And the winner is..!

Well, we were all 'stuffed' over the weekend and what a fabulous gourmet feast we had. My kids loved all the different stuffings. It has been one of the hardest things I had to decide on, but there can only be one winner. 

We all have to say that Meeta’s wonderful recipe was quite delightful and whilst we will, if it’s ok with you Meeta, use this recipe again and again, we felt it was just a bit too much extra effort with all the things going on the big day. So it’s a runner's up prize for Meeta! Well done!

But the winner, with what we all thought was the perfect combination of sweetness from the fruit and the right balance of herbs and seasoning was... Jacky Carter! Congratulations and well done. The winner’s goody box will be on its way to you soon.

Thank you, once again to everyone else for all your contributions, I really appreciate your time and efforts and I hope we can share more tips like these in the future. I hope your Christmas lunch preparations go well, I know mine will!!

Simon X

Wow, what a fantastic response!

Thank you so much for all your absolutely delicious recipes. With over a dozen I was somewhat overwhelmed and hadn’t expected as many. I know I said I would cook up the top three, but I simply couldn’t narrow it down that far so I cooked three last Sunday, as we had someone for Sunday lunch, and I will do three more this weekend. 

Just to keep the tension going I thought I’d list the top six that are in the running!

E. Winter: A very traditional recipe but with the addition of the five spice powder, I was intrigued and had to try this one!

Kirsten Chambers: Seems to me that you have to include a classic sage and onion and this one seemed easy and looked delicious.

Jane Duff: I love the idea of a bit of bacon in the stuffing and a hint of lemon juice made this one seem simple but yummy!

Jacky Carter: The addition of cranberries and apricots with all the lovely herbs made this one seem a really beauty, I can’t wait to try this!

Katherine: Wild rice stuffing, very exotic and quite a lovely mixture, it had to make the short list.

Meeta: This had to be one of the most flamboyant of the recipes but bound to cause a real wow at the table. It sounds a bit trickier but well worth the effort.

Well, that’s my short list and my family have already been spoiled with some and will be spoilt again soon. The winner will be posted on Monday and I’ll try to get the prize box out to the winner on Weds.
The only drawback to all of this is my tummy is growing fast, ah well it’s Christmas!

Simon X

'Get stuffed' Christmas competition

I’m getting ready for Christmas early this year and as I'm the designated cook for occasions like this in the Biagi household, I do have a bit of a repertoire to satisfy the appetites of a demanding audience. But there is always one part of my Christmas lunch that has left us all a bit underwhelmed… my stuffing!

I've already ordered my festive box of meats from Exmoor Style foods and this comes with a rolled turkey breast joint, chipolatas, streaky bacon and sausage meat stuffing (not to mention a pork roast and a beef roast), but I need some help with how to make the most of my basic ingredient of sausage meat.

I know, from meeting many of you at our various events, that many of you are excellent cooks so I wondered if anyone has any great recipes for super stuffing. 

As a prize for the best recipe, I will put together my very own Christmas hamper with a whole load of goodies purloined from the various very generous buyers, and will send this to the winner in time to enjoy during the Christmas hols. But there are rules:

• You need to post your recipe entries by the end of Sunday 6th Dec.
• Each entry should be titled “Simon – Get stuffed!
• The recipe should include sausage meat but can also have any other ingredients you suggest
• The finished stuffing should be suitable to make into balls (as I have a rolled joint and can’t stuff it)
• It should be suitable for kids and adults (loads of chillies, for example, wouldn’t be great!)

I’ll make up the top three entries and the family will feast on them to test them out. The entries will be judged by the harshest of critics - my two and seven-year-old children and the judge’s decision will be final!
 
I’ll announce the winner on my blog on Monday 14th of Dec and send the winner the Christmas Prize. You can enter as many recipes as you like.

So get creative, think honey, apricots, nuts, herbs and whatever else that gets the ‘ol taste buds working. I’m looking forward to eating, sorry trying, all the ideas. For the first time in my life I'm looking forward to being told to “get stuffed!”

Thanks so much for your help and have fun!

Simon X

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Biagi’s Bramble Jelly!

Well it’s finally made! Delicious, sweet, fresh and very juicy Bramble Jelly! There's nothing like the smell of bubbling jam or jelly with wild fruit to bring back childhood memories.

We made a lot more than last year and it’s surprising how much fruit you need to make a small amount of jelly. It’s like liquid gold but worth every minute spent plucking the berries from the hedgerows. 


Here’s the recipe:

How to make 'Simon's Surprise'

As the hedge rows are full of particularly beautiful food at the moment, I thought I would share one of my favourite recipes with you, which uses up cooking apples and brambles (blackberries for all you southerners!). 

It’s a bit of a combination of some of Delia’s recipes and my own and it not only tastes great (at least my son thinks so - see pics) but for those of you trying to stay off wheat, it makes a perfect ‘pie’.

Our QVC Food Event

I was delighted to be asked to go to our Food Event last week to meet some our customers and sample some delicious food. The event lasted a few days here at QVC Towers and a variety of food-loving customers were invited to try some new things and meet with some favourite guests: Jilly Jones and Andrew Burgess from Exmoor Style, were just a couple who were there. 

I enjoyed meeting everyone and although I forgot to take my camera, Nas, who had hers, was kind enough to send me a few snaps. It looks as though either Andrew (or Nas) had sampled some of the personalised whiskey and champagne that will be new and on air soon. Hic!

Simon X