Happy New Year!
Posted: 07 January '10 by Kelly
OK so we are seven days late… But we are still getting over the festivities of the Christmas season. We hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and New year and are looking forward to the year ahead.
If you’re anything like us and don’t ever want to see another piece of chocolate, a mince pie or any left-over turkey again then watch this space for some quick, tasty and healthy recipes for 2010.
Twenty Ten will hopefully be an exciting new year for Chilli and Chocolate, with plenty of new ideas, recipes and events coming up.
For our new members, you will be pleased to know that you can pick your own password as soon as you register instead of having to go back and change it again. Another little gremlin in the site sorted, thanks Niall.
Tags: christmas, Happy New year, recipes
Categories: Site Messages
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Anyone for eggnog?
Posted: 27 December '09 by Niall
A glass of eggnog
Eggnog is an essential part of the Christmas and New Years’ celebrations in the United States and Canada but doesn’t really feature in our preparations for Christmas. After working right up to Christmas Eve and in need of some seasons’ cheer I thought that is was time to change all that.
Be warned though – eggnog (or at least this recipe for it) is deceptively potent! It’s creamy and sweet like Baileys Irish Cream, with almost no hint of alcohol, making the eggnog very easy to drink – and before you know it you’ll be very merry indeed.
The recipe does require raw eggs, which can be off-putting to a few people – but if it doesn’t bother you or you can overcome your squeamishness you’ll find out just how good eggnog is. Let me assure you that there is absolutely no hint of egg, nor any strange or unpleasant consistency. Because of the raw egg, however, it should be served within 24 hours of making it.
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup of caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 cups of milk
- 2 cups of whipping cream
- 3/4 cup of brandy
- 1/3 cup of dark rum
- A little more grated nutmeg for serving
Method
- Make sure the ingredients are chilled before you begin.
- Beat the eggs until they are frothy, then add the sugar, the vanilla, and the nutmeg.
- Slowly stir in the brandy, the rum, the cream and the milk.
- Pour the mixture into a suitable container and place in the fridge until chilled.
- Remember to stir the eggnog just before you serve, and grate a little nutmeg on top to complete the recipe.
Enjoy
Tags: christmas, recipe, recipes
Categories: Drinks and Beverages : Featured Post : Recipes
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Ooh, saucy..
Posted: 24 December '09 by Niall
Cranberry sauce with port and orange
Turkey, stuffing, brussel sprouts, roasted potatoes and carrots.. Have you noticed what’s missing?
Cranberry sauce is one of the most important ingredients in the traditional Christmas dinner, a deliciously piquant sweet and sour accompaniment which cuts through all of the meaty flavours of the meal.
After making chutneys and jams during the year, I thought “Why rely on the usual store-bought sauce this Christmas?” To my mind, making your own sauce is a nice addition to your yule-tide meal – you’ve worked hard enough producing the rest, why let yourself down at the last by buying an over-sweet, preservative-filled cranberry sauce?
This recipe is very straight-forward and gives you a perfectly sweet, orange-infused cranberry sauce that would grace any table. And the aroma of all that port and orange fills the house with a real Christmas-y atmosphere. What more could you ask for!
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 5 tbsp port
- 359g/12oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1, skinned, cored, and finely chopped
NB. You’ll also need an empty, washed jam-jar to store the sauce.
Method
- Heat the oven to 100 and place the washed jam-jar inside.
- Finely grate the zest from the orange
- Squeeze the juice from the zested orange into a separate bowl.
- Place the sugar, orange juice, and 4 tablespoons of port into a deep saucepan, and allow the sugar to dissolve into the liquid over a low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the cranberries, chopped apple and the orange zest.
- Raise the heat and cook the ingredients in the uncovered saucepan until the fruit is soft and is breaking down, and the juices are slightly thickened.
- Stir in the remaining 1 tbsp port.
- Remove the warmed jam-jar from the oven, making sure to protect your hands, and spoon the cranberry sauce into the jar. Place the cap on the jar.
- Set the jar aside on a heat-protected surface to cool.
Enjoy.
Tags: christmas, recipe, recipes, sauces
Categories: Featured Post : Jams and Preserves : Recipes
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Merry Christmas
Posted: 24 December '09 by Niall
Merry Christmas from Chilli and Chocolate!
We’ve had a great year, have done some really interesting and enjoyable things, and have much more planned for 2010 – we hope you’ll be there to see it all.
Kelly and I would just like to thank everyone who has been involved: all the members, our readers (and why haven’t you registered!?), the producers that we’ve been talking to, and friends of the site. We’re having a blast writing this stuff, but it wouldn’t be the same without you guys.
Hope you have a happy, safe Christmas,
Niall and Kelly
www.chilliandchocolate.com – A Belfast Food Blog
Tags: christmas
Categories: Site Messages
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The nightmare before Christmas….
Posted: 21 December '09 by Kelly
Christmas dinner at The Holiday Inn
Right, I am now going to have a moan!!
Friday night was my works Christmas party at the Holiday Inn in Belfast. We had it planned for months and we had all been really looking forward to it. So, early in the day, we went to our room to get into our party dresses and enjoy a well deserved glass of champagne.
Now I know that Christmas work party dinner isn’t usually a culinary delight, however I think that’s it’s only fair to expect the food to be edible – especially whenever you pay £35.00 for the ‘pleasure’ (and believe me it was FAR from a pleasure).
To start we had melon with forest fruits. Now I know what you are thinking… ‘you cannot go wrong with a piece of fruit can you?’ Well you would think not, but apparently so. The melon had not been cut properly and I ended up getting a mouthful of melon rind… nice!
The melon was followed by what I thought was vegetable soup while others were convinced that it was pea… we were later informed it was potato and leek!! Anyway whatever it was I just couldn’t stomach it so I had a crusty roll (which turned out to be the highlight of my meal).
We then were served the traditional turkey and ham with stuffing in which the meat was so thin I could of sworn they had mistakenly substituted it for parma ham (I wish it was!!). Another odd thing were the vegetables… we got the usual (cooked to within an in inch of their lives) carrots and brussel sprouts, but with the added bonus of ONE mange tout, random! The last component of this repaste were the potatoes which brought back the horrors of the school canteen from my childhood – they had obviously been cooked earlier in the day and re-heated in a microwave or under the salamander.. Not a taste that I ever wanted to experience again! The only good thing about the meal was the stuffing – in truth it was nothing special, but I like most stuffing so it stood out from the rest of the ingredients…
I doubt that many others at the party could identify with my description – the make-up of most plates seemed to be very different with some getting no potatoes, others getting no carrots, and a few others being handed their main course after the majority of diners were served their desserts.
The dessert, meringues with berries and cream, was actually OK. The meringue was gooey inside, just the way I like it. However the strawberries were hard and sour and were pushed to the side of my plate.
As I said, I know that the meal served at a works Christmas party isn’t going to be spectacular, but I honestly believe that there was no excuse for what the Holiday Inn served to paying guests. It was sub-standard and at times completely inedible – when it finally arrived.
Our verdict:
From my point of view I would never ever darken their door again!
Holiday Inn
22 – 26 Ormeau Avenue
Belfast,
Co. Antrim
BT2 8HS
W: www.holidayinn.com/belfast
E: reservations-belfast@ihg.com
T: (028) 9032 8511
F: (028) 9062 6546
You can also find The Holiday Inn Belfast (Ormeau Avenue) on Google Maps.
Categories: Northern Ireland : Restaurant Reviews
