up for our inappropriate actions with loads of extra hard work throughout the Christmas period. The Boss was a good mates with the Chef and as he left the Chefs office laughing he said "That will teach the F&B manager a lesson he will not forget" and we later found out that the Boss had given the F&B manager a right royal roasting and threatened him with the sack if he did not buck up.

Apparently the Boss had heard about the rollicking he had given to the member of staff earlier on in the day and he thought it was not warranted. As the saying goes "what goes around comes around" and we had a good laugh at his expense. Twice as turns out as he had to make up the discrepancies in his alcohol stocks.

Strangely enough the F&B manager got into a bit of Hot Water on another occasion involving some immensely wealthy Arabs and the kitchen drinks cupboard but I will tell you that storey on another time perhaps.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope Santa delivers all your dreams.

A special Merry Christmas to Goooooood Girl

and especially to all the boys and girls who will be working all and day and every day in the kitchens and restaurants over the festive period.

Bye for now and time for a little drinkie poos.

Christmas tips pt 6

I don't know what it is like where you are but this morning when I woke up it was freeeeezing cold and a pair of track suit bottoms that I hand washed yesterday were frozen solid on the washing line. I could literally hold them upright in my hand. Sadly looks like no snow for a white Christmas here at our Gite in Creuse, Limousin. Central France but you might be lucky or unlucky depending on how badly it snows. We did have snow for 5 days last week but that has now all gone. Thankfully it was not as bad as when we first moved into our house. On our self catering Gite Blog you can read all about what happened to us a few winters ago.

The frost has lifted now and there is not a cloud in the sky and it is a typical sunny winters day where the temperature does not get up to high despite being bright and sunny. I call it "watery sunshine" and I know that tonight there will be a gorgeous bright orange sunset followed by the early evening stars dotting the fading light. Later on the skies will be full of stars and it will be a very cold night. As it is Christmas Eve and the likely hood of being a cold night I think I will make a batch of Mulled Wine.

Mulled wine is easy to make and warms the 'cockles of your heart. It also uses up all the bottles of red/white wine that you might have left over from parties or from people who have come to dinner and brought along a bottle for the meal and somehow you never got round to drinking it. Wine that would rip the back of your throat out or strip paint if drunk on it's own can be very palatable served warm with the addition of a few simple ingredients.

Once again there is no recipe for this Mulled Wine as it is meant to be a way of using up anything that comes to hand. By all means follow a recipe but after making so many of these mixes I don't bother.

Cut two lemons and oranges in half and squeeze out the juices. You can put it in the mix or keep for all those little cooking jobs that require lemon/orange juice. Stud the orange & lemon halves with cloves if you have got them. Using a suitable sized pan (to hold the gallons of unused wine ) put honey, orange/lemon juice, brown/white sugar and the wine into the pan. Add the studded lemon & orange halves into the mix and stir. Grate nutmeg and add a Cinnamon stick or if you do not have a stick use powdered Cinnamon. That's the basics of the mix but you can add what you like to give the wine a bit of a kick. Cheap cooking brandy or at a push a whiskey will certainly give the mix a lift and get your guests in the festive spirits quite literally.

Put the pan on a medium low light and do not boil. Let the mix simmer gently for at least 60-90 minutes to allow it to reduce by a third to give it plenty of body. When ready pass through a fine sieve and put into a smaller pan to keep warm and reduce further. It is perfect for greeting your guests and warming them up when they step in from the cold. Serving the mulled wine with roasted chestnuts was a very traditional thing to do in a bygone era where they went to church on Christmas Eve for a late service and gathered at a Friends house to see in the Christmas.

Roasted chestnuts is another simple and easy thing to prepare. Your local shop or supermarket will have them. In our case we are very lucky and can gather them from our own small Chestnut tree and trees nearby. We also have a huge Walnut tree at our gite that provides us with plenty of walnuts for Chritmas. About a 3/4 weeks ago I went and gathered a huge box full of Chestnuts and will be serving them whole roasted with my Mulled Wine and any left over will be peeled for my home made sage & onion stuffing and or served with our sprouts. To prepare for roasting cut a cross in the top and bottom of the chestnuts and pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes on a medium heat (keep an eye on them) and when ready serve warm with your Mulled Wine.

