The Pub - Discuss Anything

[Vesper 29,014]

6 hours ago, KEVINAA said:

Microsoft in the USA is going to have an investigation Into their practices in the workforce.

The investigation is not about their email products from what I gather. It is of an antitrust nature.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ftc-opens-investigation-microsoft-practices-224527127.html

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is launching an investigation into Microsoft’s practices, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report claims the FTC wants information on everything from the company’s cloud computing and software licensing businesses to its cybersecurity and artificial intelligence products.

People who spoke to Bloomberg anonymously said that FTC antitrust lawyers are supposed to meet with Microsoft competitors next week to learn more information about the Redmond-based business and its practices.

Bloomberg says Microsoft and the FTC declined to comment on the ordeal.

The tech giant is a top government contractor and provides billions of dollars in software and cloud services to US agencies.

You can read the full report here.

[KEVINAA 106]

@Vesper yes but Microsoft have had a lot of outages and their server's or issues with outlook email being down or Microsoft windows 10 + 11 are terrible. Microsoft windows purposely release windows updates that lag and slow Down people's computers do that they have to buy another one within 2 and a half years. Window xp / windows 7 was the only best computers from Microsoft but they are unreliable now.

Edited November 28 by KEVINAA

[Vesper 29,014]

2 minutes ago, KEVINAA said:

@Vesper yes but Microsoft have had a lot of outages and their server's or issues with outlook email being down or Microsoft windows 10 + 11 are terrible. Microsoft windows purposely release windows updates that lag and slow Down people's computers do that they have to buy another one within 2 and a half years. Window xp / windows 7 was the only best computers from Microsoft but they are unreliable now.

my point was that those performance issues have nothing to do with the antitrust investigation

[Vesper 29,014]

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Christmas feast: trout rillettes, leek nut-roast tatin, guanciale potatoes and pistachio bombe

An alternative festive spread: a starter to make ahead in minutes, a showstopping vegetarian main, Scandi-inspired spuds and salty-sweet ice-cream doused in boozy caramel

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/nov/30/trout-rillettes-leek-nut-roast-tatin-guanciale-potatoes-pistachio-bombe-christmas-feast-recipes-yotam-ottolenghi

Yotam Ottolenghi’s harissa trout rillettes with creme fraiche and horseradish. Photograph: Lizzie Mayson/The Guardian. Food styling: Flossy McAslan. Prop styling: Louie Waller. Food assistant: Maisie Chandler. Photo assistant: Ais Wallis.

 

Christmas is here! Well, nearly, and it’s never too early to commit to memory some keys to festive feasting. Embrace the shortcut, and buy some shop-bought ingredients that you’d otherwise make yourself. Make sure you have lined up a good few dishes that can be made in advance. Indulge the “Ta-da!” moment when it comes to presentation, so let the main course sit centre and proud. And never, ever underestimate the crowdpleasing presence of a dish full of potatoes.

Harissa trout rillettes with creme fraiche and horseradish (pictured top)

The key to a Christmas starter, if you’re having one, is for it to appear almost magically and without any faff. This one can be made a day or two in advance, then tucked away in the fridge until it’s needed, so it fits the brief perfectly. It’s essentially a mix, assemble and serve dish that can be whipped up in minutes. It’s also a great one to outsource to anyone who has offered to help, and it can easily be scaled up, too. Serve with a warm baguette and/or crunchy crudités.

Prep 5 min
Assembly 10 min
Serves 2 as a starter or 4 as a nibble

80g creme fraiche
1 tsp creamed horseradish
30g cream cheese
2 tsp tomato puree
10g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 lemon, zest finely grated, to get 1 tsp, then juiced, to get 1 tsp
1 tsp rose harissa
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
2 hot smoked trout (or salmon) fillets (160g), skin removed
1 tbsp capers, drained or rinsed, then roughly chopped

Put the creme fraiche and horseradish in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Spoon half the mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

Stir the cream cheese, tomato puree, parsley, lemon zest and juice, harissa, an eighth of a teaspoon of sea salt and a heavy grind of pepper into the remaining creme fraiche mix, then flake in the trout fillets, add the capers and gently stir together.

Spoon the trout mixture into two ramekins, dollop the remaining horseradish creme fraiche on top and serve (or chill for later).

Leek nut roast tatin

Yotam Ottolenghi’s leek nut roast tatin.

