Monthly Archives: December 2011

Wishing you all a Happy New Year

Posted on December 31, 2011 by

Just a note to wish you all a very Happy New Year

Posted in 2012, Food and Photography, harmony, photography course, Photography holiday | 33 Comments

A rugged ascent of Mont Blanc or any stiff peak…

Posted on December 29, 2011 by

France and cream do not go together like a horse and carriage. The country whose cuisine is famed for its excesses of butter and cream does not have much of the latter, or at least “not as we know it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cream, creme fraiche, desserts, Food and Photography, France, meringues, Mont Blanc, photography course, Writing | 30 Comments

Dazed and confused…

Posted on December 27, 2011 by

I can state with certainty that celebrating holidays and feast days is a very taxing occupation. Like an ageing journeyman boxer, I dutifully get up each morning for another round, ready to take more punishment from a superior opponent, Old Father Time. … Continue reading →

Posted in baking, flapjacks, Food and Photography, Nigel Slater, photography course, Photography holiday, Writing | 20 Comments

What’s good for the goose is good for the foie gras…

Posted on December 24, 2011 by

Christmas Eve is big potatoes to me. I’m at home in the steamy atmosphere of cooking and drinking – I find it hard to believe that there are those amongst us who believe that I cannot multi task. Drink and … Continue reading →

Posted in Dessert wines, Foie Gras, Food and Photography, oysters, photography course, Photography holiday, Writing | 25 Comments

Fear and loathing in Acton ..

Posted on December 22, 2011 by

I’m back in my chair by the wood burner with the light of the shortest day of the year fast fading. There is the comfortable murmur of French voices which permeates through the window into a silence only broken by … Continue reading →

Posted in beef, Cooking, Food and Photography, friendship, Photography holiday, Writing | 15 Comments

One hell of an optimistic fly….

Posted on December 15, 2011 by

It’s rare to find a fly working so well as a photographic model. This one posed in several different positions, allowing me to focus and sort out aperture, etc without moving, apart from rubbing his hands together in anticipation of a … Continue reading →

Posted in desserts, Digital photography, meringues, Photography holiday | 26 Comments

First steps on my ascent of Mont Blanc..

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

I’ve always felt that Christmas pudding is a bridge too far, that same bridge on which mince pies also reside. The scent and the look of them is tempting but the eating of them is just plain hard work, especially … Continue reading →

Posted in fireplace, Food and Photography, Photography holiday, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , | 21 Comments

Friday night, and Saturday morning

Posted on December 12, 2011 by

There’s nothing funny here, Roger, I thought. Waking up on Saturday morning in a strange bed to the sound of unfamiliar breathing made me realise that I was the victim of my own unbelievable stupidity. Thinking back, I should have … Continue reading →

Posted in apricots, Baking, Chocolate, Cooking, desserts, Food and Photography, Moro Restaurant and Cookbook, photography course, tart, Uncategorized, Writing | 22 Comments

..and when the pie was opened

Posted on December 9, 2011 by

…I’m pleased to say that the birds did not begin to sing. Keeping five and twenty blackbirds alive, under pastry, in a hot oven would be enough of a challenge to convince Hercules that cleaning the Augean stables with his … Continue reading →

Posted in Baking, Chicken, Jamie Oliver, photography course, Writing | 21 Comments

Thank God it’s Pieday……

Posted on December 8, 2011 by

An afternoon of blending butter, flour and eggs had its ups and downs. The ups coincided with the opening of the oven door to remove a piping hot dish surmounted by a crisp golden crown of egg washed shortcrust pastry, … Continue reading →

Posted in baking, Cooking, Food and Photography, harmony, photography course, Writing | 20 Comments