Ever since Julia Child brought fine French cuisine to the masses across the Atlantic, the idea that only experienced foreigners can prepare a unique and exquisite meal for you is losing credibility by the day. Neither your expertise nor the ingredients you use need to be exorbitant in order to prepare great food which is tasty as well as interesting and classy. This article will give you examples of a few pork recipes which you can make easily and impress!

SHASHLIK

If you are looking for an outlandish pork meal, why not go Mediterranean/Oriental? Shashlik, or meat on the skewer, always pleases both the eyes and the palate. You need a juicy piece (loin or leg, no bones!) which you cut up in bite-sized cubes. Season the meat with salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, and any other condiment you like on your pork. Cut one small onion and a bell pepper in circles and take turns skewering meat and veg. Grill the skewers and douse them in lemon juice in the process to keep them juicy. Serve with a mixed salad.

PORK CORDON BLEU

You like the classic chicken version? Then prepare to be amazed. This pork cordon bleu just confirms that preparing extraordinary meals from ordinary ingredients is not only achievable; it is delectable! Get some butterflied pork cutlets, place a slice of ham and cheese in each of them, fold over, and close them with toothpicks. Dip in egg and bread crumbs and fry in an oiled skillet. Feel free to stuff the cutlets with anything else you like – try diced pickles for a tinge of sweet-salty flavour!

PLJESKAVICA

Now that is a tasty tongue-twister! Pljeskavica, a Balkan minced-meat patty can be eaten as a large meatball with appropriate side dishes or as a hamburger in pita bread with sauces and salad on top. Whichever option you pick, this is the mother of all pork recipes in Southern Europe and a great exotic twist on the traditional meatball/burger. In a bowl, mix the pork mince with diced onions, a garlic clove or two, salt, pepper, oregano, and some soaked bread. Add a raw egg for consistency and massage the mixture until it becomes uniform. Form wide, thin patties and grill them to your taste. Serve with some cream cheese and fresh cabbage salad. It is easy and extraordinary all at once!

This is a guest post.

Today marks the beginning of Taste of London at Regents Park, an event which epitomises what a great dining city London has become. Taste of London is now a staple fixture of the London food scene, and this year is particularly special as it celebrates its ten-year anniversary. Every year it gets bigger and better, and this year brings together another great array of Michelin chefs. Three generations of the Roux dynasty will be cooking together from Emily, to Michel Roux Jnr to Albert Roux. Other great restaurants include Gauthier Soho (Alexis Gauthier), Michelin starred Tamarind, the ever trendy Duck & Waffle and Lima for some en vogue Peruvian cuisine.

In addition to the diverse number of restaurants that will showcase their offerings, Laurent-Perrier Champagne are running a number of champagne masterclasses. Sponsors British Airways will also be hosting an ‘Executive Club Lounge’ and providing visitors with an opportunity to take a sneak peak of what will be served on its new A380 aircraft which will be flying to Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Electrolux, another sponsor, will host the Electrolux Taste Theatre where a number of top class chefs will be on display with their fine culinary skills.

What a great celebration of food in London. Here’s hoping for some sunshine in London for the rest of the week for Taste. Taste of London runs from 20 to 23 June.

Grey’s Fine Foods

Grey’s Find Foods is an importer of exclusive Spanish foods and wines. Their catalogue contains a wide variety of award winning gourmet foods from Spain such as extra virgin olive oils, cheeses, Ibérico hams and other delicatessen products, but to name a few. Browsing through their catalogue, one gets a real sense of commitment and passion to gourmet Spanish products.

Grey’s Fine Foods kindly sent me some of their products to try recently, one of which was the Villadiego semi-cured manchego (£4.50 per 250g), a classic raw ewe’s milk cheese that had a slightly nutty aroma to it. It was delicious, and this was recognised at the 2011 World Cheese Awards with a gold medal win.

A selection of Grey’s Find Foods

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If you love experimenting with a cocktail shaker, muddler and strainer, buy spirits online and learn to prepare 10 of the best cocktails perfect for any occasion.

1. Mojito

The mojito, the national drink of Cuba and one of Ernest Hemingway’s favourites, is a winner, no matter which recipe you choose. The traditional Cuban recipe includes white sugar, white rum, mint leaves, lime, club soda, and ice. Golden rum may give the cocktail a stronger taste.

