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-   -   What's making you happy today? (http://cellar.org/showthread.php?t=14055)

DanaC 01-04-2009 08:22 AM

Of course she is, that's the law!

Sundae 01-04-2009 10:43 AM

Nah - pub deal, not a dedicated carvery.
Although I found a proper time-warp 70's-80's restaurant when I first lived in London called The Dolphin which still had tomato soup and prawn cocktail starters, full roast dinners and a sweet trolley. We ordered a bottle of Mattheus Rose to wash it down.

This was just a carvery. Pictures in the Aylesbury thread. It was lovely.
And my bro stopped by (the house) when we got back, which always makes me happy.

TheMercenary 01-04-2009 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl
We're going out for a pub lunch.
To a carvery!
It's all very retro, and very exciting.

If only my camera battery was charged.
I might make my Dad take his camera instead.
Time travelling is always worth a photo.

Quote:

Are you going to have Prawns Marie Rose for starters and black Forest Gateau for pud?
A carvery?

Prawns Marie Rose = Big shrimp cooked in wine?

black Forest Gateau?

pud?

Translate please.

A common people separated by language.

Sundae 01-04-2009 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary (Post 518865)
A carvery?

It's like a buffet formed of the constituents for a roast dinner.
You choose one of the meats - usually a choice of three or four.
The standards are pork/ lamb/ beef/ poultry plus one other.
They carve it, then you add your accompaniments from a selection.
This will include all the necessaries for the roasts on offer - yorkshire puddings (beef), crackling (pork), stuffing (poultry) and all the various condiments inc bread sauce, horseradish, mustard, apple sauce, cranberry sauce et al.

They used to be HUGE - both in popularity and selection, but now whole restaurants are not given over to them, only corners of pubs.
Quote:

Prawns Marie Rose = Big shrimp cooked in wine?
It's what we call a Prawn Cocktail. What you would call shrimp, in a sundae glass, on top of lettuce, drizzled with a seafood sauce and occasionally sprinkled with paprika. A '70s classic.
Quote:

black Forest Gateau?
Again, something on sweet (dessert) trolleys in childhood. Chocolate cake in three layers with black cherries and cream in between, topped with both and rolled in chocolate flakes. Usually served with single (pouring) cream.
Quote:

pud?
Pudding. Equals dessert.

To see a modern carvery, see the Aylesbury thread.
It's retro for us, and great fun.

TheMercenary 01-04-2009 11:32 AM

Sounds awesome. Makes me hungry thinking about it. Thanks for the explanation.

wolf 01-04-2009 12:16 PM

Okay, so I think I got it ...

A carvery = buffet that only consists of a carving station, where they don't let you go back in line as many times as you want.

Prawns Marie Rose = shrimp cocktail

black Forest Gateau = Schwarzwalderkirschtorte

pud = lump of pudding that's cooked along with the beef, mainly to keep it company. Can be awesome in it's yumminess, or horribly dry and tasteless. Originally popular in Yorkshire. Bears no relation to American Pudding, or that other thing that we call pud, which isn't a food but is often eaten.

Edit ... oh ... that pud is like our pudding. Now you're confusing me.

limey 01-04-2009 12:57 PM

Yorkshire pudding - make batter as for pancakes and then cook in a dish in a hot oven above the beef. Probably best not to open the door til it's done (about 20 minutes? Dana?)
Pudding - generic term for any dessert, particularly a dough-based one.

DanaC 01-04-2009 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limey (Post 518898)
Yorkshire pudding - make batter as for pancakes and then cook in a dish in a hot oven above the beef. Probably best not to open the door til it's done (about 20 minutes? Dana?)
Pudding - generic term for any dessert, particularly a dough-based one.

Honestly? I have only ever had the courage to try doing Yorkshire puds from scratch a couple of times in life and they weren't pretty. I am a culinary coward. I stick with the Aunt Bessies. This fear of Yorkshire puds is an inherited one.


[eta] Now I have mad cravings for Toad in the Hole. I have no way of assuaging that craving without either a) making toad in the whole using ingredients bought atthe local shop - never gonna happen, or b) taking a chance with the Birds Eye frozen TitH - unwise.

TheMercenary 01-04-2009 01:25 PM

We had a roasted rack of beef and Yorkshire Pudding for X-mas dinner. It was fantastic.

We had Toad in the Hole at the pub next to the Westminster Cathedral when we visited London 2 years ago.

Trilby 01-04-2009 02:17 PM

this "retro roasted dinner" thing has made me realize that my very, very favorite restaurant and my very, very favorite meal is hopelessly retro.

