Here is my full review :
A complete New Classic
Christmas
The cook at Christmas
will always have a hard time, but what a little bit of planning & help can
do is pre-empt the panic.
At Lidl this Christmas,you will find all the traditional favourites as well as
some with a modern twist in helping you to create marvellous festive meals.
So if you
want to make this Christmas one to remember, simply pay a visit to your local Lidl.
Christmas ‘s Eve
Keep
entertaining simple on Christmas ‘s eve and you’ll have plenty of time to relax
and enjoy the festivities as well.
For an
elegant, easy to prepare supper, a seafood buffet will make an impressive
choice. At Lidl, you will find a
superb choice of top quality fish and shellfish.
Mix some sweet Inismara Queen Scallops, cooked fan-tail prawns with some
mixed leaves into a warm Seafood Medley. Irish Crab claws, Wafer thin slices of
dry-cured salmon carpaccio and succulent sliced smoked trout.
Products review : Fish & Seafood
·
Salmon Carpaccio, parmigiano reggiano cheese & a
vinaigrette dressing *****
Very moist
wafer thin slices of dry-cured Salmon. Silky and full of flavour, it was
perfectly complimented by the saltiness of the parmesan and sweet dressing.
Would make
an ideal starter to your festive meal or simply as part of your Christmas’s eve
buffet.
·
Sliced Smoked Trout *****
A wellcome
change to the traditional Smoked Salmon, this pre sliced smoked trout is a
must-have for your fridge and will keep
your guests coming back for more. With a subtle smokey flavour, it was
delicious and melted in the mouth.
Perfect for
your Christmas’s Eve buffet or served on the Scottish Oatcakes with cracked
black pepper oat & Roasted
garlic & herb mayonnaise as hors d’oeuvres .
* See review of Oat Cakes under Biscuits
and Mayonnaise under Condiments
·
Wild Irish Crab Claws ( 80grms ) ****
Small
portion (8 pcs),so would only be enough for 1, however they were very tasty and
fresh.
Would be
ideal as a garnish to a smoked salmon roulade on a Christmas ‘s Eve Buffet
table .
Or simply tossed
in butter and garlic for a very tasty starter or as an hors d’oeuvres.
·
Wild Crab Meat (100grms)****
Again very
tasty & fresh sweet crab meat but portion was on the small side.
This would
make an ideal starter mixed with eggs & cream and served as a Crab Creme
Brulee with parmesan crisps.
·
Salmon Sensation *****
A very tasty
medley of Salmon, Cucumber and delicately flavoured with dill. With plenty of
salmon pieces & crisp diced cucumber,this handmade pate was creamy and not
in the least watery.A definite must-have for your fridge.
Spread on
some Smoked salmon and roll into a roulade, Wrap in cling film and chill.
Sliced & garnish with a wedge of lemon , it will make an ideal starter.
Or simply
pipe into puff pastry vol-au-vent cases, garnish with sprig of dill and serve
as canapes.
·
Products review : Deli counter
Bresaola Della Valtellina P.G.I *****
Full of
flavour, these wafer thin air dried beef slices were delicious, with tiny
gherkins and green olives, they would be perfect for your drinks party or
selfishly, keep it all to yourself to nibble at while putting the finishing
touches to the meal.
Pork liver & Turkey pate *****
A delicious
smooth spread with a nice hint of sweetness from the ligonberries.
Pork liver & Duck liver pate
*****
Again
deliciously smooth, while you could taste the brandy, it didn’t overpower.
Pork liver & Venison pate *****
Coarser in
texture than the other two, it was more gamey but equally delicious with a
subtle earthy flavour from the Chanterelles mushrooms.
They would
be ideal served on crackers, or toasted sourdough for your drinks party.
Should you
be doing a Beef Wellington as your Christmas day main , the Pork liver &
Venison pate would add wonderful depth and roundness to this dish.
·
Pate selection of Pork, Duck,
Venison, Wild Boar,& Quail *****
A must have
for your store cupboard. Would come in handy in the event of unexpected
guest , distant cousins & aunts.