Christmas tips pt 5

There coming thick and fast now.

Some of the recurring themes throughout the tips I have posted are all about being quick and easy to serve, different ideas, good kitchen time management and at the same time reducing the wastage and just doing thing differently. Here are some more quickies for you.

If serving bread sauce with the roast turkey/goose why not make your own if you have a blender. Remove the crusts of sliced bread (unsliced and does not have to be fresh) Dice into rough cubes. Bring some milk slowly to the boil with bay leaf and half a onion studded with cloves in it.
Add the cubes of bread to the milk and simmer for 10 minutes, put the mix in the blender, and finish with grated nut meg and fresh milled black pepper. Simple and easy. Uses up old bread, less E numbers from the packet mix and the pleasure of making your own. There is no exact quantities for the recipe just use what you think is enough for your numbers.

Sage and onion stuffing is traditional with roast turkey etc and although packet mix is easy you can make it yourself without too much effort. Peel and finely dice some onion, sweat the onions in fresh or dried sage.
Having grated breadcrumbs before hand add to the onions. Add enough chicken stock to cover the mix, stir in and cook till the liquid has been soaked up. I like to add chopped chestnuts and pieces of orange/satsuma/clementines/apricots at this point and finish off with seasoning. Finish and serve or place in a dish and bake for a crispy top.



Roast potatoes I have mentioned in Christmas hints pt3 but here is another quick and tasty idea. Prepare and roast as you prefer and use sea salt and fresh/dried rosemary to add extra flavour. Sage is another way of spicing up your potatoes instead of the rosemary.

Boiled potatoes skin on or skin off can be infused with fresh mint. Tie the fresh mint in a bundle for easy removal after cooking. Don't throw the water away after cooking. Use the flavoured potato water as a stock base for any soups you might make with the left over vegetables. Any left over cooked potatoes can be sliced and sauteed in butter and chopped parsley and served with cold ham or cold cuts on Boxing Day or served with a hearty Christmas breakfast. They can also be used up in the traditional potato salad for the buffet.

A little tip for you. Sometimes the potatoes slightly over cook and start to fall apart. If that happens then use the fallen potatoes as an alternative to the potato salad mix. Remove and drain any excess liquid, add chopped chives or chopped parsley, a little cream and seasoning and mix with some sweated onions and serve cold in a bowl on the buffet.

If you are up for a little extra work take the mix described above for the fallen potatoes and shape in to small cylinder shapes, roll in seasoned flour, dip in egg wash and coat in fresh/dried breadcrumbs to make home made croquette potatoes. Pan fry of shallow/deep fry in hot oil until golden. Goes well with fish dishes and I am sure the kids will like them as well. (most likely coated in lashings of tomato ketchup)

I seem to be mentioning using bread in some of the tips above but for me the best way to use up old bread is to make a Bread & Butter pudding, serve with a brandy snap basket filled with brown bread flavoured Ice-cream and set on a pool of raspberry coulis and or a cold vanilla sauce (custard if you like) hhmmmmm...Delicious. We used to serve it in the restaurant for Sunday lunches and the Head Chef loved it. You did hear me right when I said brown bread Ice-cream. We used to make all our own Ice-creams and brandy snap baskets. You won't believe how easy they are to make but perhaps I will tell you another time.

Christmas Tips pt4

Christmas is almost upon us and any last minute shopping for presents, food & drink for the festivities will be a frantic head long dash from one shop to another to get the last of the items that you have planned for Christmas. Presents for the kids, toiletries for the Aunts and Uncles etc and a whole host of unplanned goodies that catch your eye when shopping because they are a fantastic bargain.




