Christmas Food Nibbles

As Christmas is a time of festivities this means that food is often one of the most important parts. However after the rigmarole of cooking a Christmas dinner for the entire family, in the days that surround Christmas, sometimes nibbles and quick meals are a good solution to keeping everybody happy, but without the huge exertion of repeating the Christmas dinner.  We love food here at The Amazing Blog, so we have been sampling lots of tasty treats that we think should be in your cupboards this Christmas. Today we want to share with you some wonderful nibbles that are sure to keep the entire family happy.  

We heard about food company, Eat 17, after the huge success of their first product Bacon Jam (yes we know, sounds amazing!) So when we heard they were launching new flavours we just had to try one out. We have been tasting the wonderful Eat 17 Onion Jam, and I have to say from the moment we opened the jar the smell was simply intoxicating. The jam tastes sweet but has a fantastic tangy (think pickle-like but not too acidic) taste as you swallow it. I think this is perfect with cheese, especially as an accompaniment to Camembert with some crusty bread. The jams can also be used as burger condiments, and in cooking, such as adding them to stews or on bangers and mash, so this is a truly versatile product that will make catering for the family a doddle this Christmas. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, visit the Eat 17 website where you can purchase the Jams or from Waitrose stores where they are retailing for £3.59 per 110g jar.

It just wouldn’t be Christmas without a tin of biscuits to pass around the living room, so we have been tasting plenty to find the perfect tin for you and your family to enjoy. We have found a delicious collection from Fortnum & Mason that features a range of scrumptious biscuits that are presented in the most beautiful merry-go-round musical tin. There are a whole range of wonderful biscuits inside, including Clotted Cream Digestive Biscuit, Luscious Lemon Thins and Chocolate & Macadamia Nut Biscuits.

We think this flavoursome selection is the perfect accompaniment to a nice cup of tea on a wintery afternoon and will be sure to settle the appetites of your relatives. The Fortnum & Mason Merry Go Round Musical Tin is available from their website costing £25.

Christmas is the perfect occasion for cheese and wine parties, or even just a cheese board after dinner with family or friends, so we think it is very important to always have an interesting range of cheeses at hand during the Christmas period. We love the cheeses on offer from Snowdonia Cheese Company, because they have such a wonderful range of flavours that are much more exciting than a supermarket cheddar. There are eight different flavours on offer, all of which are unique and delicious. Snowdonia Cheese Company are offering the chance to try their three bestselling and award winning cheeses in their Trio Gift Pack, containing 200g truckles of Little Black Bomber, Red Devil, and Green Thunder. Little Black Bomber is a classic extra mature cheddar, Red Devil is a spicy option, it is red Leicester with chillies and pepper and lastly, Green Thunder is a mature cheddar with garlic and herbs. These delightful cheeses will be sure to steal the show on any cheeseboard this Christmas. The Trio Gift Pack is available from the Snowdonia Cheese Company’s website for £12.

With two members of The Amazing Blog Team being Spanish, Chorizo is always a firm favourite product for lunch in the office. However, used in the right way, we think that it is a perfect product to keep in your fridge over Christmas as it is just so versatile. Three Little Pigs, a Yorkshire based pig farm believe that their pork tastes so good because of the high quality of the meat on animals and their quality of life. All of their pigs are reared outside in free range conditions where they are given high quality food and kept in family units to ensure the animals have long and happy lives. We think that the Three Little Pigs Chorizo would be a fantastic ingredient over Christmas time as it can be used in a variety of way such as with a cheeseboard, in your Christmas stuffing, of in pasta dishes. If you’d like some chorizo inspiration, Three Little Pigs have some recipe ideas for you that are sure to wow your guests. You can order this award winning chorizo from the Three Little Pigs website starting from £8.99 including delivery.

Sometimes with all the busy preparations we undertake ready for the big day, cooking can be the last thing on our mind, especially after a busy day of Christmas shopping or peeling potatoes for the Christmas dinner. Times like these call for something very fast that takes minimal effort to prepare but still tastes great. We have been lucky enough to try out the Itsu Instant noodle pots, we tested the Thai Spicy Noodle Pot, and instant version of the delicious noodles served up at the Itsu shops and restaurants in London. Please cast aside all your thoughts about the dreaded Pot Noodle, because this is a superior product with great ingredients and taste. The Pot contains three packets, one of the chunky udon noodles, a packet of spicy broth and lastly dried Italian vegetables. All you have to do is pour the packets into the pot and just add boiling water so you will have a filling and healthy meal in an instant. Plus eating straight from the pot with the cleverly designed spork means there is no washing up and you can get on with your preparations. The Itsu Instant Noodle Pots can be purchased from the Itsu website where they cost £12 for a pack of 6 pots.

