Andy78

Hope all goes well for your mum Cassie

A traditional English dessert, and a great way to use up any meringue nests you may have left over to avoid throwing them away. Eton Mess (serves 4, or a gluttonous 2) Ingredients: 10 ½ fl oz/ 300 ml double cream or whipping cream (single cream is not a suitable lower fat alternative for this recipe; low fat trifle toppings are okay, but not perfect as a lower fat option. You need to simply accept this is not the healthiest dessert in the world.) 2 x 1 tbsp icing sugar (also referred to as confectioner’s sugar or powder sugar) 4 meringue nests 1 lb/ 450g fresh strawberries Preparation: 1. Place the whipping cream in a large mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp of the icing sugar, and whip with an electric whisk until the cream is light and fluffy. Do not overwhip, the dish requires softly whipped cream, not thick “dropping” cream 2. Put the meringue nests into a sandwich bag (or similar plastic bag), hold it closed, and using a rolling pin (or other such blunt instrument), smack it about until the meringue has been broken up. The slightly more civilised among you, can break them up using your hands (but it’s not as much fun). 3. Fold the broken up meringue into the whipped cream. 4. Take all but four of the strawberries, cut them into halves (or quarters if they are big strawberries) and stir into the cream/meringue mix. It’s best to cut them over the bowl with the cream mix in so that any juices released go into the bowl. 5. Place the cream/meringue/strawberry mixture into a large trifle dish and chill for 30 minutes in the fridge. 6. Quarter the remaining strawberries and put them over the Eton Mess. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp of icing sugar before serving. Alternately, (and my personal preference) serve the Eton Mess in individual trifle glasses.

Wherever you are, and whatever you are doing Dom, have a great one

Another great use of meringue nests. Petit Mont Blancs (serves 4) Ingredients: 4 meringue nests 12 oz/335 g can of chestnut purée (you can make your own chestnut purée, but it's just far too much fuss and expense simply for this recipe) 7 fl oz/ 200 ml whipping cream 2 x 1 tbsp icing sugar (also referred to as confectioner’s sugar or powder sugar) Small bar of very dark chocolate (ideally 75% cocoa content at least) Preparation: 1. Pour the chestnut puree into each of the meringue nests (be generous). 2. Whip the cream, and 1 tbsp of the icing sugar until it is light and fluffy. 3. Pour the cream on top of the chestnut puree. 4. Grate some of the dark chocolate, and sprinkle some of the remaining icing sugar on top of each Petit Mont Blanc. Edited to add: Just had a thought! You can use mascarpone instead of whipped cream. Very yummy!

We all love meringues (well I do anyway), so here is my meringue nest recipe. Since meringues are a cold dessert they are traditionally associated with the summer months; but they are so easy to make, so I say let’s make them all year round. Meringue nests (makes 6) 4 large egg whites 1/4 tsp cream of tartar 7 oz/175 g caster sugar A dash of vanilla essence (it’s up to you whether to go for the cheap stuff or the high-end stuff – I’ve used both and given the tiny quantity used, there really isn’t much difference) Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 250F/120C/gas mark ½. 2. Whisk egg whites until foamy. 3. Add cream of tartar and vanilla essence, and continue to whisk until the soft-peak stage. 4. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and continue whisking until stiff peaks form (you usually need to up the whisk speed to high for this). 5. Drop spoonfuls of meringue mix on to a parchment-lined baking sheet, making six piles. 6. Using the back of a spoon, shape the meringues into nests. 7. Bake for 1 hour. 8. Turn off oven and cool meringues in the oven (until the oven has gone cold, which usually takes around 3 hours – or since the oven will be turned off, you can very safely do this overnight). Meringue nests can be stored in an airtight container for a day or two. You can serve a selection of fruit in the nest and cover with whipped cream, or you can fill with whipped cream and cover with fruit (strawberry and kiwi fruit works particularly well, as does blackberry and rhubarb). Since most fruit is now available all year round, you have a huge variety to mix and match with.

Happy birthday, hope you enjoy it

Happy birthday. Here's hoping you enjoy the remaining three hours.

Thanks for the review. Glad you liked it.