The Pine Club: Filet mignon (med. rare), hash browns, fried onions, stewed tomatoes and salad with bleu cheese.

I am soooo fifties. But, man, I LOVE it.

ETA: no room for desert until much later. Then, CAKE.

limey 01-04-2009 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanaC (Post 518900)
Honestly? I have only ever had the courage to try doing Yorkshire puds from scratch a couple of times in life and they weren't pretty. I am a culinary coward. I stick with the Aunt Bessies. This fear of Yorkshire puds is an inherited one.


[eta] Now I have mad cravings for Toad in the Hole. I have no way of assuaging that craving without either a) making toad in the whole using ingredients bought atthe local shop - never gonna happen, or b) taking a chance with the Birds Eye frozen TitH - unwise.

Dana, it's so easy (and cheap cheap CHEAP)!! Don't listen to all that crap about leaving the batter to rest, or adding sparkling water or this or that type of flour (plain or self-raising will do) or any of that fancy Yorkshire folklore. 4 oz flour in a bowl, make as much of a dimple as you can in the flour and break one egg into it, using a fork start to mix the egg with the flour around it in ever increasing circles. Before it gets too sticky (still loads of flour around the edge of the bowl) bit by bit add half a pint of milk, stirring it in with more of the flour each time. If you mess up and get lumps, beat the crap out of it at the end - use a whisk or brute violence or both.
During this process you've started to roast your sausages in the oven in a little fat. When the batter is mixed turn the oven up (mark 8, 225 degrees), pour the batter over the sausages and slam back in the oven for 20-30 minutes. If you open the door too soon it'll flop a little - just don't tell your gran.
Or come and visit with SG and we'll have Yorkshire pud lessons (taught by a Londoner in Scotland) :p !

Sundae 01-04-2009 03:21 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Ah Limey, while I appreciate your intention, I believe people (previously women) are either born able to make yorkshires, or they're not.

My sister's second boyfriend was a chef, and he could make an eye watering yorkshire. None of us liked him, so we had to stop going to the carvery they both worked at when she took up with her current amour. To be fair she's now been married to him for sixteen years. I mourn those yorkshires though.

My Nan, despite all her other faults, culinary and otherwise, could also do the magic. No-one else I know can.

They should look more like the pic below, rather than the arid ones shown in the Aylesbury thread! BTW Dana - I gave up years ago and have used Aunt Bessies' every time too.

SteveDallas 01-04-2009 03:49 PM

I installed a stove and a dishwasher yesterday.

So far nothing has blown up or leaked. (I have some doubts about the dishwasher, but we'll see how it goes.)

Trilby 01-04-2009 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas (Post 518929)
I installed a stove and a dishwasher yesterday.

So far nothing has blown up or leaked. (I have some doubts about the dishwasher, but we'll see how it goes.)

I wish I had a man slave.

Dammit!

xoxoxoBruce 01-04-2009 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brianna (Post 518933)
I wish I had a man slave.

Dammit!

What, and give the rest of them up? ;)

jinx 01-04-2009 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary (Post 518903)
We had a roasted rack of beef and Yorkshire Pudding for X-mas dinner. It was fantastic.

So did we, but it was awful. I find even med rare prime rib tragic.... this was well done. A damn shame I tell ya.

glatt 01-04-2009 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveDallas (Post 518929)
I installed a stove and a dishwasher yesterday.

So far nothing has blown up or leaked. (I have some doubts about the dishwasher, but we'll see how it goes.)

Nice!!

monster 01-05-2009 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl (Post 518922)
Ah Limey, while I appreciate your intention, I believe people (previously women) are either born able to make yorkshires, or they're not.

My sister's second boyfriend was a chef, and he could make an eye watering yorkshire. None of us liked him, so we had to stop going to the carvery they both worked at when she took up with her current amour. To be fair she's now been married to him for sixteen years. I mourn those yorkshires though.

My Nan, despite all her other faults, culinary and otherwise, could also do the magic. No-one else I know can.

They should look more like the pic below, rather than the arid ones shown in the Aylesbury thread! BTW Dana - I gave up years ago and have used Aunt Bessies' every time too.

Beest makes awesome Yorkshires. we had them for dinner last night in fact. Huge, plate-sized ones filled with beef in gravy :yum:

Shawnee123 01-08-2009 03:42 PM

My best buddy who works at my old job has been emailing me telling me how freaking messed up things are there. As she tells me about what she is going through right now, I thank my lucky stars I am where I am. I like the work, I like the people, I like the paycheck.

