Author Archives for Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

About Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

Head of Dairy Diary; I'm passionate about producing high quality products that our customers will cherish. I'm also a mum of three and I enjoy cooking, walking, gardening and painting with my family, as well as printmaking (when I find the time!)

Recipe of the Week: Minced Lamb Pie plus Win a Pie Maker!

Minced Lamb Pie

Celebrate #BritishPieWeek with this gorgeous Lamb Pie

It’s wonderful served with a scoop of creamy mash and a few green beans.

This recipe (below) is taken from Dairy Diary Favourites which features 100 recipes from 35 years of the Dairy Diary.

From speedy weekday meals to show-stopping crowd-pleasers, there is something for everyone in this fabulous cookbook.

Click here to find out more.

 

 

Win a Pie Maker

Fancy winning a Pie Maker?

If you would like a helping hand with making your pies than enter our competition to win this fabulous double pie maker.

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Minced Lamb Pie

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 618 per portion
Fat 41g (17g sat) per portion

Ingredients

  • Butter 25g (1oz)
  • Olive oil 1 tbsp
  • Onion 1 large, peeled and chopped
  • Carrot 1 large, peeled and finely diced
  • Minced lamb 500g (1lb 2oz)
  • Plain flour 2 tbsp
  • Lamb or chicken stock 150ml (¼ pint)
  • Chopped rosemary 4 tsp or 2 tsp dried
  • Tomato purée 4 tsp
  • Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp
  • Sherry 2 tbsp (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Shortcrust pastry 400g (14oz)
  • Egg 1, beaten
  • Cheddar cheese 50g (2oz), grated
  • Mash and green beans to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the onion and carrot and cook until softened. Add the lamb and cook until browned all over. Stir in the flour then add the stock, rosemary, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, sherry, if using, and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°fan/Gas 6.
  3. Roll out half of the pastry and line a 25cm (10in) enamel pie plate. Fill with the lamb mixture.
  4. Roll out the remaining pastry until large enough to cover the pie. Brush the edge of the pastry in the tin with water, cover with the rolled-out pastry and press the edges together to seal. Trim and decorate the edge, brush with egg and make a small hole in the centre.
  5. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for a further 15–20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Serve with mash and steamed green beans, if you like.

Cook’s tips
If you don’t have an enamel pie plate then line a 23cm (9in) shallow loose bottomed tart tin with half the pastry, add the filling and roll out the remaining pastry to just a little bigger than the top of the tin then press the pastry edges together and trim off the excess before glazing and topping with cheese.

 

 

Dairy Diary Favourites cookbookMinced Lamb Pie recipe is taken from Dairy Diary Favourites, which features 100 recipes from 35 years of the Dairy Diary.

From speedy weekday meals to show-stopping crowd-pleasers, there is something for everyone in this fabulous cookbook.

Click here to find out more.

 

 

 

 

#BritishPieWeek

#ApplePie

#Delicious

#BestEverFamilyRecipes

#tripletested

#Delicious

#BestEverFamilyRecipes

#win

#competition

How to make a difference and clear your clutter

Clear Your Clutter Day

10 top tips for clearing clutter

I am a serial declutterer. Whilst I am not a minimalist fan (I love to be surrounded by things that evoke memories), I do feel happier and calmer in a tidy home.

As well as enjoying tidiness, I get a warm fuzzy feeling from the email I get from Barnardo’s, which tells me how much my unwanted goods have sold for. As I have a gift aid number with the charity, it’s linked to my email address, and any goods sold are totted up and reported back to me.

Seeing the pounds rack up gives a real sense of making a difference.

Clear Your Clutter Day is a great
opportunity to have a good sort
out and donate your stuff to charity.

Here are a few tips:

1 Hang a reusable shopping bag in a cupboard or on a hook, so you have a constant receptacle for unwanted items.

2 Read about your chosen charity online. Their good work will inspire you to declutter and donate.

3 Have you worn something that you felt didn’t really suit you? Pop it in the wash, then into the charity bag.

4 Once you’ve read a novel, donate it. How often do you ever read a book twice?

5 Apart from ‘occasion’ clothes, if there’s something you haven’t worn for 6 months, give it away.

6 Just tackle one ‘area’ at a time. Choose a cupboard/wardrobe etc. and spend half an hour sorting through it. Empty out the ‘area’ and think about if you when you last used each item or if you really love it. Ditch unused or unloved things.

7 Buy an inexpensive but pretty set of baskets or boxes for your cupboards/shelves. They help to keep everything tidy and discourage you from putting junk back.

8 Don’t forget the kitchen! How many mugs and Tupperware boxes (without lids?) do you really need?

9 Sort through your make-up and throw away anything that’s over 12 months old as they can harbour nasty bacteria. Mascaras should be renewed every 3 months.

10 Empty your handbag of all its papers and receipts. Write down appointments and notes in your Dairy Diary and stow anything crucial in the pocket.

 

 

#ClearYourClutterDay

#getorganised

British Pie Week

 

2 Must-Make Pie Recipes

Give me a good quality homemade pie with mash and gravy (preferably by a roaring fire in a country pub) and I’m happy.

So I’m all for celebrating British Pie Week.

Pies always feel like real comfort
food and a proper decadent treat.

Whether savoury or sweet, the humble homemade pie is a joy to eat. I’m not one of those pie purists who think it’s only a pie if it’s totally encased in pastry – a little pastry can go a long way – for me, it’s a rich, quality filling that counts.

The Dairy Diary and cookbooks have featured SO many pies over the years, but here are two particular favourites.

