Glorious sunshine my darlings, whilst others are jetting into Nice..
Luggage envy.
Spot the Italian husband with his casually draped jumper.
Another F.F will mostly be enjoy this
The closest poor Mrs.Lee is going to get is this;
As soon as the sun comes out my husband takes his top off.
Which results in this;
Soft tops are for girls with short hair or for Grace Kelly who never went anywhere without her headscarf. One would rather look like a Rod Stewart impersonator than someone about to collect her pension. Yes darlings, it is a fine line.
A short while later we had the place to ourselves.
Not a soul . Maybe the hair scared them off?
Fish and chips de rigueur . Naturellement .
Having always been a Magpie girl one took a leaf out of the dish that is James Martin’s book and sold our soul to Trenchers and had the haddock .
One must always listen to James. When it comes to food he knows what he’s talking about.
Good morning darlings, a bad start to the day at Chez Lee as we seem to have run out of tea. Haven’t been able to stomach coffee for 22 years which coincides nicely ( or not)with pregnancy. You’d have thought that one would’ve been able to get back on the java train by now but it appears that a cup of Joe could make one throw.
Tea has always been associated with England. When ever we are shocked or upset it is a crutch. Popping the kettle on for refreshment and comfort. Everything stops for tea, however not everyone stops ( stands) for the Queen.
” Off with their heads”
Rather rousing for a Tuesday.
As you know my darlings, one adores the Queen ( think of dear old Queenie the beach hut in her patriotic splendour) and tea ( how one longs for a tea room) and of course as much pomp and circumstance as one could shake a stick at . An F.F ( fabulous friend) brought this article in the press to ones attention.
The combination is here. God Save the Queen.
A v.patriotic lady indeed. Frightfully fond of Her Majesty and tea, hurrah!
However after this splendid woman made a point of playing the National Anthem at 3.00pm on the dot ( in HER tea room)and requesting all patrons to stand ( rightly so) 3 tartars refused. One was happy to hear that they were ejected .
Bravo!
” One is not amused”
Far more amusing from notonthehighstreet
One also likes gin.
Golly, one will start to look like fish and chips soon.
Dear old Queenie, doesn’t she deserve a new garland to dress her up for the jubilee ??
If you don’t have a Queenie don’t despair my darlings. It would be equally splendid on a dresser or shelf in the kitchen.
From Thornback and Peel
What are you doing for the Diamond Jubilee? How marvy that Elizabeth and I will be sharing the same weekend. My birthday weekend. One presumes there’ll be trifle??
Delia Smith
1 pint (570 ml) double cream
1 oz (25 g) caster sugar
1 level teaspoon cornflour
5 trifle sponge cakes
2 oz (50 g) flaked almonds, lightly toasted
some raspberry jam
2 fl oz (55 ml) sherry
8 oz (225 g) fresh or frozen raspberries
2 small bananas, peeled and sliced thinly
You will also need a large glass bowl.
Method
Break the sponge cakes in pieces and spread a little raspberry jam on each piece. Then put them into a large glass bowl and sprinkle the raspberries and sherry over them, giving everything a good stir to soak up the sherry. To make the custard, heat ½ pint (275 ml) of the double cream in a small saucepan. Blend the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together thoroughly in a basin, and when the cream is hot, pour it over the egg mixture, stirring the whole time. Now return the custard to the saucepan and stir over a very low heat until thick, them remove it and allow to cool. Slice the bananas, sprinkle them in amongst the raspberries and pour the custard over the sponge cakes. Whip up the remaining ½ pint (275 ml) of cream and spread it over the top. Decorate with the flaked almonds. Cover and chill for 3 or 4 hours before serving.
Good morning darlings, dragging through ones airing cupboard is such a chore and 1 out of the 4 napkins has gone astray. Beach napkins with sweet little lobsters. Perfect for seafood suppers or picnics on the beach.
Maybe it’s time to invest in some more?
From Thornback and Peel.
They do smashing deck chairs but alas not for lobster lovers. Their jelly wallpaper is to die for!
Lobster is always such a treat. If a lobster cocktail or a risotto is on the menu then it will be ordered. Pronto.
As with Champagne it is offered at a special occasion however everyday is a good day for either. Non?
We have Champagne Tuesdays just for the hell of it.
Lobster roll at the coast ?
Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter, softened
4 hot dog buns split.
