meemalee

It's not too late for you to pick up the perfect Christmas present for the foodie in your life (including you!). All these gifts can be bought instore or ordered online in time for the big day. Let's start with a plug - snap up my Noodle Secret Weapons Cookery Kit from Sous Chef - last orders for standard delivery at 3pm today! You'll find a whole range of fantastic gifts for the amateur or professional chef, and express delivery is available till the 22nd  http://www.souschef.co.uk/noodle-secret-weapons-cookbook-set.html   Gorgeous macarons, sumptuous marshmallows, luxury nut brittle and more from Macarons and More - last orders 23rd Dec!  http://www.macaronsandmore.com/macarons-online Run to Brompton Food Market in South Kensington. Tell them your budget and throw yourself upon their mercy or opt for one of their set Hampers - I've got my eye on the Best of Brompton  http://www.bromptonfoodmarket.com/ How adorable is this hedge...

Christmas is something I've only begun to celebrate at home relatively recently - I'm technically a Buddhist and my family never went in for seasonal gifts. Because of this, I have a tendency to buy presents whenever the whim takes me, so by the time December comes rolling round, I find I've already got a neat little stockpile of goods to hand out to my nearest and dearest. So here's a selection of stuff from my stockpile that I think you will like too (and there's a giveaway at the bottom...) Hotel Chocolat Rather Large Christmas Cracker This was sent to me to review. It's big and well packaged, so home delivery is a safe option. Stuffed with 40 fine chocolates including truffles, pralines and Christmas Mess (sadly wrapped in dingy shades of brown paper), 12 gold paper crowns and some rubbish jokes, this would make a good Christmas party present. Also, the explosion was so exciting that one of the chocolates flew under my sofa without me realising and so I got ...

When I was at college, one of the most exciting things to happen to me apart from bumping into Craig Charles was the opening of a Lakeland store. Because Lakeland really is the closest thing to a real-life Innovations catalogue, and you know how much I loved those. Of course, like an Innovations catalogue, 50% of the stuff is brilliant, inspired and useful, and 50% is utter bobbins. Bobbins, however, is in the eye of the beholder and whilst it's hard to dispute that this has no earthly point , I'm sure some of you will adore the gadgets which make me squint and say, " Really? I mean, really? ". Take these two items. Literally take them from me. Because the lovely folk at Lakeland have sent me stuff that implies they think I like baking and I don't. I really don't . Kransekake Cake Pan Set (rrp £9.99) A kransekake is a traditional Norwegian dessert made of stacking concentric rings of marzipan cake that's eaten at weddings, Christmas, or New Year...

This weekend I was totally going to make marshmallows using Bertie Branning , my shiny red Kitchenaid mixer, when I found out you needed a sugar thermometer. So I thought s*d that for a game of soldiers and decided to make a mahoosive pork pie instead. Partly because it's Christmas time and nothing marks the season better for me than fat wodges of meaty pie, and partly because I was inspired by my very short stint as a pop-up pie assistant (PUPA) for the fabulous Bray's Cottage . Not that I had all the correct equipment for making a pork pie either. Apparently you need a pie mould of some sort. All I had was a big cake tin, which is why I've ended up with a pork pie bigger than my head. But, hells, it looks good and it tastes even better. Super traditional hot water crust pastry combined with untraditional Asian spiced filling. Fusion - I'm all over it, me. Meemalee's Mahoosive Pork Pie For the jellied stock 4 pig's trotters 4 white onions 2 carrots 2 celery sta...

Because it's Christmas and I think I am going very slightly insane, I now proudly present to my dear readers: The Many Tastes of Christmas At Excel's Taste of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Beautiful tome wonderfully illustrated by the great Dave McKean (famous for collaborating with Neil Gaiman ) and well worth £30 A Fat Duck cookbook in a bag-gy. At Excel's Taste of Christmas, my true love gave to me: We got Mr Bunbury 's Millionaire Flapjacks, Brownies and Tiffin Mini Bites. All deliciously home-made tasting. Mr Bunbury's baking And a Fat Duck cookbook in a bag-gy . At Excel's Taste of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Vegan caviar made from soy from Caviar 4 Everyone . A laudable venture but sadly no discernable taste. Caviar a-faking Mr Bunbury's baking And a Fat Duck cookbook in a bag-gy . At Excel's Taste of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Roast Duke of Berkshire pork belly, sweet potato and fenugreek mash with green pepper relish from...