At the moment it is available instantly via Kindle, or you can pre-order a hard copy which will be available for salt on the 28th of December! 

 

 

Thanks so much Myra!  You also made my day!! 

I've also had some nice positive feedback from several colleagues of mine:  

“Marie Rayner, former private chef, shares delicious British recipes for breads, cakes, biscuits, and scones. With helpful hints and photos that look mouthwatering throughout the book, you'll want to jump right in and bake all of the delicious recipes. I found favourite recipes from my childhood that brought back wonderful memories. Whether you are British or not, this book will be a fantastic addition to your cookery bookshelf.” —Linda Grant 

“Out of hundreds of baking books out there, this one really stands out. The Best of British Baking will not only help people like myself who don't know much about baking, but it will also be an invaluable source of information for competent bakers. Marie brings a wealth of knowledge and baking ability—all in all, this is a book that everyone should own.” —Jan Bennett, food blogger at A Glug of Oil  

This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and over only.  

Entries must be received by Friday December 24th, 2021,  at 12:00 Noon AST.  One winner will be chosen at random from the comments left below prior to the contest closing, later on the same day, Friday December 24th, 2021. 

No purchase necessary.  Estimated retail value of the price is $12.99 usd. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook.

TO enter just leave a comment below with a quick sentence on why you would like to have this book for yourself! Thank you! 

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

 I was sent one of their best selling  Selection Bite Brownie Boxes.  It came packaged beautifully in a sturdy box wrapped in bubble wrap, and placed within another box for safe delivery.   I could hardly wait to unwrap them.   The smell was almost intoxicating.


Ferrero Rocher - This hazelnut brownie includes praline, crunchy wafer and caramelised hazelnuts is more delicate than its decadent counterparts. There is a crispy topping, which gives way to a milder chocolate taste with the slightest hint of hazelnut coming through at the end.

Triple Chocolate - Their signature dark chocolate brownie packed full of white and milk chocolate chips and then coated with all three types of chocolate on top. A truly decadent take on a classic.

But would they live up to the hype?   I needed to taste them.  Yes . . .  its a tough job, but somebody has to do it.




theenglishkitchen.co - 12 Bite Best Seller Brownie Box 

Just click the above link and it will take you to a widget where you can enter to win your very own box of Bad Brownies!  A value of £14.50.  (Unfortunately it is for UK residents only, but don't worry if you are outside of the country, I am planning another giveaway of something else for my other readers at another time!)

In the meantime I would like to thank Bad Brownies very much for affording me the opportunity to try these lush delights and for generously providing a Giveaway.   I was sent this box free of charge but do want you to know that I was not required to give a positive review in exchange.  Any and all opinions are quite simply my own and honest.

I mean . . .  Brownies . . .  they are pretty hard not to like, and when they are as tasty as these ones I would go so far as to say impossible not to like!

Bad Brownies

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Good luck! One of you is in for an incredible treat!

I got a package the other day from The Beautiful Book Company.   Just look at how beautifully it was wrapped!  I was so excited to see what was in it!  The Beautiful Book Company is a gifting service that personalises and creates book bundles according to a person's interests.  Mine is cooking, so my book was a cookery book!



Around the World in 80 Dishes, a compendium of classic recipes from the world's favourite chefs.  Right up my alley!



Born from a life-long passion for books, combined with the frustration at a lack of options for literary based gifts, The Beautiful Book Company was founded in 2014. They create beautiful, bespoke literary-based gift boxes and tailored book subscriptions  which are  perfect as a thoughtful gift for someone you love, or even for keeping yourself!

Personally I feel that there is nothing better than the look, feel and smell of a physical book. I love the smell of a new book and the feel of the paper beneath my fingertips. Simple pleasures which an e-book just can't replace.

I love the packaging.  It's attractive and well put together. Perfect wrapping.  And I love the butcher twine bow.



Look at the tape!  It's prose from books.




And the gift card . . .  a quote from Louisa May Alcott . . .  one of my favourite quotes!  I love it.   I had a book addled brain, especially when it comes to cookery books or books about cooks!



This book I received is the perfect example of what might be received as a part of their "Chef's Collection," where one might receive a cookery book each month, specifically tailered to your culinary preferences. This is just one of the many collections available as subscriptions.  



They also offer Book Boxes, which consist of six books, gift wrapped and presented in a Kraft box.



