Sacla’ Risotto Sauces Review

We love risotto, strangely as a confident cook, I always shied away from making it, so the first time we had it homemade was when Paige and Conor made it at school, then recreated at home. I was very impressed  both with their ease at making what I thought was a difficult dish and we have it regularly.

As you also know from previous reviews Sacla Pesto is Paige's favourite packed lunch meal and it will be filling her lunchbox again tomorrow, we have happily reviewed the Wild Garlic Pesto also New Fiery Chilli Pesto. before and found everything we have tried to be tasty and good quality.

The mushroom was deemed our favourite, its fresh, creamy, garlicky and satisfying, the flavour is really good and will make a nice alternative to our own recipes.

We have never tried a butternut squash one but were pleasantly surprised that it was flavoursome, sweet and the Parmesan really brought up the taste experience, I did add more fresh Parmesan too.

Its satisfying making a risotto standing stirring the creamy mixture is quite relaxing, time to put all the work of the day away, good moment to have a glass of wine too. So  if like me you are anxious about making one, you will  not go far wrong with the Sacla Risotto sauces.

Don't forget to enter the competion to win a holiday to Rome.

 

Sacla’ have just launched their risotto sauces and would love to offer you the chance to win a 5 star trip to Rome – follow this link for all the information and to enter their competition: http://www.sacla.co.uk/win-a-trip-to-rome.

All about Sacla’ Risotto Sauces:

Risotto has long been a favourite of the Italians who create this delicious creamy rice dish with oodles of passion and all sorts of combinations of fresh and yummy ingredients and whilst many of us do order risotto when we go to our favourite local Italian, many of us steer clear of making it in our own kitchens. Is it because we think it’s too time-consuming, or complicated? Or simply not on our regular menus?

Well, Sacla’, best known for their pesto, recently launched their scrumptious risotto sauces, with two delicious recipes - Wild Mushroom and Butternut Squash & Parmesan. The idea is to make it as simple and speedy as possible to prepare a tasty risotto without having to plan ahead or possibly be fazed by how to get it right.

So, having got the keep-life-simple risotto sauce, what do you serve with your creation? Plenty of carbs’ in risotto, so probably avoid the bread? There seem to be plenty of views on this one when you scour the wonderful foodie offerings on the web. Lots of people suggest serving risotto with a simple green salad, or a rocket salad, whilst some favour roast veggies, or steamed green beans. Fish is another popular accompaniment, and roast chicken features regularly.

If you’ve got any ideas on this one, Sacla’ would love to hear from you on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ItalianFoodLovers

 

You can just serve as I did just as it is with a knob of butter and a sprinkling of parmesan

 

Cooking Time: 15 - 30 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 x 190g jar Sacla' Wild Mushroom Sauce for Risotto

200g risotto rice

1 vegetable stock cube

large knob butter

few Parmesan shavings (optional)

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Empty the Wild Mushroom risotto sauce into a large saucepan. Add the rice, stock cube and 3 empty jars worth (600ml) of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce down to a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently until creamy but the rice still has some ‘bite'. If the risotto looks too dry before it has finished cooking just add a splash of extra boiling water.

Then simply stir a knob of butter into the risotto, season well and divide between 2 / 3 warm bowls. Shower with Parmesan if using and serve. Buonissimo!

http://www.sacla.co.uk/

Other Reviews you might like

Sacla Review Pesto Pioneers

Seriously Good Sauces Review

Aldi's Three Bird Roast

Just before Christmas we were treated to an Aldi's Three Bird Roast, we look forward to our Christmas turkey dinner so much we had gone without Sunday roasts which are a big part of our weekends.

We decided that as we tend to eat six or seven vegetable dishes, sauces, stuffing and Yorkshires, the Christmas dinner would possibly not seem so grand

So for December we put the roasts on hold, then the Aldi Three Bird Roast arrived, we just had to cook it the very same day, one to obviously review it and two because we had had the roast withdrawals.

I decided to cook it with a Dauphinoise potato dish and fine green beans so we remained true to the vow of full roastie celibacy.

Oh just in case you were wondering what the three birds were, they are Turkey, Chicken and Duck also hilariously known as Turducken!!

It cooked so easily, it went into the oven in the dish seen in my photo below, you just remove the foil for the last part of the cooking. Look at how tasty it looks, its a really good sized joint, it fed four of us generously, really good thick slices too and still there was plenty left over for sandwiches the next day. 

