Dancing Queen

There is a dance routine that I have perfected over the years. It is set to Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and is performed in the kitchen at times of extreme stress or emotion to my favourite audience: my three children. The five year old laughs like a madman, the two year old looks bemused but laughs all the same and the 9-month old baby throws her head back and gurns (I think this means she likes it). However, I'm not sure that I should have performed this same dance routine at our Office Christmas Party last Friday night. The audience did gurn though. I think they liked it.

A few general Christmas food & wine recommendations that I thought might be helpful:

Bucks Fizz
Don't bother. Unless you have bought a particularly nasty Champagne. Better to buy a decent fizz instead: Tesco Premier Cru is still an absolute winner.

Wine with Turkey
A fuller-bodied, not too-oaky Chardonnay is a good match, such as White Burgundy. But if your plate is loaded with the stronger flavours of bacon and stuffing you're better off with a medium-bodied red, like Pinot Noir from Burgundy. Or from New Zealand if you're not quite as flush.

Happy Christmas x

And so this is Christmas...

I'm not sure quite when it was that I turned into my mother, but I have spent the last hour making mince pies. I've been accompanied by a Christmas playlist - made by still-bearded husband - and a rather gorgeous glass of Chianti Classico. Nonetheless, no-one warned me middle-aged Christmas domesticity would come and slap me in the face in my own kitchen without so much as an introduction.

Actually I'm not there yet. I burnt the bloody mince pies.

This week's white on the side is:
Botter Prosecco, £8 a bottle from Source Wines, http://www.sourcewines.com/
Served earlier tonight at my mother's 65th birthday drinks potty, the entire village is now lightly infused with the rose-scented deliciousness that is Prosecco from the Valdobbiadene region.

This week's red on the side:
Aforementioned Chianti Classico. However, this one is only available in the US (Re del Castello Chianti Classico 2007) and I needed to taste it for work purposes. Seriously. All red fruits and spice, the taste of Christmas.

Cheers dears x

To beard or not to beard?

That is the question, as it turns out. My husband is sporting a beard (grown pre-Becks, he likes to remind me) and I just can't decide if I like it or not. One minute he looks like a manly bearded man, beautiful like a grizzly bear. The next he's more like a wierd looking vagrant who's wandered into our kitchen, helping himself to coffee. I was always told never to trust a man with a beard. But it was my husband who told me that. Pre-beard, obviously.

This week's white in the fridge:
Ogio Pinot Grigio 2008, £8.99 down to £4.49, Tesco
Love this wine for what it is: fresh, uncomplicated Pinot Grigio, made to help me get over a shitty day (five nappies before 9am so I mean it in the literal sense).

This week's red on the side:
Ogio Primitivo 2008, £8.99 down to £4.49, Tesco
This wine is a bit of a show off. All upfront bramble fruits and spice, long on flavour and extremely good value. Drink with spag bol and a handsome beardy man.

Peace out, beard or no beard x

Along came a spider...

I measure all pain on the BC scale: before childbirth. Even using an epilator is a walk in the park nowadays. But there is a mother who has raised the bar when it comes to showing the love. This particular one has her babies, then lets them eat her. OK, so she's a spider rather than an actual person but still, respec' to the mamma spider. There is nothing she won't do . Frankly, I thought giving up my pelvic floor, tummy muscles and a killer heel was enough. Evidently not. I turn to wine...

This week's white in the fridge is:
Maven Sauvignon Blanc 2008, about £8/bottle from http://www.sourcewines.com/
Sauvignon Blanc is the obvious alternative to Chardonnay. New Zealand used to be the expensive option but not now. We're awash with good value Kiwi SB: not all of them sing but this one breaks glass.   
  
This week's red on the side is:
Vina Mayor Gran Reserva 2001, available as part of a mixed case of Spanish Stars, http://www.tesco.com/
Most wines are sold as pups: how often do we get to drink a red with a bit of age? This will convert you. Mellow, brooding and full of spicy bramble fruit. Will see you through red meats and onto cheese.

Chin chin xx