A Valentine’s dinner for lazy lovers

Whatever you get up to on Valentine’s night (and truly, I’d rather not know) my guess is you’ve got better things to do than spend it slaving over a hot stove. So this is an unashamed cheat’s menu from the archives for you to romance your loved one with the absolute minimum of effort.

Needless to say, buy only the very best ingredients.

Smoked salmon and caviar blinis

Cute and tasty! And I’m talking about the blinis . . .

Serves 2

100g (3 1/2 oz) best quality (i.e. wild or, at the very least, organic) finely sliced smoked salmon
30g (1 oz) jar of caviar or a caviar substitute
A packet of miniature blinis
3 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
A little finely grated lemon rind

Mix the crème fraîche with a little finely grated lemon rind (Go easy. You don’t want it to be too lemony.) Arrange the smoked salmon artistically on the blinis, top with a blob of creme fraiche then spoon over a little caviare. That’s it.

Hot buttered lobster with garlic, basil and ginger

Strictly this dish is best made from scratch with a live lobster but butchering a lobster doesn’t strike me as the perfect prelude to a night of seduction.

(serves 2)

1 medium to large cooked lobster
60g (2 1/2 oz) butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
Juice of 1 small lime (about 2 tbsp)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
14-16 basil leaves, finely shredded
Salt and cayenne pepper

Place the lobster, underside downwards on a chopping board and cut through it vertically with a large sharp knife. Carefully remove the white meat from the tail and remove the long thin membrane near the back. Remove the claws and crack them with lobster crackers or hit them smartly with a mallet. Carefully remove the meat, breaking it up as little as possible. Pick out any remaining white meat from the shell, scrape out the rest and discard. Cut the meat into largeish chunks.

Carefully transfer the empty shells to an ovenproof baking dish and reassemble the lobster meat in the shells. Preheat the grill. Melt the butter gently in a saucepan, stir in the garlic, lime juice and ginger and cook for a minute. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper. Spoon carefully over the lobster then place the baking dish under a hot grill for about 4 minutes until you can hear it begin to bubble. Serve with a rocket salad and chips or new potatoes.

Iced vodka and lemon sorbet

Those of you who’ve never tried frozen vodka may be amazed to discover that it doesn’t actually freeze if you put it in the freezer. But it becomes wonderfully cold and syrupy. This looks fantastic in frozen martini glasses. Leave them in the freezer compartment until you’re ready to serve up (or if there isn’t room fill them with ice and a little water then pour it out and dry them just before you spoon in the sorbet.

A ‘frozen’ bottle of vodka (keep in the freezer compartment until you need it)
A carton of good quality lemon sorbet

Take the sorbet out of the freezer and put it in the fridge about 20 minutes before you plan to serve it to make it soft enough to scoop. Spoon out a couple of generous scoops and place them in each frosted glass. Pour over 2-3 tbsp of frozen vodka. Await gasps of admiration.

* You can obviously make this with other sorbets. Raspberry goes well with vodka too

What to drink:
Quality rather than quantity is the name of the game on Valentine’s night (you don’t want to end up snoring . . . ) One good bottle of Champagne will see you through the first and second courses and the dessert contains its own alcohol. If you prefer, however, you could drink Champagne with the blinis and switch to a good white burgundy or top quality Chardonnay with the lobster.

Picture - not of the exact recipe - by BBA Photography at Shutterstock.com

How to celebrate wassail at home

Even if you don’t go out wassailing over the next couple of weeks there’s no reason why you can’t throw an impromptu wassail party at home if you have an apple tree in your garden. Or even if you don’t . . .

Wassailing is an old English custom celebrated mainly in the cider-making areas of Somerset and Herefordshire, the idea being to protect the cider apple trees from evil spirits and to encourage a good crop in the coming season.

It takes place on or around January 17th, the old twelfth night. One of the best is at The Ethicurean at Wrington just outside Bristol though I’m not sure they’re doing one this year. Google ‘wassail 2022’ or check out the hashtag #wassail on Twitter for other events.

What generally happens is that pieces of toast soaked in cider are placed around the oldest or finest tree in the orchard, cider is poured round the base then shot guns are fired into the upper branches, buckets are beaten and a general cacophony of noise made to scare away evil spirits and wake the sleeping trees.