Just ready, it has a lovely pepper topping

It carved easily and it was satisfying to see the stuffing in the middle of the joint. It was tender meaty and I could easily identify the three meats by taste  though I got confused which of the two white meats was which in appearance, the whole family liked it. The stuffing was delicate, herby and flavoursome, its a perfect roast meal, I will definitely be buying it again.

Looks fab doesn't it, nearly got shouted at for making the lads wait to eat though while taking my shot

Three Bird Roast, 1.5kg, £9.99

New and improved recipe for 2010. This succulent turkey, chicken and duck joint wrapped around a premium sage and onion stuffing has 50% more duck.

Also a gorgeous recipe for you to try from Phil Vickery

 

Three Bird Roast Glaze

with Sweet and Sour Marmalade and Glazed Parsnips

 

“My glaze coats joints really well and cooks to a beautiful deep golden colour”

 

Serves: 6-8

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: none, only on roast.

From your local Aldi

250g marmalade

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Three Bird Roast

2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp squeezy honey

4 cloves garlic, finely crushed

 

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6.

2. Cook the Three Bird Roast from frozen as per the instructions.

3. Next place all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

4. At the 1 hour 15 minute mark, remove the bird from the oven and take off the foil.

5. Pour off any juices and keep them for the gravy.

6. Spoon half the glaze over the roast and return to the oven.

7. Cook for 20 minutes, re-coating the bird twice with the glaze that runs off.

8. After 20 minutes, add the rest of the glaze and continue to cook for 20-25 minutes, re-coating twice.

9. You’ll see the glaze darkening each time you spoon over.

10. Remove from the oven and leave to rest uncovered for 10 minutes. This sets the glaze and makes the roast easy to carve.

11. Slice and serve.

Glazed Parsnips

Serves: 4-6

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

From your local Aldi

500g parsnips, quartered, skin on

5 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp squeezy honey

salt and pepper

 

Method

1. Cover the parsnips with cold water and bring to the boil in a saucepan. Simmer for 1 minute and strain.

2. Once drained, place on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and mix really well.

3. Pop the tray into the oven for 40 minutes stirring occasionally.

4. Once roasted, spoon over the honey, mixing well and roast for another 5 minutes in the oven until nicely brown. This happens quickly! Now serve.

 

Phil Vickery’s Top Tips

Easy to make up the day before, this glaze will be fine in the fridge. The more you glaze the joint, the more golden the end result will be.

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/product_range/7195_8238.htm

Aldi Moser Roth Finest Milk Chocolate Truffles

The more foods I try from Aldi's the more I am impressed,  one has opened up on what was once my senior school. Its about 10 minutes walk away so I have been more inclined to see whats what in the grocery range, I have been buying the fresh fruit and vegetables as not only are they really good quality but amazingly cheap too. 

I have tended to not really try the ranges, but having reviewed the Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium gin and the Aldi Three Bird Roast and been very impressed with the quality, I am eager to keep trying more.

My next review item is the Moser Roth Finest Milk Chocolate Truffles, 129g £1.69

They come in a lovely octagonal blue box, they state finest truffles and certainly look the part.

These have been partly raided of their bounty

Opening the box, there is an array of light creamy yellow tissue wrapped sweets. They look very cute and unwrapping I see that inside the tissue they are foil wrapped. They are ball shaped. They smell very sweet and creamy, and they taste very good,  as sweet as the aroma, they melt on the tongue, they are very light and smooth the shell is soft chocolate and the centre a creamy soft gooey loveliness.

A good tasting chocolaty treat. You would be fooled into thinking you were eating an expensive truffle.

Pretty wrapping and a little ball of chocolate pleasure

With delicious smooth creamy filling, these truffles are individually wrapped in gold coloured tissue paper and foil for freshness. The ultimate indulgent treat for chocolate lovers, these truffles come in three flavours; Milk Chocolate, Marc de Champagne and Dark Chocolate

Moser Roth Finest Milk Chocolate Truffles, 129g £1.69

Aldi's Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium Gin

Aldi’s Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium Gin has been available in store from the 8th October and is sure to leave taste buds tingling. It recently scooped the Gin and Vodka Trophy (Gold best in class) at the International Wine and Spirit Competition.

I have only drank gin for about a year since I won a bottle of premium gin in a Jamie Oliver competition. I loved the taste of it and tried a cheaper brand after and wished I had not, I am definitely made for the finer things  in life, but have not the purse to accompany the aspirations!

Aldi sent me Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium Gin and I decided to try the following weekend, not expecting  much but having been told it was the surprise winner of this years Gin & Vodka Association Trophy I was keen to see if it was as good as a premium gin. 

