Getting ready for Christmas

We are well and truly into the Christmas rush now. The last few cards and gifts need to be sent, the social whirl is in frenetic mode, and Mariah Carey is everywhere, like some kind of golden-voiced, glittery diva angel.

I approve.

As we head towards the celebrations proper, I am all about getting ready for Christmas. There are so many little things to do to ensure the festive period goes smoothly.

I like to check that our Christmas food orders are sorted and doublechecked (thank heavens for online shopping too, I must say). We're getting most of our stuff delivered by Ocado on the 23rd, and we have some delicious options on the list (Poppet is most interested in the large free range turkey crown of course!).

View Post

Food: My Citrus Fizz Cocktail

Last week I introduced you all to my yummy Cherries & Berries cocktail (and the Toffee Apple)...and this week I have another drink to share with you all - my Citrus Fizz!  I love, love, love drinks that use fresh-squeezed citrus flavours.  The tangy sweetness is a real fave of mine.

The citrus fizz is a quick and simple drink (seriously, so simple).  If you were having a party it's the ideal sort of drink to mix up ahead of time for your guests.  Enjoy!

Citrus Fizz

Ingredients

Lemon
Lime
Gin
Appletiser

Method (for two cocktails - double, triple, or multiply up according to how many drinks you require) 

1. Juice one lemon and one lime.  Add this juice to a small jug.

2. Add 50mls of gin to the jug, stir well.

3. Take two champagne flutes, and decant half of your mixed juices and gin into each flute.

4. Top up your flutes with chilled Appletiser.

So easy, right?

Cheers!

Disclaimer, baby: Appletiser paid for my ingredients in order to make a cocktail for them.  I ended up devising three, so will share the 'extra' two here!

View Post

Food: My Cherries and Berries Cocktail

A couple of weeks ago I was invited by the lovely folks at Appletiser to concoct a cocktail using their product, to be featured on their website.  I had great fun mixing, slicing, concocting and perfecting....and ended up with three delicious drinks, rather than the specified one.

Ah.

So, I wrote up the 'Toffee Apple' and sent that over to the team helping Appletiser, and though I'd share the other two here in the fullness of time.  I adore making new cocktails and it's high time I started sharing more of my creations here - it's not just soups and cakes chez Roper!  This fruity drink is a real delight and I've made it several times since my first concoction - it would also be very easy to create a mocktail by omitting the alcoholic elements, leaving you with a delicious fruity cup!

Cherries and Berries

Ingredients

Fresh raspberries

Fresh strawberries

Cocktail cherries (optional)

Strawberry puree (I used this version)

Chambord

Absolut Cherrys* vodka 

Appletiser

*(the brand name has it as Cherrys, I haven't mangled a plural!)

Method (for one cocktail, multiply as necessary for your crowd)

1. Take a medium sized tumbler or glass.  After washing your fruit, add four raspberries and one strawberry, quartered, to the glass.  If you're using cocktail cherries (I did because M loves them), add those too.

2. Add enough strawberry puree to the glass to cover the fruit.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of Chambord.

4. Pour in 25ml of the cherry vodka.

5. Top up the glass to the rim with Appletiser, stir and serve.

Such a fruity, refreshing cocktail - it's fast become a house favourite!

Disclaimer, baby: Appletiser paid for my ingredients in order to make a cocktail for them.  I ended up devising three, so will share the 'extra' two here!

View Post

Which wine wins?

This morning I find myself contemplating haggis and wine.

Two of my favourite things!

Here in the Roper household we are looking forward to celebrating Burns' Night this evening, with a chicken and haggis pie (recipe to follow in a couple of weeks).  We'll be enjoying a nip of whisky alongside, as is traditional when toasting the motherland, but I'm stuck on what sort of wine to serve in addition to this.

  

Luckily, the lovely folks at Roberson Wine sent me over this fun infographic to share, which handily advises on which wine to pair with different foods!  I really enjoyed learning more about which wines partner best with certain foods - if you click through on the infographic you'll be taken to a full size version so you can have an 'every day is a school day' moment as well!

After this advice I'll be looking out for a lovely medium-bodied Burgundy with my shopping today, which should both complement the chicken, while offseting the lovely spiciness of the haggis.  I'm getting peckish just thinking about it!

Which are your favourite wines to share?






Disclaimer: Roberson's created this infographic which I am sharing here in a sponsored post.  As ever, I only share content that I like, enjoy, or find handy!  I think it's a really useful little guide, and I'm always up for learning more about how to get food and wine to work together. 

View Post

Christmas Preparations: My 8 Weeks of Fun, Planning, and Getting It Done!

Those of you who've spent more than a few moments chatting to me, or reading here, will likely know that I am a liiiiiitle bit obsessed with Christmas and all things Christmassy.  My family joke that I am part elf - nothing makes me happier than singing carols, trimming trees, buying presents and spending time with loved ones!

Cosy cosy Christmas sofa - bring on the Christmas moviefests!

View Post

Scottish Invasion at London Cocktail Week

Last week in London we were all hitting the bar as we toasted the fun that is London Cocktail Week.  There were events all over the city celebrating all that is good in the world of tipples, and I was sure to mark the occasion in my diary.  I was delighted to see that a Scottish Invasion had been planned by the team from Liquor to Lips, where a range of spirits from the homeland could be sampled - whisky, gin, and even vodka!  Matthew and I happily set off to the lovely Mussel Men in Dalston for a ninety-minute whistle-stop tour of some of Scotland's best concoctions.

We sampled a lovely cocktail, the Quin Quine, in the bar ahead of the tasting.

View Post

Pinterest: Halloween

The days are growing shorter and the skies are becoming greyer and heavy with rain.  October is well and truly upon us!  Over on Pinterest I've been pinning lots of Halloween foods, cocktails, costumes & crafts, and I thought I'd share a few of my favourite finds here.

All images belong to the sites mentioned unless otherwise credited and are shared here with permission.

View Post

Christmas Drinks

Last Tuesday, we had our fourth annual Christmas Drinks - out first in our own home!  Despite an awful lot of our guests being detained due to travel hiccups and ill health, we still had a very decent turnout and it was so nice to toast the season with such a lovely bunch of people.

A huge thank you to everyone who came along!

We had so much yummy food - cheese, dips, crackers, fruit, crisps, bread, mince pies, brownies, cookies, sweets, mulled wine and champagne cocktails amongst other things!  We greeted the first guests at a little after 5 and bid the last few adieu at half past 11.  A fun, fun night!

Hannah being silly!

 Mid-convo action shot!

 Mmmmm.  Brownies.  And Lou!

Eileen sampling some of the goodies.

View Post