Romantic Matchings

We are halfway through January and for those of us in relationships ideas will be starting to drift towards Valentine’s Day. We are giving you the nudge now so that you can do better than the gas station flowers that you got last year and actually plan something that will be memorable. Valentine’s Day is a very commercial celebration but there is nothing wrong with showing the person you love how much you care, in fact, it should be actively encouraged.

One idea that has worked well for generations is to cook a romantic meal for your significant other, depending on what their tastes are this may involve steak, sea food, caviare, chocolate and of course champagne. We wanted to look at some rules that you can follow to match wines to different courses. Taking the time to pair the wine to the course shows a lot of thought has been put into the meal and having a wine paired with food can add a whole other level to the meal and make it a great Valentine’s gift.

The video below highlights pairing wines to chocolate from the amazing Ayza Wine Bar in NYC

Some simple rules to keep in mind when looking to pair food to wine.

1. Think about the which course each wine is for and look to match like for like. For example, a regular Valentine’s dinner attendee will be the trusty oyster. It is light and delicate with a fresh zingy flavour, you would look to pair this with a sprightly sauvignon  blanc or a crisp Muscadet. On the other hand if you are a wine to match with a hearty steak or stew then you will be looking for a full bodied cabernet sauvignon or syrah which will be able to cut through the fat of the meat.
2. You will want to think about the acidity of the wines that you are having, a wines acidity can balance out fat and salt. So you can use a wine as a palate cleanser, such as a tangy pinot grigio if sipped with fried food such as calamari.
3. If you and your significant other are a fan of spice then bear in mind that sweet can concur spice. There is nothing romantic about two people weeping with heat sweats due to their ferociously hot dinner. Rieslings are a great shout as they often have some residual sugar adding to the sweetness and helping extinguish those fires.
4. We have mentioned full bodied wines earlier and the reason that they go so well with fatty, meaty dishes is due to the tannins. When drinking a cup of black tea think about the feeling that you get on your teeth, those are tannins. They go great with rich, fatty proteins like ribs or steak. They don’t suit the oils that are found in fish, not to say that you can’t have red wine with fish, you just have to choose a low tannin wine like a pinot noir or a Beaujolais.
5. To finish of the meal you will want to select a desert wine. For this you will want to have a wine that is at least as sweet as the dessert that you are having, if you are having a delicate and light desert you may want to look at buying a delicate moscato but for a rich and heavy desert you should look towards a tawny port which will complement the flavours of a rich chocolate mousse and leave a wonderful lingering after-taste.

Champagne Bubbles (Photo credit: @Doug88888)

These are some fairly straight forward rules that you can follow but always remember to talk to the staff in your local wine shop, they will be able to make some suggestions that will fit perfectly with what you have planned for your romantic meal. And as a side note, Champagne goes with everything on Valentine’s Day. We have put together a bundlr of sites that have lots of suggestions for food pairing for Valentine’s day and if you have any suggestions please let us know in the comments section below.

Top Foodie Predictions for 2013

Image via corbin_dana on Flickr

2013 looks like being another innovative year, with food lovers looking to make do and mend – but with a twist. No one is spending money on caviar and quails eggs but 2013 could see a resurgence of high-quality ingredients and homely foods.

2012 saw some interesting food trends inspired by a frosty economic outlook, including Denmark’s Rene Redzepi cresting the wave of his fame by exporting his own brand of food foraging to us Brits. The customers of Claridge’s Hotel may have been clamouring to attend the pop-up version of his Noma restaurant, but some were left bemused by the live ants and edible flowers.

For some, what was once a cheap meal has now become an on-trend feast – witness the Salt Beef bagel beloved by denizens of London. A corned beef sandwich has never been so cool to be seen with.

So will 2013 see the Prime Minister having more kitchen suppers while the nation is glued to the Great British Bake Off? Read on for our predictions…

1. Make your super foods world beet-ing

Beetroot juice is set to be the next big thing in super foods after athletes reported it spurred them on to win gold. This wonder juice can do everything, from lowering blood-pressure to increasing stamina, and best of all for those of us suffering from post-festive podge, it can break down fat cells in the body and help with obesity. So knock back a shot or two, pop some in with a goat’s cheese salad and get down to the gym. Or invest in some high quality commercial catering equipment and start up your own trendy beet juice business.

Image via veggiefrog on Flickr

2. Posh popcorn

Ever since Nigella showed us her recipe for festive popcorn we’ve been considering the possibilities of this, the original lazy boy snack. It looks like food gurus agree,and on-trend posh popcorn recipes have been popping up all over the web.  The only limitation here is your imagination – anchovy and rosemary popcorn anyone?