Wow is all I can say, it has a clear juniper taste, crisp, dry and fresh, really herby in aroma and taste. I liked it more with bitter lemon than tonic, I love citrusy flavours though as you know.

A wonderful price label at £8.99 compared to the £24 of the only other one I liked, I wholeheartedly suggest you give it a try.

 

Aldi’s award winning spirits buyer*: “We are thrilled that our gin has won the most prestigious spirits prize in the country, the Gin and Vodka Association Trophy, beating off some stiff competition.”

“This is the latest in a string of awards for Aldi and marks our twentieth award winning product at the IWSC Awards.

 

“Over the past six months, we have worked closely with our supplier to develop a premium gin that tastes as good as the big brands but without the hefty price tag. Our Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium Gin is produced in small batches and filled into a distinctive 50cl bottle – the end result, a super premium product with a 40% abv (alcohol by volume).

 

“This product won’t be in store until October but it’s already creating a lot of buzz in the industry, having scooped the Gin & Vodka Association Trophy.”

 

Competitors

The following gins were Aldi’s main competitors for the IWSC title, however Oliver Cromwell’s 1599 Premium Gin scooped the award.

Gins in the “Super Premium Category”;

Tanqueray 10 – £25.99, 70cl

Hendricks – £22.26, 70cl

Beefeater 24 – £21.59, 70cl (Last year’s winner)

Oliver Cromwell 1599 Premium Gin - £8.99, 50cl each

Douwe Egberts Decaffeinated Taste Test

Worthy Winner

Well this has to be one of the better New Year challenges  and also the easiest way to settle into purging some of our Christmas excesses, Chris and I were invited to try Douwe Egberts in a taste test along with three other decaffeinated brands.
Chris would be taste tester as he drinks coffee all day long albeit instant regular, so I believed he would be more the connoisseur and  the results truer . Happy to get involved as well, so made it more fun.

We decided to do it properly so he did them blind following the tips at the end  so that it would be a fair test. I prepared the cups and he had no idea which one he would be trying. . Chris loved slurping the samples as suggested, only time I would allow it!

Our set of decaffs to compare were as follows.

Tesco Decaffeinated Original Roast & Ground (227g)

Taylor’s Decaffeinated Ground Coffee (227g)

Douwe Egberts Decaffeinated Medium Roast Coffee (250g)

Lavazza Caffé Decaffeinated Ground Coffee (250g)

We were to mark them on a scale of 1-5 and on the below attributes, so a possible score of 50 could be attained.

Aroma

Strength intensity

Coffee taste

Sweet taste

Smooth taste

Artificial taste

Aesthetic appearance

Acidity

Body

Aftertaste

As I am not familiar with putting them in a chart for you to see you will have to get my ratings on a first to last basis with a description and special mentions. A possible 50 points were to be attained.

I am rather pleased that as Douwe Egberts provided the goods for the test they came out favourably, as I said it was a blind test,  so they did not receive extra credit because of the goods, we have two cafetieres and borrowed two so that it could all be performed in the one test.

Douwe Egberts 46 points First place full marks for Coffee taste, Aroma, Smooth taste, Aesthetic appearance and Body

Taylors 42 Points Full marks for Body Aesthetic appearance and Aroma

Lavazza 39 points Full marks for Aesthetic appearance, Aroma and Coffee Taste

Tesco 34 points Full Marks for Aesthetic Appearance

This is  a great way to try out the difference between full fat and half fat coffees as Chris jokingly calls them, he enjoyed the taste and was surprised that cafetiere coffee could be as fab without caffeine and has switched  to decaf for most of his coffee drinking, saving regular for after our evening meal.

 

With the end of another year  and the effects of a slightly over-indulgent festive season starting to surface, you’re no doubt already on the look-out for ways to kick start your annual health MOT and get that gruelling January detox on the go once again…

But while you’re busy banishing everything remotely tasty from your diet, the good news is that coffee doesn’t have to be one of them. Opt for one of the numerous decaf options on the market and you can keep your daily cuppa without compromising your detox.

Coffee Tasting Tips

If brewing coffee in a cafetiere, add hot water just off the boil, stir well and leave for 3-4 minutes before plunging.

When tasting coffee, it is best to ‘slurp’ at it, as this covers your tongue evenly and allows you to get a full mouthful of flavour across all the tastebuds.

Make sure you have a drink of water after each different coffee, as the aftertaste of one will affect the flavour of the next, so the palate-cleansing is essential!