I don't mind sharing a few recipes - but ain't nobody getting my spiced pear and blackberry crumble recipe (I won't even tell my mother) My recipe for a warming winter stew (will very generously serve 4, or normally serve 6) – for those not fond of offal you can replace the kidney, liver, and heart with an additional ½ lb (225 g) of braising beef: 1 lb (450 g) braising beef, cut into cubes (you can also use stewing beef, stewing steak, or a selection of off-cuts) 6 lamb’s kidneys, cut into halves ½ lb (225 g) ox liver, cut into cubes 2 cow’s hearts, cut into slices 1 lb (450 g) button mushrooms, cut into quarters 1 lb (450 g) carrots, cut into slices 1 swede (what American’s refer to as rutabaga), cut into cubes 1 lb (450 g) shallots (referred to as eschalots in some countries, so do not confuse with scallions/spring onions), cut into halves 4 cloves of garlic (crushed) – you can add more or less to your own taste 1 large (28 oz/700 g) can of chopped tomatoes 500 ml beef stock (you can use beef stock, gravy powder, gravy granules etc it doesn’t really make a huge difference) 250 ml red wine (optional) - any red wine works, but my choice is Merlot (so at least I can enjoy a glass whilst cooking) 1 lb (450 g) of lentils (you can use split pea, red lentils, green lentils, a mixture of lentils, you can even use bulgur wheat, chick peas, whatever you happen to prefer or have to hand) Traditional recipes for stew in England tend not to have herbs and spices in them; but you can add thyme, oregano, dill, marjoram, rosemary, or whatever you like or have to hand. I sometimes throw in a few sprigs of thyme, some coriander (cilantro) and few handfuls of parsley. 1. Season and fry off all of the meat and set to one side - this should be done in small batches and do not overcrowd the frying pan. 2. In a large stew pot, add a little oil and fry shallots and garlic over a low heat until soft (takes about 10 mins) 3. Add in the rest of the vegetables (apart from the tin of tomatoes) and fry for a further ten minutes 3. Add the meat, stock, tin of tomatoes and (if using) the red wine and any herbs/spices – you may need to add additional water if the meats are not fully covered 4. Cover and simmer over a low heat for 2 hours – stirring occasionally so the bottom of the stew doesn’t burn 5. Add in the lentils and cook as per guidelines (usually about another hour unless they have been precooked). NB: if you are going to precook your lentils then you will need to cook the stew for 2.5 hours before adding them. 6. Serve with lots of crusty bread (you can also serve with boiled potatoes and dumplings)

Hi Diswayz. Welcome. We are a friendly and welcoming bunch here. It's also nice to have another member in Europe

The fourteen year old boy looked around the playground from the relative safety of the doors at the front of the science building. It had happened to him three times this week already, and he had absolutely no intention of making today number four. He saw no sign of Joseph, so figured that he might just get away today, and make it home safely. Like most of the kids at St Charles’, he hated crossing the playground in these bleak midwinter evenings. The snow was nearly eight inches thick (and

Penblwydd Hapus Podga

Awww s You right click on the video and select "copy video url" and then just paste the link into the post, and it will display the video

I'm not a big Beatles fan, but:

A great piece Wayne. Being a Sherlock Holmes nut, I can only imagine the amount of work Conan Doyle put into even the shortest of the tales. For a more modern (and GA) take on this, check out Anyta Sunday's Dragons of Drupes.

Happy birthday MJ. Eat, drink and be merry

Thank you for sharing something so personal with us all. When you hear something like this, it really does put other things in perspective. Take good care of yourself

Well Starbucks have been gracious enough this year to introduce their pumpkin spiced lattes to the UK, so I now have something extra yummy to drink whilst reading - only problem is, I've had four large lattes so far today, so am in the middle of a major caffeine buzz. Off to read

Happy Birthday Tranquility. Hope it's a really good one

Thanks for the official welcome Trebs, and I hope Renee enjoys a very well deserved holiday. Thursday's blog was on the Trevor Project was one of the best blog entries we've probably had, and it was nice to see so many responses from GA members. But the best thing this week has been a new chapter from Comsie Always a high point when there is a new Comsie chapter (or three or four please).

Happy birthday

Happy birthday Cyn. I'd planned on ordering you a stripper, but I must have ticked the wrong box on the order form.

These are so funny because they are so true

Wow, 30 years old! I never really got into CDs much, I was more of a vinyl fan. As a child, I can remember going to my local music store on Saturday morning with my pocket money and rummaging through all of the 33s and 45s for sale **hands up any GA member under 30 who knows what a 33 or a 45 is (clue - they are not calibres of bullets) ** I had a huge collection as a child - I had over two hundred 45s, and about a hundred 33s. The cheapest 45 I ever bought was Spitting Image's double A side which I bought in 1986 for 12.5p

Happy birthday Brian. Hope you get everything you want.