4 lettuce leaves
1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 dash hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch dried basil, parsley or tarragon
Directions
Lightly butter the insides of the buns or rolls and line with lettuce leaves. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, lime juice, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper until well blended. Mix in the green onion and celery, then lightly mix in the lobster so it just gets coated without falling apart.
Stuff the lobster filling into the buns and sprinkle parsley, basil or tarragon lightly over the filling.
Simply add Capri pants and flip flops to think you’re in Maine.
OPI Eat Mainely Lobster nail polish. Perfect for toes too.
Lobster? Is it not glamorous ?
Gilded crustaceans for the bathroom.
Or the mantle.
From notonthehighstreet
At dinner parties we try not to be too poncy and serve up a roast or a lasagne, maybe a cottage pie.We want to be with our guests darlings and not in the kitchen .
Next on the hit list is this;
For sure!
Mac ‘n’ cheese with the volume turned up. Great reviews.
From The Neelys
4 tablespoons butter, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing dish
Kosher salt
1 pound penne pasta
2 small shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups shredded sharp white Cheddar
2 cups shredded Gruyere
2 (8-ounce) raw lobster tails, defrosted if frozen, meat removed from shell, chopped
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley leaves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and adjust racks to the middle. Grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter.
In a large pot of boiling salted water over medium heat, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and reserve.
Add 4 tablespoons butter to a large pot over medium heat. Once the butter shimmers, add the shallots and garlic and saute until translucent. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the tomato paste and flour and stir to toast, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the white wine and reduce, by half, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the cream, whisking well to remove any lumps. Add the paprika, cayenne, and bay leaf. Bring the cream up to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Let reduce until the cream is thick and can coat a spoon, about 5 to 10 minutes. When thickened, remove the bay leaves.
Stir in the grated cheeses, a handful at a time, combining well after each addition. Add the chopped lobster meat to the sauce and stir well. Add the pasta and stir. Add to the greased baking dish and sprinkle with the panko crumbs and parsley. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle individual servings with parsley.
Sharp cheese is mature. Heavy cream is double. Must invest in some American measuring cups too. Maybe some coral/lobster red napkins.
This doesn’t look too difficult but napkin folding was never my forte .
Darlings do you long for something heavenly to watch on the box? How much tosh must we endure? As for the soaps , gloom gloom and more gloom.
One wants to be whisked away on a delightful journey to Paris or Rome or even the far East with glamour and humour to boot. A love story perhaps.
Correction, a love story ALWAYS.
Having stumbled upon a gem one feels it necessary to share.
Mrs. ‘arris goes to Paris. Delightful.
A must for any romantic girl especially if to be enjoyed alone.
” Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant’s wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life – a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she’s never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she’s never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris.”
Dear Angela Lansbury and Omar Sherrif are too sweet for words.
A frock from the House of Dior. Well? Wouldn’t you?
Remember Gwyneth
Who doesn’t ?
Ghastly display .
Talking of ghastly display…
This sister looks more suited to Pantomime . Rouge be gone !
What go they say? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Darlings one has always been a keen collector of shells. Every trip to a beach has ones pockets stuffed with them ready to fill storm lanterns with sand and empty vases with ones precious cargo when home.
Many a swish beach house uses a scallop shell as an ashtray or a salt dish. Oh to have a beach house, a beach hut doesn’t quite cut it
One can dream.
Ones ablutions would be heavenly from a shell
Fabulous non?
At least poor Mrs.Lee can have a shell mirror. The basin can wait.
From notonthehighstreet , naturally.
In the last French restaurant we went to my husband and a F.F (fabulous friend) ordered Coquilles St.Jaques. How their faces fell when instead of ;
They got ;
No ashtrays for us then. Crikey, this deconstructed muck is everywhere. The shell presentation is the best bit. Robbed .
The darlings did fare better than moi who had escargot and a tricky tum.
Blasted French.
Coquilles St.Jacques.
Done by a v.good French chef.
Michel Roux
Ingredients
- 8 scallops, with shells
- 200g/7oz button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- ¼ lemon, juice only
- 500ml/18fl oz fish stock
For the potatoes
- 300g/11oz medium baking potatoes
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 25g/1oz butter
- salt and freshly ground white pepper
For the sauce
- 50g/2oz butter
- 25g/1oz plain flour
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 150ml/7fl oz double cream
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
To assemble
- 15g/½oz gruyère, finely grated
- 15g/½oz fine breadcrumbs
- 50g/2oz butter, melted
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Separate the whites of the scallops from the orange corals and wash gently in cold water to remove any grains of sand.
