Tag: 2020

Iceland Christmas food range 2020 chocolate cheesecake

Iceland Christmas food range 2020

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The Iceland Christmas food range for 2020 is offering a range of twists on many festive favourites, including their ever-popular frozen turkey range. In addition to a sticky toffee cheesecake, there’s also a pigs in blankets dish that has been inspired by macaroni cheese. The festive food items will appear in the run-up to Christmas Day, and they can be bought in-store or online but please remember that the items are frozen so they need to be placed in the freezer as quickly as possible. You will also need to follow the correct cooking guidance, and you may even need to defrost some items before you can eat them.   Christmas food range from Iceland From the Christmas food range that Iceland has revealed so far, we found the festive chicken dippers a great idea for little ones – or fussy eaters – who don’t want to eat roast turkey on Christmas day. These are Christmas tree-shaped chicken dippers, and they are also ideal as a buffet offering. The dippers also offer cracking value with a pack of 60 tree-shaped chicken dippers costing just £3. Other ideas for Christmas snacks or a buffet, include mini hot dog rolls which have a miniature sausage in a bun and are quite a fun idea. A box of 15 mini hot dogs will cost £2. Iceland is renowned for offering quality party food, and in 2020 shoppers can also indulge with mini steak bakes, mini fish and chip cones that feature salt and vinegar fish chunks and chips, as well as vegan chilli burritos. And for those who are regular festive shoppers at Iceland, then their ever-popular prawn ring tray will be making a return this Christmas.   Luxury pigs in blankets We have already mentioned that Iceland is offering Luxury pigs in blankets that have been inspired by a mac and cheese offering. This makes for a quick ready meal idea for the festivities and has the potential to be a real winner with customers. The sausage is wrapped in a crispy smoky bacon, and then paired with macaroni pasta complete with Red Leicester cheese, some parsley and then the whole thing is topped with crunchy breadcrumbs.   Turkey Wellington For the big day, Iceland is offering a turkey and stuffing wellington which is a spin on the traditional dish that many of us enjoy. The dish sees a succulent piece of turkey along with stuffing being wrapped in a pastry crust. It looks like a great offering to be enjoyed by dinner guests. Other frozen turkey offerings in the Iceland range include a frozen turkey crown wrapped in bacon for £16, a frozen turkey breast joint and there’s also a whole frozen turkey with giblets in medium and large sizes – great value at £15 and £16 respectively. For those who do not want turkey, then there’s an excellent pork leg crackling joint complete with a garlic and herb stuffing. There’s also the return of Iceland’s Luxury truffle turkey crown, and their Luxury Aberdeen Angus rump joint with a beef dripping butter. Vegetarians and vegans are also catered for this year with a no-beef Wellington, and a luxury cranberry topped nut roast. Iceland is also promising the UK’s first frozen luxury smoked salmon dish that will have the freshest flavour guaranteed.   Sticky toffee winter forest log For Christmas pudding, Iceland is offering a sticky toffee winter forest log that may look like a tree stump but is a traditional chocolate log. However, Iceland has swapped the usual chocolate mousse and replaced it with a sticky toffee sponge and sauce. This delight weighs in at nearly 1kg and it will look great on many Christmas dinner tables for the festivities. There’s also an impressive millionaire salted caramel gold bar cheesecake to consider and this is something of a showstopper. This is a decadent, family-sized sharing dish with a solid bar of chocolate, a crunchy biscuit base and smoked salted caramel topping. It looks like a winning cheesecake to be dishing up, though the Iceland honeycomb mountain also looks set to be a winner. Like several other retailers, Iceland says it will be releasing its Christmas range through-out November so shoppers and fans alike will need to keep their eyes peeled for regular updates.   More information If you like the sound of the Iceland Christmas food range in 2020, then they have a useful store locator to so you can find your …

Morrisons Christmas food 2020

Morrisons Christmas food range 2020

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Morrisons Christmas food – the supermarket has revealed a 10% discount scheme for teachers as well as school staff – as a ‘thank you’ for looking after the country’s school children during the Covid-19 pandemic.   The Morrisons Christmas food range for 2020 offers something for everyone to make this a tasty festive season to celebrate. The supermarket chain is offering several delicious starters including mini dressed crabs which consists of small crab shells being filled with crab pate and then topped with crab meat. There’s also the impressive looking turkey cushion which sees Christmas dinner guests being served with a turkey that is layered with bacon and pork stuffing, and then hand-wrapped with streaky bacon. Also, Morrisons is not forgetting vegans in 2020 – and those who would prefer a plant-based Christmas dinner this year.   Beefless Wellington There’s a beefless Wellington which is a mix an apricot, cranberry and chestnut duxelles with a wholegrain mustard and wrapped in a lovely flaky pastry. Or there’s the Morrisons Best Christmas tarte which sees various root vegetables and a creamy vegan cheese and then topped with apple sauce. Other the delights include no-duck spring rolls, no-duck tempura and vegan gingerbread doughnuts. There’s also meat-free pigs in blankets and a vegan trifle to look forward to.   Christmas dinner puddings from Morrisons Christmas dinner puddings from Morrisons this year sees a nice range on offer – including a Belgian chocolate orange pudding that features a hidden caramel sauce centre that melts when cooked. There’s also the store’s Best vegan trifle, a first for Morrisons, which promises to be a tasty delight. Diners can also enjoy festive star-shaped doughnuts as part of the Morrisons Christmas food range this year. These tasty treats are dusted with icing sugar and available in packs of two.   Christmas food range from Morrisons Most of the Christmas food range from Morrisons is available from November, and we also enjoyed their Best Seafood Thermidors. These come in a pack of two and will be hugely enjoyable for seafood lovers featuring scallops and king prawns in creamy and rich Thermidor source – which also has a brandy and white wine. This delicious creation is then topped with a cheesy crumb.   Enjoy a cheese board at Christmas A lot of festive diners like to enjoy a cheese board at Christmas, and this year Morrisons is offering a crumbly Wensleydale cheese but with ribbons of salted caramel running through it. There’s no doubt that lots of people enjoy salted caramel and this addition to Wensleydale cheese offers a touch of luxury that many cheese lovers will love. Or maybe not, as many people may think this is a somewhat bizarre offering. If that doesn’t tickle your tastebuds, then how about the best Christmas chocolate and orange mini trees? This tasty offering features layers of cocoa sponge with a Belgian dark chocolate mousse and an orange flavoured moose. It is finished with a layer of solid dark Belgian chocolate and a bronze design. It’s likely to be a conversation starter and these will not, we promise, last for long after being placed on the dinner table!   Sticky toffee bowl dessert There’s also a sticky toffee bowl dessert available that will be a great dish to serve up to guests with a (very) sweet tooth. Morrisons have created a sticky toffee version of what is a classic trifle with sticky toffee sauce, vanilla custard, sponge, whipped cream and golden balls. And for those who are entertaining this year – Covid-19 lockdown restrictions permitting, of course! – then Morrisons is also offering a tasty range of mini pies. These bite-size delights include chicken and ham and also steak and ale creations. Morrisons is also dishing up a range of mini pork belly bites which will look great on a Christmas sharing plate. These delicious treats have been slow-cooked and then smothered with a barbecue sticky sauce.   Morrisons best stuffed free range turkey crown Let’s not forget the tasty main course for Christmas dinner, and the Morrisons best stuffed free range turkey crown is a delight. For many people, a Christmas dinner is not dinner without turkey, and this huge crown is topped with a smoked bacon lattice and has been stuffed with a pork, sage and onion stuffing. Morrisons is warning though that this particular dish will only be available from December 19 and will weigh from 1.8 kg to 2.2 kg and should feed between five and eight people. However, we think lots of people will be tempted by turkey cushion and this too is available from December 19.   Other meat options for Christmas dinner Morrisons is also offering an easy carve duck joint that is filled with a plum and pork stuffing and then served with a caramelised onion and sauce as part of their other meat options for Christmas dinner. And if you want to try something different, there’s a sweet cured gammon joint, complete with a spiced glaze, with a star anise and candid orange slice as the topping. There’s even a boar meat dish available that has been hand-rolled with a fennel, chilli and lemon stuffing and is served with a fennel, lemon and mustard sauce. When it comes to festive delights, we think the Morrisons Christmas food range is worth a closer look!   More information If you like the look and sound of the Morrisons Christmas food range for 2020, then you can find a Morrisons supermarket near you by using their online store finder. There are more than 500 stores …