If your still looking for any last minute vegetable ideas for Christmas lunch why not think about buying some red cabbage. Red cabbage besides being very colourful to the eye is seasonal and reasonably cheap compared to other vegetables at this time of year. If you just boil it and add seasoning and serve to your guests it might be a bit of let down. So here is a little tip for you on a nice way to serve the cabbage.

Prepare and slice as you would for white cabbage. Place in a suitable container/pan and soak in orange juice for a least a couple of hours before cooking.
When it comes to cooking drain the cabbage and put the juice to one side. Melt some butter in a pan and add brown sugar (dark if you have it) Add a little red wine vinegar if you have it (white/malt vinegar will do) and allow the mix to infuse together for 5 minutes.

When the mix is nice and hot add your red cabbage and sweat the cabbage for about 5-10 minutes (turn the cabbage as you go) After sweating the cabbage add the orange juice you drained earlier. Cook until still crisp to bite and add raisins or sultanas. You can add walnuts for a crunchy taste and or cooked cranberries (cranberry jelly/sauce) to the mix for a really sweet taste. Season with salt and fresh crushed pepper finish cooking and serve. A little red wine could be added to the orange juice when soaking the cabbage before cooking as an alternative.

When the meal is finished and if you have any red cabbage left over(not to overcooked) then allow to cool. Slice some onions and mix with the cabbage, place in suitable sized container or jar with lid and fill with malt vinegar. You can add gherkins if you have got them and leave to soak. The quasi pickled cabbage mix can then be served with any savoury foods you might have prepared for the buffet on Boxing Day.

Nothing should be wasted at Christmas and this way you have a different option for the veg, the red cabbage goes well with roast Turkey or Goose and you have a pickled accompaniment to go with the inevitable cold buffet that we all do to use up the masses of turkey/goose that is left over.

Still looking for another green vegetable for the meal. Try Mange Tout ( eat all as the french would say) Perhaps a little expensive but quick and easy to use. Shops looking to clear their shelves might be selling of cheaply and you might get a good price on them. Mange Tout is very colourful, no waste and most important of all very economical on time during service. Pan fry in melted butter, lemon juice and fresh cracked black pepper and serve in under 5 minutes. It can be the last job you do before you sit down.

Another alternative would be to finely slice the Mange Tout before hand, with a hot saute pan reduce some double cream/whipping cream down with a little lemon juice, add a hint of horseradish sauce or Dijon seed mustard, add the sliced Mange Tout, cook for 1 minute at the most, season with paprika/or hint of chili powder and fresh milled black pepper and serve.

Bye for now and more on the way.

Internet Security and Christmas

Internet security is not the first thing on most peoples minds when it comes to Christmas and New Year. For most people there are many things that are important to them during the festive period and providing for family and Friends comes way above Internet security and I am willing to bet that at least 80% of the public don't even give it a thought.

A few years back I would be one of the 80% I was talking about above but a bad experience with computer security that corrupted my hard drive and in doing so destroyed all my data on our booking details for our Self Catering Gite in Creuse France. (I apologise profusely for that outrageous plug for our self catering Gite ) but it did happen and we lost a lot of details and it took a lot of time and money to fix the the problem and get the web site back up and running.

It has made me realise that no matter what time of the year it is the villains do not stop because of the holidays or festive period. In fact I personally believe that the villains look forward to Christmas time etc because they can make more money because many folks let their defenses down and are concentrating on other matters.

The advent of on-line shopping has created a whole new industry in shopping and year after year more and more people are using their computers to buy on-line. To buy their purchases they are putting their trust and faith in the companies that are selling on-line and the equipment that is used to enable on-line shopping. That means using our computers, the sellers computers, the banking and credit card systems computers and software from a well known operating system along with lesser other smaller operating systems to facilitate the process. This makes for a big operating procedure that is full of security issues and loopholes that the bad boys can easily infiltrate and make big bucks and easy cash.