If you’re doing it at home I’d strongly advise dispensing with the shot guns and simply bang some saucepans and do a lot of shouting which the children will enjoy hugely. Adults too probably. You can also chant this wassailing poem

Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear
For the Lord doth know where we shall be
Till apples come another year.
For to bear well, and to bear well
So merry let us be.
Let every man take off his hat,
And shout to the old apple tree!
Old apple tree, we wassail thee,
And hoping thou wilt bear
Hatfuls, capfuls, three bushel bagfuls
And a little heap under the stairs
Hip! Hip! Hooray!

It’s traditional to serve mulled cider and apple cake to celebrate wassail. I found a lovely recipe for a wassail cup in the Apple Source Book taken from Henrietta Green’s Festive Food of England and there’s a good recipe for Somerset cider cake in River Cottage Baking.

You can find my own recipe for mulled cider here and a non alcoholic version below for those of you who are having a Dry January.

Mulled apple juice

Use the recipe as a basic guideline, adding more sugar or honey if you like it sweeter.

Serves 12

2 x 75 cl bottles cider apple juice* or other unsweetened apple juice
1 orange stuck with 10 cloves
2 oranges, sliced
2 lemons, sliced
6 level tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
5 cm piece cinnamon stick
2 level teaspoons finely grated fresh root ginger or ground ginger

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat to simmering point, stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Keep it barely at simmering point for at least 20 minutes. This can be made in advance, then re-heated just before the party.

* You should be able to buy cider apple juice in a health food shop or farm shop. If not use a dry apple juice (such as russet) or add a couple of tablespoons of cider vinegar to a good quality blended apple juice.

Mulled cider image ©zi3000 at fotolia.com. Wassail image © Bill Bradshaw

How to Mull Wine + 3 Mulled Wine (and Cider) Recipes for Holiday Entertaining

Mulled wine is a seasonal staple but although it’s easy to make it’s also easy to spoil. Here are my top tips for how to mull wine plus recipes for mulled wine and mulled cider that your holiday guests will love:

Mulled Wine Basics

What type of wine?

You can mull white wine (though I’d rather mull cider – see below) but most people prefer a red. It needs to be inexpensive, obviously, but that doesn’t mean it should be undrinkable so don’t just chuck in the tail ends of bottles you may have hanging round the kitchen. And you don’t want a wine that’s too heavily oaked though that’s relatively unlikely if it’s cheap.

There’s a fair amount of inexpensive own-label Corbières I’ve noticed lately which would fit the bill perfectly or try a basic Portuguese red. Most recipes add water as well which brings down the cost and stops guests getting too plastered but adjust the amount to the strength of your wine.

What type of spices?

Whole spices work better than ground ones otherwise you can get an unpleasant powdery sensation as you drink. Cinnamon is probably the most popular spice but you could also use cloves, cardamom (lightly crush a few pods) ginger and nutmeg. Some recommend star anise but use sparingly if you don’t want your mulled wine to taste of aniseed.

You can also buy mulling spices wrapped in muslin (better than in teabags) though make sure they’re not from a dusty old packet. Look for a ‘use by’ date. A better option, if you’re short of time, is to buy a mulled wine cordial like Belvoir’s - also great for those who simply want a mulled drink without the alcohol.

Other additions to mulled wine

Sugar - Most recipes call for sugar but you might want to add a little less than they suggest if your wine is particularly soft and fruity or if you add port. White or demerara sugar is fine - soft brown sugar adds a slightly fudgier flavour which works well in the recipe below. Some people (including Delia) advocate honey but I tend to think it has too dominant a flavour.

Citrus - Orange is particularly good with mulled wine. It could be a whole orange studded with cloves, a strip of orange peel or a dash of an orange-flavoured liqueur such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. Not orange juice - or any other fruit juice - as you want your mulled wine to be clear, not cloudy. And without ‘bits’.

Extra booze - Personally I like a good slug of ruby port in my mulled wine - not the cheapest out there but a vintage character or ‘Special Reserve’ type or, if you have some, some Late Bottled Vintage. Brandy is also a common addition but if you add port you don’t need it. Ginger wine or a ginger liqueur may also add the kick you’re looking for; some sloe or damson gin an extra dash of plummy flavour but don’t make the mistake of adding too many different types of booze. More isn’t necessarily better ;-)

The art of mulling

This is the important bit. You need to infuse the wine long enough with the spices to take on their flavour but DON’T ON ANY ACCOUNT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL as you’ll be left with a bitter taste. Slow and low is the way to go. And it shouldn’t be served piping hot, just comfortably - and comfortingly - warm.