Best Xmas pud 2020

The Best Christmas Pudding 2020

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Traditional Christmas puddings are a fitting end to the traditional Christmas dinner and this year sees an impressive choice of puds being available. Whether you are looking for a classic Christmas pudding to finish a festive meal before settling down in front of the TV, or whether you’re looking for Christmas puddings with a twist, the taste test from the Christmas.co.uk team is an ideal guide for you. Christmas puddings range from having lots of juicy fine fruits, to having vine fruits and crunchy almonds and those puds that have fruits and spices. The best Christmas puddings to find in the run-up to the festivities come from the leading retailers such as Marks & Spencer’s and Waitrose, but there are also some smaller retailers and specialist pudding makers that we’ve checked out this year. And, as we found from our Christmas pudding taste test last year, they have created some very tasty puds to enjoy! So, whether you want your Christmas pudding filled with glace cherries, are if you looking for a gluten free pudding, this is the time to stock up on brandy butter and enjoy a festive pudding delight on Christmas Day.   Award winning Christmas Puddings Marks and Spencer Vintage Christmas Pudding £15 each for 800g – Good Housekeeping award winner This delicious Christmas pud was the Good Housekeeping Award winner for 2020 and we agree completely! We love all the interesting twists on Christmas food that have appeared in recent years. However, tradition is a wonderful thing, especially at Christmas when it represents comfort, cherished memories and family rituals. This sumptuously sticky Christmas pudding boasts a tantalising glossiness and delights the taste buds with a rich mix of juicy fruits, sweet glace cherries and crunchy, creamy almonds. The spices, cinnamon and nutmeg are delicate and warming. There’s festive booziness too!! Sherry, port and brandy are bold enough to give this M&S Vintage Christmas Pudding a lovely kick.   Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Salted Maple & Pecan Christmas Pudding £6 for 400g Now this is gorgeous! I adore anything flavoured with salted caramel – I could probably eat the whole thing to myself. The caramel is beautifully buttery, and you get zingy hits of salt with every eager bite. The deeply flavourful nuggets of moist sultanas and currants are an ideal companion to the sweetly nutty and crunchy pecans. Maple sauce envelops this attractive pudding, adding a centrepiece-worthy shine and a rich sweetness that adds smoothness to the texture as well as the tartness of the fruit.   Morrison’s The Best Chocolate Orange Pudding £6 for 500g If you’re craving an indulgent finale to your Christmas Dinner, then Morrison’s is the place to shop. The moist sponge of this unusual dessert has a cloudlike lightness that is the perfect antidote to a heavy meal. It’s easy on the eye too! There will be plenty of ‘oohs’ and ‘aaahs’ as you place it proudly before your friends and family. The unctuous chocolate ganache is accompanied by a punchy orange sauce that nestles beautifully at the centre of this pudding. It is gooey and melts in the mouth. There was a danger that the recipe for this could have been ‘too-much’, but the darkness of the cocoa and the slight bitterness of the fruits mean that the flavours are perfectly balanced.   Supermarket Sensations Waitrose No.1 Christmas Pudding with Courvoisier Cognac £12 for 800g This traditional Christmas pudding is the perfect blend of all your favourite seasonal flavours, and it will look fab swathed in flame at the centre of your dinner table. Rich brandy and fruity sherry add a bold punch of taste to zingy orange and lemon, while the fruity astringency of currants and sultanas give a burst of juiciness to the crunchy sweetness of pecans. The texture is spot on too! Squidgy, sticky and delightfully moist, this is a Christmas pudding combination that is hard to beat.   Morrison’s The Best Christmas Pudding £8 for 800g The Morrisons’ Christmas food team certainly love a nut! This festive dessert is crammed full of spiced pecans, creamy almonds and rustic walnuts. They give a super crunchy texture that is unusual for a Christmas pudding but actually pairs cleverly with the plump softness of the vine fruits. If you don’t have a sweet tooth this one might not be for you, but we think that there’s enough citrus here to cut through the sugar.   Tesco Finest 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding £8 for 800g Fruitiness is the key flavour in this gorgeously glossy pudding. We could really taste the brandy-soaked cherries, as well as the usual sultanas and that is a very good thing!! There’s a generous amount of alcohol packed into this glossy dome, including the heat of cognac and aromatic cider notes. However, ruby port is the strongest of all the boozy flavours here and that’s a lovely twist.     The Best of the Independents Daylesford Organic Traditional Christmas Pudding £20 for 900g – Good Housekeeping Awards Runner Up This is a lovely pudding that has an enticing dark colour which looks glorious when drenched in brandy sauce. Totally Instagrammable! There’s rum enriching this pud which delivers a toasted sugar taste that is an amazing with the nuts and tart fruit. The gentle warming spices are rather special too! Christmas puddings can be slightly gritty, but Daylesford have managed to create the most divine soft and cake-like mouth feel. It’s not as traditional as they promise but we’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy it enough not to care.   Betty’s Classic Christmas Pudding £17 for 800g Betty’s is a wonderfully old-fashioned Yorkshire Tea Room, and this pudding features the best of God’s Own County. The texture is mouth-wateringly moist and you’ll discover plenty of sweet and jewel-like sultanas, cherries and currants – they are almost jammy which we thoroughly enjoyed. Betty’s artisan bakers have soaked their puddings in Yorkshire Ale and brandy which gives a tantalising tickle of taste but isn’t too overpowering. The packaging is very pretty too, so it would make a thoughtful gift.   Riverford Organic Vegan Christmas Pudding £12.75 for 450g This is a lot of money to pay for a small Christmas pudding but if you value organic food, a vegan ethos and a luxurious recipe, then it will be worth the extra pennies. There’s A LOT of fruit per spoonful and we thought the extensive spice mix of cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, coriander, cloves and fennel really brought all the flavours to life. This pud is made with coconut oil which adds a subtle creamy, nuttiness – and makes up for the slight lack of sweetness and booze.   Deliciously Quirky Puds Aldi Specially Selected Damson, Plum and Pink Gin Pudding £5.99 for 800g Covered in decadent, and edible, gold glitter, Aldi’s delightful offering is a real showstopper. Kids will think it’s ace and you could (perhaps!) treat them to just a small portion! Plum is the stand-out fruit flavour that is further enhanced with sugary pink gin. You’ll still find the customary vine fruits (big juicy ones too!) nestled next to toasted almonds, so traditionalists won’t be too outraged. The centre is a tasty mix of plum jam and jelly. It’s sounds too sweet doesn’t it?! Surprisingly, this pudding has a flawless balance of flavours that simply must be tried!   Tesco Finest Hidden Clementine Christmas Pudding with Courvoisier Cognac £5 for 400g This one really made us smile. It’s not the prettiest of puds, it kind of fell out of the ugly plastic container that it comes in, but the not-so-surprising treat in the centre makes us nostalgic for the quirky food styling of the 1970’s. The sponge is soft, moist and there is an impressive balance of nuttiness, alcohol and fruit. The heart of this Christmas pudding is the sugared, full size clementine. A little bomb of candy sweet tanginess which leaves a refreshing, citrus aftertaste.   Lidl Deluxe Limencello and Panettone Topped Christmas Pudding £6.99 for 700g Ooooh, now we do like a bit of limoncello in the Christmas.co.uk office! It reminds us of Italian city breaks. Lidl has created one of the most attractive Christmas puddings of 2020. It’s covered with glistening scarlet cherries and a glossy sauce. And the smell!! As soon as this baby is popped from its box, you’ll be hit in the nostrils with a beautiful honey lemon aroma. It’s very sweet and sticky, which we couldn’t get enough of, but if you prefer a more savoury, traditional pud, then we’d choose another from our list.   Free From Marks & Spencer’s Vegan and Made Without Wheat and Dairy Christmas Pudding £4 for 454g Free From food is often disappointing. It never quite lives up to ‘the real thing’ does it?! Not anymore! Good old M&S are leading the way with authentic Christmas food that even people without allergies would choose to eat. The levels of fat, juice-filled chunks of fruit in their Wheat and Dairy Free Christmas Pudding makes it taste luxurious from the first spoonful. An exciting number of booze slugs have gone into this recipe and the texture is much less dense and claggy than the usual gluten free offerings.   LillyPuds Premium Gluten (and Dairy) Free Christmas Pudding £19.95 for 908g LillyPuds have received several ‘Great Taste’ Awards, a sign of innovation and finesse with flavours. This Gluten Free Christmas Pudding is a pleasure to eat as well as being relatively healthy. Fruit makes up at least 50% of the recipes and there’s only 4.5% is added sugar. Each pudding is blessed with an interesting mix of ingredients such as almonds, ginger, apples, brandy, apricots and real ale. And the very best thing about LillyPuds?! No hard and bitter mixed peel!!   Burtree Puddings Gluten Free Christmas Pudding £15.99 for 900g Burtree Puddings are the proud owners of ‘The Guardian Newspaper Best Gluten Free Christmas Pudding’. In the blind taste test, it was chosen by a family who aren’t even on a gluten free diet. These puddings are loaded with fruit, including entire pulped oranges for maximum zing! Tasty tipples such as brandy and cider finish off a set of amazing flavours in a dessert that is moist but remarkably light.   The 2020 Christmas Puddings that are not so good!   Iceland Luxury 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding £4 for 400g Too sweet due to the overuse of glace cherries. The nuts were tasty, but a couple of bites felt gritty rather than crunchy.   Coles Signature Christmas Pudding with Bourbon and Ginger £8.49 for 454g A lovely pudding spoilt by too much ginger which left a bitter flavour and an astringent aftertaste on the tongue. It had a tad too much stickiness too.   Lidl 24 Month Matured Christmas Pudding £12.49 for 907g Two years is a LONG time for a Christmas pudding to be maturing! They have a great, moist texture but the flavours are too overpowering, a small portion would be all I …