Place the scallops, corals, mushrooms, and lemon juice into a pan with the fish stock, set over low heat and slowly bring to the boil. Lower the heat to simmer very gently for one minute. Remove from the heat, set aside and keep the scallops and mushrooms in the stock at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
Place potatoes onto a baking sheet and transfer to the oven to bake in their jackets for 35-40 minutes, or until soft inside.
Halve the potatoes and scoop out the cooked flesh from the jackets. Force the potato flesh through a hard sieve or ricer into a clean bowl.
Add two of the egg yolks and the butter and beat until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground white pepper.
For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for two minutes to make a roux.
Take the pan off the heat and strain in the stock from the scallops and mushrooms, stirring constantly to combine without lumps. Set the scallops and mushrooms aside.
Simmer the sauce gently for a few minutes, whisking frequently.
In a bowl, mix the two egg yolks with the cream, and then pour this mixture into the sauce. Before it begins to bubble, take the pan off the heat, season the sauce with salt and freshly ground black pepper and keep hot.
To assemble the final dish, increase the oven temperature to 240C/465F/Gas 9.
Cut the scallop whites into thick slices. Place a layer of mushrooms into each of the four clean scallop shells. Add a layer of scallop whites then top with the scallop corals.
Fill a piping bag with the potato mixture and pipe an attractive ribbon around the edge of the scallop shells.
Mix the gruyère and breadcrumbs together in a clean bowl.
Cover the mushroom and scallop layers generously with sauce and sprinkle the top with the gruyère and breadcrumbs mixture.
Melt the butter and pour it over the top of the sauce.
Place the scallops into the hot oven to bake for 3-5 minutes, until the top of the sauce is lightly glazed and the potato border pale golden.
Total faff but totally worth it. I may not want to be bothered but I know a man that will. Darling???
Good morning darlings, dreary day. Damp and dismal. Oh to be in California instead of sopping wet Blighty oh dear. One shall wear a cashmere jumper , eat carbs, hug a cat and watch all that is bad tv wise. Hurrah for miserable days.
Doesn’t it feel like a cake day?
When did buns become cupcakes? One didn’t get the memo. What happened to fairy cakes? Was that the pc police too? Horrid to Yankify everything . All these questions darlings.
Earlier in the week one did a Katy Perry
One didn’t sleep with Mr.Brand mores the pity but instead thought it a good idea to rock a pink coiff.
Mmm… Not quite in the Perry stakes more Toyah Wilcox as a friends’ husband pointed out. The flamingo hair is no more but left behind is a peach Melba hue. Quite flattering, think Des O’Connor in his trademark pastels.
K.P peachy.
J.L patchy.
Candy floss coloured hair maybe doesn’t work so well in the real world .
How about blue?
If Marg can…
Only in Hollywood.
Maybe a shampoo and set with a coloured rinse is more moi?
A different colour for every day of the week. Something magnificent for every skin tone.
Don’t be afraid darlings. If Des can, you can.
If paintbox pastels and cupcakes are better suited on frocks instead of heads ( or both )take a bite of this candy coloured confection from asos .
Cupcakes
150 g butter, softened
150 g sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150 g self-raising flour, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
For the frosting:
75 g butter, at room temperature
150 g icing sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
a selection of food colouring, choose your favourite colours
To decorate:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light, fluffy and pale.
3. Gradually mix in the beaten egg alternating with the flour to stop the mix from curdling. Finally, stir through the vanilla extract and milk.
4. Place 12 paper cupcake cases into a muffin tin and divide the mixture between them.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. For the frosting: In a mixing bowl beat the butter with a spoon or spatular until smooth, then start to sift in the icing sugar, stirring regularly. Add the vanilla extract and milk. The frosting should be light and creamy.
7. Mix your chosen food colouring colours into the icing to give an even colour.
8. Once the cupcakes are totally cool, spoon or pipe the icing onto your cupcakes and finish with your chosen decorations. Then allow to set for at least 30 minutes.
Whimsical fancies and fripperies galore.
Bright coloured bunting and delicious cocktails.
Cupcakes and recipes simple to follow.
My darlings, it's all a bit bonkers and delightful to have you pop by.
Take the weight of your Louboutins and pull up a chair.
Shove the cat off first, he is not a cushion.