While some
were better than others, they were all equally of a high standard and very
tasty.
Cheeses :
While we all love cheeses , whoever has any
space left to eat cheese at the Christmas table, so my advice is to reserve
them for an indulgent feast on Stephen’s day while watching a movie or
entertaining as they are the perfect foods to be share among guests.
Cooleeney Camembert *****
A Camembert
style cheese, soft textured but not ripe. A nice contrast to the mushroomy
earthy rind and subtle flavours of oak.
Would be a perfect cheese for baking, topped
with chopped dried fruits, nuts & honey and would pair well with a
Sparkling wine.
Irish Oak Smoked Soft Brie*****
A buttery
semi soft cheese with a mild smoky flavour which is dangerously moreish.
Perfect for
general nibbling at your drinks party or melted with left over turkey,
cranberry relish in a sandwich.
Would
compliment a full bodied red wine.
·
Fivemiletown Irish Soft Brie *****
A soft rind
and a smooth creamy interior with the texture of vanilla ice cream, this Irish
Brie would be a perfect match to a well matured Port.
·
Fivemiletown Irish Mature Cheddar
*****
A robust and
well rounded Cheddar with a perfect balance of sharpness and lovely nutty
flavour.
·
Mature Tipperary Blue *****
A soft very
creamy textured Irish blue and bloomy rind with a distinct earthy flavour.
Would be
perfect to crumble over caramelised red onions on puff pastry for tartlets.
Also would
make an impressive addition to any cheese board and paired with an Italian Vino
Santo.
Condiments :
·
Roasted garlic & herb
mayonnaise*****
Creamy and very smooth with the subtle pungent flavour of
roasted garlic.
Ideal as a base for hors d’oeuvres or in sandwiches for all
those left over turkey & ham but it would be terrific also with roast beef.
Cranberry
& port sauce*****
Nicely tart
but it had none of the sourness or sharpness of fresh cranberries. It had deep
earthy tones with plenty of fruits.
This
Cranberry & Port sauce would be the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas
Turkey and it tasted as good as home made ones.
Add a couple
of spoonful to your braised red spiced cabbage or even to your gravy.
·
Ham Glaze with honey &
mustard*****
Your
Christmas ham wouldn’t have the wow factor without the glaze, so if time is
short and you don’t want to compromise on taste and flavour, this is the one.
It was a
perfect glaze to a lion of Bacon too, with deep amber tones and caramelised
edges.
The lion of
bacon is a perfect shape for easy carving and makes a nice change from the
traditional ham.
·
Duck fat *****
Again a must
have store cupboard staple.
For perfect crisp golden roasted potatoes,
Parboil, drain , shake and drizzle over with duck fat & coarse sea salt.
Roast in a pre heated oven until golden brown.
·
Wholegrain mustard with Irish Whiskey*****
I loved the
texture.With visible mustard seeds, like popping candy, it exploded on the
palate in small burst of tangyness & sweetness.
Ideal as a rub,
in a marinade, spread or in any salad dressings.
Wholegrain mustard with Irish stout
*****
Again great
texture, but the stout gave it a more robust flavour with sweet to spicy
undertones.
·
Pure Acacia Honey with cut comb*****
The sweet
aroma of acacia is evident in this pale golden honey. It had a mild sweet
floral flavour.
Acacia honey
doesn’t tend to crystallize hence this liquid gold will mix easily in any
liquids either for your salad dressings, marinades or cocktails.
Biscuits :
·
Scottish Oatcakes with olive oil
*****
·
Scottish Oatcakes with cracked black
pepper *****
More like a
biscuits or cracker, these oatcakes were far from being rough or coarse. It had
a quite refined texture and both were delicately flavoured accordingly.
Perfect to
serve as a base for your hors d’oeuvres,
a Cheese board or simply to nibble on.
·
Stem Ginger all butter Cookies *****
Heavenly
biscuits. Crumbly , slightly spicy and chewy in texture.
So Irresistible that I kept going back for
more and they vanished in seconds.