buy the best mince pies of 2020

The Best Mince Pies of 2020

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Ahhhhh, the humble mince pie! The appearance of deep filled mine pies on the shelves of your local supermarket, not two minutes after you’ve arrived home from your summer holiday is the first sign that Christmas is back in business. During the festive season, mince pies can be served warm and fragrant at home with a dollop of rich cream or plonked, cold and forlorn, in front of you at the end of your work’s Christmas do. Maybe you recently found out that a friend of yours always turns her nose up at them because she ‘doesn’t get sweet minced beef’ (Yes, really!) Whatever your relationship with this Christmas staple, it cannot be denied that there appear to be a thousand different versions available to buy. Which is your favourite mince pie?! Boozy and bold, sweet and fruity or with a twist? Now, just for you, we’ve eaten A LOT of mince pies and we would proudly like to present, for your pleasure and delight …. the best, the rest and the ones to avoid.   Costa Coffee’s All Butter Mince Pie – café mince pie It costs £2 and is only available in store. This year’s winner of the prestigious Good House Keeping Award is Costa Coffee’s All Butter Mince Pies and we think that it is a very worthy winner. Costa is a place that many a weary Christmas shopper will end up at some point in December, and this tempting pie will make for the perfect treat. It’s the spicy and fruity jammy filling that draws the ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs!’ There is something super comforting and lovely about the sticky, but not too sweet feel and flavour of it. This pie looks gorgeous too! It has a star-shaped window carved out of the buttery, golden lid. The aroma is quintessentially festive with notes of cinnamon, lemon and orange tickling your nose as you bite into the crisp, icing sugar dusted pastry.   Morrison’s ‘The Best’ Mince Pies – supermarket mince pie £2 for a box of six and available in all Morrison’s supermarkets. Morrison’s have got an impressive pedigree when it comes to mince pies, and this year is no different. The star decorated lid is generously sprinkled with snow-like icing sugar, they almost look home-made. The flavours of seasonal booze are what makes these pies special. The Morrisons Best deep filled mince pies have mulled cider and deep, warming brandy are matched perfectly with juicy fruits and tangy mixed peel. The pastry is soft, slightly crumbly and the subtle taste of creamy butter balances the bolder flavours of the filling.   Co-op ‘Free From’ Mince Pies – both vegan and gluten free £2 for a pack of four (a good price for a ‘Free From’ product) and they are available in most Co-op supermarkets. Free-From cakes do not have a reputation for being delightful. As more is understood about this specialised way of cooking, we hope that this will change. Happily, Co-op seems to be ahead of the game. These mince pies look plain which is a shame, but the generous, not-too-sweet filling is a wonderful surprise. Try them slightly warm to bring out the layers of taste. Vine fruit is the star flavour in these gluten-free and vegan delights. The sweetness is just enough and that is seriously dangerous as it tempted me to eat many more than one. I adored the pastry! A mince pie crust is traditionally soft and will crumble away in your eager hands. These, however, have an unusual but exceedingly pleasant crunch.   Asda ‘Extra Special All Butter Crumble’ Mince Pie – crumble topped £2 for a pack of six and available in all Asda supermarkets. Winter spices are the star of this culinary show. They are bold and vibrant, a festive feast for the senses. The second hit of flavour is booze! Warming brandy is there and so is a hint of mulled wine. They taste luxurious and decadent, which is an amazing thing for a supermarket mince pie. And the pastry? There is a satisfying resistance when you bite into one which feels almost biscuity. I would even say that these should be served cold to appreciate the quirky texture.   Aldi ‘Specially Selected Salted Caramel Mince Pies’ – alternative flavour £1.79 for a pack of six, one of the cheapest we tried and available from all Aldi supermarkets. If I’m being honest, I chose these simply because I’m obsessed with the flavour of salted caramel. I get that not everyone is, so please forgive my self-indulgence and give these awesome pies a chance. You won’t regret it! The salted caramel adds a dreamy richness to the fruit and the salt cuts through the sweetness in a wonderful way. ‘Flavoured’ mince pies often suffer from having the traditional fruit flavour overwhelmed. That’s not so with Aldi’s offering. All the expected and loved aromas and tastes are robustly represented. The pastry has a lovely texture and brings the gentle essence of butter to the party.   M&S Collection Mince Pies – Worthy Mince Pie Mention £2.50 for 6 At this time of year, the mince pies from Marks and Spencer’s are usually worth looking forward to but this year that’s not the case. That’s unfortunate since the Marks & Spencer’s mince pies offered in 2019 were an excellent creation. This year, M&S has created its Collection mince pies with an all butter shortcrust pastry and filled them with a sweet mixture of mixed peel, vine fruits and glace cherries. There are also cranberries in the mix. There’s a lot to like about these mince pies with the lemon from the mixed peel delivering a tartness that really stands out. The Christmas.co.uk team also liked the icing sugar dusting on the pastry lid that has an embossed star with a snowflake design sitting on it. However, having tasted most of the mince pie rivals, the M&S Collection mince pies were found to be a tad too sweet and the pastry a little bland. There’s no doubt that for those who love Marks & Spencer products – and their Christmas food range for 2020 is impressive – this offering of six mince pies at £2.50 just misses the mark.   The Best of the Rest Aldi’s Sloe Gin Mince Tarts are £2.49 for a box of six and had a beautifully boozy flavour with a delicious crispy pastry. Waitrose Plum, Honey and Ginger Mince Pies will delight the foodies in your family. The fruitiness combined with the quirky twist of spice made them stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons. They are £2 for a box of four. Asda’s Mince Pies are an incredible 87p for a pack of six. They taste as though they are much more expensive than that with a pleasant tartness coming from the filling and a sweet and crumbly pastry case. We loved Iceland’s ‘Luxury Mince Pies’ as the unusual addition of yuzu juice gave them a real citrus kick and a wonderful aroma. The pastry is slightly savoury which isn’t for everyone, but we felt this is suited the spiciness of the filling. These juicy pies are £1.89 for a box of six.   The Slightly Disappointing Ones Sainsbury’s ‘Taste the Difference’ Mince Pies (£2 for six) were delicious and had a great texture, but we were disappointed with the amount of filling. They aren’t the cheapest so we felt that the portion controller at Sainsbury’s Mince Pie HQ must be feeling Scrooge-like this year. Tesco ‘Finest’ Mince Pies (£1.75 for six). Too sweet with a hit of strong alcohol that feels very different to the enhancing essence of brandy, cognac or cider. The balance of filling-to-flavour was also off, they need work! Waitrose and Partners No.1 Mince Pies (£2.50 for six). We had high hopes for these as the apricot and cherry flavours sounded intriguing, sadly, these notes were lost in a generic sweetness. The pastry was a bit weird too, it was thicker than needed and almost …

