Displaying items by tag: spring

Here is the veg plot for this year - extended by a curve, with a new rose arch for beans and a hi-vis scarecrow to keep off the pigeons. But a sad year for broccoli, still no rain and will be lucky to get two portions from this crop.

So Granny has agreed to have the reception at her house, which has saved the problem of finding a suitable venue and no doubt saved Wills and Kate a bit of money too. As we're in·the year of austerity perhaps a delivery from Iceland could be arranged? A thirty-six piece chicken platter followed by·a thirty-six·piece dessert platter would only set them back £10. What's more you can design, print or email your invites from the website and use the party planning tool to work out quantities and menus, so there would be no·need for Lady Elizabeth Anston·to sort things out for them, and a few more quid could be saved.   Beef is likely be on the menu on April 29^th·and·hundreds of bottles of vintage wine and port are being earmarked for the big day from the underground vaults of the Treasury at Whitehall.· The Queens Red Poll herd at Sandringham were·under 24 hour guard since the wedding announcement but by now·the beasts will have been dispatched and should be·hanging to mature nicely - ready to be turned into cottage pies,·Wills' favourite food.  Cakes too have changed over the years. I made my own, tradional three tier, royal-iced fruit cake. but Kate is apparently a chocoholic and may go for something more unusual. How about a cookie cake?·Or maybe your relationship started over a playstation?!

I catered for weddings for most of the 90’s. It's hard work, but usually a lot of fun. Not only did I organise the food and drink but it was not uncommon to carry out other unusual tasks, and of course not everything goes according to plan. Re-gravelling the drive is an old favourite at the country house wedding - impressive - until cars arriving at the reception become firmly embedded, requiring all hands on deck to push them out again. 

One request to have all food served by identical twins, each with a a pair of Dalmatians forming the welcome party, was probably the most bizarre. A modelling agency provided the twins, most of whom had never served food before and stood around looking anorexic and useless. Luckily most of the guests were on diets too so weren’t bothered that the canapés weren't flowing. And I wonder if the Middletons and Wales’s families will end up having a punch up in the car park? 

 I had the misfortune once of being invited to a 'dry' wedding.  There was going to be wine, but guests were expected to buy it from an overpriced bar. I decided to take matters into my own hands and bought a nice big  5 litre wine box and a roll of wedding paper. Wrap the wine box up in the paper, having located and released the tap first. As you arrive at the wedding, gift under your arm, hang on to it - insisting that you need to personally present it - you can now put the box on the table and pour to your hearts content. You'll make lots more friends and can join in the foodie party games too!

This tea room won Suffolk magazine's Food and Drink Award last year for best tea or coffee shop, and I always wondered what that big teapot sign led to - we really liked the lemon cake.

When you walk into the shop and cafe expect a cheerful hello and the aroma of delicious things.  Lord Iveagh - of the Guinness family - has a whole section dedicated to Guinness inspired products and a room full of sweets including farm - produced fudge, shelves are filled as you might expect to see in Harrods and there's a cafe|restaurant with rather loud upbeat music and well sourced food.  On this occasion only time for the cheese scone and a capppuccino - both very good - but please don't microwave my scone.

http://www.elveden.com/shops-and-restaurant/food-and-wine.asp

...and they are on our Spring Recipe pages. 

Flippin' good pancakes for breakfast this morning. We ate them simply with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinling of suger. Pancake batter recipe here.

Ok, a blast from the past. A salmon mousse recipe, very 70's dinner party but also still good if you want to make an economical fish dish a day or two ahead for a party. I used to make these in a salmon shaped tin which is long gone; but I could buy back at great expense from a vintage cookware site.

The first one of the year... The sun was out, felt like something summery to eat so made chicken and spare ribs in the oven and finished them off outside. Served with rice and peas, sweet potato salsa and rum punch. Then it rained.

Lunch at the Lighthouse on a Times eat-three-courses-for-a-tenner voucher but have to go off menu to have two oysters with my starter. They are listed as appetizers and priced at £1.75 each...too tempting. Served with two types of tabasco I have them with my gravadlax starter and they take me straight to the bottom of the sea with flavour.

After lunch we walk along the seafront and buy one of these fat beauties straight out of the sea.  The whole cod was £14, cut into eight huge steaks by the fisherman and with another fish head thrown in for soup.