Anne Bruce: Journalist |
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Michel Roux's recipe book Eggs is what might be called poncey. I wanted a recipe for common or garden pancakes, that humble mixture of flour, egg and milk traditionally flipped on Pancake Day. Initial flick through the index drew a blank, so I thought laterally, looking under C for crepes- Roux is French, perfectly excusable. So there was the recipe in all its glory, featuring caster sugar, double cream and orange flower water or vanilla essence. I have run screaming to good old Delia online and call me a Philistine was much reassured.
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Out for dinner with a couple of buddies last night. One had near nervous breakdown on discovering Carluccios do not stock Tia Maria. Eventually consoled with some Kahlua. So they are both coffee liquers, Kahlua Mexican, Tia Maria Jamaican. Kahlua dates back to 1936, Tia Maria after the second world war but with heritage to 17th century. Both were owned by Pernod Ricard, but it sold TM to Illva Saronno (which owns Disaronna) in 2009 (to reduce its debt). Looks like Kahlua is winning the turf war.
Watching the local news last night, piece came on about a local councillor who was under pressure to resign. He had not told the Labour Party that he had spent time in prison in America for shooting someone. It was one of those stories that gently wash over your head. Until I recognised his picture. He was the top henchman in my Mafia a couple of years ago when I was addicted to the brilliant Facebook game Mafia Wars. Many's the racket we shook down together, many's the rival mafiosa we collaborated to knock out. He was a very good mafia colleague, many levels my senior in fact. Appears there was a time in the past when he lived the dream- with real life attempted murder and drugs row shootings in LA 13 years ago. The report is the Mirror: http://bit.ly/esIKL4.
Had a very exciting message from Endemol late last year to contact them re: co-hosting a Channel 4 food programme. Caked on five inches of makeup (including blue eyeliner) and went for a screen test. The job would involve extensive international travel. Was that a problem? Er no. It ended up being one of those programmes that never got off the ground. Such a blow. In my head I was already in Hawaii investigating pineapple production.
I have just finished a supplement, a league table of all the bakery, cafe and sandwich shop chains in the UK, a top 75, by shop numbers. Greggs is the biggest with 16% of all the shops, a faily stonking market share by anyone's reckoning. It's been emotional.
My salmon spaghetti dish was going really well. Spaghetti, flakes of salmon with rosemary, broccoli and green beans with a little dash of cream. Then came the fatal decision, to add a bit of cheese to give it some salty bite. There was a tiny bit of "Brie"in the fridge. As it warmed up, up rose the stench of over-ripe goat. The whole kitchen smelled like a goatshed or wherever it is that goats hang out. The cat went out in disgust. It was bearable if you did not breathe in and had your wine glass fully charged at all times with a very full-bodied red.
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