- Food Lovers Club

Al Fresco with Friends

Al Fresco takes the party outside. The patio, the deck, the balcony even. It’s a continental pleasure, with dubious original Italian meaning. Sharing food and drinks with friends in the ‘great outdoors’ is really pretty cool – that’s ‘cool’ in a good way. [Challenge: Try watching the Al Fresco dining video without laughing.]


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Al Fresco Feasting

 

Let’s take the party outside. It’s a continental pleasure, with dubious original Italian meaning. Did it really mean ‘in prison’? A fresco – ‘a painting on a fresh, moist, plaster surface with colours ground up in water’, entered the English language at the end of the 16th century. In contemporary Italian slang, al fresco means ‘in prison’.

I have to admit, I’ve been to parties that felt like that!But I have been to and hosted far more where good friends, great food and sharing, play the ‘get out of jail free card‘, all washed down with fizz and fun.

Take a look at our Recipes Pages – HERE – and you will find lots of tasty ideas to add to delicious sharing platters.These Cauliflower Wings with Habanero Chilli Mayonnaise make a fabulous starter or nibbles.Don’t miss your own party.

A traybake of Summer vegetables, drizzled with cider and rapeseed oil, and chicken coated in our Cider & Horseradish Wholegrain Mustard can be made in advance, and served with Jersey Royal New Potatoes dowsed in butter and a little Stokes sweet garden Mint Sauce.…or keep it really simple with a seafood platter drizzled with our Sweet Chilli Sauce, and prawns with a selection from Stokes Mayonnaise Family.

Enjoy!

Try Something Different

 

Shopping. No, no, wait a minute … no trolley dodgems in the supermarket, or waiting for a member of staff to eventually notice you waiting to prove you’re over 18 at the self-checkout.No, this is the voyage of discovery offered by your nearest Farm Shop.

Here, you’ll find something different, fresh, local, unusual, exciting.Cheeses galore, and often more British cheeses than you thought possible. The deli counters are bursting with cured meats, olives, pickles, pâté – such choice.

It’s a one-stop-shop for a feast to entertain friends.And the best news, most of them stock a good range of Stokes Sauces.

You know? Stokes, Sauces for Food Lovers.

 

Let's Talk About Sekt, Baby.

 

‘Champagne‘ is the reserve of the French, the term exclusively for sparkling wines that come from Champagne, made using traditional methods from grapes grown and vinified in the Champagne region of France.

Other countries have their own version of Champagne:

  • Cava from Spain.
  • Sekt from Germany.
  • Prosecco from Italy.
  • Espumante from Portugal and Argentina.
  • Cap classique from South Africa.
  • Traditional method and Méthode Champenoise from various other countries including England, the US and Australia.

Today, Baby, we’re going to talk about Sekt.

Champagne and sparkling wines are usually made using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier grapes.In the heart of the middle Mosel region of Germany, it is the famous Riesling grape that makes the exceptional wines of Ernst Loosen.

We tried Dr Loosen Extra Dry Sekt NV from Waitrose. The Dr Loosen estates use 100% Riesling grapes grown on the steep slate-soil slopes of these most celebrated vineyards.

The slate soil and cool climate create extra, natural acidity and just the right balance of sweetness and sourness.

It’s a delicious apéritif for al fresco celebrations  …  Baby.

Only Joking

 

No Choking, we’re only Joking.

For this Al Fresco edition of your Food Lovers Club Newsletter, we thought this video would tickle your chuckle muscles:

Q: What could possibly be better than a good friend coming over? A: A good friend bringing the beer.

Q: Why is it pointless to keep secrets from a bottle of wine? A: Because eventually, it will hear them through the grapevine!

Mr. Tahini recently celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary. Even after all those years, he told his wife, “Words cannot express hummus I love you!”

See you next week.