John Lewis advent calendar and products

The Best Beauty Advent Calendars 2020

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Checkout our list of the latest beauty advent calendars here   It’s been an unusual year and, this Christmas, I’m determined to appreciate each small moment of happiness that comes my way. In my house, the festive season has definitely not been cancelled. Now, I may be a grown woman, but I still love an advent calendar. That little nugget of sweetness every December morning still feels as special as it did when I was a child. That’s why I am interested in the best beauty advent calendars every year – and 2020 is no different! In recent years, that piece of chocolate has been joined by a sparkly or beautifully smelling treat with the annual purchase of an indulgent beauty advent calendar. And there are so many to choose from! From the jewel-like nail colours of Ciate, to the skin-loving products from Clinique. So, which will you choose for a year in which we all need a daily moment of joy? John Lewis and Partners Beauty Advent Calendar With a price of £150, this impressive John Lewis beauty advent calendar has a value of £375. John Lewis and Partners have put together a set of products that work beautifully together. You will discover an entire skincare regime, a make-up look that will suit all women, some pampering body care and indulgent finishing touches. The box is in bold shades of pink and peach and the drawers are robust enough to last as dressing table storage throughout 2021. I love the choices the beauty team at JL have made. Iconic products such as Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish, and Evolve Beauty’s stunning, anti-ageing Bio-Retinol Gold Mask.   Jo Malone Beauty Advent Calendar Jo Malone fragrances, body care and candles are simply divine. This calendar would make a wonderful early Christmas gift for a loved one – or yourself! The box itself is elegantly illustrated with a depiction of the brand’s London townhouse and would look chic in any room of the house. Behind every cream and black door, you will find mini bottles of colognes, cute candles, bubble baths and travel-sized body creams. The Jo Malone beauty advent calendar contains much-loved scents such as English Pear and Freesia appear alongside some exclusive festive surprises. There’s even an extra special treat to enjoy on Christmas Eve, I can’t wait! Charlotte Tilbury Bejewelled Chest of Beauty Treasures Price: £150 for 12 full and travel sizes. Charlotte Tilbury make up is transformational and this glittery box is full of that magic. This is a wonderful gift for the big day itself as it features full and travel size products to enjoy over the 12 days of Christmas. The Charlotte Tilbury Bejewelled Chest of Beauty Treasures is a diamante be-decked chest of drawers is re-usable and would make an ideal jewellery box. So, what treasures lie inside?! You’ll reveal nourishing clay-based face masks and the universally adored Pillow Talk lipstick amongst a classic black mascara and the legendary Beauty Light Wand. Charlotte Tilbury is the Queen of flattering make up and powerful party looks so expect this spectacular celebration of bling to sell out fast! The Body Shop ‘Make it Real’ Together Advent Calendar Price: £50 for 24 travel sizes. The Body Shop has been a ‘go-to’ shop for Christmas gifts for decades. We all have fond memories of fruity scents and creamy body butters. Remember White Musk anyone?! In increasingly eco-conscious times, The Body Shop is a great place to spend your money, they have long been at the forefront of sustainability and ethically grown ingredients. The boldly designed box for the Body Shop ‘Make it Real’ Together Advent Calendar and the rainbow product packaging makes this a real joy to look at. Teenagers would love to receive this as a present. There are three advent calendars to choose from but this one is, in my humble opinion, the best! You’ll need to love fruity smells to agree with me though, this box of delight is packed with mouth-watering aromas. I particularly adore the sweet Strawberry Lip Butter, relaxing bubble baths and caring Mango hand cream. Lush 12 Days of Christmas Priced at £75 with 12 full-size products. Anyone who has walked past a Lush shop will know just how amazing your 12 days of Christmas gift is going to smell. The festive scents are jaw-dropping, and we know you’re going to be delighted to unwrap something fresh and funky every morning. Lush is proud of the ethical way they do business, and the box and packaging are made from entirely recycled and recyclable materials. What’s inside? Amongst other delights, you’ll unearth a fun polar bear-shaped bubble bar, a glittery, eggnog scented shower gel and a Jingle Bells Bath Bomb. This Lush advent calendar for 2020 is perfect for adults and kids alike.   Ciate Mini Mani Month Price: £59 with a mix of full and travel size – worth £150. With a huge range of pretty colours and a caring formulation, a lick of Ciate nail polish is a lovely way to brighten your day. This advent calendar has recycled, recyclable, compostable and bio-degradable elements and contains 22 mini varnishes, 1 full size and a watermelon flavoured lip oil. The hues are glorious! My favourites are the delicate peaches and show-stopping blues. Fingers and toes can show off a new shade every day! The winter months aren’t kind to our nails so Ciate have gifted their loyal customers with a new recipe of 80% natural ingredients including strength giving biotin, bamboo and bakuchiol for hydration. At the end of December your nails will be thanking you for the loving care, thanks to the Ciate Mini Mani Month advent calendar.   Dior Advent Calendar Price: £340 for 24 miniatures. Dior’s beauty advent calendar for 2020 is fabulous, decadent and a truly deluxe gift for someone very special. It’s one of the most expensive on the UK market but I think, if you can afford it, it’s well worth its price tag. The box is a magical depiction of the Dior Atelier in Paris in wintertime and is just gorgeous! In terms of packaging the glittering black and gold illustrations of a wondrous ballet makes this the most beautiful I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. The products nestled inside the dainty drawers will be a dream come true for any lover of fashion and premium beauty. A tiny bottle of J’adore Eau De Parfum and an iconic Rouge Dior lipstick are just two of the highlights. You will also receive an exclusive Dior Snow Globe that is sure to be a cherished Christmas decoration in years to come.   Elemis 25 Days of Spectacular Skin Beauty Advent Calendar Price: £175 with products worth over £400. Elemis skincare is a huge name in the spa industry and this beauty advent calendar will bring 25 moments of bliss into your life. I enjoyed the shades of blue on the Elemis 25 Days of Spectacular Skin Beauty Advent Calendar box, a welcome change from a Christmas theme that would look great in most bathrooms. I think we all know that sadly, this year, the party season won’t be taking its usual toll on your skin over the festive season. But that doesn’t mean it won’t need the boost that products such as Frangipani Monoi Body Cream and Pro-Collagen Marine Cream will provide.   Dove Nourishing Beauty Advent Calendar Price: £20.00 for 12 minis and pampering accessories Not every woman wants to spend lots of money on a beauty advent calendar and this is an awesome price! Dove is a skin and hair care range who have been delighting their customers for years and this is another hit. The Dove Nourishing Beauty Advent Calendar box is elegant and feminine and is filled with mini samples that will suit the skin and hair of most women and be a useful addition to a toiletry bag. Personally, I love the ethos that Dove promote. Body confidence for women all shapes, colours and sizes. It’s an inclusive brand who have decided that beauty advent calendars don’t need to be costly or require a waiting list to purchase them.   Soap and Glory 24 Days to Roam the Foam Beauty Advent Calendar Price: £42 for 24 travel sizes, miniatures and beauty tools. Soap and Glory is a fun brand with quirky names, innovative formulations and distinctive packaging. Their beauty advent calendar has always been a bestseller at Boots because the value it represents is amazing. The pink, retro-styled box would look ace in a teenager’s bedroom or pink themed bathroom and each individual tube, bottle and tub has a design to make you smile. ‘Sexy Mother Pucker’ is the star of this collection. It’s a lip gloss which gives a non-sticky sheen and a volumised, bee-stung look. You’ll also be thrilled with the exotic coconut body scrub and ‘Hand Food’ a deeply moisturising cream that will keep your hands soft despite the gallons of sanitiser they have been subjected to. For me, the Soap and Glory advent calendar for 2020 is highly recommended for a great start to the …