This vegetarian Christmas centrepiece sits somewhere between a nut roast and a veggie stuffing. As a result, it works as well as a main course as it does as a side dish for those having meat. It’s also a real showstopper when you flip it over on to a platter and reveal the molasses-glazed leeks. If you like, you can cook this entirely ahead of time, in which case cover with foil and reheat gently in a low oven before serving. Any leftovers make great Boxing Day sandwiches, especially alongside big hunks of cheddar.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 4 as a main, or 8 as a side

2 medium-large leeks (400g), white parts only (save the greens for soup or stock), cut into 2cm-wide rings
70g unsalted butter, cubed
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
Fine sea salt and black pepper
5g picked sage leaves
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped (150g)
250g chestnut mushrooms, coarsely grated on a box grater
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely grated on a box grater (150g)
125g ready-cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
100g mixed nuts (skin on or off), roughly chopped
125g halloumi, coarsely grated on a box grater
20g parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
120g sliced white bread (crusts left on), torn into roughly 4cm pieces

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6. Line the base and sides of a 26cm low-sided round casserole dish or saute pan with greaseproof paper, measuring it carefully so the paper comes at least 5cm up the sides of the pan. Arrange as many of the sliced leeks as you can cut side down in a single layer in the bottom of the pan, then finely chop any remaining leeks and set aside. Top the leeks in the pan with a tablespoon of water, 30g of the butter, the pomegranate molasses, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then cover and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the leeks are soft but still hold their shape. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Melt the remaining 40g butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat, then add the sage leaves and fry for two to three minutes, until crisp and dark green. Using a spoon, transfer the fried sage to a small bowl.

Stir the onion and any remaining chopped leeks into the hot butter left in the pan, add a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then saute for eight minutes, until soft. Stir in the grated mushrooms and parsnip, and saute for another six minutes, until fragrant and starting to take on some colour. Tip the mixture into a large bowl, leave to cool slightly, then mix in the chestnuts, nuts, halloumi, parsley, eggs and bread.

Put the pan of roast leeks on a medium-high heat (leave the paper under the leeks – trust me, it won’t burn) and cook for about five minutes, until the sticky pomegranate glaze has reduced to a syrupy consistency; take care not to reduce the sauce too much. Take the pan off the heat, then spoon the nut mixture carefully on top of the leeks, scattering it around so it falls into and fills any spaces between the cooked leeks, but not pressing and compacting it so hard that the leeks lose their shape.

Smooth the top of the nut mix evenly with the back of the spoon, again not pressing down too hard, then pop the lid on the pot and bake for 25 minutes. Take off the lid and bake uncovered for 10 minutes more, then take out of the oven and leave to cool a little and rest for five minutes.

Put a platter that’s slightly larger than the pan on top, then carefully but quickly flip the pan to invert the nut roast on to the plate. Peel off and discard the greaseproof paper to reveal the pomegranate-glazed leek topping, then serve topped with the crisp sage leaves.

Glazed baby potatoes with guanciale

Yotam Ottolenghi’s glazed baby potatoes with guanciale. Photograph: Lizzie Mayson/The Guardian. Food styling: Flossy McAslan. Prop styling: Louie Waller. Food styling assistant: Maisie Chandler

These are a play on a classic Scandinavian Christmas side dish, and work alongside (and often steal the show from) all sorts of mains: roast turkey, marinated sea bass, a squash pie. To get ahead, boil the potatoes the day before, then drain, cool and put in the fridge uncovered to dry out. You could also use tinned potatoes instead of fresh ones, if that helps with space and prep: their texture is silkier, and the lack of skin means the glaze coats them beautifully. Guanciale is a uniquely delicious cured meat made from the jowl of a pig, but if you can’t find any, use pancetta or streaky bacon instead.

Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 4 as a side

500g baby potatoes
Fine sea salt
100g guanciale, or pancetta or streaky bacon, roughly diced
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced (160g)
40g caster sugar
25g unsalted butter
½ tsp ground white pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated
10g dill, roughly chopped
10g chives, finely chopped

Put the potatoes in a pot of cold, heavily salted water, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain and leave to steam-dry.

Put the guanciale in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat and fry, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the guanciale and transfer to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. Stir the potatoes and onions into the hot fat and fry, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until lightly browned, then spoon on to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. Discard any remaining fat and wipe the pan clean.

