I was sent one of their mid price options to review. The sleekster love selection retails at £22 and contains 26 chocolates. There are 13 different chocolates in the box (2 of each flavour so perfect for sharing). As ever not only do the chocolates taste divine they look stunning too.

We really enjoyed there christmas sleekster collection so had high hopes for their valentines box. However when I read the description on the website which talks about fruity little numbers with blackcurrent and strawberry I was a little disappointed as I am not usually a fan of fruity chocolates.  I should have trusted Hotel chocolat more though as apart from the strawberry and black pepper one, I did enjoy the fruit flavours. In fact buck’s fizz (with a hint of orange flavour), raspberry rapture and blackcurrant truffles were some of my favorites in the box. Other flavours that stood out were the soft chilli carmel (with a serious chilli kick) and the vanilla truffle. My husband loved the Bison grass vodka chocolate and also the cherry bombe (he also enjoyed the strawberry and black pepper the only one I didn’t particularly enjoy). All in all a delicious box of chocolates.Thank you to Hotel chocolat for sending me The sleekster love selection for this review.

Bread baking

Bread baking continues to play a big part of the time I spend in my kitchen & blogging. I still try to bake as much of our bread as possible. I’ve also continued to co-run and participate in Fresh from the oven.

Favorite bread baking recipe book - River Cottage handbook number 3 bread. I started the year by setting myself the challenge to bake my way through this book. Although I have not baked every recipe in there, I have baked a lot of different breads this year (mostly from this book) so the challenge did what I wanted it to (which was mainly to get out of the habit of baking basic white or wholemeal bread all the time). I still love this book and it is definitely my most used recipe book.I can not recommend this book enough to anyone thinking about learning to bake their own bread. Favorite recipes from this book include pikelets (I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made these), oaty wholemeal bread, wholemeal spelt bread and flat breads.

Favorite bread recipe (not from River Cottage) – either Paul Hollywood’s foccacia recipe from this years Great British bake off (a recipe I have yet to blog about but this focaccia is the closest I have had to the truly delicious foccacia’s we ate in Italy) or for when time is short this Irish soda bread recipe (I’m quiet picky about soda bread and this one is a favorite of mine).

2012 bread baking – I look forward to baking more different types of bread in 2012. I got a copy of how to make bread by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou out of the library which is full of recipes I want to try. A lot of them use a sourdough starter which I have not had a lot of success with but this book is making me want to try again. Now this one is going to surprise a lot of you, for Christmas I got a copy of Italian home baking by Gino D’acampo. I’ve never picked up any of his books before but I noticed this one in the library and at first I didn’t notice the author. The first section of the book is full of really delicious sounding breads so I took it home and baked two of the loves and loved them both (a fennel seed flavoured loaf and a slightly spicy loaf with chilli flakes in it). I’m looking forward to trying more recipes from this book. Finally I did some recipe testing for a book coming out in early 2012 Bread revolution by the thoughtful bread company.

Baking

I have baked quiet a lot of cakes this year (well for me anyway). Most notably I baked 7 cakes over the August bank holiday weekend for our wedding celebration. I also went on a chocolate making course that I won earlier in the year and I ate the best lemon meringue pie at Chester’s by the River in Ambleside.

Favorite cake recipe – Either Lorraine Pascale’s I can’t believe you made that cake which I’ve baked twice this year or this James Martin recipe for white chocolate cake.

Favorite baking book – The boy who Bakes – Edd Kimber. Not a book I have blogged about but I picked this book up in September and fell in love with it. It’s a beautiful book, full of stunning photos and inspiring recipes. I baked the salted caramel, pecan and chocolate tart for my husbands birthday, a truly to die for dessert.

Cooking

I’ve continued to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, I try to cook from scratch using seasonal ingredients as much as possible. I look forward to cooking and eating the recipes below next year but also trying more new recipes and even perhaps creating a few of my own too.

Favorite meat recipe – Beetroot, lamb and feta burgers. These burgers were delicious and the beetroot helped them to stay lovely and moist, working really well with the salty flavour of the feta in the middle.

Favorite fish recipe – Mussels, spinach and bacon gratin, a delicious recipe from a great app - Hugh’s fish fight.

Favorite pasta recipe – Aubergine polpette. I made this recipe a lot over the summer, often making more polpette than we needed and freezing them for later.

Favorite vegetable recipe – Ottolenghi’s sweetcorn polenta. The perfect balance of salty feta and sweet sweetcorn make this a dish to cook again and again.

