British

Introducing the British classic, Cottage pie! I have just returned from the United Kingdom, where we were catching up with family, old friends and neighbors in London and around Scotland.  It was two weeks of visiting castles, churches, The Harry Potter Exhibition, walking on glorious sandy […]

Perfect Picnic Food introducing The Sound Flat Ham Pie I am so excited to introduce you to your new go to picnic food recipe. Thick sliced ham and creamy Boursin cheese, sandwiched between two layer of puff pastry. Incredibly simple, yet unbelievably good. The sort […]

Christmas (Afternoon Tea) Present This year our popular Christmas Afternoon Tea at the Darien Community Association is looking a little different. We are not offering Christmas Afternoon Tea in person, as, with all the restrictions, we did not want to expose our girls or guests […]

I have sad news. My wonderful Auntie Gertie died on December 30th 2022. She was a force of nature, a real character, loved by her family and friends and will be sorely missed. But her legacy will live on. Not least in the gift she […]

Updated post with video! This post was originally written when I was living in Copenhagen. Seems like a long time ago! As I have made another dodgy video of me cooking in my kitchen, I thought I would repost. Lockdown Dessert During our lockdown Spring, […]

Cats in a Barrel, Pancakes and Beads When we lived in Denmark, we discovered that the children get to dress up and the whole nation eats sticky buns. In the U.K., it is all about pancakes and, for most of the rest of the Christian world, […]

Victoria Sponge A Victoria Sponge is a classic British cake, named for Queen Victoria who was known to enjoy a slice of cake with her afternoon cup of tea. It was a patriotic cake, created to celebrate a fabulous new British invention, baking powder! The […]

Royal Wedding Cake Just in time I have thought to make Royal Wedding Lemon and Elderflower Cupcakes. Living in Copenhagen, I have not been so caught up in the Royal Wedding. Obviously, I have read about the dress, the family, the comparisons to previous royal […]

Valentine’s Afternoon Tea I know, we are past Valentines, (although for most us, we feel as though it is still Groundhog Day). I am reposting this, as I have just added a video on how to make Chocolate Dipped macaroons. Hoping coconut is easier to […]

Proper Puddings I think this Marmalade Bread Pudding with Cointreau Soaked Golden Raisins (sultanas to us Brits) may have been my first introduction to bread pudding.  Those of you who have been following me for a while, know that I LOVE bread puddings. I already […]

My ultimate New Year’s Eve Menu, one last fabulous meal before welcoming moderate eating back into our lives in January

Christmas on a plate In our house it would not be Christmas without home made mince pies, a sweet fruity filling in a lovely buttery shortcrust pastry. For our family they really are Christmas on a plate. I generally make my first batch just after […]

Afternoon Tea Sandwiches For four years the Fabulous girls and I offered Afternoon Tea at the Darien Community Association, the DCA in Darien, Connecticut. I am currently living in Denmark but the fabulous Vicky, a superb professional pastry chef, is now catering Teas at the […]

Chicken Pot Pie is the Ultimate Comfort Food This chicken pot pie is the ultimate in comfort food. Chicken, carrots and peas in a rich creamy sauce, covered with a snuggly little blanket of puff pastry, totally hygge. Perfect for a snowy winter’s day. The […]

Classic Custard Cream Recipe I first made custard creams when I was 12 years old.  At Banff Academy we had home economics in our second year. Since I had baked my first cake at 8, I was slightly underwhelmed by the scrambled eggs and other […]

Always Fabulous Scones “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” -Julia Child.   I am reposting one of my original recipes because I have added a few comments on measurements and links to different versions together with Strawberry Jam and super easy Lemon Curd recipes. […]

Social Media is not for the Fainthearted In this post I will confess to an act of great stupidity, it involves sausages. But first let me give you a little background. Obsessions I think most of you probably know about my potato obsession. Well I […]

Old dog new tricks! I have been making meringues for a very long time. When I lived in London I sometimes suspected I was only asked to parties so I would bring mini pavlovas with me. British parties do not normally involve bringing a dish […]

“when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford” Samuel Johnson 1777 What on earth would Johnson make of London now? I used to work and live in London.  My three children were […]

Banff I love telling people I come from Banff. They get all excited and nod until I add that I come from the original Banff, the Banff in the Northeast of Scotland, not that ‘Johnny come lately’ in Canada. The Banff in Canada was named after […]

Every time I see red currents I have to make this quiche. I have probably only made it a handful of times as red currents were never very easy to find either in Wimbledon or in Darien. Then I moved to Denmark.  I now come […]

Every so often I just need to make this soup. This is the perfect soup for a snow day, or if someone is feeling a little under the weather. It really feels like love in a cup, with all the super healthy vegetables and the […]

Sticky Toffee Pudding – Probably the best dessert in the world! We all know the story of Scheherazade? The clever girl, who saved her life by telling a different tale every night for a total of one thousand and one Arabian nights. She always reached the […]