Sprinkle the sugar in an even layer over the base of the same frying pan and return it to a medium-high heat. Leave the sugar to melt, untouched and without stirring, and after about a minute, when it’s light brown and caramelised, add the butter and swirl the pan to incorporate it with the sugar. Return the potatoes and onions to the pan, season with a half-teaspoon of salt and cook for 10 minutes, occasionally rolling the potatoes around in the caramel so they’re evenly coated in the glaze. Add the white pepper and nutmeg, toss to combine, then take off the heat.

Stir in the reserved crisp guanciale, dill and chives, then toss, spoon on to a platter and serve.

Pistachio Christmas bombe with brandy caramel

Yotam Ottolenghi’s pistachio Christmas bombe with brandy caramel. Photograph: Lizzie Mayson/The Guardian. Food styling: Flossy McAslan. Prop styling: Louie Waller. Food styling assistant: Maisie Chandler

Shop-bought ingredients make light work of this showstopping, make-ahead festive dessert. We used our own-brand pistachio paste, which is deep in flavour and saltiness; if the one you use is on the sweet side, simply mix in some flaky sea salt when you’re assembling the dish. This can be made up to a week ahead, up to the point before the pistachio coating goes on; the pistachio mix can be added a couple of hours before serving, to retain its crunch. You will need a one-litre pudding mould.

Prep 10 min
Assembly 15 min
Freeze 1 hr +
Serves 6

Sunflower oil, or another neutral oil, for greasing
1 litre good-quality vanilla ice-cream
Finely grated zest of 1 orange, or of 2 satsumas
135g pistachio paste
3 ice-cream waffle cones or wafers, roughly broken up (40g)
80g shelled pistachios
200g shop-bought salted caramel sauce
3 tbsp brandy, or bourbon (optional)

Lightly grease a one-litre pudding mould with some oil, then line the base of the mould with two long pieces of clingfilm crisscrossed over each other and with some overhang. Use a tea towel to press and shape the clingfilm to cover the mould, and leave any overhang to fold over the bombe later.

Now start layering your bombe. Spoon about a quarter of the ice-cream into the bottom of the mould, then sprinkle with a quarter of the orange zest. Using the back of a spoon, press down on the ice-cream so it fills the base neatly, then spoon a thin layer of the pistachio paste over the top of it. Repeat these layers four more times, finishing with a layer of pistachio paste. Scatter the crushed waffle cones on top, pressing them into the paste, then fold over the overhanging clingfilm and freeze for at least an hour (and for up to two weeks).

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 170C (150C)/340F/gas 3½. Put the pistachios on a baking tray and roast for 10-12 minutes, until toasted but retaining their colour. Remove, leave to cool, then chop coarsely and return to the tray.

Lift the bombe from its mould, using the clingfilm to help you, then peel off the clingfilm and lay the bombe ice-cream side down on the tray of chopped pistachios. Using your hands, scoop the pistachios up and over the bombe, pressing them in, until it’s completely coated, then transfer the bombe to a suitable platter and freeze again until needed, and for up to two hours.

Just before serving, put the caramel and brandy, if using, in a small saucepan on a medium heat, whisk until they come to a boil, then cook, whisking occasionally, for two or three minutes, until reduced and slightly thickened.

Cut the bombe into slices and serve with the hot caramel spooned on top.

[KEVINAA 106]

This is the last 24 hours news of Auckland region beaches to be unsafe due to unclean dangerous ocean sea water due to bacteria

At least 25 Auckland beaches deemed high risk, four closed over high levels of faecal bacteria

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/535364/at-least-25-auckland-beaches-deemed-high-risk-four-closed-over-high-levels-of-faecal-bacteria

Edited December 1 by KEVINAA

[NikkiCFC 8,049]

 

[Vesper 29,014]

The Dish I Love: Beef Wellington

Food & Drink

 
 04-12-2024

---

December is just the time of year to crack the pastry on a beef wellington. Here, our guest editor Zach Weiss declares his love for the classic dish and shares the five best places in London to order it…

 

https://slman.com/life/food-drink/the-dish-i-love-beef-wellington

 

 

In the grand dining room of Suvretta House in St Moritz, the whistle of the wheels beneath its trolley cart is a siren call for a special sort of culinary pomp and circumstance. It’s the sound that says a beef wellington is on its way.

"Beef wellington has to be the ultimate indulgence,” Gordon Ramsay has said of the dish. “It’s one of my all-time favourite main courses, and it would definitely be on my last supper menu.” It’s also a dish that flies in the face of the ‘easy breezy’ cooking zeitgeist, requiring at least an evening’s worth of preparation, maybe more. Because of this intensive time requirement, the best iterations of beef wellington are usually found in hallowed corners of hospitality like Suvretta House, where the wellington that arrives by trolley must be shared by at least two guests. 