Some (including Jamie) recommend making a syrup first with the spices, sugar and wine but again there’s the risk that you’ll bring out the bitterness of a wine by boiling it. A better option is to make a spice infused sugar syrup as advocated by Susy Atkins in her excellent How to Make your own Drinks.

Cups or glasses?

Glasses are more traditional - and attractive - but unless you have a set with its own metal holders you’re probably better off with small coffee cups. A ladle with a spout is useful to dispense mulled wine at speed if that doesn’t sound too Pippa Middleton-ish or pour into a jug first before you top up the cups or glasses

Three Festive Mulled Wine Recipes

(and two bonus recipes for mulled cider and winter sangria!)

Orange and cardamom mulled wine

Traditional carol singers’ fare and the nicest of Christmas treats, mulled wine is surprisingly easy to make from scratch. Try and use whole spices so far as possible so you don’t get a slightly grainy texture to the punch 

Makes 14-16 cups or glasses

2 x 75cl bottles of full bodied red wine
510ml (18 fl oz) water
1 unwaxed orange studded with cloves + a few orange slices for serving
thinly pared rind from half a lemon
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
A little freshly grated nutmeg
95g (3 1/2 oz) soft brown sugar
100ml (3 1/2 fl oz) orange flavoured liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

Place the wine and water in a large saucepan. Add the orange, lemon rind, spices and sugar and heat gently until almost boiling. Turn down to the lowest possible heat (the surface should barely tremble) and simmer for half an hour to allow the spices to infuse thoroughly. Add the orange liqueur or brandy then reheat gently. Strain into a large, warmed bowl and float a few thin slices of orange on top. Ladle into small cups or glasses. Serve with mince pies.

Cheat’s mulled wine

Purists will disapprove of using mulled wine sachets but you can find quite classy ones in good delis. And, if you’re pushed, it does save time.

Serves 6-8

1 75cl bottle of full bodied red wine (a cheap Spanish red would be ideal)
150 ml Vintage Character, Special Reserve or other inexpensive ruby port
150 ml water
4-5 tbsp granulated or caster sugar, preferably unrefined
1-2 mulled wine sachets
1 orange

Pour the red wine, port and water into a saucepan. Add 4 tbsp of the sugar and 1 sachet of the mulled spice. Pare 3 thin strips of orange rind off the orange with a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife and add to the saucepan. Heat very slowly until the sugar has dissolved, check for sweetness adding more sugar or another sachet of mulled wine spices if you think it needs it. Turn up the heat until the wine is almost at boiling point but DON’T LET IT BOIL or you’ll spoil the flavour. Turn the heat off, cover the pan and leave for 30 minutes for the flavours to infuse.

Mulled cider with sweet roasted apples

Even though I love mulled wine I’m not sure I don’t love this even better. Use a good quality dry cider not a modern ‘white’ cider or draught cider which can be too strong.

Makes 12-14 servings

1 litre premium English cider
250ml Somerset cider brandy or calvados
1.5 litres cloudy English apple juice
A thinly pared strip of lemon rind
2 sticks of cinnamon
8 cloves

For the roasted apples
10-12 small Cox’s apples
About 75g light muscovado sugar
100ml premium English cider

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Wash and core the apples and score them around the middle. Put them in a baking dish and stuff the centre of each with the sugar. (It’s easiest to do this with the handle of a spoon or fork). Splash over the cider and roast in the oven until soft and beginning to split (45-50 minutes).

Meanwhile put the cider, cider brandy or calvados, and apple juice in a large pan, together with the lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves. Heat through gently then leave over a very low heat without allowing the mixture to boil. When the apples are ready, tip them and their juices into the mulled cider. Taste, adding a little extra sugar if you think it needs it. Serve straight from the pan into heat resistant glasses or cups or transfer to a warmed bowl.

Bonus recipe: Winter Sangria

A refreshingly cool alternative to mulled wine. You’ll need to adjust how much cordial and mulled wine you use depending on how fruity your wine already is.

