The Same Journey - but by train

I have wittered on about the motorway food stops I have had to endure but this time because of time constraints I have had to do a journey up-north by train. I love taking the train. I used to go back and forth from London to Yorkshire (3hours) each Christmas and 1 or 2 times throughout the year, but Christmas was the best time. I got totally prepared with a cheese, salami, crusty bread, olives....and a little bottle of wine. I had my book and mini disc player (remember those, they never quite made it did they) and I always booked a seat by the window with a table.
This train journey I was just as prepared (table seat, window, no music though, just a good book). The guy opposite with his Toshiba plugged in working hard on the way to Newcastle told me my train picnic smelt amazing and that he was quite jealous (he purchased a sandwich from the trolly- oh dear!). I introduced him to Stinking Bishop, he liked, a lot, and he's now going to seek out his nearest deli.
Think I'll have to splash out and go by train again. I could do cheese and wine tasting sessions to pass the time.

Mince Pie Heaven

In the shop we are selling hundreds of mince pies per day. People just don't bake anymore and they are so delicious I can understand why, it's not really a faff it's just people don't even own bun trays anymore. If you're a baker you'd be one of few amongst your friends, but very popular!
A sales rep tried to convince me to try their mince pies to sell this year, we've been selling them for 6 weeks now. Why don't these companies plan ahead? Also, they're made with puff pastry she proudly announced. Hello!! Wake up and smell the coffee. People do not want puff pastry, people want tradition. They don't want something different, they want to be taken back to the past with lovely memories of mince pie baking with mum.
My Dad posts me some in a tin which I have to take back at Christmas for the following years' mince pie delivery. What a good Dad I have.
Warm with brandy butter or just cold as they come.....Christmas heaven!
The Americans haven't a clue what they are, the amount of times in my life I've had the "so it's meat in pastry with sweet icing sugar....I don't get it" conversation. It's a peculiar concept to them calling it a mince pie I do understand.....but they do have pumpkin pie (sicky sweet) and maple syrup and bacon together so maybe not so strange, beef mince and icing sugar....now there's a new sales pitch.

My Motorway-Food-Torture Update

Leaving Yorkshire in the pouring rain for a long drive back to Sussex we listened to Jay Rayner, The Man who Ate the World. What a big mistake, by Doncaster we were licking our lips, by Grantham we were dreaming of marbled steaks (even though we'd left directly after a roast lamb 'dad-made' dinner), by Kettering we'd resorted to Haribo sours, by Stevenage we were eating each others arms. The audio cd is one of the travellers greatest friends, but make it a comedy, a romance, a play, an autobiography....anything but a book about food or you'll be joining the M25 hoping you hit traffic, just so you can hang out the window and indicate to a fellow driver that you'll pay a premium for that last bite of Twix.

A (Yorkshire)Lancashire Hotpot

Coming from a Yorkshire girl a Lancashire hotpot may seem wrong, but I wanted to be part of the pre-dinner conversation therefore needed a leave-in-the-oven meal.

We had friends over who love food and will try anything (I love entertaining for people like that). They were fans of my oxtail last winter and have even tried out something they ate at my table for their friends, which I think is the greatest compliment.

Lancashire Hotpot is so simply delicious that adding little extras is NOT the way to go. It doesn't have a lot of ingredients, P was a little worried and said "it'd better be good" when I refused his idea of adding rosemary or "at least some other veg...or something".

I would usually use neck but we were late to the butcher so I had to go for a lovely fatty shoulder. Four hours later, and after our starter of seared scallops with minted pea puree, we were in for a treat. I think this is one of those dishes you should serve at the table. My pub book tells me to split into 4 smaller dishes before cooking the last part, I think it's a sharing dish and should be presented this way.

Accompanied by (too much) good aussie shiraz which cut through the fattiness of the meat, it was superb. We were all full and ready for a light cheese board (but I don't do them light, so we had to find room in our tummies.....shame!)