Children's selections are also available, which makes for the perfect Christmas Gift for that special child in your life.



They offer Stationary and all sorts!

I am in love and I think you will be too.  Do hop on over to the website to check out more about this fab company and subscription service.

Also I am happy to offer a lovely giveaway to all of my UK READERS only.  The Beautiful Book Company will send one of my UK Readers a personalized Book Bundle.  To be in on the Giveaway just leave a comment on this post.  This giveaway will run for three weeks and end on the 21st of December.  Please state in your comment that you are from the UK.  Thank you very much!   I wish it could be for all of you, but for now they only operate in the UK.

Many thanks to the Beautiful Book Team for sending me this book and for allowing me to offer you a giveaway.

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GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED

As you all know I am a big fan of The English Provender Co. products.  I often use them and tell you about my experiences.  I just adore their chutneys and their luxury curds and of course their dressings and condiments.   I'm really excited because they have given me an opportunity to run a Giveaway here on The English Kitchen where one of my readers will be able to win a lovely prize just in time before Christmas!

One lucky reader will win:



A beautiful Le Creuset Condiment Pot! Isn't it cute.  Just the perfect way to serve your condiments at your holiday gatherings.  I think this is a fabulous prize.  I am as fond of Le Creuset as I am of  The English Provender Co.!


As well as this lovely condiment pot you will also receive three chutneys from The English Provender Co Range.  They actually have two new flavours at the moment.



Hot Chilli & Red Pepper Chutney - Naturally delicious for adding a kick to cheddar & heat to cold meat - or anything else that takes your fancy!



Moroccan Spiced Chutney - Naturally delicious for adding a touch of the exotic. Perfect with kebabs and couscous, or mix with crème fraiche for a dip with a difference.

Both sound delicious and I love the idea of mixing that Moroccan one with some creme fraiche for a tasty dip, don't you?

Anyways, in order to be in it to win it, simply leave a comment at the end of this post.  I will announce a winner on Monday the 8th of December, and with any lucky the winner will be able to use this for their Christmas festivities! 

Giveaway is open to entrants from the UK only.  Sorry about that, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.  If you are in the UK however, please enter and be in it to win it!  Thank you so much!

I love it when I get to give something away! 

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED.

 

I am a real vegetable lover. I could eat nothing but vegetables and be perfectly happy for the rest of my life . . . seriously! Ok . . . I might miss a good steak once in a while, but  vegetables do make me very happy.




I actually crave them.   It's totally true.   If I don't have at least one or two a day . . . something vital is missing from my life, and I'm not talking potatoes here!  (Although for sure Potatoes are a real favourite of both of ours!)

 

 This delicious casserole is a fabulous way of getting in several of your five a day, and is very easy to make.  You could use thawed frozen vegetables, or a thawed frozen vegetable mix, but I get a special kick out of doing my own vegetables.   I'm kind of odd that way I suppose. . .



 You end up with a tasty mixture of crispy tender carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, courgettes and leeks . . . underneath a tasty gratin sauce and a blanket of crispy crumb and melted Blue Stilton . . . because . . . we like it that way.  (Plus it is a good way to use up some of that leftover Christmas Stilton!)

 

And it tastes good.  The perfect side dish for your New Year Supper, or any supper.  Or, if you are like me . . . just the whole supper.  With a few slices of crusty whole meal bread and some butter . . . tis very, very satisfying.  (If you are serving it as a main, it will only feed 3 or 4 depending on appetites.  As a main I would serve some barley or brown rice with it.)

 

 *Winter Vegetable Casserole*
Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish
Printable Recipe

A delicious way to get in a few of your "Five a Day!"  Easy and economical and doesn't use cream soup.

1 medium cauliflower, trimmed and broken into florets
1 medium head of broccoli, trimmed and broken in florets
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch coins
1 medium courgette, washed, trimmed, cut into half moons, 1/2 inch thick
1 medium leek, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces

For the sauce:
4 TBS butter
25g of plain flour (1/4 cup)
1 chicken stock pot (or the equivalent of chicken boullion powder)
500ml of milk (2 cups)
1 TBS Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper taste
a handful of crushed round buttery crackers
a handful of crumbled Blue Stilton Cheese

 

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil.  Drop in the cauliflower.  Cook until crispy tender, then scoop out and drain.  Set aside.  Repeat with the remaining vegetables, cooking them one at a time, just until crispy tender and allowing to drain well.  Discard water.

