I’m not a pork eater….although I have been known to steal a bit of crackling off his plate if he orders it when we go out.
On the basis of crackling alone, both of these look pretty good. The apples in Maragaret’s 1977 port look weird and not very nice. But the modern version could do with one of the two bowls of applesauce from the vintage version.
Roast Pork – Then & Now
I’m really not fit to judge on this though. So, pork eaters, which of these appeals to you you more?
And whislt they are not chops, these pictures did remind me of one of my favourite bits from the Brady Bunch …
a) A minor character in the Stanley Kubrik classic Doctor Strangelove,
b) A new character in the game Clue / Cluedo. ” It was General Satisfaction in the billiard room. With the Candlestick” or,
c) A Victorian nursery pudding with the most awesome name ever?
General Satisfaction
I made this to take to my family on Christmas day and let me tell you…general satisfaction became major happiness as people tucked in. And who would not be happy with this mix of lemony berries, topped with sponge finger biscuits liberally soaked in limoncello, topped with a lovely lemony custard and then baked with a meringue topping?
Yep. It’s like you’ve died and gone to heaven….
One of the side effects of the Paleo diet is that I seem to have become hyper-sensitive to sugar. The first version I made of this was so sweet I actually couldn’t eat it, Someone else in the house had no such qualms. He’s lying in a diabetic coma as we speak.
My first introduction to General Satisfaction came from recipe came from Tamasin Day-Lewis’ Supper for A Song . There is also this version online:
I “unsweetened” this by swapping out the jam for a slightly more tart lemon curd and adding some fresh (frozen) berries into the base mix. I also added some limoncello to the custard mix. Just because…name me one thing that isn’t made better by a liberal splash o’ booze. And you know, it is the season….
It was still pretty sweet though.
This is at it’s best straight out of the oven with the custard runny and the meringue all crispy. However the last few pieces were also pretty good at room temperature a few days later as part of an afternoon tea.
General Satisfaction
And if you make this, true to it’s name, I promise you will not be disappointed!!!
I am also interested to know what are most kookiest food names you have come across? General Satisfaction must be right up there but I would love to know yours!!!
Wishing you and yours not only general satisfaction but super happy fun times for 2015. May it also be the year you learn to stop worrying…
Pour the milk into a small, heavy saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds, empty pod and cornflour mix.
Bring to the boil, stirring then drop the heat and simmer, still stirring for a coupe of minutes. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl then whisk in a tablespoonful of the milk mixture. Repeat three times then pout the combined egg and milk mixture into the warmed milk.
Set the pan back over low heat, and whisk until the custard thickens and is perfectly smooth. Don’t let it boil. Remove from the heat, and whisk in 2 tablespoon of the sugar and half of the limoncello. Set aside to cool.
For The Lemon Berry Sauce
Mix the lemon curd with 1 tbsp of just boiled water until runny and pour into the base of a medium baking dish.
Scatter the berries over the curd then press them down with a potato masher to flatten them down a bit and get their juices running.
Lay the savoiardi on top of the curd and berry mix and sprinkle with the remaining limoncello.
Poor the cooled custard over the biscuits, straining if it is lumpy.
For The Meringue
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then whisk in the remaining sugar, little by little until you have a firm shiny meringue.
Spoon the meringue over the custard.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes until the meringue is pale golden and crisp when you tap it.
Notes
Adding a little bit of the milk to the egg, prevents the egg from cooking.
Hello Friends! After the disaster which was the Pink Dawn Salad, today I am sharing a recipe for my LMNOP salad. This is not only one of my favourite summer dinners but it is also a mnemonic which will help you to make a huge variety of other great salads!
Ever stood at the supermarket wondering if you had picked up everything you needed for your salad? Or come home to realise you had forgotten a key ingredient? ‘Well, with this LMNOP salad you will never forget a single ingredient because the keys to building a great salad are as easy as ABC!
Let’s start at the very beginning – it is, after all, a very good place to start.
L is for Lettuce
In this instance, I have used cos (romaine for my American friends) but this works as well with mesclun, watercress, rocket…whatever salad green you favour!
M is for Mozzarella
Mmmmmm…I am currently OBSESSED with buffalo mozzarella and am eating it a couple of times a week! Burrata is also divine with this. But for our memory device, you can sub in any cheese you wish.
N is for Nectarines
But feel free to swap in your favourite stone fruit fo the Peaches or apricots will work here and see below as to some other fruit suggestions…
O is for Olive Oil…
And in this instance a little bit of red wine vinegar. In our mnemonic, the O equals the dressing we are going to place on our salad.