2. Cosmopolitan

The Cosmo is very popular among ladies, especially since Sex and the City became a TV sensation. The cocktail is prepared with citron vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, lime juice, and ice.

3. Margarita

The national cocktail of Mexico is one of the most refreshing and easy-to-make drinks. The classic version is based on tequila – you can use silver or golden tequila – as well as orange liqueur, lemon or lime juice, syrup, and ice.

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Christmas Splendour Hamper

It’s almost the silly season again. The streets are beaming with Christmas lights and they are already abuzz with shoppers. It’s always difficult to know what to buy for loved ones and friends, but some fabulous hampers are a possible gift idea.

Hampergifts ofter an online deluxe selection of Christmas hampers, as well as hampers for other occasions. They sent me the Christmas Splendour Hamper to sample and it was massive! It came in a big heavy box that was so much fun to open. It was as if Christmas had come early!

The Christmas Splendour Hamper

The hamper contained a selection of goodies including a range of premium chocolates, baked goodies such as a rich Christmas fruit cake, a variety of preserves and chutneys, and some fine wines including a Lanson Black Label Champagne. Hampergifts’ Christmas hampers range in price from £19.95 to £275, so there’s a little something for everyone, no matter what your budget.

The Christmas Splendour Hamper

To check out Hampergifts festive products, click here for more Chistmas hampers.

Baker Days offer a diverse range of mail order cakes for every occasion ranging from birthdays to anniversaries to Christmas. With over 400 choices, their list is quite extensive and even extends to personalised options such as designing your own cake. Virtually every possibility is possible.

It’s easy to order. Simply choose your occasion, select the cake (design, size, flavour) and hit buy. Or if you rather your own design, you can personalise it as mentioned.

The cake delivery

The gift package

There are three sizes, the smallest being the Letterbox Gift Cake that feeds four to five people and is priced from £14.99. This cake, measuring about 12cm in diameter and about 2½ cm tall was delivered in a little letterbox gift package and presented in a reusable tin with candles and balloons. The carrot flavour (with a £2.20 supplement) was the option I went for and was nicely spiced. The packaging was really adorable and was ideal for a nice little gift.

A ‘thank you’ cake

Website: http://www.bakerdays.com/

This is a paid for advertorial.

The Leather Bottle is a pub in Earlsfield, and to mark the launch of its luscious new garden with huts that available for private hire, welfare-friendly Suffolk pork farmer Dingley Dell hosted one of its ‘flying visits’ in the form of an al fresco barbecue bonanza with matching beers and ciders early last week.

The evening kicked off with a pig butchery masterclass followed by a six-course meal. First up was the whole hog board which included air-dried pork leg, crispy pig’s ears, potted brawn, mini hot dogs and black pudding trotter fritters served with gooseberry chutney and a purple basil jam. To go with the board was Aspall’s Premier Cru cider, which proved to be a good pairing. The fritters were delicious as was the pork leg, although the pig’s ears were a little chewy.

The whole hog board

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Fornam and Field do a range of gourmet food hampers which can be purchased for delivery and are customised for specific occasions and tastes. For example there are the breakfast in bed and afternoon tea hampers for a more relaxed treat, or for the more discerning, the gourmand gift box which contains items such as Keta caviar and chicken liver & brandy parfait . Basic packages start from about £35 and go up to the deluxe variety which costs about £220.

My hamper

I was sent a taster hamper basket which included Genuine Wild and London Cured Smoked Scottish salmon, potted lobster, hand carved Alderton ham, a selection of Neal’s Yard Dairy cheeses, and some sweet selections including a chocolate brownie, banana bread, and Paul Wayne Gregory Pure Indulgence Chocolates.

Both varieties of smoked salmon were delicious with a delicate flavour, and the ham was impressively flavoursome with a hint of sweetness and none of the heavy saltiness. In fact, I was really mesmerised by the ham and how tasty is was. The chocolate brownie was decadently rich and the chocolates were a delight. It was difficult to gauge the general value for money of the Fornam and Field hampers since the one I received was a taster package and not available for sale, but there was no doubting the quality of the produce. I liked the hamper basket itself which can be reused and would look great on a picnic blanket. Delivery hovers at around the £10 mark.

The hamper basket

Website: http://www.formanandfield.com/