I feel bad for her, and the others...but I am SO thankful I got this job.

Yesterday felt bummery, but truly I am lucky.

Flint 01-08-2009 03:57 PM

And you get to goof off all day on the internet.

Flint 01-08-2009 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMercenary (Post 518903)
We had a roasted rack of beef and Yorkshire Pudding for X-mas dinner. It was fantastic.

Nice fare. When we have that, we slather the roast in horseradish. By "we" I mean Pooka. Or Pooka's mom. Calls it "Highland Beef."

Shawnee123 01-08-2009 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint (Post 520127)
And you get to goof off all day on the internet.

Biteth Moi

DanaC 01-08-2009 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint (Post 520128)
Nice fare. When we have that, we slather the roast in horseradish. By "we" I mean Pooka. Or Pooka's mom. Calls it "Highland Beef."

Aberdeen Angus all the way, eh?

Flint 01-08-2009 04:29 PM

With creamed tatties.

DanaC 01-08-2009 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint (Post 520161)
With creamed titties.

Fixed that for ya.

Cicero 01-11-2009 07:03 PM

Cicero's Back!! :) Woo-hoo!

Time to take a real look into my side-business...And get it rollin. I've had good news today!!

This makes me happy. Moving forward.

Pie 01-11-2009 07:11 PM

Yay Cic! Good to see you on a roll!

We've officially moved in to our new house. We still have two moves coming up (one for all the stuff in storage, one for the furniture still up in our town home in Joisey) but we have enough to keep it going in the meantime.

And my mom's coming to visit for 17 hours next week. :p She's passing through on her way to India; she'll be back for a longer stay (3 days) in early February on her way back.

Sundae 01-13-2009 02:15 PM

I'm getting there, I'm getting there.
Had a really really hard day yesterday, but today was much better.

Currently flying without anti-depressants thanks to Aylesbury's ridiculous systems of registering with a GP, waiting for transfer of records and then only being able to book either a same-day appointment at 08.00 or a week+ in advance.

So have been getting tearful about just about everything.
Add to that the nightmares and the hateful hurtful insecurity dreams, not getting any benefits and no jobs for more than 20 hours a week being advertised locally... Cried myself to sleep last night (stopped the bad dreams though!)

Hang on, this is the happy thread, right? Right!

I found out about the 08.00 phone call rule today, so tomorrow I will be ready and waiting at 07.59. It will be an emergency appointment (shame, but that's their rules) so they will see me tomorrow. So I'll be back on my tablets by midday latest.

I finally got my first benefit payment through today. Mum & Dad were already going to Milton Keynes, so I went along and spent an hour in the biggest Asda in the South East. I love it. Spent £69 but that was all on non-frivolous food. And a lot was store cupboard items that now won't need to be replaced for months. In which time I may be working anyway.

Mum & I sat down with low fat recipe books and went through what we would be having for dinner for the next week. I will be doing the majority of cooking and have bought at least half the ingredients. Mum won't let me pay any keep while I am unemployed, so this is my way of contributing. She is serious about weight loss too. Dad is going along with it - he has 10lbs to lose (tch!)

I had another Job Centre appointment and have finally identified a job I want to apply for! Wahoo! There just are not jobs out there at present. And yes, I'm including shelf stacking in my vacancy net. I've applied and will keep you up to date. The disability specialist I saw (because of my history of depression and having been signed off previously) was very good to me. It was not a great day to see me, and she was very understanding. But in truth she is there to help me back into work and I could tell she appreciated the fact it was what I wanted to do. Her advice in fact was to be signed off again and do voluntary work to get my confidence back and gain a sense of self worth. The catch 22 with being depressed and out of work is that you face frustration and rejection which is hard to handle when you have a low self image because you are already unemployed etc etc

But I really would rather keep applying and look into voluntary work as something to do while I am applying. After all, you increase your chance of making contacts by meeting people. And there are apparently voluntary admin jobs available.

And finally... I might be on TV tonight :)
More of that later.

Things are getting better and I am still fighting, the whinging and crying notwithstanding. And I am safe, and I am home.

The other day we went to the funeral of my Mum's friend's husband. All the way there in the car I was selfishly thinking of myself. It was the same route Dad always drove me to Amersham station (same town as the Crematorium) but this time I would be coming back with him instead of getting on a train alone. I was amazed at how wonderful that feeling was. The funeral was beautiful btw. Incredibly touching - I really struggled not to bawl.

Anyway, that's my update.

