Anna N

I did try to find it without success. And we certainly did deal with Bisto earlier and I dissed it.

The triumph of hope over experience (usually attributed to Dr. Johnson when speaking of a second marriage when the first one was unhappy). Onion flavoured Bisto gravy mix recommended by my sister who lives in England. Does not require cooking. Just add boiling water and stir until the appropriate smoothness and thickness is reached. Will report back when I have tried it.

My freezer has been replenished! I asked for a pork pie. I should have been much, much more specific. What I had in mind was a Melton Mowbray pork pie like this. Despite the pie being labelled “traditional” and despite my being born and raised in the UK, I admit to not being familiar with this strange hybrid. Since it came with heating direction I knew that I was not in the presence of the kind of pie that I was hoping for. (Any pork pie that I have had has been eaten cold.) So I followed the heating directions — 350°F for 20 minutes.

I am having a hard time getting over the idea of chicken and leek in Camembert sauce as an appropriate pie filling. Probably I am just too damned old-fashioned.

That is good news but perhaps not the only good news… I was just reading this when @Kerry Bealphoned to say she was out and about so I gave her a little nudge to pick up some more material for the Crusty Chronicles. 😂

After haircuts and other errands, @Kerry Bealand I stopped to pick up some lunch at one of our favourite Thai restaurants. tamarind chicken curry in front and Siamese beef in the rear. The best calamari in the the GTA (greater Toronto Area). Sticky rice with mango. My plate. Clockwise from bottom left: Dipping sauce for calamari, rice with vegetables, Siamese beef, crispy calamari, tamarind chicken curry, dipping sauce for Siamese beef. Kerry’s plate. Kerry’s portio

Onigirazu with lightly fried bologna.

Duck breast and roasted parsnips.

I can understand why if it was prepared by megaliths.

We have all had meals that do not live up to our expectations. Most of us pay the bill and cross the place off our list. End of story. Only a few of us will hold a grudge for 20 years.

@Kerry BealWill likely be quite horrified. I got distracted while I was reheating this Opie’s beef sausage roll. However in spite of being just a little too well browned, it was a very satisfactory snack. The pastry was extraordinarily flaky and the filling was quite satisfactory both taste- and texture-wise and the proportion of filling to pastry was right on.

Wow! Who knew?

A Google search for Keef Cooks Fray Bentos should bring up a Youtube video of one of these pies being prepared and served!

I don’t mind spending a little on these things but on Amazon.ca two of these pies would be $28.15 +23.99 shipping. Not going to happen. Edited to add: I will ask @Kerry Bealto keep her eyes open and some of the British grocery stores around here. I

Should I ever spot one here, I will certainly give it a try. It does look vaguely familiar so I may have sinned in the past!

If you are on a bland diet this would be perfect. This is the Scottish meat pie from Opie’s. I forgot to take a before picture so this is it after beIng reheated in the oven. And the inside. Apart from there being too much pastry and too little seasoning there’s not much I can say about this. I was able to choke it down with a too generous squirt of HP sauce.

For breakfast this morning I thought I would commit to trying beef sausage rolls. Like military intelligence its an oxymoron in my book. These are from from my freezer. after being reheated. And the inside. Definitely not my favourite.

. For breakfast this morning I thought I would commit to trying beef sausage rolls. Like military intelligence its an oxymoron in my book. These are from Zarkys. from my freezer. after being reheated. And the inside. Definitely not my favourite roll. The pastry to filling ratio was definitely off but this time I would have to say it needed more pastry not more filling. I didn’t like the texture of the filling and the taste was tolerable but not particularly interesting. I need to develop some sort of database to keep track of

Today I really felt how very different it is to have takeout versus dining in a restaurant. @Kerry Bealbrought lunch to my house today from our favourite Indian restaurant, Bombay Grill. The food was almost indistinguishable from what we get in the restaurant but I missed the warmth and the aromas and just the plain old ambiance of the restaurant - not to mention their selection of Indian beers! My plate. Kerry’s plate. Paneer pakoras with a minty sauce. Butter chicken. Lamb korma.

That is just gorgeous.

cabbage rolls. Why not?

No worries. I will be trying the beef sausage roll. (As much as it offends my delicate sensibility.)

No no no no no. Please feed it to Kira!

Now for something a little different. @Kerry Beal made a trip to and came out with one of these. I will paraphrase the information that I was able to glean from the Internet. Similar in some ways to a Cornish pasty, a Scottish bridie is a meat and onion filled pastry. Generally made with shortcrust pastry, some versions especially outside of Scotland, use flaky pastry. It is a handheld pie if you wish. It originates from the town of Forfar. I am quite certain that @liuzhou will set me straight if I have misspoken.

@Kerry Beal wondered if that might be a mince pie.😂😂