Mark a score for each coffee on the scale below, rating them on a variety of factors including taste, aroma, acidity, strength and aftertaste.

Other reviews that may interest you 

Douwe Egberts Review Your Choice

Spa Paradisa Review New Year New You

Well I have been back at work just a  day, the children are revising, Chris is back travelling to appointments and its all a little flat, the tree is coming down in two days and already I feel I need something to pamper me and make me smile.  

Much to my delight, Spa Paradisia decided to give me some lovely treats amd they are the perfect pamper session to carry me away from the realities of January and its long grey days.

I have a gorgeous candle and matching bath soak, they are coconut and frangipani and so gorgeously fragrant, its easy to light the candle, sink into the hot steamy water and let the aroma and feel of the Spa Paradisa soothe my hard first day away.

Total luxury and whats apealing is the design of the products too. They are bright and sunny, it feels like you are on a tropical island, well I can dream a while!

The fun of the festive season may have taken its toll on your mind, body, and soul so now is the time to help undo the damage and revive yourself with Spa Paradisa’s renew your skin range.

The harsh realities of winter can make you feel as miserable as the weather. With short, dark days of sleet and snow depressing the best of us it’s time to find your own tropical paradise – in the comfort of your own home!

Create your own retreat with a serene candle lit bath courtesy of Spa Paradisa. The sweet aroma of the vintage gardenia and frangipani candle will sooth your senses, helping you drift off to foreign lands, sun drenched and exotic. While the truly heavenly bath soak will protect and nourish your skin, leaving it renewed and radiant for 2011.

The Spa Paradisa™ candle (RRP £5) and bath soak (RRP £7) are available from Debenhams or www.next.co.uk, where you find the full range of Spa Paradisa products - all of which are packed with paraben free natural ingredients with no synthetic colours.

You don’t have to look far now when you’re searching for a quick pick-me-up to whisk you away to that tropical island paradise, as it can now be found in your make up bag.

Transport yourself to a faraway world, away from the stuffy office to your hidden oasis with Spa Paradisa’s™ new lip butters - your very own naughty secret pleasure to create sumptuous glossy lips.

 

Add scents of soft sweet coconut and the thrill of juicy passionfruit to your lips with the new lip butters by Spa Paradisa™. Enriched with vitamin E - one of the most powerful of vitamins with its high level of antioxidants - and Shea butter for an added softness and luxurious feel, along with only pure natural ingredients all stuffed into one pot.

Because Spa Paradisa’s™ lip balms are completely natural, they are Paraben free, a substance used in many cosmetics today that have concerns of harming the skin.

Coming in single pots or twin packs, Spa Paradisa™ will take you to another world with health and well being as a way of life and bringing that paradise feeling to you.

Spa Paradisa lip butters are available in Debenhams, Urban Outfitters, Boots and online at http://www.next.co.uk/, and cost £3.50 each or £6 as a twin pack, visit http://www.liquid3.com/spa/ for more information.

Mrs Crimble’s Mini Choc Orange Macaroons Review

Hurry to Sainsbury's right now, these macaroons are cute to look at, pop easily into your mouth if you are a greedy soul like me, or if feeling positively refined you can nibble on them.

I saw them at the Good Food Show and they were very popular. They are just so light in texture, gloriously orangey and have a lovely chocolate finish. Perfect after all the heavy Christmas offerings. The name dot coms fits perfectly. You will find like myself not having a dot, but more a .............

Worth every penny of the £1.89

Mrs Crimble please keep these in the shops longer than Christmas.

Mrs Crimble’s, the bakery brand dedicated to making life’s little treats as delicious as possible, has just unveiled their Mini Choc Orange Macaroons. 

The macaroons take the classic choc and orange combo to new heights. They are small enough not to be sinful while being yummy enough to feel like a real treat. Better still, they are made with a gluten free recipe so everyone can enjoy them. Each one turns an ordinary cup of tea or coffee into a moment of heaven…

Although they have only just hit the shelves, the miniature marvels have already acquired a nickname in the trade. They are affectionately referred to as ‘dot coms’, because they are small (like dots) and Choc Orange Macaroons. Just like their namesake, everyone who has tasted one agrees that they are set to become an essential part of everyday life!

 

 

 

Mrs Crimble’s started over 20 years ago.  Mrs Crimble’s products can be found in all good independent farm shops, health stores, delicatessens and in supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco – more than one of Mrs Crimble’s Choc Macaroons is sold every second!

http://www.mrscrimbles.com/