·
Strawberry & Cream mini butter
Shortbread *****
These fun
bites shortbread were buttery and
bursting with fruit pieces and tasted similar to a strawberry cheesecake but in
cookie form. What’s not to love !!!. Very sad to see the box empty.
Sweets :
·
· Turkish Delight coated in Milk
Chocolate **
While it
tasted good, the portion size was far too small to be value for money.
The box
contained 8 pieces in total
·
Irish cream liqueur Truffles ***
Smooth milk
chocolate but the alcohol content was far too subtle . It was hardly there and
came only slightly as an after taste.
·
Macaron selection *****
Very crisp
cookie shells, gooey centres and not overtly sweet.
With some
edible metalic paints & edible powder dust, get the kids busy and transform
these into edible tree decorations.
Chiller Desserts :
·
Tiramisu *****
A clear
winner, this good looking dessert had all the layers and aspects of the real
deal.
Lady’s
fingers biscuits were delicately flavoured with coffee and marsala wine, with
light Whipped Mascarpone cream. Heavenly.
·
Raspberry Pannacotta & Sicilian
lemon cheesecake *****
Very dainty
and stylishly presented in their own individual cups, they would be ideal for
any party or your New Year’s eve buffet.
The
pannacotta was silky and very smooth with a nice topping of raspberry compote
with real chunks of fruits present.
While a nice
crumbly base, this rich, creamy and zingy lemon Cheesecake was bountiful with lemon
zests with a topping of lemon citrus
jelly.
·
Frozen Desserts :
·
Strawberries & Cream Tart *****
This
fabulous dessert was a firm favourite. With a crumbly, flaky pastry base,
cooked vanilla clotted cream and topped
with sliced strawberries and a strawberry glaze coulis. It was light , creamy
and delicious. With plenty of fruits, it was a real treat , in so much as you
could easily pass it on as home made. A clear winner.
·
Raspberry Roulade *****
·
Toffee pecan Roulade *****
Not far
behind, these roulades were equally delicious and for those of us where the
traditional pud always seems far too heavy on Christmas day, these meringue
roulades would make a suitably festive replacement.
They
defrosted perfectly and were not in the least soggy. The meringue was still
crisp. Lightly whipped cream with lots of fruits and tangy raspberry sauce.
While the
toffee pecan roulade was studded with
toasted chopped pecan nuts and a yummy sticky toffee sauce.
They would
be equally good half thawed , sliced and served with some custard.
·
Ice cream fancies ***
These bite
size ice cream desserts were tasty and perfect in satisfying a sugar rush but
were nothing more that that.
·
New York style Cheesecake****
A faultless Cheesecake in texture , very smooth, creamy and
silky with a crumbly biscuit base, however in my opinion it was lacking in
flavour
·
Belgian Chocolate Cheesecake*****
A delicious
cake, Smooth, creamy and velvety with a lovely biscuit base.
The
proportions of chocolate to cream was spot on, making this cake very light and
not overly sweet.
Garnish with
some raspberries and a sprinkle of edible gold dust, this cake is sure to
impress any guests.
Christmas Cakes :
The
celebration would not be complete without a festive – looking Christmas cake
for the centre piece.
·
Luxury Christmas Cake*****
A smashing
cake with a rich taste without being
overtly heavy with masses of juicy sultanas, currants, raisins and cherries and
lashings of brandy.
·
Top Iced Christmas Cake **
While it had
a generous amount of fruits , the texture was rather dry and crumbly and the
lack of any kind of alcohol in this cake was evident in it’s maturity.
The marzipan
and icing was also too rock solid for my
taste.
·
Top Iced Rich Fruit Bar ****
A little too
sticky in texture , it was however very flavoursome with lots of fruits with a
good dark colour.
Disclaimer : I was not paid to review these products. All views are my own and according to my taste buds.
©2012-2014;Robert Jacob;jacob'scrackers;jacobscrackers9; All rights reserved
Disclaimer : I was not paid to review these products. All views are my own and according to my taste buds.
©2012-2014;Robert Jacob;jacob'scrackers;jacobscrackers9; All rights reserved
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