Let's Make Christmas at Fabulous Fortnums!

On Friday I took part in an inspiring and fabulous food blogger's event at the iconic London shop Fortnum & Mason . It has been in Piccadilly since 1707, is the official grocer to the Royal household and is still a magical place to visit at any time - but particularly at Christmas, when the decorations are especially amazing and totally OTT...

this one is a view of the stairwell - I took it from the fourth floor....

The afternoon was organised by this wonderful woman...

Vanessa Kimbell . You may remember that I went to the launch of her recipe book, Prepped, back in June. She has ignited a campaign, via her blog and Twitter, to make this Christmas a largely handmade one...a wonderful idea in these difficult financial times - but not just for that reason. There is something so special about receiving a gift that someone you love has taken the time & trouble to make just for you! You can read all about (& join in with!) Vanessa's idea, and the details behind Friday's event on her blog.
I was quite apprehensive when I arrived at 3pm...making my way up the stairs to the top floor and trying to spot my fellow bloggers! I knew that a couple of people I'd met before would probably be going but, apart from that, the afternoon was largely an unknown quantity! We were each given a number for our entries/gifts and went into the beautiful private room that was ours for the next 3 hours. There were four tables for the different categories of presents...so I headed to place my offering amongst the others on the (heaving) baking one! Then time to get a cup of tea...
The Fortnum's colours are duck egg blue, gold & white....gorgeous. And the table set with goodies looked beautiful too...

love the silver sugar tongs...

the proper tea urns...

I avoided the chocolate and had my first mince pie of the season!
It was wonderful to find and chat with fellow tweeters & bloggers (we all wore labels with our Twitter & blog names) and get to know more about them....quite an experience! I also spent time looking at what everyone else had brought with them. The standard was incredibly high, and I found the level of creativity and effort involved quite moving...

I brought a little box of Clove Shortbread Snowflakes...

(I'll post the recipe nearer to Christmas) and Toasted Pecan Salted Caramel Brownie Cups (which I forgot to photograph...they were decorated with a gilded pecan & gold edible glitter!) I wrapped it all in cellophane and tied with seasonal ribbons..

When I saw the other entries, I knew that I wouldn't win - but I'm proud to say that I made it to the judge's tasting table!!
Ah, the judge. The fantabulous baker du jour - Dan Lepard. Author of one of my favourite new books on all things baking (reviewed a few posts back) Short & Sweet. Columnist and expert. Probably the highlight of the day was meeting and (later) chatting to Dan. He took the judging process extremely seriously and it all took quite some time...

But finally, the categories were judged and the prizes awarded. Many congratulations to the very worthy winners:
Urvashi for her Blackberry Curd
Jayne for her Damson Slivovitz
Snejana for her Mincemeat Pops and finally....
Claire who won not only best baked goods for her amaretti biscuits....but also Best in Show!! Many congratulations to her...I don't think I've ever seen anyone so shocked and delighted at winning!

Afterwards, several of us headed off for a well-earned glass of wine and more chatter...and some great gossip!
 I stayed in London overnight and after a quick breakfast yesterday morning at my local Nordic Bakery...

I headed off into the warm sunshine to do a little Christmas shopping. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the Christmas windows at Liberty...

always stunning!
Many thanks to Vanessa for arranging such a wonderful time for us all....I have the feeling that it's the first of many as it was so successful! But in the meantime, why not think about making at least some of your gifts this year? It can be nervewracking, but it's also fabulous fun...

Wishing you a wonderful week....mine is all set to be extra, extra special! More soon....xx

Breakfasts & feeding the monsters....

The past week has been a strange one....I've had to find a new rhythm to my days since I stopped supplying the Coffee Tree...and also something new to blog about here! Almost all of my day to day baking at the moment comprises trays and trays of brownies...and while these taste & look delicious, they're not the most interesting of subjects to photograph or to talk about!

So for the moment I'll head back into more personal food territory, and see where that takes me. I'm beginning with breakfast!
Paul is someone who really needs breakfast. By that I mean that he just doesn't have a good start to his day if he doesn't eat properly. I, on the other hand, have to force myself to eat anything - it just doesn't feel natural at all. Perhaps that's the legacy of such an early start to my working day - I'd just rather get up and get out and get going!
But there's no doubt that I feel better when I do have something...and so I'm trying to train myself to be better at cooking for both of us first thing. I try and vary things every day...and we both like different meals. Paul adores a grilled kipper (especially on Sunday mornings) with brown bread & butter...I love yoghurt, especially gooseberry or rhubarb. This morning he had no time to sit and eat so I got the frying pan out...

and cooked some dry-cured outdoor bred unsmoked back bacon (very important to get GOOD bacon from as happy-as-possible-in-the-circumstances pigs, I think) and made him a bacon sandwich to go...

He likes his sandwich on untoasted wholemeal bread, buttered on both sides, with the bacon cooked but NOT crispy! Very particular, my husband....
I had a bowl of porridge - my absolute favourite thing on a cold, dark November morning...

made with water, not milk...sprinkled with cinnamon, seasalt flakes and just a soupcon of real Canadian maple syrup. I'm quite particular myself, come to think of it! Absolutely delicious. I also have to have at least one cup of (real) coffee...in one of my favourite mugs...

See a pattern emerging there? There aren't many Mozart mugs, but between my Mum and I, I think we must have most of them. And it makes me so happy to drink my coffee from one...it doesn't feel right any other way. It's the little things like this that help to start my day in the right frame of mind, I've found!
Fridays at this time of year are also feeding time. For my Christmas cakes that is...
They are all baked and ready for the Christmas Farmer's Market and other orders...and sit, tightly wrapped in double layers of clingfilm and foil, at the back of a cool dark cupboard awaiting the time when they'll be dressed in their icing finery nearer to the Big Day! But for now, every Friday they are unwrapped and fed with either brandy or rum (according to the fruits they contain)

this keeps them beautifully moist and ensures that they taste gorgeous on the Christmas tea table. Of course, I do make some with no alcohol too - but these are the biggest sellers by far. They do have their personalities, it seems to me, as they sit and glower in their cupboard...the small and squat ones, the bigger taller ones....cakes are like my babies, as you can see!

I'm just eating a wonderful bowl of soup, made with the help of my youngest nephew William yesterday. Carrot, cumin & fresh pear. The pear was his idea - inspired, it is absolutely delicious. We cooks should listen to three year olds more often!

I'd love to know what your favourite breakfast is...leave me a comment and let me know? Thanks so much for reading and have a wonsderful weekend xoxo