christine007

Yes, you want an afternoon tea. The last one we put on we had everything Gifted Gourmet mentioned, with the addition of sausage rolls cut into bite sized pieces. sausage rolls are merely sausage rolled into a fat little hotdog shape and baked in pastry. They're not hard to make at all. We've also had scotch eggs, which is hard cooked eggs rolled in sausage meat and deep fried. If you really want to be authentic, include some little sandwich's of butter and marmite, our favorite. A jam tart is also very proper, and another easy one, just blind bake your best pastry and fill with jam before it cools. We like strawberry and apricot. A trifle would be ok also. I hope you get to have a tea, it's so much fun! It's a great informal way to entertain, and your friends will really feel special when they see all the wonderful food you made for them. Let us know how it goes. ETA- here's a page from a great site that has a collection of recipes for little cakes and tarts that would be served at a tea. Hope this helps. http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/recip...?category=Cakes

first, my sincere wishes that everyone who was sick for the holiday feels better really soon! My story. I got to my mother's house, she was under the weather with a bad cold, so I offered to cook the main dish of roast beef, and the sides I'd already agreed to prepare. So I was in the kitchen cooking the entire day. I was so proud that the roast came out perfectly medium rare. My sister took one look at the beautiful roast and started bitching that it was not done! "Oh my god, it's too rare, we don't eat it like that", she said. She pretty much implied that only animals eat meat that's not cooked to a cinder stage. I was so mad, but managed to keep in the christmas spirit and not say anything. We took half the roast and cooked it in the gravy til it was gray. That was my thanks for making a feast that included creamed onions, yorkshire pudding, brussel sprouts cooked with carrots, parsnips, gravy and perfect roast beef!

Wow, the Neiman Marcus gift collection is beautiful! I'll accept anything from that!

Devlin, more power to you! I have a dear friend in LA who has a "foster" dog, a dog waiting for his owner to get settled in his new home.. I'd love to do something like this, but I already have two dogs.. Bless you for what you're doing to make a difference, too cool!

OH yum! Chop it very fine and heat it gently in your favorite bbq sauce. serve on hamburger buns with chips and pickles!

great topic, lmao! Some years ago my friend invited me over for a cookout. Now, I should have known better, she use to BRAG that she didn't cook or clean.. but whatever, I'm thinking how can you screw up a cookout of burgers and potato salad? Well, you sure as hell can. She fired up her gas grill , set the flame to high and laid these tiny meat patties on the cooking suface.. she kept saying"Now I don't want anyone sick from undercooked meat." she had no fear, when she finally took them off, they were the exact color and size of a charcol briscuit. exactly! I took mine, smothered it in mustard, and pretending to eat it, whilst really just chewing on the bun. Even her dog wasn't having it, god knows I tried. Then she brought out the potato salad, a dish that I'm known for making great, and I'm picky about it. Her potato salad recipe? Potatos. mayo. a hard boiled egg. salt. I couldn't touch it, not even to be nice. To this day she probably wonders how I managed to fill up eating part of a hamburger bun!

This year I'm making the cookies on my hall of fame list Jam thumbprints Mexican wedding cakes Candy canes Fruit bites These recipies are all from a cooky cookbook Betty Crocker put out in the sixites, the time honored classics. In addition to this, I'm knitting scarfs for a few friends, we love scarfs that are both decorative and useful here in cold Ohio! I love to knit, it's relaxing and anymore you can get the most beautiful yarns. I also made my mom a pashi, which is a huge shawl/scarf you can wear in the house or over your coat. It's been fun!

I reheated my potato gratin and added more cheese and butter... It was even better the second time around. now, I'm craving a big midwestern brat on an onion roll with a spicy mustard.. so good!

Lefsen, you're brave, we're under a snow warning tonight! Do you ever go the the westside market? Best brats ever! Love the white ones, I'm not sure what they're called. Don't get frostbit!

thanks, what a fun group of nice people, and great topic too! I love falafel in pita bread with sauce,tomatos and cukes. Brats in a crusty roll, with spicy mustard, yum!

thanks for the welcome! I love latkes! I've had them made with zuchinni, but not sweet potato, do you serve them with applesauce or is there a better condiment to bring out the flavors?

What an amazing thread! This is my very first post, I must say I was motivated to join just based on these wonderful posts! It's thirteen degrees here in NE Ohio, and I'm going to make a ham/potato scallop for dinner, using three cheeses, jack, cheddar and swiss. The peeled potatos get sliced paper thin, and laid in the casserole with a hint of minced onion, milk, butter and flour and cheese. this cooks for almost two hours in a 325 oven, until the flavors blend and some of the cheese caremalizes. A tossed salad on the side.