BOOK NOW MENU FIND US ROUGE AT HOME PARTIES AFTERNOON TEA CHRISTMAS How To Make Crème Brûlée Ingredients Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 40 mins Chilling time: 4 hours minimum Yield: 2 desserts 250ml double cream 3 egg yolks 1 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp demerara sugar 1 vanilla pod - Alternatively you can use 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Simply whisk it in together with egg yolks and sugar. Fresh fruit to serve - raspberries or strawberries Method Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2. Cut the vanilla pod open and scrape out the seeds with the knife. Pop them in a medium saucepan together with the pod itself and add the cream. Bring the cream almost to boiling point over a medium-low heat and then take it off the heat. Let the cream infuse with the vanilla whilst you prepare the egg yolks. Separate the egg yolks from the whites (you could freeze the whites for another time). Put the yolks and caster sugar into a heatproof bowl and stir until just combined. Remove the vanilla pod and then pour the cream on to the yolk and sugar mix, stirring constantly to mix. Put 2 small ovenproof ramekins in a baking tin. Divide the mixture between the ramekins and pour cold water into the tin until it comes 2/3 of the way up the ramekins. Bake for about 40 minutes until the custard is set – Keep watching them as you want for the edges to be set with some visible wobble in the middle of your brûlées. Cool and then chill until cold. Recommend a minimum of four hours in the fridge. Scatter the tops of the cold brulees with demerara sugar, and use a blowtorch or hot grill to caramelise the tops – (if using a grill, they will need to go back in the fridge for half an hour before serving to cool them down again.) Wait a few minutes for the sugar layer to harden before serving with some fresh berries on the side. Bon appetit! How To Make Dauphinoise Potatoes Ingredients 750g Maris piper potato 400ml double cream 2 Tsp ground nutmeg 4 cloves of garlic 200g gruyere cheese, or mature cheddar salt and pepper to taste Method Peel, wash, and thinly slice your potatoes. If you are lucky enough to have a mandolin in your kitchen, use this to get all equal slices. However if not, using a sharp knife will work just as well. You are looking for around 3mm per slice. Pre heat the oven to 200⁰c (190⁰c fan-assisted), or gas mark 7. In a mixing bowl you will need to add the following: Finely chopped garlic, ground nutmeg, double cream, and salt and pepper. Then add your sliced potatoes to the bowl and give it a good mix, ensuring the garlic is spread out. You can then start layering your coated potatoes in a non-stick oven proof dish. It is important to try and spread them out as evenly as possible, this will help with the ‘pressing’ later. Pour any remaining mixture over the top of the potatoes before wrapping in 3 or 4 layers of aluminium foil. Cook in the centre of the oven for 1hr 20 mins. After the 1hr 20 minutes remove from the oven, but leave the foil on for now. You can use a small knife check the potatoes are soft, however this should be more than enough time for this. Next, using a flat surface, you will need to press the potatoes to remove any gaps there may still be (you can use the back of a spatula for this) then remove the foil. Next add the cheese, and return the dish back to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until the cheese is golden in colour. Enjoy as a perfect side dish to any meal. Bon appetit! How To Make Beef Bourguignon To start, watch the video below to discover the perfect wine pairing to go with our Beef Bourguignon recipe. Ingredients 1kg good-quality braising steak (chopped into 4-5cm chunks) Sunflower oil 300g smoked bacon (chopped into 2-3cm chunks) 1 large onion 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped) 75cl red wine (yes that is a whole bottle!) 