Discover the Origin - Winner Announcement

Thank you to everyone who entered the 'Discover the Origin' competition to win a fabulous hamper. Earlier today I put the name of everyone who entered into a hat and pulled out the winner...

...Claire Packham!

Many congratulations Clare.

Embracing Autumn

I do love this time of year. The colours outside are so incredibly beautiful, it's sometimes hard to believe that they come from nature and not a painter's palette. On my morning walk to the station my path is carpeted with russet leaves and the tree outside my office window has slowly turned through greens, golds and reds over the past few weeks. We've been blessed with blue skies and bright sunshine on some days and seen darkening grey clouds and rain on others. It's been a glorious autumn.

As the nights draw in I like the gradual retreat back indoors, the closing of the curtains, the pulling out of the blankets and the lighting of the candles. It's time to snuggle up in oversized jumpers and read classic books. And I've started one of my favourite autumn and winter hobbies: jigsaws. I can lose hours on a Sunday afternoon pondering over the pieces as the rain hits the window.



The festivities of Halloween and Bonfire night bring fun for children young and old. Little witches and ghouls cry "trick or treat?" as carved pumpkins glow in the dark night, and cold, pink faces light up by the glow of the bonfire as electric fireworks explode in the sky.





I'm baking potatoes and I'm caramalising onions, pot roasting game birds and stewing beef. I've made pear and blackberry tarts and baked apples stuffed with brown sugar and sultanas. I don't think I want this autumn to end.

Farewell Floyd: The Round-up

James and I have had such a hard time choosing three winning entries from all the fantastic ones that came in for our tribute to Keith Floyd, the 'Farewell Floyd' food blogging event. We asked you to cook a classic or adapted Floyd recipe or a recipe of your own design inspired by Keith Floyd. Here's a round-up of all the posts:

'White Onion Soup - A tribute to Keith Floyd' from Annes Kitchen



'Chicken Breast with Beetroot Sauce - Farewell Floyd!' from Maison Mattmoo



'Keith Floyd tribute: Welsh rarebit makeover' from Weekend Carnivore



'Shrimp, Mango and Ginger Stir Fry' from Apple Crumbles



'Floyd's Tabbouleh' from A Wee Bit of Cooking



'Farewell Floyd' from The Princess and the Recipe



'Keith Floyd's Beef Bourgignon' from Them Apples



'Farewell Floyd - Jambalaya' from Foodycat



'Farewell to Floyd' from Jo's Kitchen



'Chicken Tagine with Butternut Basmati Rice' from Pan Gravy Kadai Curry



'Coq au Vin - A Tribute to Keith Floyd' from Anyone for Seconds?



'Kenyan Goat Feast - For Farewell Floyd: Food Blogging Event' from Going With My Gut



'Keith Floyd's Lapin aux pruneaux (Sauté of wild rabbit with prunes and Armagnac)' from Joanna's Food



Aren't they all brilliant posts? We found it incredibly difficult to judge, I can tell you. I wish we could give prizes to everyone but we can at least give three people a prize. The winning entries are:

'Kenyan Goat Feast - For Farewell Floyd: Food Blogging Event' from Going With My Gut

'Farewell Floyd - Jambalaya' from Foodycat

'Coq au Vin - A Tribute to Keith Floyd' from Anyone for Seconds?



Well done to everyone. The winning bloggers will receive a copy of the newly re-printed 'Floyd's Food', Keith Floyd's first ever cookbook, published by Absolute Press. With thanks to Absolute Press for donating the prizes.

Whitstable

A trip to Whitstable earlier in the summer.

Chilli Beef and Tenderstem Broccoli Stir Fry

Now that the clocks have gone back and the night's are drawing in it's time to turn up the heat and spice up our evening meals.

Serves 4

Approximately 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped,
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g beef steak, sliced into bite sized pieces
100g tenderstem broccoli
6 baby courgettes, sliced
3 spring onions, sliced
100g oyster mushrooms
A handful of beansprouts (optional)
400g fresh egg noodles
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
A few drops of toasted sesame oil

Heat a wok over a high heat until very hot then pour in a little vegetable oil. Add the chilli and garlic and stir fry for a minute then add the beef and stir fry if for a minute or so until browned.

Next, add the broccoli to the wok and stir fry it for a few minutes then add in the rest of the vegetables and stir fry everything for a further 2 or 3 minutes.

Finally, add the noodles to the wok, along with the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil, and stir fry them, mixing them in with the vegetables, for a few minutes. Serve immediately.

Discover the Origin and Win a Hamper

'Discover the Origin' is a new three year campaign, led by the European Union, Italy, France and Portugal, designed to raise awareness around five key European products:

· Parma Ham

· Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

· Burgundy

· Port

· Douro Valley wines

These products all carry a guarantee of their provenance and quality: the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) for Parma Ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, AOC for Burgundy wines and DOC for Port and Douro Valley wines. These guarantees are defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods, so if you see these labels on any food or drink products you can be sure of their authenticity and quality.

Certainly 3 of these products are regulars in my kitchen: Parma Ham (a favourite of Rob's, in particular), Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese and Port, the latter 2 being must-haves for me as I use them so regularly in cooking (and I do enjoy the odd tipple of Port, especially when the weather turns colder!).

A few years ago I learned that only Parmesan cheese labelled as Parmigiano-Reggiano is true Parmesan cheese, the others being imitations, and so ever since I've been sure to look out for this label. And this is precisely what this campaign is helping to highlight, not only for Parmesan cheese but for the other products too.



I was recently sent some samples of the products and have to say the quality really shines through. The wines were quite delicious and I was particularly taken with a bottle of Roy Marc Clos Prieur, from a villiage family vineyard in Côte de Nuits.

'Discover the Origin' has teamed up with 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' to offer you the chance to win an incredible hamper containing these products. The hamper includes top quality Port, a bottle of Burgundy, 250g of the best Parmigiano-Regianno cheese, a packet of mouth-watering Parma Ham, and a recipe book. To be in with a chance of winning just answer this simple question:

Q: What does PDO stand for?

Email your answer, along with your name, location and web site address (if applicable) to cherrypiecompetition@yahoo.co.uk by 8th November and leave me a comment to let me know you've entered so that I don't miss any because of spam filters, etc. Open to UK residents only.

For more information about the campaign visit www.discovertheorigin.co.uk.





Photographs courtesy of 'Discover the Origin'.

Farewell Floyd

James and I have been getting lots of brilliant entries into our 'Farewell Floyd' food blogging event. For my own part I decided to cook Keith's Welsh Rarebit. It's certainly a classier version of cheese on toast and well worth the extra effort.



The closing date for the event was yesterday but we've decided to extend it for a week after Absolute Press offered a fantastic prize: a copy of the recently republished 'Floyd's Food' - Keith's first ever book - for the best 3 entries.

Absolute Press published this very first book of Keith's after its founder, Jon Croft, met him in his restaurant in Bristol and collaborated with him on the book. I feel very proud and humbled to be working with the very same publisher who will be printing 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' next year.

To be in for a chance to win a copy of 'Floyd's Food', pour the wine, get the pan out and cook up a tribute to the one and only Keith Floyd. Closing date Sunday 25th October. For more details click here click here.