No system is fool proof and that well known software house I mentioned a few minutes ago has just had to rush out another security patch in their on-line browser. They are constantly having to do this to catch up because P.C. security is all about 'Catch Up'. Don't get me wrong it is not just them that have these problems as all the other software houses are in the same boat. It's because they are the biggest that they the most attacks to their system. As the saying goes " The Bigger You are The Harder You Fall". If the software that runs our computers is constantly under attack then the software that deals with our credit cards and bank debit cards we use to buy on-line also must be under constant attack and easily breached.

As I pointed out above no system is fool proof but you can make your end of the chain as safe as you can. A few simple rules and procedures will go along way to help keeping your on-line security and financial records away from the preying eyes of the villains.

For more free and paid software why not visit my site for information on where to download the software from.

For security on your P.C. the absolute minimum you should be running is :-

A firewall See here for ZoneAlarm. Free and paid versions available. Trial period on the free download version available for the paid version ZoneAlarm pro. This is just one example of a firewall. There are plenty of other firewalls you can choose from that are free and paid for.

1 anti-virus software (do not run more than 1. Can cause conflicts and false reports)

1 anti-spyware programme

Another excellent piece of software and is free to download. A one off fee if you so wish will buy you the rights to automatic updates and some extra functions for life. This was one of the programs I used to remove a very annoying piece of spyware called XP 2008/2009. Basically a fake anti-spyware company that infects your P.C. and forces you to download their software to remove problems they put on your computer in the first place. The spyware all but disables your P.C. and allows you to connect only with their server is one way it attacks you. There are others.

1 spyware blocker that blocks out software and sites from running in the first place.

Try Spywareblaster (free) www.javacoolsoftware.com/index.html

Once again another excellent piece of software and is free. They would like a donation to help pay bills but that's entirly up to you.

A highly recommended piece of software is Malwarebytes' Anti-malware. The link takes you strait to the checkout where you can buy the full version. It is a one time fee for activation. There is also a free version.


Keep your operating software up to date and make sure you are running the latest Java software. Keep your machine free of any excess temp files and unnecessary clutter. CCleaner is an excellent and recommended piece of software and is also free. Like most software that I recommend you can upgrade if you like but you do not have to do so I you do not.





You can add extra layers of defense with other speciality software dedicated to dealing with specific threats. For example an anti-Trojan software for dealing with Trojans only. Having gone to all the trouble of protecting your computer don't forget to keep your software up to date. Out of date software will not deal with the latest threats no matter how good the product is or costs. Any one who tells you other wise is in my opinion is trying to pull a fast one. The latest updates only deal with the latest threats as they materialise and are in a constant game of catch up.

Having made your machine as secure as possible for purchasing on-line don't let your guard down by forgetting the basic rules of on-line shopping. Even by following common sense basic rules when it comes to on-line transactions will not protect you fully but you can reduce the threat to the absolute minimum. It is easy to forget but the villains these days don't wear blue and white horizontal T shirts, wear a black mask and walk round with a bag on their back with SWAG marked on it. They quite often wear designer clothes, flash suites and are rolling in other peoples cash.

Even big high street names that you think you can trust are out to make money and they also make money out of you when and if it goes wrong. So when you buy on-line:-

Choose reputable companies( Yes I know ....how do you know they are reputable...they are all reputable until it goes wrong)

Where possible always pay with a credit card as you do have more rights of comeback than paying with a debit card. Paying with a debit card means the money is paid to the business right away and if a problem develops you can't stop payment. With a credit card you can stop a payment with the credit card issuers say so.

When you make a purchase write down any reference numbers that you might see on the screen.

Make a note of the time, date and any other relevant details that might come in handy later.

Make a note of the costs and the shipping charges to marry up with your credit card or bank debit statements. Write down the full costs that you are shown on the screen-sometimes the final tally is slightly different to the price advertised for tax reasons, credit card handling charges, etc.

If you can try and highlight the order pages and copy the details to a word processor programme/ or if you can and have the right software take a screen snap of the details.