3. Bubble Tea

Image via Infrogmation on Wikimedia Commons

This Asian curiosity has been bubbling just under the radar for a few years now. Mostly to be found in cans in authentic Chinese supermarkets, it is also served in some Asian restaurants – usually the ones that look more like cafes, have lines of Asian customers waiting for tables and serve authentic food that hasn’t been compromised to meet Western tastes. The bubbles are made of tapioca – which let’s face it, is pretty much unknown in the British diet these days. Well, now it’s being reinvented as the drink no hipster can afford to be seen without. Starbucks is so last year.

4. Fermentation Frenzy

If it can be fermented, pickled, jarred and eaten, we want to try it in 2013. Foods previously unknown to Brits, such as Korean kimchi, have seen a surge in popularity in the last 12 months and look set to remain popular in 2013. Wrap your chops around some pickled cabbage, kimchi or sauerkraut , mop up the juices with some naturally fermented sourdough and relax in the knowledge your food choices are on-trend and healthy.

What will be on your plate in 2013?

The Christmas Weight-Gain Survival Guide

Image via Milica Sekulic on Flickr

If you are trying to shed a few pounds, or just maintain your weight, Christmas can be tough. Read our Christmas weight-gain survival guide for top tips on how to avoid temptation and make it through the season slimmer than ever…

Avoid the mince pies, stolen, iced slices…

Almost every gathering, carol service and work party will be jam-packed with buttery, sugary temptations in the form of traditional Christmas party food. The only way to avoid slipping up with these fatty delights is to plan ahead. After all, being a healthy weight is the best present you can give your body to avoid long-term health problems. Not only will you fit a smaller dress size, but you might get other benefits you hadn’t thought of, such as lower premiums on things like private health insurance.

Tactic 1: Make sure you are not hungry. If you are rushing straight from work and there’s no time to have dinner, a stealthy banana tucked away in your bag could mean the difference between saintly snacking and devilish indulgence. Other healthy on-the-go snacks to carry with you are packets of oatcakes, any fresh fruit and low-sugar cereal bars.

Tactic 2: Bring some healthy party food with you. If you are going to a party then be a welcome guest by adding to the party fare – the difference is, you will be bringing low calorie snacks masquerading as high fat treats. Some ideas: Nigella’s party popcorn, Smitten Kitchen’s cauliflower-feta fritters with pomegranate, or how about The Pioneer Woman’s marshmallow pops?

Be prepared for the feast…

Image via Carodean Road Designs

Let’s face it, you are going to want to let your hair down and just enjoy a slap-up meal at some point this Christmas – and a little of what you fancy does you no harm at all, as long as it is just a little. So here’s how to minimise the damage this Christmas…

Tactic 1: Eat healthily the day of your feast. Start off with fruit for breakfast, maybe a banana, some pears and plums all chopped up in a bowl. For lunch have something that has a low calorie profile but still has a festive edge, such as butternut squash soup (but avoid the bread). Snack healthily on dried fruit and nuts throughout the day, and by the time you get to your turkey dinner, you’ll be able to eat without feeling guilty.

Tactic 2: If you think you have the willpower, you can always minimise the damage of a Christmas meal by avoiding any bread on the table and ditching the roast potatoes but taking second helpings of veg. It’s a good idea to think about your alcohol intake, too, as most of your empty calories will come from that extra glass of wine or pint of beer. Make every second drink a water or low-calorie soft drink and wake up the next day with a clear head, and a clear conscience.

What are your top tips for having a healthy Christmas?

Truly Massive Christmas Dinners

Image via ewen and donabel on Flickr

If you already find yourself groaning at the thought of the mounds of turkey you’re about to consume over the course of the the seasonal festivities, spare a thought for those intrepid souls involved in creating (and consuming) some properly gigantic Christmas dinners…

For instance,  this year Donna Simpson, a 46-stone American woman from New Jersey, ate a Christmas dinner that totaled up to a whopping 30,000 calories. The epic feast was intended to help Simpson toward her goal of becoming the fattest woman in the world. According to the Daily Mail, her dinner featured “two 25lb turkeys, two maple-glazed hams, 15lbs of potatoes (10lbs roast, 5lbs mashed), five loaves of bread, five pounds of herb stuffing, four pints of gravy, four pints of cranberry dressing and an astonishing 20lbs of vegetables.”

To put that in perspective, check out the video below:

It is perhaps lucky that Simpson didn’t hire chef Ben Spalding to cook her Christmas smorgasbord. This year Spalding hit the news as the creator of the world’s most expensive Christmas dinner, an exclusive holiday experience that Spalding and his team will prepare at the lucky diner’s own home – at an eye-watering cost of 125,000 for 4 people, or 31,250 per head. The pricey menu can be purchased through ultra-high-end experience site VeryFirstTo.com, with Spalding donating 80% of his own fee to charity. You can view the super-swanky menu and ingredients list on the Daily Telegraph site.