Shawnee123 01-13-2009 02:22 PM

I'm impressed at the amount of fight in ya, girl. Keep plugging away. :)

Cicero 01-13-2009 03:19 PM

Hey guys, I have acquired the programs I have been saving for...The qaulity of my little life has just improved by 35 percent.

This ROCKS!!

I think Shawnee's post applies to me too, so thank you Shaw! You rock too!!!

Woo!

Shawnee123 01-13-2009 03:21 PM

:)

DanaC 01-13-2009 05:21 PM

Funnily enough it's the Cellar that's making me happy today. Well, for the last few days really. No one thing in particular. Just a few things that have gone on or been said, which have brought home to me afresh, how much this community means to me. How real a community it is. The fact that what happens to the people in here really matters, just as much as what happens to my local friends matters. The sheer joy of being able to disagree fundamentally with someone and it not be a problem, (almost) nobody holds serious enmity and nobody is looking to do real damage to anyone.

This place keeps me rooted (as the actress said to the bishop......) and makes me feel like I am starting from a position of strength.

@ Sundae. Good goin babe, you're doin great. Incidentally, I got paid this week, so I can send you a 'Build your own second hand bookstore' kit this week :P

DanaC 01-13-2009 05:25 PM

Oh forgot to say: Cic, nicely done:)

glatt 01-13-2009 05:27 PM

I'm happy that my son's ear surgery went well today. (tubes in ears)

He woke up after they knocked him out, and that's always nice. :)

richlevy 01-13-2009 08:21 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Last night I found a good photo for the inside cover of my tea chest. I keep a tea chest at work. It basically a wooden box with compartments. The inside cover is plain, so I selected an appropriate photo off of the Internet and printed it on 8.5x11 photo paper.

After I taped it up in the tea chest, it matches perfectly. It looks like it was made for it.

It's the little things.

DanaC 01-14-2009 05:32 AM

Oh that's lovely! That looks bloody brilliant!

@ Glatt: glad to hear it went well. Must be nervewracking for a parent, when the little-uns have to go under. My only point of reference is my dog. I spent the entire day terrified he wouldnt wake back up last time he had to go under.

Shawnee123 01-14-2009 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt (Post 521983)
I'm happy that my son's ear surgery went well today. (tubes in ears)

He woke up after they knocked him out, and that's always nice. :)

Good to hear glatt!

And what Dana said. :)

glatt 01-14-2009 09:18 AM

I was with him when they knocked him out, and it surprised me how it made me sad. Just to see him looking in my eyes as I spoke softly to him, and then those eyelids fluttered and he was gone. I got a lump in my throat as I left the operating room.

But then he came back only 15 minutes later, and it's like night and day now with his hearing and his personality. There had been fluid in his ears for the last month or two since his previous tubes fell out, and his hearing had gotten really bad. This caused a noticeable change in his demeanor. He was a real pain in the ass lately. But now he's a happy little boy again who can hear everything. I love modern medicine. (Turns out both ears were infected and the doctor thought one eardrum was on the verge of rupturing. So the tubes went in just in time.)

Shawnee123 01-14-2009 09:21 AM

My nephew, now 18 and in the army, had tubes put in as a kid. He took a long time to start talking, and they realized it was because he couldn't hear.

You're a good dad, I can tell. :)

classicman 01-14-2009 09:43 AM

Good for your family glatt. Thats really wonderful to hear. Modern medicine really can do some absolutely amazing things. Image the same scenario just 50 or 100 years ago. Heres to a speedy recovery.

Shawnee123 01-14-2009 02:55 PM

OMG...I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT.

Yep, signed up for cable and internet. I'm tired of fussing with the antenna, and wondering what tv channels I'll get on any given day, and my converter box wasn't working well, and I missed pron, and I want to go to Toontown and play games and chat and research and learn and...so on and so on.

:lol:

Oh noes! What have I done?

Won't be installed until the 24th. Maybe I should change my mind? I feel frivolous and impetuous, after all this time without all that stuff. And it feels goooooooooooddddddd. :)

Cicero 01-14-2009 03:26 PM

Great news Glatt! It's amazing how something like that can make all the diference in the quality of their life. Awesome. :)


Shaw!
Woooo-hooo! Finally. jfc. It really isn't frivilous, it will probably almost take place of most of the old items you have. It's more of an upgrade...Hey that's only 10 days! Awesome!

Saturday the 24th Chat Party..Be there people. ;)

limey 01-14-2009 03:34 PM

Good going everyone, especially SG. One step at a time ...

sweetwater 01-14-2009 03:47 PM

My dogs are freshly groomed, happy & worn out from a nice long walk and then pirouetting and dancing for cookies, and are sleeping (snoring) comfortably. Now I can do some quiet reading while listening to tunes. Right this minute, life feels very good right here.