Makes 10 glasses

1 bottle inexpensive, full bodied red wine 
Juice of 2 mandarin oranges (about 5-6 tbsp) 
4-6 tbsp spiced berry cordial
4-6 tbsp Grand Marnier or other orange-flavoured liqueur
4 whole mandarin oranges, thinly sliced
1 unwaxed lemon, thinly sliced
3 dark red plums, stoned and sliced (optional)
1 fresh pomegranate
400-500ml chilled cranberry and pomegranate juice

Pour the wine and the mandarin orange juice into a large bowl. Add 4 tbsp each of the spiced berry cordial and Grand Marnier and taste, adding extra cordial or liqueur if you think it needs it. Add 3 of the sliced mandarin oranges, the sliced lemon and plums, if using, stir and refrigerate for several hours. When you’re ready to serve, halve the pomegranate and scoop out the seeds, carefully retaining the juice and discarding any pith. Pour the juice and half the seeds into the sangria along with the cranberry and pomegranate juice, stir and taste again adding more juice or Grand Marnier if needed. Top with the remaining mandarin slices and seeds and serve.

* If you want to make this for larger numbers and can’t fit it in the fridge leave the base, covered, in a cold place like the garage then add the chilled juice from the fridge

See also:

The Best Wines to Pair With Your Christmas Dinner

8 Great Drinks to Match with Mince Pies

Photo © Anikonaann at fotolia.com

How to create a great Christmas cheeseboard

The question I’m often asked at this time of year is what makes the perfect Christmas cheeseboard. It’s as difficult a question as what makes the perfect Christmas lunch.

If you like - or your family expect - roast turkey and Christmas pudding that’s the perfect lunch for you. If you don’t it may be something quite different.

The theory behind a cheeseboard is to offer cheeses of different textures, flavours and shapes so that it looks attractive, includes a variety of tastes and everyone can find a cheese they like. These are the cheeses and styles that I would go for - leaving out stinky French cheeses which are best left to consenting adults ;-)

1) Stilton. In Britain this is the quintessential Christmas cheese and to be honest it’s hard to better it. The only cheese that arguably has the edge is Stichelton which is made to the same recipe but from raw milk (all Stilton these days is pasteurised) it’s slightly stronger than Stilton - a great blue cheese in my opinion. Try it with sloe gin, a delicious alternative to port

8 great drinks to match with Stilton

2) A good cheddar has a lot going for it. Most people like cheddar and you can always use it for cooking afterwards. The only issue is how strong it should be - some of the artisanal cheddars like Keen’s can be pretty funky though I do like a good Montgomery and my new favourite, Trethowan Brothers’ Pitchfork.

The best wine pairings for cheddar cheese

3) A semi-soft white-rinded cheese such as Brie or Camembert
Another popular choice but one that can cause trouble if you allow it to get overripe - i.e. at the stage where it’s virtually running off the cheeseboard a) because it won’t last very long and b) may well ruin whatever red you’re drinking with it. Try a similar English cheese such as a Tunworth or Baron Bigod.

Six of the best pairings for brie

4) A goats’ cheese
Not everyone likes goats cheese but it’s so versatile and, if you buy a young cheese, not particularly ‘goaty’. You can also use it to spread on crackers for a between blow-outs snack or to make a quick starter salad with some beets and leaves. And it goes with most dry wines (particularly with crisp whites like sauvignon blanc)

Top wine pairings with goat cheese

5) A sheep cheese
I like a hard sheep cheese on a cheeseboard, both because it’s the best type of cheese to match with a good red wine and because it means you have something to offer any guests who are dairy-intolerant. Good examples are Berkswell, aged Pecorino and Manchego (though try and find a matured version - supermarket Manchego can be bland) Also useful for rustling up some impromptu tapas with a few almonds, olives and slices of chorizo.

The best wine matches for sheep cheeses

Stand-alone cheeses
There’s nothing wrong with having one impressive cheese rather than a whole board of them. Stilton and cheddar could both perform this role but I quite like to offer something a bit unusual like a Vacherin Mont d’Or (which you can also bake in its box and serve hot like a fondue) or an aged Gouda. Deep orange Mimolette also looks wonderfully festive on a board decorated with apricots, figs and dates.

The best wine pairings for Vacherin Mont d’Or

For more festive inspiration and other cheeseboard ideas see my book Fiona Beckett’s Cheese Course.

Photo © Tatyana Berkovich at shutterstock.com