When it comes to buying on-line sometimes pure common sense will prevent you from having any problems and also by buying items that are readily recognizable as a product. What I mean by that is for example is if your buying the latest phone, game, electrical product etc from a recognisable retailer you have an idea what you are getting but if you are buying into something like information or property development clubs/timeshares or investment opportunities you have nothing to go on other than what someone has put in a web site. Handing over your credit card / bank card details over the Internet is fraught with danger at the best of times but handing the details to an unknown proposition is almost asking for trouble.

In the meantime I hope all your on-line purchases are all honky dory and you have a trouble free experience.

Shopping on-line with Amazon.co.uk is a perfect example of being able to shop on-line with the knowledge that you are dealing with a safe, secure and reputable company. Another blatant plug but at least you do have a choice. You either do or you don't buy something from Amazon. Pure and simple.

Bon Chance

Until next time.

More Christmas tips pt 3

The traditional potato dish to have with your Roast Turkey and trimmings is roast potatoes. I personally love roasted potatoes and think they should be served with all roasted meats. Preparing and cooking the festive meal for the whole family can be a stressful time for the person who has got the job of ensuring the meal is cooked to perfection and served on time. Hopefully I might be able to provide you with some ideas on cooking and preparation.

Last Christmas my family and I had the chance to try Roast Goose for Christmas dinner instead of traditional turkey. It was not one of our geese and we purchased a free range bird from a local French farmers wife. Spot, Tickle, & Campbell are our pet geese and there is no way that I was going to eat any of them. I have not the heart or the inclination to dine on them even though the price of free range geese is extortionate. One of the by-products of having goose on the menu is you get a lot of fat of the bird when you roast it.

In times gone bye the locals would rub the solidified fat on their bodies to keep warm in winter but the advent of thermals and central heating systems have put an end to that. The fat from the goose is excellent for roasting potatoes in and the flavour it adds is very tasty. The good news is that you can buy goose fat in packets and in some case in jars and if you can find a supplier I recommend that you try using goose fat this Christmas.

Having decided what you are going to roast the Potato's in you might want to consider this little tip for assisting you with roasting the potatoes and some help with oven management if the demands on your oven outweigh the space. The frequently do and even in a big kitchen we always seem to be struggling for oven space as service time approached. Our wood burning stove at our self catering gite certainly benefited from this method as it was a God send when it came to cooking time.

Put your peeled and prepared potatoes into a pan of hot seasoned water and par cook the potatoes so that they are still firm and not falling at the edges. Drain thoroughly and if not cooking immediately allow to cool. This method allow you extra space in the oven at at a time when demand is at it's peak and when it comes to cooking the potatoes it also makes for faster cooking time.

If goose fat is not an option then normal oil or olive oil will be fine for roasting your spuds in. Unless of course you want to try something a little different with your potatoes. Peel and prepare your potatoes as normal and place in a deep sided roasting tray. Make up a beef stock or use a stock cube and fill the roasting tray until half way up the sides of the potatoes. Brush the tops of the spuds with melted butter and add salt and pepper to your taste. Place in a hot oven for cooking and every so often brush a little more melted butter on top of the potatoes. You should end up with the tops of the potatoes all brown,golden and crispy and the bottom of the spuds will be soft and full of the juices of the beef stock.

For presentation you can with a small Sharpe knife carve the potatoes into barrel shapes before cooking. It takes a little bit more time to prepare your potatoes and you do have lots of potato trimmings left over but the results are worth the effort and the off cuts can be boiled up for making mash or as a base for a soup. You could go the extra mile and if you have a melon scooper/baller to hand, scoop out balls of potatoes, blanch in hot seasoned water and drained thoroughly. Pan fry in a little butter and olive oil until cooked and golden. Add herbs and seasoning to your taste.

This will definitely produce a wow factor on the table but also lots of Gouder cheese style potatoes. Simply cut up and make into a mash or use as a soup base. If you do make a mash of the left over potato and you have a piping bag and a star nozzle you could pipe the mix into potato towers, brush with melted butter, place on a greased baking tray and brown under the grill or in the oven. Another variation would be to pipe potato towers and using a wooden spoon handle indent the top of the tower and fill with a little grated cheese and cream or tomato concasse.