Favorite salad recipe - Peach, feta, proscuitto and rocket salad. I loved this salad and could have eaten it all summer, perhaps I will next year!

2011 was also the first time I met up with another food blogger. In November I went to bite’n'write and learnt lots and met lots of fabulous food blogger and had a nice meal at Jamie’s Italian. I won’t list names as I’m bound to forget someone but it was a real foodie highlight of 2011.

I better be off, I have focaccia to bake, an anti-pasti platter to prepare and steaks to cook. I hope you all have a fabulous new year. Happy new year!

The tree is now up and decorated, the cards written and sent and the presents are wrapped and sat under the tree ready for Christmas day. We’ve even had a bit of snow.

Last weekend I made the most of a snowy day and baked some biscotti (recipe at the end of the post) for gifts. This is a recipe adapted from a Bill Granger recipe for pistachio and chocolate biscotti (also delicious). I’ve baked biscotti a few times with this recipe, the only thing I would change next time would be to add more almonds.

I also decorate the chutney I made back in October for gifts, using this recipe I shared with you last year.

So all that’s left for me to do is wish you all a merry christmas.

Chocolate and almond biscotti

Makes 20-30 biscuits

160g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
150g plain flour
60g good quality cocoa powder
80g almonds (next time I will increase this though as biscotti should be packed with nuts)

• Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
• Using electric beaters, beat the eggs and sugar together until thick, pale and the mixture has increased in volume.
• Sift in the flour and cocoa. Stir with a wood spoon to combine.
• Add the almonds and mix until well combined.
• Divide the mixture in half and shape in to 2 logs, about 15cm long on the baking tray. Flatten them slightly so they are approximately 2cm thick.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until firm. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
• Turn the oven down to 120C/gas 1/2.
• Cut the cool logs into slices approximately 1cm thick (I like to cut my logs on the diagonal). Spread the slices out in a single layer on baking trays and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the biscuits over and cook for a further 10 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a month (I doubt they’ll last that long though).

Each chapter has a beautifully written introduction which can not fail to inspire you to try the recipes or at least get in the kitchen and cook with the featured ingredient. Each chapter is based around a specific ingredient or group of ingredients. For example ‘Gathering in’ is recipes using chestnuts, hazel nuts, walnuts and pecans. There are also chapters on cheese, winter vegetables, game and wild mushrooms, pork, smoked food, groups of winter fruits (apples, pears, damsons, figs etc) and maple syrup (sugar snow).

So far I have cooked Tartiflette and smoked haddock and leek risotto from the book (both recipes were easy to follow and the end dish delicious). There are many more recipes I want to try this winter including Italian Christmas chocolate cake (a pudding using the flavours of panforte), roast squash salad with lentils and goat’s cheese, roast beetroot salad with orange and goat’s cheese, tagliatelle with roast pumpkin, sage, ricotta and smoked cheese, Swedish hash and snow biscuits.The book is full of stunning inspiring photos of the ingredients, the dishes and autumn/winter scenes. This is a cookbook to read snuggled up on a snowy day, to inspire you to get in the kitchen and cook with all the beautiful ingredients winter has to offer.

Tartiflette

Serves 6

1.3kg waxy potatoes (no need to peel)
Salt and pepper
75g unsalted butter
2tbsp olive oil
250g chunky bacon lardons
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 reblochon (about 350g)
75g creme fraiche

• Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain. When they are cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes. Heat half the butter and oil together in a saute pan and cook the potatoes until they are golden. Season with salt and pepper and put them into a shallow ovenproof dish.
• preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas 5. Heat the rest of the butter and oil in the same saute pan and cook the lardons over a fairly high heat to colour them well. Turn the heat down, add the onion and cook it until soft and just beginning to colour. Throw in the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add this to the ovenproof dish and gently combine with the potatoes.
• Cut the reblochon into slices and trim the rind. Dot spoonfuls of creme fraiche all over the potatoes and cover with the slices of Reblochon. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. The cheese should be melted and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Thank you to Octopus books for my review copy and allowing me to share this recipe with you.

I searched the cupboards/fridge and discovered we had red onions, a well stocked herb and spice cupboard, a jar of griddled peppers, tinned tomatoes and a ball of mozzarella. The resulting dish was delicious, packed with flavour and a dish I have since cooked again already. Perhaps next time I would use a fresh pepper if I planned this dish in advance, adding it with the corizo. So here it is, a very rare recipe I came up with myself.

