Out & About November 2017

Bonfire bonanza November sees chillier weather and the excitement of bonfire night. HILARY SCOTT has some tips for fun bonfire party food, where the best organised firework displays are and we look at soup makers to keep you warm and cosy well into winter. Bonfire parties at home Collect your firewood, invite your friends and family and gather for a tasty bonfire night. Food BAKED POTATOES BBC’s Gardeners World tested different

Drinks Warm yourselves by the bonfire with one of these luscious drinks – a creamy Mexican hot chocolate or a spicy mulled cider MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE 2 100g bars good quality bittersweet chocolate 2 cinnamon sticks

varieties and found Vivaldi, Sant and Melody were best for baking. If you can’t get hold of those, try King Edward, Maris Piper or Golden Wonder. Don’t bake the spuds in foil, simply rub with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Cook at 200°C for 1hr – 1hr 20mins. But for a super crispy skin go for 180°C for 2hrs 20 mins. Then you can wrap in foil to keep warm on the outer edges of the bonfire. Fill with: chilli con carne or veggie chilli, tuna mayo, baked beans or cheese. Kids love scooped-out baked potatoes mixed with grated cheese and pickle and loaded back into the skins and flash grilled to make the top crispy. Or simply serve with lashings of butter and salt. Baked sweet potatoes can be topped with sour cream, yogurt or crumbled blue cheese. SAUSAGES Pick up some sausages from Griffins, the butcher on the bridge in Newbury. Choose from the original Newbury sausage or pork, apple and cider, Lincolnshire, venison and red wine. Or try Vicars Game sausages from Casey Field’s Farm Shop – they have a vast range from beef and Guinness, pheasant and pear to Merguez and Caribbean chicken. Use a deep-sided cast iron skillet to fry over the bonfire. The deep sides prevent the fat from landing in the fire or splattering you. Again you can keep them warm in foil. MARSHMALLOWS Make sure you use long forks or soaked wooden skewers to toast the mallows in the fire. For kids, put dishes of hundreds and thousands, caramel sauce, melted chcololate or biscuit crumbs for them to dip their gooey marshmallows in. For adults dipping into little glasses of Baileys Irish Cream liqueur make the mallows super gooey.

½ cup water 2 cups milk 1 cup double cream ½ tsp chili powder (optional) ½ tbsp light brown sugar (optional) Pinch of nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate with the water and cinnamon sticks over medium high heat. Once the chocolate is melted, add the milk, cream, chili powder and sugar (if using), and the nutmeg. Stir until everything is combined. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium and let it cook until it thickens a little (about 5 minutes). If you think it’s too thick/sweet for you, add an extra cup of milk. SPICED CIDER 1.5ltr vintage cider 2 cinnamon sticks 4 cloves 2 star anise 4 tbsp ginger syrup (from a jar of stem ginger) 1 orange, 1/2 juiced and 1/2 sliced 3 tbsp light soft brown sugar Heat the vintage cider, cinnamon sticks, cloves and star anise in a large pan for a few minutes, then add the ginger syrup, the orange juice and slices and the sugar.

Bring to the boil, then simmer for five minutes. To serve, ladle into glasses and add an extra

cinnamon stick stirrer, orange slice and star anise to each, if you like. Recipe courtesy of Tesco

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