Just a few little ideas for serving your potatoes this Christmas and what ever you decide to do I hope it all goes well.

Good luck.
and
Happy cooking.

More Christmas Tips pt 2

Carrot serving suggestions.

Almost all will be having carrots on the menu at some time this Christmas. Carrots are a traditional and colourful root vegetable that goes with just about any main course and is easy to prepare. Almost a pre-requisite and once prepared can be ticked off the preparation list. Most people will probably peel, slice and cook in water seasoned with butter, salt and pepper.

Perhaps you might want to experiment with carrots this year. As all ways time, space and budget is a consideration and so some thing a simple as carrots can easy be overlooked. A simple but easy way to spruce up the carrots without creating to much work would be to add some brown sugar, honey. butter and orange juice to the carrots whilst cooking. This will enhance the natural sweetness of the carrot and if you only put just enough water to cover the carrots and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper the cooking liquor will reduce down and form tasty glaze on the carrots. (be careful not to reduce the liquid to far as the carrots might burn)

Sliced carrots are quick and easy but if you have a decent canelle ( a small tool for peeling zesting channeling and cutting grooves in citrus fruits etc) you can score the carrots and produce pretty looking flower shaped slices. This one pictured here is also a zester and rather expensive but you can get one a lot cheaper. Some tools for grooving are in line with the handle and some are at a right angle to the handle. If the groover is at a right angle you do not have to cut the carrots into sections but if the groover is in line with the handle you will probably have to cut the carrots into 2/3 inch lengths to make it easier.

Remove equal width grooves all around the carrot and slice. You should have flower shaped slices. The carrot that has been removed can used for decorating other dishes that you are preparing or added to the mix for a vegetable soup etc.

If you do not have a canelle then why not try battening the carrots for extra style. Peel the carrots and cut into 2/3 inch lengths. With a decent knife cut away the excess rounded part of the carrot to form a square shaped rectangle. Slice lengthwise in equal sections and then slice into equal sections again to produce stick shaped lengths of carrot. Cooking can be as above or as you like to cook your carrots. Once again the excess carrots can be used as rough shaped batons or cut up and put into the soup base. Nothing has to be wasted and if the carrots are very clean and have a good looking skin on them then don't bother peeling them. If necessary wash and scrub with a fresh green scourer to maximise flavour from the carrot.

Another option would be to chop swede and carrots into chunks (ratio 2 Carrots : 1 swede) and over cook them, add butter, chopped parsley or other soft fresh herbs, grated nutmeg and mash the mix to form a carrot/swede puree. Serve as is or place in a suitable serving dish, brush with a little melted butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs (fresh/dried or mixed) and glaze under the grill or bake in the oven. If you like you can add a little Parmesan cheese or any other grated cheese that you have to hand. If swede is not to your taste then just use carrots on their own. The best part about cooking your carrots like this is you can pre prep the mix, place the mix in the appropriate dish and put it in the oven when nearing service time. The pan work can be cleared away, It's one less item on the stove top, and serves straight to the table from the oven.

Another way for preparing carrots would be to roast them whole like you would roast potatoes or roast them with other root vegetable such as parsnips, swede, turnips and sweet potatoes or yams. This method can be done at the same time as you are roasting the potatoes to save on oven space. If you decide to roast them separate from the potatoes then add a little fresh rosemary, sea salt and balsamic vinegar in with the oil/olive oil or goose fat for a very tasty flavour.

I used to be a full time Chef and I know what it is like to prepare Christmas food for loads of hungry and demanding customers and preparing food for your family and friends can be just as challenging. Just changing a few ways that you prepare you food can have fantastic results and at the same time not be over challenging, time consuming and very costly. Hopefully these hints and tip will have given you 'A little food for thought' and allow you a bit more time to enjoy the festivities.

Bye until next time.

For a selection of books on cooking and recipes for Christmas and gifts for friends and family why not try the Gite book store below or if you are looking for more blogs on French life see here-
www.french-gite-creuse.co.uk