2 Tbsp tomato puree 1 beef stock cube 2 large bay leaves 3 large sprigs of thyme 25g butter 20-30 chantenay carrots 300g mushrooms (sliced) 2 heaped Tbsp cornflower Salt and pepper Method Pre-heat oven to gas mark 3, or 170⁰c. Season the beef with lots of salt and pepper, then cook with sunflower oil on a high heat until browned all over. Transfer to a large oven proof casserole dish. Using the same pan, add a little more sunflower oil and fry off the smoked bacon until all the fat has rendered and is crispy, then add the bacon to the casserole dish. Using the same pan add a touch more oil, and soften the finely chopped onions for around 4 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, then add to the casserole dish. Add the bottle of red wine, tomato puree, crumbled stock cube and 200ml water to the casserole dish, and stir. Add the bay leaves, sprigs of time, chantenay carrots and bring to the boil. Give it a good stir then place a lid (or foil) over the top and place in the oven. Cook for around 1 hour and 45 minutes. Then, just before you are about to take the beef out, melt the butter in a non-stick pan, and sauté off the sliced mushrooms until golden brown. In a mug or jug, mix the cornflour with 2 Tbsp cold water. Now add the sautéed mushrooms and the cornflower mix to the beef, give it a good stir and return to the oven for another 45 minutes. You should have a lovely thick sauce, if after it’s still a bit runny, simply simmer on the hob for a further couple of minutes to reduce. Serve with plenty of buttery, creamy mash! How To Make Poulet Breton Ingredients Ingredients for the sauce: 1 Tbsp salted butter 1 onion (finely chopped) 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) 1 Tsp celery salt 1 Tsp onion granules 1 Tsp dried thyme 1 Tsp dried tarragon 1 Tsp garlic salt 1 Tsp ground nutmeg 6 leaves basil 250ml chicken stock 50ml single cream 100ml white wine 2 Tbsp cornflower 4 mushrooms (quartered) 1 small leek (sliced on a 45⁰ angle) Half a courgette (sliced in half moons) Salt and pepper to taste Ingredients for the mash: 600gr maris piper potato 1 free range egg 1 Tbsp salted butter 1 Tsp chopped chives 1 Tsp chopped parsley Salt and pepper to taste Ingredients for the protein: 2 cuts of chicken (I used chicken thigh portions) 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tsp paprika Salt and pepper for seasoning Prep time: 30 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes Serves 2 Method Preheat the oven to 210⁰c. Take the chicken and marinade in the olive oil, paprika, and salt and pepper. Peel and chop the potatoes into roughly 4cm chunks. In a very hot non-stick pan, place the chicken SKIN SIDE UP. And cook for 1 minute. After 1 minute, turn the chicken so it is SKIN SIDE DOWN. Place in the oven and cook for roughly 20 minutes or until the juices run clear. It’s important to cook the chicken skin side down as it will protect the meat so it will be lovely and moist. Place the potatoes into salted boiling water and cook for around the same time as the chicken, or until soft enough to put a butter knife through with ease. When the chicken and the potatoes are on, it’s time to start the sauce. Add the salted butter, and finely diced onion to a non-stick pan, then stir until softened. Then add the finely chopped garlic, nutmeg, tarragon, thyme, onion granules, garlic salt, and celery salt. Give it all a good mix up before adding the chicken stock, cream and white wine. You may find the sauce will be a little runny at this point, but not to worry. Take the cornflower, and mix with cold water separately from the sauce. You can then add this slowly until you have the right consistency. In a separate pan you will need to sauté of the mushrooms, leeks and courgettes. When they are softened you can add this to your sauce, along with the basil. Give it a good mix up and season to taste. Take the chicken out of oven and leave to rest whilst you crack on with the mashed potato. Drain your blanched potatoes, then let the steam come off for around a minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl or back to the pan, then add the chopped parsley, chopped chives, salted butter, seasoning to taste, but perhaps most importantly, a raw egg! Give it a good mash and serve. How To Make French Onion Soup Ingredients Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 1hr 20mins Yield: 4 generous portions 6 small-medium white onions 3 bay leaves 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped Small bunch of fresh thyme 2 beef stock cubes 4 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tsp sugar 25g unsalted butter 100ml dry white wine or vermouth 25ml cognac/brandy Salt and pepper to taste Method First you will need to thinly slice the onions into half rings. Then over a medium high heat, place 3 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan or casserole dish, and add the onions. The most important part of this dish is getting the caramelising of the onions going, this will take around 15-20 minutes whilst stirring often. Once the onions have softened, add the remaining Tbsp of olive oil, unsalted butter, sugar, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. You will need to cook this for a further 10-15 minutes stirring often (remember the darker