On the other end of the scale, many rescue missions and homeless shelters around the world are breaking out the wholesale crockery and offering free Christmas dinners to those who otherwise would have to go without. In some areas, these dinners can amount to enormous undertakings involving a mountain of food and army of volunteers to create. For instance, this year in Auckland, New Zealand, over 2500 people attended the Auckland City Mission’s Christmas lunch, a new record for the annual event, which now requires 500 volunteers to run. Similar numbers turned up at the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission in Indiana, USA, as can be seen in the video below:

Feeling inspired to create your own epic Christmas dinner? Check out these world records for ideas:

The World’s Tallest Chocolate Christmas Tree - Created in 2010 by French chocolatier Patrick Roger, the 32-foot high chocolate tree weighs 4 tons (8,000 lbs) and required one month and $45,000 worth of chocolate to construct.

The World’s Longest Christmas Cracker – In 2001, the lucky children of Ley Hill School and Pre-School, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, UK got to pull this gargantuan cracker filled with toys, balloons, and of course, a giant hat and joke. The record cracker measured 63.1 m (207 ft) long and 4 m (13 ft) in diameter, according to Guinness World Records.

The World’s Largest Fruit Cake – This 3,825 kg (8,432 lb 10 oz) behemoth baked by Just Bake of India may strike fear into the hearts of those who dread the annual fruitcake, but Guinness World Records and the folks at the Food & Kitchen EXPO 2011, where it was displayed, were very impressed. The traditional plum cake was 9 m (29 ft) long and 6 m (19 ft) wide.

The World’s Longest Christmas Stollen – For those who aren’t fans of fruitcake, perhaps this enormous stollen cake is a better option. Crafted in 2010 by Lidl at (bizarrely) Haarlem Railway Station in the Netherlands, the cake was 72.10 m (236 ft 6.58 in) long and took 5 hours to prepare and cook. Even more impressively, it was baked all in a single piece.

How To Save Money This Christmas

It’s pretty much a given that Christmas is an expensive time of year, presents, nights out, travel and of course the obligatory trip to the Christmas market for mulled wine and mince pies.  However, there are many ways to make sure your Christmas plans don’t break the bank and leave you penniless in January so we’ve tried to pull together some tips that we think will help reign in your festive spending this year without reigning your festive cheer.

Image Via

Presents are generally accepted as the biggest expenditure at Christmas Mum and Dad, Brothers and Sisters, Boyfriends and Girlfriends, Flatmates, workmates, the Dog, they are all on the list. The first and easiest way to cut down on your present spending is to have another look at that list and ask yourself whether or not you really do need to be getting them all a gift.  Friends from school, old flatmates, work mates chances are they are all in the same boat as you so why not take a proactive step and utter the words ‘should we maybe just do cards this year?’ if you do this in polite way then chances are you’re not going to offend anybody and you’ll be saving everyone some money.  Another route you could try on the present front is to simply curb your spending, using Ebay, keeping an eye out for any vouchers that might appear through the door in the run up to Christmas or even making gifts yourself are all options here.

Getting home for Christmas is another yearly expense whether it’s plane, bus, train or car the annual pilgrimage to the homeland is often as unavoidable as paying your taxes, helpfully though there are many little ways to ensure that your travel costs don’t ruin your holidays.  One of the easiest ways to save money on your Christmas travel is search out travel sales, lots of companies, like Megabus have sales on transport at this time of year providing affordable and reliable options that will see you at home having Christmas dinner with enough left in your pocket for a trip to the sales.  Another option here would be to book your transport far in advance of your day of travel as chances are this trip isn’t a last minute decision; this is especially relevant if rail travel is somewhere in you plans.  An obvious but often overlooked option for those of you who need to fly home, is to work out if it’s cheaper to take a budget flight to an airport that isn’t necessarily the closest to you home and then travel from there?

However, if you’ve decided you’re going to do Christmas yourself this year, perhaps it’s the first Christmas with your partner or maybe you and your flatmates have decided to have Christmas together, whatever the circumstances there are a hundred and one ways to save money and still have a great Christmas day.  Firstly, don’t think that just because it’s Christmas you need head out and spend money on a huge turkey, lots of stores will being doing pre packed Christmas roasts these are more affordable, easier to cook and won’t give you the stress of worrying about the turkey all day.  Likewise we all know that drinks will be flowing freely over Christmas but be organised and buy early, online is often a good option, buying everything at once and having it delivered is a great way to stick to your budget.  Otherwise budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl are great options for things like drinks and nibbles around Christmas.

We found this great infographic that gives a breakdown on how much we spend on Christmas in the UK, where that money is all going and how it’s changed over the years.  Why not take a look, see how it compares to what you spend and see where you think you could save on its figures.

Image via Pinterest

Hopefully these tips will help you to have a great Christmas without worrying too much about the financial side of things.  If you want to find more ways to save we found this great video stuffed full of ideas you should check out.