Using the same pot, melt the butter.  Once it begins to foam.  Add the flour.  Cook and stir for one minute.  Whisk in the Dijon mustard and then the milk.  Cook, whisking constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens.  Whisk in the stock pot.  Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as desired.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 5.  Butter a 9 inch square deep casserole dish.   Toss the well drained vegetables together and spread them in the prepared baking dish.  Pour the sauce evenly over top of all.  Sprinkle with the crushed crackers and the crumbled Stilton cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbling and nicely golden on top.  Allow to sit for about 5 minutes before serving.

I have to admit it . . . I hold my hand up.  I have a thing for Boursin Cheese.    It's not something which I had actually ever tasted before I moved over here to the UK, but it is something which I very quickly fell in love with my very first taste.

That's why I gladly accepted the recent offer to try out their new Fig & Nut flavour, which is out just in time for the holidays.

From their page:  A captivating combination of bitter and sweet, soft and hard. The creamy texture of the cheese gives way to the contrasting soft chewy texture of the fig and the harder crunch of the nut pieces. 

I have always been a big fan of their Garlic & Herb and the Black Pepper Variety . . . as well as their Boursin Light.  They taste wonderful and have such a lovely creamy texture.



We could not resist digging in to it and just indulging ourselves with it spread onto some Italian Crackers which I had in the cupboard.  It was fabulous . . .  just what you would expect from Boursin.  Each bite had  a depth of sweetness from the figs, a bit of crunch from the nuts . . . and that creamy Boursin tang which we both love!  It was half gone before we knew it!  *smack!*

I also love to use my Boursin for cooking with.  Seriously.  It's great in sauces, for on pasta and in gravies. It makes the most fabulous mash.  Just stir a package of it into your mash and allow it to melt . . . the Herb & Garlic is especially nice this way, but so is the Black Pepper.

I decided to try something out with this lovely Fig and Nut mixture . . . the whole time I was munching on it I was thinking . . . this would be fabulous in a Sweet Potato Mash!



And guess what!!  It was just wonderful!!  When I worked at the Manor down South, American Thanksgiving was a really big deal every year.  I would work really hard for days before the Holiday and then be on my feet for at least 15 hours on the actual day preparing all of the dishes that were required of me . . . one being this gross Sweet Potato Souffle that they just loved, which to me seemed more like dessert than a side dish . . . it was good, but not really my cup of tea.  I think it was all those marshmallows on top that I didn't like very much . . .

 

There's no marshmallows in this delicious Sweet Potato Casserole!  Just roasted sweet potatoes and some of that lovely Fig and Nut Boursin Cheese . . .

It's very, very good . . . I think I found us a brand new favourite.  Move over Marshmallow Sweet Potato Souffle . . . this tasty dish is the tops!



*Sweet Potato, Fig and Nut Casserole*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Don't knock it til you try it.  This works fabulously together.

4 large sweet potatoes, washed and unpeeled
1 package (150g) of Boursin Fig & Nut Soft cheese,
 at room temperature
buttered bread crumbs (optional)

Preheat your oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.

Place your washed sweet potatoes onto a baking tray and pop them into the preheated oven.  Bake them for about an hour, until they are very soft and a fork inserted into one, slips in very easily.  Remove them from the oven and let cool for a few minutes, until you can just handle them.

Cut a bit off the end of each and just let the cooked sweet potato slip out of it's skin into a large bowl.  Mash well with a fork, adding the softened cheese and stirring it though.  Spoon this mixture into a buttered shallow casserole dish.  Top with the buttered crumbs if using.

Return to the oven and cook for a further 15 minutes or so or until the top is beginning to caramelize a bit and the crumbs are browned.

 

Like I said I love, LOVE to cook with Boursin.  I often stir it into mash . . . and use it as a topper for my Shepherds or Cottage Pies!  But the thing I love to do with it the most is to make these fabulous Boursin Souffled Baked Potatoes!

 

These are so, So, SO good!!  The cheese is melted all through the potato, giving it a fabulous flavour . . . and the whole mixture souffle's up when it's baked . . . so you get that crisp lightly browned exterior . . . but the inside are soft and fluffy and oh so moreishly good!



*Boursin Souffled  Baked Potatoes*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

The tastiest, easiest stuffed baked potatoes you could ever want to eat.