At the Lanesborough hotel in London, the wellington prepared by chef Shay Cooper comes wrapped in a layer of chicken mousse, truffle and chestnut mushroom duxelles, a layer of caul fat, and finally puff pastry. Then it’s garnished with a velvety red wine sauce. Hen of the woods mushrooms and glazed carrots are served alongside it as a mere distraction. “It had kind of fallen out of favour, but it is one of those beautiful, traditional dishes that takes us about 24 hours to make, and it’s quite dramatic when you see one,” Cooper tells us. “We carve ours tableside in keeping with the tradition and leave the bits of puff pastry ends to the side as a little treat.”  

The tradition may be going strong, but the historical origins of the dish are elusive. Some say it was served as a celebratory meal to Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, after victory in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Others suspect the name came from the dish’s resemblance to the leather wellington boot. However, the roots of the recipe may really lie on the other side of the English Channel, where ‘filet de boeuf en croûte’ has been a mainstay in France for centuries. Today, no matter its true history, the wellington lives on as a perfectly packaged parcel – my ideal winter meal shared with family and friends.

AND HERE’S WHERE TO TRY ONE

The Connaught Grill

Mayfair

The Connaught Grill in Mayfair is known for its bespoke service – including personal knife boxes and tailored napkins. In a smart, wood-panelled restaurant down an atmospheric hallway, guests are able to enjoy seasonal dishes served with theatrical touches, like its original 1955 solid silver trolley. The signature beef wellington is just the thing to soak up the world-famous martinis from the Connaught Bar across the hotel.

Visit The-Connaught.com

The Savoy Grill

West End

Of course Gordon Ramsay gives the beef wellington a starring role at the Savoy Grill. Served whole and perfectly blushing in the middle, it’s carved tableside on a silver trolley.

Visit GordonRamsayRestaurants.com

The Savoy Grill @GordonRamsayRestaurants

 

The Guinea Grill

Mayfair

On atmospheric Bruton Place, The Guinea is a Mayfair institution – there’s been an inn on this site since 1423. The Guinea Grill restaurant opened in the 1950s. Since then, it’s become the place to head for dry-aged, grass-fed British beef cooked on an open grill. You’ll find perfectly poured Guinness at the bar and expertly cooked beef wellington in the smart warren of dining rooms.

Visit TheGuinea.co.uk

Bob Bob Ricard

Soho

With its red and gold-gilded interiors, Bob Bob Ricard really sets a scene for destination dining. It specialises in British and Russian classics with a modern touch – think anything from lobster mac ’n’ cheese to an elevated beef wellington. For an extra dash of extravagance, order bubbles via the famous ‘Press For Champagne’ buttons on every table.

Visit BobBobRicard.com

Bob Bob Ricard

 

45 Jermyn St

Mayfair

This fine-dining restaurant near Fortnum & Mason is a go-to spot for those in the know. Buzzing by 8am and still full in the evening, it’s got slick decor, flawless service and a handy location on its side. In the evening, look out for generous portions of Welsh rarebit, followed by beef wellington with dauphinoise potatoes, green beans and peppercorn sauce. Serving two, the dish is flambéed at the table for added pomp.

Visit 45JermynSt.com

Edited December 4 by Vesper

[KEVINAA 106]

This 24 minutes long video was uploaded 5 hours ago.

Video Title : Grand Theft Auto 6 EXPOSED! SILENCES White Male Developers + Rockstar INFESTED with Woke DEI Agenda

Channel - Endymion tv

 

 

[Vesper 29,014]

1 hour ago, KEVINAA said:

This 24 minutes long video was uploaded 5 hours ago.

Video Title : Grand Theft Auto 6 EXPOSED! SILENCES White Male Developers + Rockstar INFESTED with Woke DEI Agenda

Channel - Endymion tv

 

 

RW incel whingeing

[Vesper 29,014]

Last Days of Soho

London's most infamous neighbourhood has a glamorous mythos. Meet the dwindling band of residents who call it home.

https://www.the-fence.com/last-days-of-soho/

Soho is poised at a critical juncture. The issue lies in the rancorous disagreements between its various constituents about the kind of future that should be pursued in this square mile of prime real estate. In October, the Mayor of London’s Office overruled the recommendations of local councillors and are now entertaining the idea of pedestrianising the whole neighbourhood, a suggestion that has outraged the dwindling number of people living there.