wine clock advent calendar

The best wine Advent calendars for 2020

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Check out our latest list of wine advent calendars here   The big attraction for gifting someone one of the best wine Advent calendars for 2020, is that for those who love a drop they get to discover delicious new wines and vineyards. So, these Advent calendars are educational for the wine lover in your life! And with so much choice available this year, there are great options for finding the best wine Advent calendar for the person who will enjoy most. There’s also a growing number of prosecco and sparkling wine alternatives and we list some of them here. Find new, quality wines For wine lovers, an Advent calendar is an excellent way to enjoy a daily treat in the run-up to Christmas Day and the recipient gets to find new, quality wines. From robust reds, to fantastic fizz and elegant whites, there’s a wine Advent calendar to meet most tastes. And if you are interested in a wine Advent calendar, then now is the best time to organise by buying one in time for starting the delicious wine countdown on December 1. Don’t forget too that part of the enjoyment that comes from a wine Advent calendar is to discover great new grape varieties, brands and also potential vineyards. However, some of these wine Advent calendars come in large boxes so they can take up space but they all have a fetching festive design to help deliver that extra bit of Christmas cheer. Best Christmas wine Advent calendars Let’s begin the Christmas.co.uk round-up of the best Christmas wine Advent calendars for 2020. Virgin Wines Advent calendar We really do rate the Virgin Wines Advent calendar 2020 very highly. We also thought the wines on offer were interesting and helped to promote lesser-known varieties – and wine lovers not only get popular styles, but also the excellent Virgin Wines Black Pig offerings. Most wine aficionados will know that Virgin wines introduced the first wine Advent calendar in 2016 and this year’s offering is a good mixture of red and white wines, plus some sparkling choices. There are 24 small bottles of wine – a great way to begin a countdown to Christmas Day! It helps too that the Virgin Wines Advent calendar for 2020 has a choice of three calendars: there’s a choice of all white, all red or a mixture of the two. And this year, Virgin Wines not only offers 24 miniature bottles, but there is an award-winning full-size bottle of wine to enjoy on Christmas Day. This wine is worth £19.99. As a result, the Virgin Wines Advent calendar comes in a heavy box so you will need to make some space for it under the Christmas tree. The Virgin Wines Advent calendar for 2020 costs £89.99.   The John Lewis Wine Advent calendar One of the front runners for the title of best wine Advent calendar 2020, usually sees the offering from John Lewis making the cut. Firstly, there’s no doubt that John Lewis understands how to deliver Christmas style for those who enjoy a tipple, and their latest wine Advent calendar is exceptional. It costs £75 with wines including Pinot Grigio, Shiraz, Malbec and fruity merlots. The Advent holiday is a rather cheerful Christmas red design, and the selection is really hard to beat. John Lewis is also offering a ‘Prosecco & Bubbly Advent Calendar’ for £130. Fizz lovers get to enjoy sparkling wine and prosecco from the likes of Bottega, Freixenet and Laurent Perrier. It’s more of a comprehensive wine tasting offering for those who want to explore worldwide wines at a great price. The John Lewis wine Advent calendar will certainly cheer up the wine lover in your life.   The Tipsy Tree Wine Advent calendar Perhaps the most stunning wine Advent calendar for 2020, is this excellent creation from First4Hampers – the Tipsy Tree Wine Advent Calendar. There are 24 miniature bottles that have been carefully selected and the unusual Advent calendar also works as a Christmas decoration. For us here at Christmas.co.uk, we think this Advent calendar makes for an ideal early Christmas present for the wine drinker in your life. One of the big attractions for the Tipsy Tree Advent calendar is that it can be used year after year so may be of interest to those wanting an eco-conscious Christmas option. The offering from First4Hampers also includes an all sparkly version for those who want to enjoy fizz at £125. Indeed, along with sparkling wine, there’s a nice selection of prosecco and the last offering is a Laurent Perrier Champagne to open on Christmas Eve. The bottles deliver enough to fill a champagne flute. Every order also comes with a personalised gift card. The First4Hampers Tipsy Tree advent calendar costs £85.   Laithwaite’s Wine Advent calendar 2020 For those who enjoy quality wine, the Laithwaite’s name is synonymous with delivering great wines and this year their wine Advent calendar is exceptional. Wine lovers will be offered an Advent calendar that has been designed to look like a French château with 23 windows containing mini bottles of wine. The Laithwaite’s offering includes red and white wines, plus rose options. The recipient also gets to enjoy a treat on Christmas Eve! That’s when they get to open a 1/2 bottle of Didier Chopin Brut Champagne – it’s hidden in the calendar’s roof! One of the big attractions for the Laithwaite’s wine Advent calendar is that they are offering an interesting mix of wine. So, if you’re wanting to try something new in the world of wines, from Chardonnay, Rioja and Merlot, then this Advent calendar is certainly worth considering. You will need to act quickly, since the Laithwaite’s Advent calendar, which costs £69.99 usually sells out quickly.   Search for the best wine Advent calendars In our search for the best wine Advent calendars for 2020, we also need to mention: The Aldi wine Advent calendar which proved to be very popular in 2019. It’s available from November 1 and is packed with an interesting mix of white, red or rose from some of the best wine growing regions in the world. Aldi is also offering a Prosecco & Sparkling Wine Advent Calendar for those who enjoy fizz. More importantly, the Aldi wine Advent calendar costs just £49.99 which is a cracking deal for those who love wine. Wine Advent calendar clock We were also taken by this Wine Advent calendar clock which is an unusual centrepiece and can be used around the year. With some nice slogans, such as ‘time to wine down’ and ‘wine past nine’, this is a fun and attractive Advent wine calendar. The ingenious design containing a lovely selection of wines in small bottles. It costs £89.95 from Not on the High Street and Amazon. There’s also a wine and sparkling Advent calendar from Amazon with a nice mix of festive wines in a red Christmas design. The lines are collected from vineyards around the world with some very tasty offerings including for JP Chenet, Calvet and Brut Dargent. The Amazon wine sparkling Advent calendar …

