Monday, January 2, 2017

Snow, New Year, Long Hair,

Over the weekend I was mentally composing a letter: Sunday we had a lot of sunshine, so maybe Mother Nature is listening.

Dear Mother Nature - thanks so much for the white Christmas, you haven't given us one in years and we do appreciate it. However, the season is now over, so could you please take it all away again. Jo

On New Year's Eve a friend from the Carolinas called me and talking to her, I so wanted to be in NC. We used to have a wonderful time there, especially at this time of year. Sadly a number of our friends have now died and I guess it wouldn't be the same but even so..... I cooked a Steak Diane for us, the steak is not tough cooked that way and we finished off the Christmas Pudding with Rum Butter. .I love that stuff. We were given some chocolate liqueur cups and I was filling  them with rum butter, yummy. Of course I took the calories out first!!! Most of the turkey is now in the freezer in one form or another but I still have a load of breast meat which is good for lunch.


I stayed up to watch the ball drop in both Buffalo and New York but for the first time in 45 years, Matt went to bed. I wasn't too happy with him. I was watching That's Entertainment and also saw most of the second one - it was on Turner Classic Movies so I do hope they play it again. Wonderful to see all those actors of yesteryear. Needless to say, Debbie Reynolds turned up in quite a few clips. I got quite choked up at some of the bits of older films which I remembered and loved so long ago. As I was on my own, I didn't have my glass of bubbly. Thought about it,, but went to bed without it. Sunday I always have bubbly late morning so this time I allowed myself 3 glasses.

Because of the snow, I didn't manage to go to get my hair cut. Now I could almost wear braids. Unfortunately the salon is not open on Monday, foot nurse coming on Tuesday, will have to try and go Tuesday afternoon. When it gets this long, it drives me batty. I have never understood these girls with really long hair. I personally don't think it is attractive - neither does Matt - and they are forever having to toss it out of the way. Many years ago, I had long hair I could sit on, I used to wear it in braids as a kid or a chignon as an adult. I moved into an apartment in London when I was 20 and in a very short time had it cut. My mother was not happy, but I was delighted. To me, the hair in this picture is ridiculous. I have no doubt many of you will disagree.

This doesn't look much like the Welsh Rarebit of my childhood, but it still sounds as though it would be tasty. Funnily enough I haven't made Welsh Rarebit in many a long year. I looked this up on BBC Good Food and they say beer or milk. Not many of us have a strong dark beer around.

Welsh Rarebit

Anyone can lay a few slices of cheese on toast and melt them, but creating a thick sauce of cheese, beer and spices and then spreading it on toast creates one of the best late-night snacks I know. This is
Welsh rarebit, or rabbit, a traditional British dish whose name has a long and complicated history, one we will not go into here.

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 Tbs mustard powder, or to taste
½ tsp cayenne, or to taste
¾ cup strong dark beer, like Guinness
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
1 lb Cheddar, Double Gloucester or other English cheese (or other good semi-hard cheese, like Comté or Gruyère, or a mixture), grated
4 to 8 pieces lightly toasted bread

1. Put butter in a saucepan over medium heat and, as it melts, stir in flour. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in mustard and cayenne, then whisk in beer and Worcestershire sauce.

2. When mixture is uniform, turn heat to low and stir in cheese, again stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a broad container to set (you can refrigerate for up to a day at this point).

3. Spread mixture thickly on toast and put under broiler until bubbly and edges of toast are crisp. Serve immediately.

Servings: 4

Source: The New York Times



Have a great day
 

20 comments:

  1. Happy New Year, Jo. I don't know if I've tried Welsh Rabbit before but what you have in the picture looks tasty.

    Sometimes I feel a little nostalgic when I see footage of old movies and TV shows I used to watch too.

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    1. Thanks Cynthia. I haven't eaten it in years but am planning to in the near future.

      Can't help it can you?

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  2. Hi Jo - Happy New Year ... 'let it snow'! but it brings its challenges ... sounds like you had a peaceful New Year ... I love Welsh Rarebit - well more cheese on toast was a good go to lunch dish when we were kids ... I did used to make the cheese mix and use it at parties ... Have a good year and all the best - Hilary

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    1. Got much snow there Hilary? Years since I ate Welsh Rarebit. Cheese on toast quite often but not Rarebit. Hope you have a great year.

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  3. No snow here and it was already disappearing on Christmas. Over the weekend I used up the leftover Thanksgiving turkey that was in the freezer and made some turkey rice soup. Very good as I had not had any in quite a long time. I can't remember the lat time I stayed up on New Year's Eve - maybe it was in 2001 when I went to New York City for the holiday. I watched That's Entertainment III which I had not seen before.

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    1. Ours is beginning to disappear - had a lot of sun here yesterday. Still got some turkey breast, maybe a lunch's worth. However, have lots of soup and ham and turkey leftover pie too.

      They were showing III on NY Eve, but it didn't start til 12:45 so I didn't stay up that long. I haven't seen it.

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    2. The benefit of the DVR - set it to record and go to bed, lol.

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    3. Never thought of that. I still have VCR.

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    1. Thanks Bob. Got an envelope of stamps for you.

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  5. Happy new year- I'm a new follower. I understand about long hair driving you nuts. I actually do like long hair- but I also think each person has a look that fits them and long hair often compliments a persons face, even in guys.
    Your recipe looks amazing, I'm not much of a cook but i do want to start trying new recipe ideas for 2017.
    www.decadentkane.com

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    1. Hi Kane, nice to see you. Obviously lots of people disagree with me about long hair otherwise there wouldn't be so much of it LOL.

      It's a pretty easy recipe. If you are looking for some simple but tasty recipes, try looking for Jamie Oliver's beginner recipes, he has lots of them.

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  6. That's Welsh rarebit? Wow. It sounds awesome. I always thought it was some kind of creamed chipped beef over toast. We didn't make it to midnight either. I wish I'd known That's Entertainment was on though. I really like that and also 'That's Entertainment 2'.

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    1. Yes, as I remember, it's pretty good JoJo. Not sure I ever had it made with dark beer mind you. Well I was up on my own, just not Matt.

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  7. Happy New Year and wish you much great health and joy in bowling:) Now, I love long hair but that is nuts. I hope she will donate it so people who need wigs can use it. I have always had long hair but it would never grow longer than to the middle of my back. Now I have it just below my shoulders and I'm lucky because all I do is wash and go. We didn't have snow here really so that was sad. My hubby went to bed at 11:20! He always states he hates New Years but I wish he would stay up just for my sake but he won't.

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    1. Thanks Birgit. I wish you good health as well. As I said above, obviously I am not in the majority about long hair. All I do with mine is wash and go too. We got lots of snow here but last two days it has been melting somewhat. Matt always stayed up until this year, mainly for my sake I guess, but he didn't this year. You and I should have got together LOL

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  8. This was the first year in years both hubby and me were awake to welcome in the New Year. I know what you mean about your hair driving you batty. If my hair is long and it is summertime, because my hair is so thick, it can be so hot on the back of my neck. I think I inherited that from my mom as she had the same feeling with her thick long hair. Nowadays I tend to keep it a bit short, especially the summer months.

    Happy New Year!

    betty

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    1. I just like to greet the New Year, not sure why. My mother had short hair in her latter years and even when longer, wasn't too long.

      Back at yer Betty

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  9. I know what you mean about your hair getting too long. I'm in a similar position because I was due for a haircut when I got sick and now it's really annoying me.

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    1. I hope you are getting better now Helen. Hoping to get mine cut today. I hacked it around yesterday before we went bowling though. Used to always cut my own hair.

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