4 medium sized baking potatoes
1 (150g) package of Garlic & Herb Boursin Cheese, at room temperature
2 TBS butter
a bit of milk

Preheat your oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Wash your baking potatoes well, dry and then prick each of  them with a fork in several places.  Place the clean and dry potatoes in the oven, right on the oven rack.  (Don't worry, it's ok!)

Roast for about an hour  to one hour and fifteen minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and yield when softly pressed.  (Don't press too hard, or they might explode!)  Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool just until you can handle them.  Cut a thin slice from off the top of each and discard.  Carefully scoop out all of the insides of each potato into a bowl, taking care not to tear the skin.  Mash very well with the butter, cheese and milk, until you have a smooth mixture.  You only need enough milk to help make it a bit fluffy.  Taste and adjust seasoning with some salt and pepper if desired.  Spoon the mash back into the potatoes, place them into a baking dish and return them to the oven.  Bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling souffles up and begins to brown.  Serve immediately.

And . . . just when you thought I had nothing else to share . . . look at this!

 

Win a Cooler Bag Of Boursin Products

 To celebrate the launch of Boursin’s delicious new Special Edition Fig & Nut flavour this Christmas, we’re offering one lucky winner the chance to win a cooler bag full of Boursin products to enjoy. Boursin’s new seasonal variety is an aromatic blend of sweet succulent figs and crunchy mixed nuts, combined with its signature creamy, crumbly soft cheese. Savour the flavour as part of your cheese board this Christmas or spread on ciabatta, drizzle with olive oil and top with prosciutto to create a fig and parma ham bruschetta - perfect served as a stylish appetiser during the festive party season. The cooler bag will include a variety of the Boursin range, including Boursin Garlic & Herb, Black Pepper and Boursin tomato, onion & chive flavour.

For more information about Boursin, head to www.boursin.co.uk. 

Unfortunately I can only offer this giveaway to residents of mainland UK.  But if you are a resident of the UK and want to be included, please leave a comment below, adding a notation to say that you are a mainland UK resident.  I will be picking one lucky winner on Monday, November 19th.  I wish I could give one to each of you, but alas . . . I cannot. 

CONTEST CLOSED - winner will be announced tommorrow!

 


I was recently contacted by Experience Days and asked if I would like to host a  Chocolate Making Experience Day Giveaway for them!  They didn't need to ask me twice. I just love being able to share little things like this with my readers.

Experience Days is a unique way of gifting a loved one or a friend with the experience of a lifetime.  They have a wide variety of experiences to choose from . . . with everything from pampering days to hot air ballooning . . . to, well  . . . Chocolate making!

 

The Chocolate Making Experience Day is the perfect day for anyone who loves chocolate and is interested in learning how to make their own chocolates.  You will spend the whole day with an expert instructor in the art of making chocolates, who will teach you all that you need to know about making your own chocolates with quality instruction, practical demonstrations and hands on experience!  (I'm sure there will be plenty of tasting as well!)



This makes the perfect gift for the chocoholic or chocolate lover in your life and one of you will be given the chance to experience this class for yourself.  There are 10 different locations here in the UK, where you can take the class, and the good news is that this giveaway is not limited to people in the UK, as they also have an American branch called  Xperience Days



 

To be included in this sweet giveaway you only need to leave a comment at the end of this post.  This giveaway will remain open until Monday the 19th of November.  What a fab way to kick off your holiday season!

To learn more about this company and all of the interesting gift experiences they offer hop on over to Experience Days UK or in America, Xperience Days!

Remember you got to be in it to win it!  Good luck one and all!

I can't believe my brand new camera just died on me.  I've only had it for a couple months.  I am so sad about that.




I'll have to take it back to the shop today and have it, hopefully . . . replaced.  So annoying!

I did manage to pick a winner for the Hotel Chocolate Christmas Cracker though . . . and I took a picture of the winning comment with my i-pad camera, which will have to do for now.  I wish I could have a Christmas Cracker sent to each of you, but alas . . . there can only be one winner.



Hoping you can see that.  Mary McAndrew, you are the winner!  Please send me your postal details so that I can pass them on to the Hotel Chocolate people.  Congratulations!

Never fear though people, there is still the Jamie Oliver Cookbook giveaway (see post below this one) and a few more in the offing to look forward to!