Birthday lunch today, oeufs en meurette, couple of eggs poached very runny served in a rich red wine sauce with shallots, bacon and shallow fried slices of baguette.

Next course, filets de saint-pierre (john dory) one of my fave fish served with sautéed shrimps. Main course – decided to forgo the meats etc and really fancied an individual tart of sliced potatoes fried in butter layered with snails and garlic mixed with cream and gratinated with blue cheese, plateau de fromage and then crème brulee.
Bottles of St Veran, and Santenay les gravieres 2005 coffees and a large glasses of Marc de Bourgogne (Jacoulot)[urlhttp://www.jacoulot.com/authentique-jacoulot.php[/url

Feeling pretty content, the missus is making a few ham baguettes with garlic mayo for supper later, I am drinking a couple of bottles of cremant de Bourgogne waiting for Masterchef, The professionals.

Ooooooooo ...

Happy Birthday!

Thanks very much, the menu was only 21 euros per head, great value.

Sorry but poached eggs & gravy just don't float my boat at all



I've caught a couple of John Dory but have always returned them, I just don't have the heart to kill and eat such a beautiful fish



That's a mate of mine, Mark Harding from Alderney Angling and that fish tared off at 8lb 6oz

Wow.

That's incredible.

It is and it's a dead cert that there wasn't much, if any, supermarket ready-meal included

Happy Birthday Dave.

Fresh bass last night, caught less than four hours before (and I've still got another three sat at the bottom of my fridge

), cooked en papillotte with fresh dill and laid on a bed of rosemary. Served with crushed new potatoes, carrots & brocolli and a dill & lemon sauce.

Tonight will be more traditional fayre: Beer can up-the-butt roast chicken, roasted butternut squash, roast banana shallots (all done in the same tray as the chicken), purple sprouting brocolli, carrots, mashed turnip, mashed & roasted potatoes, stuffing and gravy made from the beer & chicken juices.

Meat 'n' potato pie last night (homemade, I stress) and a chicken & mushroom suet pudding currently on the go. You can't get much more "traditional" than that.

Basic pork loin (huge portion on special offer at Tecsos) with onion blackpepper and rosemary (didn't have a problem with it like Standee), roast spuds, carrot and turnip mash, petit pois and cauliflower with a gravy onion.

Simple but enjoyed.

Proper "clocks go back" food is that

Oh aye!

Home made .... including the pastry?

Come along now, let's be knowing, we've all seen [iCome Dine with Me[/i.

Seeing as it's nearly that time of year, anyone else a lover of panettone? I got addicted to the stuff a good decade ago, when an Italian friend of mine gave me one for Christmas, and since then I've been mad for the things. I've already made my customary trip into Lidl to purchase my favorite brand, Favorina.

Over the last few years they've really taken off, with all the major supermarkets stocking their own versions. Morrisons made a bug push on panettone's last year. Unfortunately it was horrible, dry and tasteless.

Like I say my favorite are the Favorina panettone's from Lidl. They do also stock pandoro, which is without fruit and tends to be covered in icing sugar. Well worth a try at £3.99, for those who have yet to sample a panettone's delights.

Most supermarkets stock them, but I tend to find they're over priced, and only half the weight of the Lidl one's.

... and when you've had enough, you can make a nice version of bread and butter pudding with it.

personally I prefer to make a Dundee cake with lots of whisky, A thick slice served warm with cold double cream.

I cannot stand fruit in cake. And sultanas make me sick. Which kinda rules out traditional Christmas desserts-xmas pud, cake, mince pies and pannettone.

Every year I try mince pies, every year I gip. That pic above made me gip too.

However, Chris has always gone on about trying pannettone. Now I know there's a plain version, I might give it a go.

I can't stand cake, apart from a traditional fruit cake (or malt loaf at a push), that must be served buttered, with a healthy slab of Wensleydale cheese.

If I wanted something to cleave to the roof of my mouth like cake does, I'd eat peanut butter but I can't stand that either

The cream stops it from sticking to the roof of your mouth and the heavy doses of whisky make it all worth it.

I could have typed that.

The main difference panettone has over a traditional fruit cake, is panettone's no where near as heavy. You don't get that clogging, almost punishment like feeling that you do when eating extremely heavy, rich fruit cakes.

When you cut into panettone it's aerated, it's like a honeycomb, full of mini pockets of air. Plus it's not brimming with fruit either, so if your not a fan of fruit you could easily pick that out, in which case you'd be better off buying a pandoro.

I'd describe it almost as a bread rather a cake, texture wise anyway. I'll more than likely be having it for breakfast for next couple of months I enjoy it that much. And when I do have it as more of a desert, it tends to be with warm custard.

For those umming and arring about it, go for it!

Absolutely!

So it's like a toasted teacake then, apart from the fact that it's not toasted and not covered in lashings of gorgeous, hand-churned local butter, melting throughout?

No ta, it still sounds too much like cake to me

It's quite nice, more bread than cake, makes a wonderful bread and butter pudding.