P is for Proscuitto
In this salad but for our wider application it can also stand for Protein.
Applications of the LMNOP formula
Okay, so you have seen how to make the OG version of the LMNOP salad – here are some ideas of how you can apply the formula to mix things up!
Cos + Parmesan +Apples + a creamy dressing + bacon will give you a kind of Ceasar Salad
Kale and goat’s cheese and apricots and olive oil and vinegar + chicken
Of course you can add more veggies or fruit if you wish. The photo below is the turkey and halloumi salad mentioned above with some grilled snap peas added.
The brilliance of this recipe is that it is so versatile that you could serve it you your friends or family every day for a week and no one will ever know that you are using a formula. Tasty, healthy, easy and you will never forget an ingredient again!
Enjoy and please let me know what creations you come up with using the LMNOP formula!
Hello friends! Today we are talking Thai. I love Thai food in general but I absolutely love Thai salads – my favourite is green papaya or green mango salad but a Thai beef salad or a banana blossom salad are also fine by me. I love their freshness and zing! So I had high hopes for a Thai inspired salad with a lovely name – Pink Dawn Salad. This comes from Good Housekeepings World Cookery (1972). Imagine this as a salad – the perfect mix of colours becoming the perfect Thai mix of sweet, salt, hot and sour!
Gorgeous huh? And now that I’ve set your expectations….let’s take a look at the salad. I mean, I knew from the ingredients that it was not going to be a typical Thai salad but it was definitely touted as such by the press back in the 1970’s. I found an article from back in 1978 in the Vancouver Sun that contains this same recipe which certainly implies if not downright states that this is an authentic Thai Salad. Anyway, here it is…
Hmm…not great is it?
There was nothing wrong with the Pink Dawn Salad. I like eggs, tomatoes and prawns. I’m not that keen on bananas but Holy likes them…
Between the two of us, we ate it all. It was just…meh. Boring…bland…not really cohesive. Not a bit Thai. And only marginally pink.
I’m calling a fail on the Pink Dawn Salad – the great name did not equate to great flavour. And I had to skin tomatoes which is something I find weirdly repulsive.
Pink Dawn Salad – The Recipe
Here it is…although I can’t recommend that you give it a try.
If you are looking for a good Thai salad, I made a Crisp Chilli Whitebait and Green Mango Salad from Australian Gourmet Traveller a few days ago and it was heaven!!!! It was actually this on a plate! Recipe here: https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipe/mains/crisp-chilli-whitebait-and-green-mango-salad-10838/
A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile….
Why I am I quoting that bit of pop perfection and rock and roll enigma that is American Pie? Because today, 15 January, way back in 1972, American Pie reached number one on the Billboard charts. And we are celebrating that event not with an American Pie (because that would be waaay too obvious…and we want options for the 50th Anniversary next year!) but with some good ol’ Whiskey and Rye Blondies!
Whiskey and Rye Blondies
The recipe for these Whiskey and Rye Blondies comes from Ella Risbridger and her wonderful book Midnight Chicken. I can heartily recommend this book – it was my choice for a Tasty Reads book last year but if you don’t want to buy the whole book, you can get the recipe for these blondies here!
The Blondies are very rich – a little really does go a long way with these. But they are also delightfully fudgy and more-ish so if you are tempted by a second helping I won’t blame you!
Why not whip up a batch now as we delve into the 8-minute 33-second opus that is American Pie?
American Pie – The Song
American Pie is the titular track on the Don McLean album American Pie. The album with its absolutely iconic cover was in my parent’s record collection for as long as I can remember. I am sure they played other songs but the only ones I can ever remember hearing are American Pie and Vincent. And I remember hearing a LOT of American Pie and Vincent when I was growing up.
I also occasionally like to torture my friends by choosing American Pie as a karaoke song. By which I mean I did it once and was politely asked to never repeat the performance. By management. And my friends.
American Pie references many people and events – the recurring theme of the “day the music died” is about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper in February 1959. It also mentions The Beatles, The Byrds Bob Dylan, Karl Marx, Charles Manson, the Rolling Stones, James Dean, the Kennedy’s and good lord…so much more! There are multitudes of explanations about the lyrics of American Pie on the internet. You can find one of them here. This is an absolutely fascinating rabbit hole to go down if you have a few hours / days to spare.
But before you do that, let’s all join together and sing…
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good ol’ boys were drinkin’ whiskey and rye
Singin’, “This’ll be the day that I die
Have a great weekend!
And if you have another 8.5 this parody is also worth a watch!