the onions, the more intense flavour you will have at the end). Then add the chopped garlic and cook for a further minute or 2. Once the garlic has started to brown, add the white wine to deglaze the pan and get all of that flavour back into the dish. You can then add the stock (1200ml is about right), fresh thyme, and the bay leaves. Cover the pan and cook on a medium heat for around 40 minutes. Remove the thyme and bay leaves from the soup, then add the brandy (optional) and seasoning to taste. There you have a traditional French onion soup. For the croutons simply take any bread you have at home, and cut into around 2cm cubes (I used wholemeal for an extra crunch.) Mix with a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for around 6-7 minutes or until crunchy. Then grate some cheese over the top (cheddar is fine but parmesan works really well) and bake for a further 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Bon appetit! How To Make Croque Monsieur Ingredients 2 Tbsp butter 2 Tbsp flour 1.5 cups milk Pinch of salt and pepper 6oz grated cheese (cheddar or gruyere) 100g parmesan, veg Italian hard cheese, or grana Padano 8 slices of fresh baked bread (Tiger loaf is my favourite) 250g smoked ham, sliced 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard 2 Tbsp mayo Method Preheat oven to 210⁰c. Melt the butter on a low heat, in a small non-stick pan until it starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring continuously with a whisk for around 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cook until thickened. Remove from the heat, and then mix in half of the parmesan, grated cheddar, salt and pepper. Set to one side and cool slightly. Slice the fresh bread and butter 4 of the slices. Mix the Dijon mustard and Mayo together, and then spread the remaining 4 slices with this. Layer the sliced smoked ham on top of the Dijon mayo, then add the remaining cheese on top of the ham (remember to keep a little cheese back for the top of the finished croque.) Place the buttered bread on top to complete the sandwich (buttered side on the outside.) Place butter side down on some greaseproof paper, on a non-stick oven tray. Top with the cooled Béchamel, and the remaining cheese. Cook the croque until golden brown on top. For a croque madam simply top with a fried egg. Bon Appétit! How To Make Rhubarb & Apple Crumble Ingredients 3 cooking apples (peeled, sliced, and cored) 400g rhubarb 1 orange (zest and juice) 2 Tbsp caster sugar 80g unsalted butter 1 cup self-raising flour ⅔ cup demerara sugar Method Pre-heat the oven to 170⁰c, and rub some butter all over an oven-proof dish. Wash and chop the rhubarb into 2cm chunks, then mix in a bowl with the sliced, peeled apples. Then add the orange juice and zest, and caster sugar, and mix. Place in the greased oven dish, then cover with foil. Cook for around 30-40 minutes, stirring half way through. In a mixing bowl, place the self-raising flour, demerara sugar, and butter. You then need to mix together with your hands until it resembles something like breadcrumbs (it’s great to get the kids involved with this part!) Once the fruit is part baked and softened, remove the foil, and then add the crumble mix on top. Bake for a further 20-25 minutes uncovered in the oven. Serve with cream, custard or ice cream! Bon Appétit! How To Make Celestial Spritz Ingredients: 50ml Hendrick’s Lunar Gin 50ml Sparkling Wine Topped with Fever-Tree Tonic 3 slices of cucumber Black Pepper Method: Combine ingredients in a large wine glass, over ice. Stir gently to mix. Garnish with 3 thinly sliced rounds of cucumber and a twist of black pepper How To Make Lillet Rose Spritz Ingredients Ice 50ml Lilet Rose 200ml Tonic Water Wheel of lime Method Fill half the balloon glass with ice Add the Lilet Rose Top with the tonic water Stir Garnish with the wheel of lime Et voilà! Sante! Lockdown Positivity #LoveIsRouge Nothing gets cheddar than this! At the start of 2020 we opened the world's first cheese-themed hotel and it was brieliant! In homage to our fromage themed hotel, we asked to see your interior design projects that are keeping you occupied during lockdown. The lucky winners received exclusive cheese merchandise! BRIE OUR GUEST! Lockdown Hero Nominations We teamed up with our friends at Coca-Cola for this lovely competition, giving away £500 in vouchers. To enter you had to nominate your lockdown hero and say why they're amazing in no more than 100 words. It was very tough to pick the winners! Here are some of the lovely entries we received. 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