An Easter-Egg Bonanza!

As Easter fast approaches, the mouths of the crew at The Amazing Blog are beginning to water. Ever since Ash Wednesday, a long and laborious six weeks ago, not a sniff of chocolate has passed our lips. And so, with less than a week to go and wanting to keep our readers up-to-date in terms of the crème de la crème of chocolate indulgences this Easter, we decided to break our fast early so we could try the chocolate we've been eyeing greedily for weeks. And if, like us, you’re planning a chocolate blow out on Easter Sunday, check out the most decadent of chocolate treats below… First up is the Indian-inspired Easter Egg from the wonderful peeps at Devnaa. With sumptuous purple wrapping and a decadent gold bow, it looks every bit as good as it tastes. The chocolate shell is infused with their signature chai blend - cinnamon, cardamom, clove and ginger; an unusual combination, but one that works oh-so-well. And as well as the aromatic egg is a selection of mouth-watering white-chocolate saffron caramels, coconut and cardamom dark chocolates and chai milk chocolates, thus it’s the perfect Easter Egg for anyone wanting an exotic fusion of flavours! The egg is handmade in London and you can buy it here.

And for those who follow The Amazing Blog, you'll already know that one of our favourite chocolatiers in London is the deliciously decadent Demarquette. This Easter they've created a Marine-inspired Easter collection that includes brightly coloured seashell-encrusted giant Easter eggs and chocolate egg-filled iridescent clams. With such a fab range on offer it was no mean feat choosing our fave, but the Oceanic Reef Egg certainly deserves a mention. The Super Chocolate Easter Egg is 20cm high and entirely edible. Made using the unique Demarquette Pure Blend of single origin smooth chocolate, a colonnade of six hand painted seahorses filled with sweet caramel supports the top half of the egg. A delicate coating of coral orange coloured white chocolate velvet adds a unique, luxurious texture making this the finest of all chocolate eggs. All of Demarquette's offerings are lovingly hand-made by founder Marc and his team in London with great tasting and ethically sourced pure chocolate. Available from their fabulous Fulham Road shop or online

For anyone after an Easter treat infused with some serious fun, Artisan du Chocolat have got the perfect egg. Inspired by the 70s song 'Daddy Cool' by Boney M and the childhood classic Mr Potatohead, their Bunny Cool Eggs add a bit of humour into the Easter spirit. Filled with Artisan du Chocolat's signature salted caramel honeycomb and with edible eyes nose and trainers, it's the ideal egg for anyone wanting to add some quirkiness to their Easter Day spread. The Bunny Cool egg, along with other yummy Easter treats are available both in-store and online.

Fortnum & Mason, Picadilly's brilliantly British department store have once again come up trumps with their Easter offering. Their Decorated Milk Chocolate Egg is a classic egg made by their in-house chocolatiers, who use expertly tempered milk chocolate to ensure a flawless shine. The decorations are made and applied by hand and the egg is filled with a selection of handmade chocolate shapes. Presented in a beautiful blue box with a contrasting grey ribbon, the Fortnum & Mason egg is as elegant as the shop, available both online and in-store.

Last, but by no means least, is Sussex-based Montezuma's fabulous Organic Free-Range Eco Egg. Founded in 2000 by ex-lawyers Helen and Simon Pattison, Montezuma is a family-run business who have rapidly built a reputation for producing some of the finest and most innovative chocolate in the UK. And as well as producing the most delicous of chocolates, Montezuma have also been singled out as a shining example of environmentally friendly eggs. It came top of the list of 11 eggs for the least amount of packaging and recyclability; so if you treat yourself to one of their eggs, you can be sure you're also doing your bit for the environment! Available in dark chocolate, milk chocolate and milk chocolate and butterscotch, they're available online and from selected independent stockists.

And so, with just six days left until Easter itself, whether you're after something special for a loved one, or simply spoiling yourself - enjoy some of the finest chocolate the UK has on offer and have a very happy Easter!