 

Minced Lamb Pie

Minced Lamb Pie

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 618 per portion
Fat 41g (17g sat) per portion

Ingredients

  • Butter 25g (1oz)
  • Olive oil 1 tbsp
  • Onion 1 large, peeled and chopped
  • Carrot 1 large, peeled and finely diced
  • Minced lamb 500g (1lb 2oz)
  • Plain flour 2 tbsp
  • Lamb or chicken stock 150ml (¼ pint)
  • Chopped rosemary 4 tsp or 2 tsp dried
  • Tomato purée 4 tsp
  • Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp
  • Sherry 2 tbsp (optional)
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Shortcrust pastry 400g (14oz)
  • Egg 1, beaten
  • Cheddar cheese 50g (2oz), grated
  • Mash and green beans to serve (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the onion and carrot and cook until softened. Add the lamb and cook until browned all over. Stir in the flour then add the stock, rosemary, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, sherry, if using, and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leave to cool.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°fan/Gas 6.
  3. Roll out half of the pastry and line a 25cm (10in) enamel pie plate. Fill with the lamb mixture.
  4. Roll out the remaining pastry until large enough to cover the pie. Brush the edge of the pastry in the tin with water, cover with the rolled-out pastry and press the edges together to seal. Trim and decorate the edge, brush with egg and make a small hole in the centre.
  5. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake for a further 15–20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Serve with mash and steamed green beans, if you like.

Cook’s tips
If you don’t have an enamel pie plate then line a 23cm (9in) shallow loose bottomed tart tin with half the pastry, add the filling and roll out the remaining pastry to just a little bigger than the top of the tin then press the pastry edges together and trim off the excess before glazing and topping with cheese.

 

Butterscoth Pie

Butterscotch Apple Pie

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 467 per portion
Fat 27g (13g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

Ingredients

  • Light muscovado sugar 75g (3oz)
  • Golden syrup 1 tbsp
  • Butter 75g (3oz)
  • Cornflour 1 tbsp
  • Lemon juice 1 tbsp
  • Cooking apples 900g (2lb), peeled, cored and thickly sliced
  • Ready-rolled sweet dessert pastry 320g pack
  • Milk to brush
  • Caster sugar 1 tbsp

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°fan/Gas 6.
  2. Put the muscovado sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and heat gently until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Mix the cornflour with the lemon juice and add to the sauce. Heat, stirring, until thickened.
  3. Put the apples in a pie dish and pour over the butterscotch sauce.
  4. Place the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out a lid for the pie and a long strip of pastry about 1cm (½in) wide. Dampen the rim of the pie dish and put the strip of pastry around it. Dampen the pastry strip and cover with the pastry lid. Use any trimmings to make decorations. Make a slit in the top, brush with milk and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.

Cook’s tips
Keep stirring the butterscotch sauce as you make it so that the sauce doesn’t stick and catch on the base of the pan.

 

 

Dairy Diary Favourites cookbookBoth recipes are taken from Dairy Diary Favourites, which features 100 recipes from 35 years of the Dairy Diary.

From speedy weekday meals to show-stopping crowd-pleasers, there is something for everyone in this fabulous cookbook.

Click here to find out more.

 

 

 

 

#BritishPieWeek

#ApplePie

#Delicious

#BestEverFamilyRecipes

#tripletested

Recipe of the Week: Oatie Melting Moments

Oatie Melting Moments recipe

These scrumptious little morsels remind me of some biscuits I first made in home economics at school.

They are a little bit retro but very very nice.

Oatie Melting Moments

These cute, little, oaty biscuits are melt-in-the-mouth, and the perfect sweet treat alongside a hot drink. These delightful Oatie Melting Moments are from the Dairy Diary. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

#gardens

#bakingbiscuits

#nationaltrust

Top 8 Colourful Gardens to Visit

Top Gardens to Visit

Colourful Gardens to Visit

The nights and mornings are getting lighter at last and it’s getting a little bit warmer. So now’s the time to think about venturing out, and enjoy what the UK has to offer.

This year’s edition of the Dairy Diary has a feature on colour in our gardens and also includes this list of stunning gardens to visit.

Gardens to Visit

The white garden at Sissinghurst, Kent

Hidcote, in Gloucestershire, famed for its twin red borders

The winter gardens at Dunham Massey, Cheshire

Great Dixter in East Sussex, for unusual colour schemes

Beth Chatto Gardens, Essex, for garden artistry

The herbaceous border at Arley Hall, Cheshire

Harlow Carr, the RHS garden in Yorkshire, pushing the boundaries of design and planting styles

Barnsdale Gardens, Rutland, described as a ‘theme park for gardeners’

Check opening times and facilities before visiting.

I can personally recommend Hidcote, which is just gorgeous, and Dunham Massey, which is at its best at this time of year.

You could forego the expensive afternoon tea on offer and instead take with you a flask and some scrummy melting moments.

Oatie Melting Moments recipe

Oatie Melting Moments

These cute, little, oaty biscuits are melt-in-the-mouth, and the perfect sweet treat alongside a hot drink. These delightful Oatie Melting Moments are from the Dairy Diary. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.

CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE

#gardens

#bakingbiscuits

#nationaltrust

Win this Krups Coffee Maker

Win this stylish Krups Coffee Maker

Dairy Diary is giving you the chance to enjoy delicious coffee in 25 seconds with this stylish Nespresso Inissia by Krups.

  • Compact and light: The light Nespresso machine with a trim profile fits in the smallest spaces
  • High-tech: Fast heating system reaches the ideal temperature in just 25 seconds
  • Energy efficient: Power save mode automatically switches machine off after 9 minutes of inactivity (programmable to 30 min)
  • Automatic and programmable water sizing

ENTER

#competition

#coffee

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