And the fancy dress party? well my husband came home from work with a Ozzy Osbourne costume for himself and in the end I stole the giant crucifix necklace from it, wore a black dress and hoped that standing next to him people would realise I was Sharon Osbourne. Best we could come up with in the 48 hours notice.

Chorizo, pepper and mozzarella pasta bake

Serves 2

Olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
60g Chorizo, diced
2tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 a 280g jar of griddled peppers, chopped
2tsp dried oregano
1tsp smoked paprika
Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small (100g) ball of mazzarella
125g Pasta (I used wholemeal fusilli, but use what ever type/shape you like)

• Preheat the oven to 200C (180 fan).
• Heat a frying pan over a moderate heat. Saute the onion in the olive oil until soft but not coloured.
• Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the chorizo and cook until crisp.
• Add the peppers (if using fresh peppers add with the chorizo and cook until softened), oregano, paprika and chilli (if using) and stir to mix well.
• Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir well. Leave to simmer while you cook the pasta.
• Boil a pan of water on the hob and add the pasta. Cook the pasta as directed on the packet.
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce in the frying pan. Add two thirds of the mozzarella torn in to small pieces. Mix well and then pour into an oven proof dish.
• Scatter the rest of the torn up mozzarella over the top and place in the preheated oven. Cook for ten minutes or until the cheese is melted.

I am submitting my pasta for this weeks Presto Pasta Nights hosted this week by  HoneyB of The Live & Loves of Grumpy’s HoneyBunch.

When I was asked to take part in Hotel chocolat’s christmas blogger campaign I was thrilled. They very kindly sent me their Christmas collection gift bag to review which is part of their fabulous selection of christmas gifts. Not only that but they are giving me the opportunity to give one lucky reader the same gift bag too.

The Christmas collection gift bag includes the Classic Christmas Sleekster Selection, Christmas Gift Slab with milk chocolate and dark cookie pieces, Gingerbread Truffles and Orange Nice Spice Puddles. Over the last couple of weeks myself and my husband have tested these chocolates and here’s what we thought of them.

First off we’ll start with the classic Christmas sleekster selection since this is the center piece of the gift. We loved this box of chocolate, I don’t think there was a single chocolate in it that we both disliked. The box of chocolates were by far the most stylish looking collection I’ve had and they taste exquisite too. The chocolate all tastes really high quality and so smooth it really does melt in the mouth, especially the truffles. The flavours were very unique and also really festive. I particularly enjoyed the sea salt & caramel bauble (delicious milk chocolate with bits of crushed caramel and sea salt spread throughout), cherry Florentine (think morello cherry not glace cherry!), cinnamon praline and star anise truffle. My husband really enjoyed the rum truffle (lots of rum!), champagne truffle (again very generous with the booze), ginger cheesecake and zesty marzipan star.

Next up lets talk about the orange nice spice puddles. We loved these too and would describe them as chocolate buttons for adults. They are 40% milk chocolate buttons flavoured with orange, chilli and spices. I love the combination of chocolate and orange anyway but with the edition of these festive spices and a very subtle warming after taste of chilli these are a winner in my eyes.

The Christmas Gift Slab with milk chocolate and dark cookie pieces and a caramel gift was the next item we tried. Again the 40% milk chocolate is delicious and smooth. The cookie pieces are small and few and far between (in our slab at least) but delicious when you get a piece. The caramel is delicious and smooth too. The three elements work really well together. I would definitely buy this bar again.

Finally there was a packet of 6 milk chocolate gingerbread truffles included. Perhaps it was all the amazing chocolates we had tried in the sleekster selection but for me these were a bit disappointing. The chocolate somehow didn’t taste quiet as nice and the truffle was not in the same league as the rest of the chocolates in the sleekster collection. You can’t like them all though, can you?

The giveaway

On to the exciting part, here’s what you need to do if you want to be in with a chance of winning a Christmas collection gift pack (retailing at £38).

Mandatory entry -  Simply leave a comment on this post telling me which product from their Christmas range you’d like as a gift this christmas (Note – the prize is for christmas collection gift pack, not the gift you mention in your comments).

For an additional entry – Simply tweet this post using the twitter button below and comment telling me you have done so & your twitter username.

The rules

A winner from all the comments on this post will be selected using the random website.

The deadline for entries is 6pm (GMT)  Wednesday November 23rd 2011. I will then email the winner (as well as announcing on the blog) to obtain your postal address. If I have not heard back from the winner within 5 days another winner will be drawn at random.