greggs festive bake returns 2020

Greggs Festive Bake is back!

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You know the countdown to Christmas Day has begun when the Greggs Festive Bake makes a reappearance. The bakery chain has confirmed that the much-loved festive delight will be re-released for 2020. The Festive Bake is among several Christmas favourites that will be returning to the High Street this year. Festive Bake will be back on the shelves Greggs made the announcement on their Twitter feed – and fans have estimated that the Festive Bake will be back on their shelves from November 5. The popular treat is made with pieces of chicken breast with bacon in a cranberry sauce along with a sage and onion stuffing – which is then stuffed inside a crispy pastry shell for everyone to enjoy. There’s no confirmation of how much the treat will cost, but 2019’s version was just £1.50. The teasing of the Festive Bake has also led to calls that the firm should create a vegan version. Greggs already makes vegan versions of their excellent steak bakes and sausage rolls which have also proved to be popular. Greggs festive food items We are also still waiting to hear from Greggs what other festive food items they have planned for their Christmas menu. A spokesman for Greggs said: “To say the least, 2020 has been strange. We want to bring a little taste of normal – one bake at a time. “The much-anticipated Festive Bake will be back on the menu for November, and aside from uncertainty, we are pleased that customers will have something to look forward to.” And since the autumnal weather has begun, the bakers have also reintroduced their tasty pumpkin spice latte. This is a seasonal coffee made with sweet pumpkin flavoured syrup, topped with sprinkles and cream. Costa Christmas range for 2020 Other High Street favourites to unveil their festive delights is the Costa Christmas range for 2020. They are offering new items from savoury to sweet, along with gluten-free treats. The new menu will appear on November 3 and a lobster toastie – featuring lobster that has been responsibly sourced – that is topped with cheese and a rich bechamel sauce, and then wrapped in a malted bloomer with a parsley crumb. Costa is also offering pork and Bramley apple sausage rolls and a British turkey with the trimmings toasted sandwich – a Christmas classic of turkey breast, maple-cured bacon, cranberry sauce and sage and onion stuffing. There’s also a vegan ‘ham and cheeze’ toastie, as well as ‘Vegan Turkee’ toasties. Costa also have a new rich chocolate and hazelnut shimmer cake for chocolate lovers containing three layers of dark chocolate sponge, hazelnut and chocolate frosting with hazelnut and dark chocolate curls with a dusting of ‘gold’. However, we love the sound of their new After Eight Muffin which is a chocolate muffin stuffed with a peppermint-flavoured sauce and topped with white icing and an After Eight wafer. A spokeswoman from Costa told Christmas.co.uk: “Christmas is a magical time and we know that our customers this year are looking to us to help make the festivities that extra bit special. “We are launching a limited edition Christmas food menu for 2020, which we believe is the best …

