Festive Opening Hours

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 
Christmas Eve 9am - 12 noon
Christmas Day Closed
Boxing Day Closed
27th Dec Closed
28th Dec Bank Holiday Closed

29th Dec Open 10am-4pm
30th Dec Open 10am -4pm
New Year's Eve Open 9am-12noon

New Year's Day Closed
2nd Jan Open 9.30am-4pm
4th Jan Business hours as usual 

In addition, on some days we will operate an emergency call out service for customers who have purchased an AGA from us or that are on our regular reminder service list.

Velvet Pastry for Mince Pies

This perfect pastry recipe comes from Richard at Rayburn.


Ingredients:
450g plain flour
200g butter
85g vegetable fat
Grated rind of 1 large orange
Chilled orange juice
Milk for sticking lids on pies
Mince meat for filling
Icing sugar to sprinkle on the top

Method:
Sift the flour and rub the fat in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Stir in the grated rind and bind with the juice.
If making in a food processor go gently as it is easy to over process.
Chill before using for 30 minutes.
The mixture is very rich, and is best handled as little as possible.
Roll and cut out 24 x 5cm lids first. Then cut out 24 x 7cm bases, re-rolling as necessary.
Grease and line the tins then add just enough mincemeat before topping with the lids, using milk to stick them on. Brush with milk and make a small slit in each pie.
Bake for 20-30 minutes on the grid shelf on the floor of the main oven at 200C / 400F or gas mark 6 until golden.
The pastry is wonderfully crumbly, so you can freeze the pies raw in the tins and then when hard store them in the bags or boxes. They are then quick to bake from frozen as required.

Richard's Velvet Pastry for Mince Pies
• 450g (1lb) plain flour
• 200g (7oz) butter
• 85g (3oz) vegetable fat
• Grated rind of 1 large orange
• Chilled orange juice
Sift the flour and rub the fat in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated rind and bind with the juice. If making in a food processor go gently as it is easy to over-process. Chill before using for 30 minutes. The mixture is very rich, and is best handled as little as possible. Roll and cut out 24 x 5cm (2¼ inch) lids first. Then cut out 24 x 7cm (3 inch) bases, re-rolling as necessary. Grease and line the tins then add just enough mincemeat before topping with the lids, using milk to stick them securely on. Brush with milk and make a small slit in each pie. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes on the grid shelf on the floor of the Main Oven at 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, until golden. The pastry is wonderfully crumbly, so I usually freeze the pies raw in the tins and then when hard store them in bags or boxes. They are then quick to bake from frozen as required.
- See more at: http://www.rayburn-web.co.uk/rayburn-owner/rayburn-recipes/occasions/richards-velvet-pastry-for-mince-pies#sthash.Y6LBFqeW.dpu

 

Richard's Velvet Pastry for Mince Pies
• 450g (1lb) plain flour
• 200g (7oz) butter
• 85g (3oz) vegetable fat
• Grated rind of 1 large orange
• Chilled orange juice
Sift the flour and rub the fat in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated rind and bind with the juice. If making in a food processor go gently as it is easy to over-process. Chill before using for 30 minutes. The mixture is very rich, and is best handled as little as possible. Roll and cut out 24 x 5cm (2¼ inch) lids first. Then cut out 24 x 7cm (3 inch) bases, re-rolling as necessary. Grease and line the tins then add just enough mincemeat before topping with the lids, using milk to stick them securely on. Brush with milk and make a small slit in each pie. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes on the grid shelf on the floor of the Main Oven at 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, until golden. The pastry is wonderfully crumbly, so I usually freeze the pies raw in the tins and then when hard store them in bags or boxes. They are then quick to bake from frozen as required.
- See more at: http://www.rayburn-web.co.uk/rayburn-owner/rayburn-recipes/occasions/richards-velvet-pastry-for-mince-pies#sthash.CbsFjAtO.dpuf

Richard's Velvet Pastry for Mince Pies
• 450g (1lb) plain flour
• 200g (7oz) butter
• 85g (3oz) vegetable fat
• Grated rind of 1 large orange
• Chilled orange juice
Sift the flour and rub the fat in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the grated rind and bind with the juice. If making in a food processor go gently as it is easy to over-process. Chill before using for 30 minutes. The mixture is very rich, and is best handled as little as possible. Roll and cut out 24 x 5cm (2¼ inch) lids first. Then cut out 24 x 7cm (3 inch) bases, re-rolling as necessary. Grease and line the tins then add just enough mincemeat before topping with the lids, using milk to stick them securely on. Brush with milk and make a small slit in each pie. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes on the grid shelf on the floor of the Main Oven at 200°C (400°F), Gas Mark 6, until golden. The pastry is wonderfully crumbly, so I usually freeze the pies raw in the tins and then when hard store them in bags or boxes. They are then quick to bake from frozen as required.
- See more at: http://www.rayburn-web.co.uk/rayburn-owner/rayburn-recipes/occasions/richards-velvet-pastry-for-mince-pies#sthash.CbsFjAtO.dpuf

The Perfect AGA Christmas

With less than three weeks until Christmas Day, we have all you need to take the stress out of creating a triumphant festive feast this year.

Cookery Tip: You can fit up to a 13kg (28lb) turkey in the AGA oven!

When it comes to entertaining using the right cookware ensures you get the most from your cooker.

Pop by our showroom to buy everything from roasting tins to bake-o-glide, stainless steal pans and chopping boards. 

Cookery Tip: Make and freeze your mince pies and bread and cranberry sauces ahead of the big day. Take a look at our favourite seasonal recipes HERE.

You can also watch as Simon Brown shows us how to make the most of AGA cookware during the busy festive period HERE.

Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any AGA queries ahead of the big day! Happy cooking and happy Christmas.

Festive Entertaining

We had a super day at our Festive Entertaining demonstration with 20 customers enjoying a full on Christmas menu cooked on our four oven AGA in the upstairs showroom.

Alison showed us how to make a light pear and blue cheese salad served with sherry jelly cubes and crusty bread. The jelly cubes added an unusual twist to an ideal starter for Christmas dinner.

Then Alison cooked a boneless gammon joint in a broth of lemongrass, chilli, ginger, onions, carrots, cinnamon and star anise. This gave a lovely seasonal flavour to the gammon which then went on to be roasted in the top oven. Alison then blended mango, ginger, soy sauce and orange juice into a delicious salsa that was a perfect compliment to the ham.

The turkey for this demonstration was a turkey breast joint that we stuffed with ricotta, courgette and Parmesan. This made it very easy to serve up for 20 people and left us with no waste at all! So not only did it taste lovely but also was a practical alternative to a whole bird.

We served the meat up with a plethora of vegetables including roasted carrots and parsnips with a pomegranate and orange glaze, braised sprouts and chorizo and almond pangrattato and a sausage and bramley apple stuffing and of course AGA roast potatoes. To garnish was Claire's special ciabatta bread sauce with clotted cream.

Puddings were delicious clementine possets with campari syrup and cinnamon palmiers. These little dishes were a mixture of smooth rich possets to which the campari syrup brought a stylish tangy contrast. Claire also made her traditional Christmas pudding along with a whiskey cream. So you can imagine by the end of lunch we were all rather well fed and watered!