Pie 01-14-2009 03:54 PM

We survived my Mom's 17-hour visit. My husband fixed her Dell laptop that we got her for her birthday in November (the letter 'q' was broken; he had to replace the whole keyboard). We took care of a bunch of random errands, and she 'approves' of the house. We got her a limo to take her to Dulles -- I was not looking forward to braving D.C. traffic this week.
Whew.

glatt 01-14-2009 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pie (Post 522279)
I was not looking forward to braving D.C. traffic this week.
Whew.

No kidding. The craziness has already begun. People everywhere.

kerosene 01-14-2009 09:06 PM

Breakfast for dinner, baybay!

Pie 01-14-2009 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt (Post 522280)
People everywhere.

Quote:

Originally Posted by former manager
This would be a great country, if it weren't for the people.


Juniper 01-15-2009 12:35 AM

Get ready for a big brag. I gotta do it! I stopped in to see one of my profs from last quarter and pick up my exam and my research paper. I know most students wouldn't bother, because it's the final grade that counts and we already know that. But I am the curious type. Plus I was hoping she'd commented on the paper. She did, and said she'd written more on mine and a couple others than on most of them because she knew who would come and get them. :)

Well, the exam grade was 94 and the paper was 96. She told me that I had real talent, a poetic and expressive writing style and lots of other really nice things. She encouraged me to fix up a few minor things in the essay and submit it to the school's literary publication. It was just so gratifying to hear this! Really made my day, especially as I am struggling with another paper right now.

This is a new experience for me, having relationships with profs that go beyond one semester. When I went to college last time, it seemed that once the finals ended they would hardly acknowledge your presence should they share an elevator ride. I guess it's a matter of gaining focus in your major and developing a mentor relationship.

I stopped in to see this one prof after taking an online class from her spring quarter--just told her I wanted to meet her F2F, you know--and she turned out to be a warm, wonderful lady. I already knew she would be, because we'd shared a few personal e-mails during the course. I saw her in the hall last quarter and she said she'd like to meet me for coffee one day. I want to also, because I want to hear about her trip to Italy last month!

I guess that's one of the perks of being an older student - the teachers, despite their professional role, are also kind of my peers, considering that if I met them socially we'd be on even footing. Actually I do have a few friends who are college profs elsewhere.

But you have to earn it. I mean, they probably cringe when older students come in and just automatically assume a certain familiarity. Hell, it makes ME cringe when I see it. Seems there's always one in every class (not me!) who thinks they've "outgrown" proper classroom protocol and dominates the class discussion. At least I hope I don't come off that way. I do often have a lot to say. ;)

Damn, I love college. I'm often stressed-out, tired and discouraged, but when it's good, it's really, really good!

monster 01-15-2009 12:37 AM

I managed not to kill my youngest...

DanaC 01-15-2009 03:40 AM

*Smiles* Juinper that totally rocks! I hope you're proud of youself lady:)

@ monster: good, good, that's good. Any particular reason why this is an issue today?

DucksNuts 01-15-2009 04:49 AM

I quit my job...on the spot today :D

DanaC 01-15-2009 06:05 AM

I've just noticed how badly I mangled Jun's name on the last post...typo citeh!

Bloody hell Ducks. That's drastic fantastic, what happened?

classicman 01-15-2009 08:26 AM

Ducks - The car job? Whats up with that?

Juniper 01-15-2009 08:34 AM

Wow, Ducks!

Cicero 01-15-2009 02:38 PM

I am happy that wolf is making more appearances here lately. It's just good.

classicman 01-15-2009 02:46 PM

I completely agree, Cic. Her witty and insightful posts have been missed.

DucksNuts 01-15-2009 05:41 PM

My boss finally pushed my last button, and I decided that I needed to be somewhere that had some respect for me and the job that I do.

He's now bad mouthing me to anyone that will listen and saying he was going to sack me anyways.

He just needs to stamp his foot when he is talking and he will be acting exactly like the child he is.

Im now writing a resume for the first time in 10 years, but I have another couple of irons in the fire that I hope turn into something.

Aliantha 01-15-2009 05:44 PM

Good for you Ducks. I bet you'll be glad you made the decision you did...and possibly even wish you'd done it sooner. :)

Good luck with the job hunting.

How's the finance brokerage idea coming along?

monster 01-15-2009 05:45 PM

cough :D

Dana, he flushed someone's expensive swim suit and then was obnoxious about it.


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