Tesco Christmas food

Tesco Christmas food range 2020

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If giant pigs in blankets, and huge sausage roll logs are your kind of festive dishes, then the Tesco Christmas food range for 2020 is for you. For many shoppers, the unveiling of the Tesco range in the run-up to Christmas generates lots of excitement. This year is no different and their food range for the festivities really does deliver something for everyone. Along with the giant pigs in blankets, at £2 for a pack that weighs in at 274 g, each of the lovely big porkers has been seasoned with pepper and then wrapped in bacon. The Christmas.co.uk team reckon they may for the ideal side dish for Christmas dinner, or even as a canapé. As with other supermarkets offering Christmas food choices, Tesco is also serving up a delicious Christmas feast for vegans this year with a range of tasty plant-based dishes. The Tesco sausage roll log If you’ve ever fancied a giant sausage roll, then the sausage roll log from Tesco at £5 is a tasty and impressive dish. The seasoned pork filling has been wrapped in pastry and topped with decorations of festive pastry leaves. Tesco reckons that the sausage roll log will serve up to 10, which makes it an ideal choice for a Christmas gathering, but we think it will make a tasty meal or a popular buffet choice before and after Christmas Day. Chocolate orange and maple bauble cake We have already highlighted this tasty delight from the Tesco Finest range, and this chocolate orange and maple cake is a tasty £13 treat. As a dessert after a Christmas dinner, it is certainly an attractive option with moist orange sponge cake layered between a chocolate orange brownie and completed with a Belgian chocolate and orange ganache. The topping consists of a maple-flavoured buttercream and a white chocolate bauble decoration. The cake also contains chocolate balls and will delight guests. While it’s a tasty treat, it’s also an option for a Christmas buffet or for those festive gatherings that you want to impress at. Giant pigs in blankets Several supermarkets are offering giant pigs in blankets, and Tesco’s tasty creation is 10 for £2. Everyone loves pigs in blankets, and the giant ones are certainly eye-catching. They will also be a popular choice on Christmas Day when they are dished up for hungry guests as a tasty and conversation-starting side dish. Meat-free festive vegan roast Tesco says that is vegan roast is a plant-based Turkey crown and is the first of its kind and stands proudly as part of its Christmas food offering in 2020. The centrepiece is created using pea protein and is shaped into a log with caramelised red onions and served with a sweet red wine glaze. The festive vegan roast costs £6. For those who want to serve up something tasty and different, then Tesco is also offering 10 pigless blankets for just £2. Again, they are made from pea protein, onions and mushrooms and just like the real thing, they are hand-rolled in a vegan pastry. They look like the real thing! Another great idea is the Wicked Kitchen Wellington which is a vegan alternative to the beef wellington and is a seasoned pea protein with a roasted garlic herb and mushroom duxelles and then wrapped in flaky pastry. Free Range Heritage Narragansett Whole Turkey For the big event, the Free Range Heritage Narragansett Whole Turkey from the Tesco Finest range is a British bird that is packed with flavour. It’s also self-basting so will remain succulent while being cooked and will dominate the dinner table when served up. It’s available from 14 December in stores with the price yet to be confirmed. There’s no doubt that if you want best fresh turkey, then this turkey offering from Tesco is one of the best currently available. Also, Tesco is offering a juicy range of frozen turkeys in the run-up to Christmas. Easy carve duck Among the options this year for those who are thinking of serving up something other than turkey, then the easy carve duck with a maple and orange glaze from the Tesco Finest range is worth considering. This is a tender and rich offering and finished with a sweet orange and maple glaze. It’s been filled with a British pork, maple and orange stuffing. Crackling pork loin Another alternative to turkey this year, is a crackling pork loin. This tasty creation from the Tesco Finest range is a French-trimmed offering with a succulent porcini and black truffle butter. The joint has a truffle-flavoured salt rub to deliver a crispy and golden crackling. Again, this is an eye-catching and great looking meat dish to serve up. A salmon joint with stuffing Continuing with the same theme of alternative meat for Christmas dinner ideas, the Tesco Finest range also serves up a salmon joint with stuffing and cranberry glaze. This will only be available from December 21 and is the perfect choice for fish lovers. They will get succulent Scottish salmon fillets that have been stuffed with a caramelised red onion and roasted chestnut mushroom filling, and then topped with a delicious, sweet cranberry glaze. Christmas dinner side dishes The Tesco Christmas food range for 2020 also includes a range of a number of tasty side dishes including red cabbage with a cranberry glaze, though we really like their roasted roots rainbow carrots and parsnips. No-one wants to spend their Christmas Day having to peel carrots and parsnips, and this is a ready to cook offering that really does impress. There are pre-prepared orange, red, purple and yellow carrots and parsnip wedges with a sprinkling of thyme to create the perfect timesaver. The dish also offers a conversation point with its colourful place at the table. Alternative Christmas dinner desserts While the showstopping chocolate orange and maple bauble cake mentioned earlier will definitely impress, the Tesco food range for Christmas 2020 offers other tasty delights. There’s the opera dessert, from the Tesco Finest range which has been inspired by the French opera cake, a classic of its kind. The elegant dessert combines layers of chocolate toffee cheesecake, a chocolate sponge with a chocolate biscuit base and a toffee flavoured mousse. And if that is not enough, the opera dessert is finished with a black coat glaze and then finished with a gold dusting and chocolate decorations. Other choices include a passionfruit sleigh which is an eye-catching dessert which shows a sleigh made from a baked orange cheesecake, being pulled by two reindeer. There’s also the Wicked Kitchen ginger chai cake which is a creation that vegans and non-vegans alike will enjoy. This offering consists of a chai tea-soaked and ginger spiced cake that has been hand frosted and then topped with caramelised ginger pieces and dusted with cinnamon sugar. It’s a very tasty plant-based dessert that deserves to be a centrepiece on any Christmas dinner table. Tesco is also offering a chocolate Tiffin star made with Belgian chocolate ganache and white chocolate chunks. The star also contains chewy fudge, shortcake balls and sultanas and has been finished with a sprinkling of gold. There’s a lot to like about the Tesco Christmas food range for 2020 – and guests visiting for dinner will be well fed with tasty …

Christmas food - Giant pigs in blankets from Aldi

Aldi Christmas food range 2020

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There’s a lot to like about discount retailers in the UK and the Aldi Christmas food range explains why. That’s because Aldi has unveiled its food range for Christmas and there’s enough choice to meet the needs of even the fussiest of Christmas dinner guests. Among the choice of festive offerings are boozy mince pies stuffed with a slow gin infused mincemeat, as well as frozen or fresh lobster tails. And we are really pleased to see the return of Aldi’s incredible two metre-long pigs in blanket. Aldi says they are better than ever. Yum! Selection of frozen turkey There’s also the usual selection of frozen turkey, including turkey crowns and stuffed chicken. Aldi is also offering its Specially Selected lobster tails with either wild garlic and prosecco butter, or Thermidor butter. The frozen versions are available now and cost £3.53, while the fresh ones cost £4.99 and are available from December 21. And for the gin lover in your family, they will enjoy Aldi’s new Infusionist range at £9.99. Like many other UK retailers, not everything in Aldi’s Christmas food range for 2020 is available straightaway. This means they have Christmas products hitting shelves at different times, so if there’s something you like in the Christmas.co.uk round-up, then you need to check when the items will arrive before heading off to the shops! Prosecco and Sparkling wine advent calendar One date to make a note of is November 1 – that’s when the Aldi Prosecco and Sparkling wine advent calendar at £59.99 is available. We have carried out a separate round-up of wine advent calendars from retailers, and this Aldi offering has received a special mention from the Christmas.co.uk team. This particular booze-filled advent calendar contains 200 ml bottles of fizz to enjoy every day until Christmas Day. For many people, this Advent calendar will be a great way to begin the Christmas countdown. When it comes to Christmas dinner, Aldi is offering a great range of frozen turkey to enjoy but we were also taken by their other festive offerings. For those who may not enjoy turkey for their festive dinner, Aldi is offering a three-fish roast. This striking, if not unusual, offering consists of salmon, cod and haddock. It’s then covered with cheddar cheese, a crisp potato rosti and a Chardonnay and spring onion sauce. It sounds delicious! There’s also Aldi’s Specially Selected British Wagyu joint which will really offer a decadent spread for guests at £19.99 per kilogram. The joint has been topped with a red wine and treacle jus to offer diners something really unusual. We also love the potential of the Aldi Specially Selected Christmas pudding that has been matured for 30 months and costs £9.99. The supermarket chain has had this made by the world’s oldest Christmas pudding maker and it is packed with luxury ingredients including brandy-soaked cherries and Turkish sultanas to make this the ultimate festive dinner showstopper. The Christmas pudding is available in all Aldi UK stores now. Other Christmas desserts worth thinking about include a chocolate orange pudding which is among the top festive food trends for 2020. The pudding is vegan-friendly and has a melt-in-the-middle orange compote that will ooze out when cut open. It’s then topped with a fantastically rich and dark chocolate sauce, as well as a gold shimmer. Gingerbread houses are also a popular choice at Christmas and Aldi is offering theirs at £4.99. It’s ready to decorate with icing and sweets, and there’s also a bake your own version available too. And since the festivities are a great time to entertain friends and families – Christmas lockdown restrictions permitting – Aldi shoppers also get a chance to enjoy their chocolate praline dome at £5.99 – it’s really a bigger version of Ferrero Rocher treats. There’s also a Specially Selected arctic roulade made with slow-baked meringue and filled with a cherry compote, and then topped with a Belgian chocolate drizzle. Aldi is also offering salted caramel crumble mince pies this year, and also Specially Selected millionaire’s mince pies. There’s also an Exquisite Selection Box at £7.99 which will include five award-winning cheeses to enjoy. You don’t have to be on a tight budget to enjoy the Aldi Christmas food range in 2020 – these are well-priced and well-made creations that will help ensure your Christmas Day dinner is the success you hope it will be. Enjoy!   More information If you want to enjoy have Christmas food range in 2020, there’s a page on their site to find where your …

