Xmas Time Warp

As I have been down with the man-flu for the last week. Here is a time warp piece/blog entry from Xmas, that I never quite got round to posting.






As a warm up to Xmas, on Christmas Eve I tried a Jun Tanaka recipe for venison. The meat is pan fried /stir fried along with pears, apple and blackberries. In my case I opted for grapes, blueberries and blackberries, with some chard, onion and balsamic vinegar and I have to say it was quite revalationary. Venison traditionally like a lot of game is best friends with fruit. So it shouldn't have surprised me at how well this dish worked. The meal was enhanced by a nice glass of Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon.

To accompany our Christmas feast of turkey and all the trimming, I brought out a bottle of Prosecco by La Gioiosa made from Pinot Grigio. Finding details about this wine online, I found it in a Taste test for The Guardian and Gennaro Contardo didn't even give this Prosecco 1*.





Prosecco is basically an Italian equivalent to Champagne, but half the price. As some one that isn't the biggest fan of Champagne due to its dryness, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Surprise, surprise I couldn't, the Prosecco had the same dry taste and lacked any real sweetness, just like a bottle of Champagne.

We didn’t even have a late tea, we just had a bottle of port and selection of biscuits and cheeses. I bought some Blackstone's Blue, which is one of my favourites . I am a fan of Cathedral City however I tried their 20 month vintage for the 1st time. It has not become my favourite cheese for simply eating on its own. The extra time has allowed salt crystals to form, it’s a bit more crumbly and tastier, but does not come with a really overpowering aftertaste that some mature cheddars might have.





Our Boxing Day meal was roast beef. To accompany this I made an excellent creamed horseradish. Like the preserved lemons I found there are many differing recipes online. I opted for an easy Jun Tanaka recipe from Market Kitchen. All you need is some fresh horseradish, creme frais or sour cream, Dijon mustard and some lemon juice.

To accompany the beef we drank one of my favourite wines and the best Rioja I know. Campo Viejo reserva. This is normally about £9 in Salisbury's, however just before Xmas it was £7 a bottle. Not sure if I will be able to find another one from 2001.






I also managed to drink some festive beers. Innis and Gunn brought out a nice boxed edition,,that I can seem to remember buying last year in the same offer of 3 for the price of 2. I also enjoyed a nice Simpson's inspired beer by Wychwood called Plum Duff. Another been Pickled Partridge. Speaking of beer one of my favourite presents was the excellent book called Beer that profiles some of the most famous and unusual beers from around the globe. I was able to flick through and say I had drank quite a few of the unusual European beers because I had ordered them from the excellent website http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/