Delicious UK December 2016

The easy one... CHOCOLATE AND MARZIPAN CROISSANTS MAKES 4. HANDS-ON TIME 10 MIN, OVEN TIME 8 MIN FOOD TEAM’S TIP Day-old croissants work best in this recipe, as they’re easier to cut and crisp up well in the oven. Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Slice open 4 croissants (see tip) without cutting through to the other side. Put 100g good quality marzipan, grated, 25g unsalted butter and 30g amaretti biscuits in a food processor and whizz to just combine. Divide the mixture among the croissant cavities, then top with 50g chopped dark chocolate. Put in a baking tray and bake for 8 minutes or until the chocolate melts and the marzipan softens. Drizzle with melted chocolate and crumble over another amaretti biscuit, if you like. For ways to…

Writing this letter is a special moment. Why? Because we start thinking about this festive Issue Of The Year months ahead. It kicks off with Christmas in July, when the major stores showcase their festive wares on what are guaranteed to be the hottest days of the year. Our job is to see, taste, soak up the experiences – and take copious notes so we don’t forget four months later when it’s time to choose what to feature and how. This year Christmas in July began in June. I’m naming no names… Then comes the big brainstorming day, which I have at my house, once a year. It is sacrosanct. The weather is always hot ; we play carols to get in the mood (sometimes…

SAUCY! There are few things more tempting than chocolate caramel sauce. Add Christmas pudding flavours and you have a festive stunner. Paul A Young has created a recipe exclusively for delicious. that’s simple to make, as well as being a great way of using up leftover pudding. Serve warm with ice cream and sigh… Find the Christmas pudding caramel recipe at deliciousmagazine.co.uk. CHRISTMAS TO YOUR DOOR A real tree through the letterbox? That’s what M&S are doing this year. The tree is small (obviously) and springs out when unwrapped. It costs £25 and includes a gold pot, lights, moss and baubles. Order in stores and at marksand  spencer.com. AND BREATHE… The rich food of Christmas demands bracing walks to build up appetites before meals – or burn off…

RECIPES THAT WORK Every recipe is rigorously tested by our food team, using state-of-the-art Electrolux ovens, so you can be confident they work every time. INGREDIENTS We aim to use easy-to-find seasonal ingredients. We’ll tell you where to find any unusual ingredients and/or what to substitute them with. We use higher-welfare meat for testing, supplied by The Ginger Pig (thegingerpig.co.uk). ✪ This symbol next to an ingredient means there are more ideas for using it on our Loose Ends page. HONEST COOKING TIMES Unlike many magazines, our timings include prep such as chopping. Hands-on time is when you’re chopping, stirring or frying. Oven/simmering time is when you can leave the dish in the oven or on the hob. Indicates a vegetarian recipe. Indicates a vegan recipe. Indicates a gluten-free recipe.…

STAR EMAIL SUBJECT: I got my cooking mojo back! FROM: Vanda Davies I wanted to let you know how inspired I’ve become about cooking since discovering delicious. I was a longtime subscriber to another food magazine but I’d become increasingly disappointed with the lacklustre recipes and photographs. Sometimes I hardly looked at it, let alone cooked from it. When I picked up a copy of delicious. I was hooked immediately. I cancelled my existing subscription and took out one with you. I eagerly await each issue so I can start planning what to cook next. My family have never had it so good! SUBJECT: Vegan bullying FROM: Rachel Dews Anne Lamb’s vegan letter [November p9] has ruined my reading of delicious. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but this was…

FEEDING THE FOUNDLINGS Forget Oliver Twist and his gruel. Children who grew up at London’s Foundling Hospital drank coffee and beer, and ate well at tables laid with china and linen – but they did so in silence and sat in height order. The Feeding the 400 exhibition at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury explores the impact of food on these abandoned children between 1740 and 1950. In the 18th century, as a show of respect to their benefactors, the children would be observed eating Sunday lunch by members of well-to-do society, and paraded holding oranges at the governor’s banquet. Christmas provided cause for something of a spectacle, too, as the staged 1950s image (above) of the children preparing a Christmas pudding shows. £10.25 adults; £7.50 concessions; children free; until…