Waitrose edible chocolate candles

Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020

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If you fancy having a posh Christmas dinner, then the Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020 should meet your needs. Along with slow cooked beef shin, edible candles and a large bronze Turkey crown, Waitrose is predicting one trend that many of us will be considering. They say that growing numbers of us will opt for alternative meats for their festive dinner this year, rather than the traditional turkey. Waitrose says that in 2019, demand from customers for dishes such as venison soared by 60%, compared to the year before. Lockdown Christmas dinner They also say that a lockdown Christmas dinner may also be reflected in the growing interest in less-known meats, as well as slow cooking recipes. The Waitrose food range for Christmas is available from the end of October and includes breaded vegan cheese melts, duck parfait with a mushroom centre and jewelled stuffing ballotine. There’s no doubt that the upmarket supermarket is offering festive food offering a twist that will delight any dinner table. Among the Christmas dinner mains is a British venison Wellington for £30, a succulent bronze free range Turkey crown complete with thighs for £60. And if you are thinking of enjoying a frozen turkey in 2020, Waitrose is guaranteeing that their Christmas turkeys will stay fresh until Boxing Day – so these Christmas Day (or Boxing Day!) cooking tips may prove to be useful). British woodland pork crackling bone rack There’s also a British woodland free-range pork crackling bone rack £12.99 per kilogram. This particular pork joint will be a welcome addition to the Christmas dinner table as a stunning centrepiece. The skin is coated with sea salt and black pepper to create crackling that is an extra bit crispier. However, we are particularly taken by a Chateaubrand fillet with porcini and truffle butter at £38. And the slow cooked beef shin we mentioned earlier will offer meltingly tender meat with great flavour and is a decadent stand out centrepiece for dinner guests to admire. Waitrose also highlights that the beef shin dish is a sound option for those who are looking for easy hosting food to deliver to guests. We will be spending more time with loved ones this year This is another issue that supermarkets are highlighting this year – they believe that after the events of 2020, we will be wanting to spend more time with loved ones rather than slaving in a hot kitchen creating our Christmas dinners. And this beef shin is worth considering because the slow cooking part of creating it, it takes around nine hours in all, has been done already. Plus, if that’s not enough to tempt you, there’s a classic sauce that is a rich reduction of a smooth Merlot wine, redcurrant jelly and beef stock to help cut through the shin’s deep flavours. There’s also an interesting twist from the supermarket’s tie-up with chef Heston Blumenthal for a citrus gin smoked salmon at £6.99. The Scottish salmon has been cured and smoked over oak before being finished with a gold lustre. It is certainly eye-catching! Vegans have not been forgotten by Waitrose And Waitrose has some tasty vegan meals on offer in 2020. They include vegan filo swirls for £6.99 which have been inspired by Moroccan tastes. It comes complete with raisins, apricots and spiced vegetables in a crisp filo pastry. There’s also an easy carve duck with chestnut, pear and rum for £35. The sticky spiced rum glaze really does help set this dish apart from other offerings. And that jewelled stuffing ballotine we mentioned earlier? It’s another offering from Heston and costs £7 and is a succulent pork loin stuffed with apple, dried cranberries, sultanas, candied orange and apricots. The pork is wrapped in oak smoked bacon and finished with a Calvados and apple glaze. And if that’s not enough, it’s finished with a lovely pork crackling crumb. Yum! Desserts in the Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020 The tempting desserts in the Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020 include a chocolate Rudolph cake at £14. This impressive looking chocolate sponge cake has been smothered with a chocolate buttercream and then decorated with fondant icing. There’s also a raspberry and vanilla panna cotta, and the chocolate candles created by Heston have been previously highlighted here at Christmas.co.uk when we looked at supermarket Christmas food offerings. The white chocolate candles have been filled with a tasty mandarin Buck’s Fizz chocolate ganache. These tasty treats will not, trust us, last long in any home! Indeed, if you like the type of food that is created by Heston Blumenthal, the, Waitrose is your one-stop shop for these delicious treats. The Waitrose range from Heston In addition to the dishes described above, the Waitrose range from Heston also includes ‘the night before Christmas mince pies’ which are made with golden caraway and carrot pastry with a rich vine fruit and carrot filling and a cream sherry. Smoked sugar has been sprinkled on top. He has also created the smoked salmon infused with a citrus sherbet gin which is a refreshing Christmas brunch option. There’s also a fish and seafood platter from Heston, the Lapsang Souchong Tea Smoked Salmon, and a Bloody Mary prawn cocktail. And if you like some of the unusual flavour combination that have been created by Heston, there’s also a sherry and balsamic vinegar Christmas pudding that contains sultanas that have been soaked in aged balsamic and will deliver a very rich flavour. This particular Christmas pudding is not only a tasty delight, but it has also been maturing for a full year to deliver a boozy and yet indulgent finish to any festive dinner table. Waitrose party food Waitrose is also offering an impressive range of party food as part of its Christmas 2020 collection. Among the offerings is cheese nougat, maple and bacon whorls, open cheese croquettes and creamy smoked salmon tarts. Waitrose is also offering ornate £5 chocolate stirrers which can be stirred into a hot milky drink, or even from the stick. There’s also a Christmas tree box of treats that young ones (and the ‘not-so-young-at-heart’) can leave for Santa and Rudolph costing £4. This great idea will see the busy duo receiving a milk carton, carrots and cookies that have all been made from chocolate. ‘Customers love to plan what they will serve on Christmas Day’ A spokeswoman for Waitrose told Christmas.co.uk: “We know our customers love to plan what they will serve on Christmas Day. “Last year, the searches for Christmas on the Waitrose.com site started in August and Christmas mince pies were a popular search, open more than 300% between July and September.” She added: “This year, it’s important to ensure we have a variety of traditional and new dishes and flavours, as well as options for main courses and gatherings and which can be useful leftovers. “We know our customers love our festive food selection and drink, so their Christmas still feels like a special celebration, no matter how many people are sat at the table.” While many us may not yet know how we will be celebrating this year, the Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020 is not only impressive, but there’s a good range of mouth-watering creations for us all to look forward to. More information If you like the sound of the Waitrose Christmas food range for 2020, and want to know where your nearest branch of this popular supermarket is, then here’s a link to find out which store …

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