This giveaway is open to all UK residents aged 18 and over.

You need to leave your e-mail address im the box provided when you comment, I am the only person that can see it.

Manchester

Manchester real food market – 2nd and 4th weekend of the month (Friday/saturday). Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. Fortnightly, friday and saturday, 10am-6pm. Launched in April 2009, the market boasts a brilliant selection of farmers and traditional producers, who twice a month bring their fresh home-grown and home-reared produce from local farms into the heart of the city.

Manchester Christmas markets – 17th November – 22nd December, various locations. I love these Christmas markets and no Christmas is complete for me without a day at the markets. We generally take a day off and visit midweek, enjoying the festive feel, delicious European foods and drinks. You can see my photos from last year here.

Cheshire

Chester Christmas markets – 24 November – 24 December, stalls in front of town hall and library.
What the website says – Chester’s famous Christmas Market & Santa’s Grotto making a return this year, with several local independent traders taking up the stalls. And new for 2011, towering above the Town Hall Square is a Christmas Toboggan ride and Santa’s Sleigh - and a nostalgic reminder of the fun fairs of old with all the thrills for the young and young at heart.

Treacle market – sunday November 27th & December 18th (christmas market complete with carousel and father Christmas himself), 10am-3.30pm. Market place, Chestergate, Macclesfield town centre.
What the website says – A monthly high quality local food & drink and arts, antique and craft market. Bring a basket and stock up on wonderful locally produced beers, juices and delicious provisions.  If it’s the unusual or different you seek Treacle is the perfect place to spend a few hours and meet up with friends, browse the stalls and listen to live music too.

Wilmslow artisan market - Saturday 19th November, December 17th. Grove street, Wilmslow.
What the website says – The food aspect of our markets are exceptional. The very best of seasonal local farm produce, artisan breads, delicatessen and hand crafted cheeses, produced and sourced by people who are passionate about what they do, and when you meet these specialists you will see that their passion is infectious.

Chesters by the river is set in a beautiful location (as you might imagine from the name it is right by the river) and it is a fantastic cafe and beautiful gift shop selling lots of unique gifts (including some food related). There is a large outdoor seating area overlooking the river and plenty of seating indoors for when it rains (which being the Lake district happens a lot). It was a glorious sunny day when we visited so all the outside seats were taken. We weren’t too disappointed as inside the cafe is beautifully designed and laid out (perhaps a bit too pink and girly for my husbands taste!).

We visited late afternoon for a well deserved coffee and cake after a long walk. I had the lemon meringue pie and my husband the coffee and walnut cake. The portions were possibly the most generous I have seen (easily big enough to share). My lemon meringue pie was absolutely delicious. I’m not a massive lover of pastry and usually leave the crusts behind but the pastry was so delicious and also reasonably thin that I ate it all. The lemon curd was really zingy and the meringue was heavenly. It was easily my foodie highlight of the trip. However my husband was a little disappointed as he said his cake was on the dry side.

There lunch menu was still written on the blackboard and a few salads were still left out. They looked really interesting and delicious. I think if we were to go back we would like to go nearer lunch time and try the savoury dishes and share a dessert! The prices were a little on the high side (the drinks no more so than the rest of the Lake district). Cakes/pies were around £4 a slice which to me is expensive if you’re just out for coffee and cake. On the other hand, the portions were very generous and if you thought of them as dessert the prices aren’t that unreasonable. The lemon meringue pie was easily the most generous pudding I have had in a while as well as the most delicious.

Next up was a really delicious dish using the sweet peppers. In one of the many gift shops I browsed around I flicked through a copy of the new River cottage book Veg. A recipe for Chakcouka (a North African dish of eggs baked in a pepper ragu) caught my eye which I thought would work well with these sweet peppers. We both loved this dish which we ate with some flat breads, so much  so that we bought more sweet peppers this weekend to make it again.

I used the turnips, baby onions and some of the garlic and potatoes to make a classic beef stew one night. Perfect autumn food in my book.

The squash rather predcitable for me was used in a risotto but this time I added some cumin and also some chestnuts after seeing something similar in a magazine. This risotto was a little wetter than I usually make it but still delicious. I usually roast my squash first and think this makes all the difference.

Finally the parsley root was roasted along with some beetroot, carrots, parnips and red onions and served with couscous. We really enjoyed this meal. Parsley root tastes a bit like celery and although I didn’t dislike it I didn’t love it either (just as well as I’ve never seen it in the shops).