Soho’s more recent history is often told in terms of steady gentrification, with its sleazy edges smoothed off by the remorseless march of time and capital. Its dense warren of interlocking streets have long carried a reputation for cosmopolitanism, glamour and seediness. And, for centuries, the area has served as the epicentre of London’s sex trade, even in its dwindling contemporary form. As the millennium drew closer, Soho drifted toward respectability, with property prices and commercial rents beginning their steady climb upwards. The transgressive, countercultural neighbourhood of old began morphing into a mainstream tourist destination and hospitality mecca, for good and ill. The sex trade gradually receded – in visibility, at least – to be replaced, the cliché goes, by a neater, more homogenised reality, a process spearheaded by major developers and landowners, like Soho Estates, run by the ebullient John James, and Shaftesbury Capital, founded by the considerably more understated Levy family.

I’d become interested in this increasingly bitter debate around Soho’s future at the start of the year. Having long covered all manner of complicated squabbles across the capital, something in the story felt fresh. If the apparent three-way stand-off between ‘business’, local authority and residents was familiar, the prospect of reporting on it in this part of town was not. Like most Londoners, I have my own private Soho myth kitty, a 15-year-plus patchwork of nights on the tiles, after-work pints, weekend rambles and random, piecemeal weirdness to contend with. And, in trying to unpick the various claims and counterclaims regarding the enrichment or desecration of Soho, I realised that the concerns of the area’s small, centuries-old residential community had never really been factored into them.

Beverly Elie doesn’t have too much time for nostalgia. A lot has changed since the 59-year-old first moved to Soho in the summer of 1989. Elie, who was born with arthrogryposis, a rare disorder with severe impact on everyday movement, did not experience the easiest of upbringings. Her Dominican birth mother was physically abusive, when she was present at all. Elie spent several years boomeranging in and out of the care system, before securing a two-bed local authority flat with a friend in a quiet block of flats just off Dean Street. ‘It was sheer bliss. Like life was really starting up, you know.’

Elie has been in the same block ever since. For the past 28 years, in the same one-bedroom flat we are sitting in on an overcast Tuesday afternoon in late September. It’s where many of the major events of her adulthood have played out, good, bad and indifferent. It’s where her son was raised and where she continues to cultivate a small potted garden by the front door. Neighbours have come and gone, some longer mourned than others. Being the heart of central London, noise – from revellers, residents and car traffic – has always been a fact of life. But she tells me the last few years have seen things escalate to a previously unknown intensity. ‘Oh it’s worse. The glass smashing on the street in the early hours. The pissed people getting into fights… it feels like things are declining in front of our eyes.’

Soho’s residential population has long been drifting into apparently terminal decline. In 1881, it stood at 16,608. The most recent census has it down at around 2,600. It’s easy to assume that anyone who would complain about the area’s noise while choosing to live in the neighbourhood must be an entitled blow-in. This does not bear scrutiny. Of those who remain, a substantial number are, like Beverly Elie, long-term social housing tenants, rather than recalcitrant millionaires. Okay, runs the counterargument I heard from landlords and several business owners, but surely it came down to individual agency. Bluntly, if they didn’t like it, couldn’t they just leave? ‘They must be off their rocker’, was one of the politer rejoiners Elie offered. ‘Where do they think I’m likely to be sent, Inverness?’

Over this year, I spoke with a wide selection of Soho residents, past and present, a diverse constituency of council and private tenants and middle-class, occasionally very wealthy homeowners, young, old and middle-aged. One lifelong resident, who didn’t want to be named on account of tiresome potential blowback, told me that the talk of the neighbourhood being sustained as a ‘world-class destination’ was all well and good, but it didn’t quite speak to the reality of rising crime and the ‘maximised churn’ of the hospitality industry. ‘World-class what?’, they’d asked me rhetorically. ‘World class shit?’

Others were more circumspect. Lucy Haine bought her flat in 1998. The civil servant concurs on crime and noise pollution. She did not take a particularly kind view of John James or Soho Estates. ‘It’s not about [caring] for the area. It’s about [their] rent.’ At least with Shaftesbury – which has hundreds of holdings across the West End – some constructive dialogue has been possible. ‘I probably sound like a real moaner. But people are going to ask what we’ve lost [the identity] for. So Soho Estates can make another billion pounds profit? Meanwhile Soho becomes another faceless, soulless place.’

At the same time, a chorus of frustration has swelled from local hospitality businesses and commercial landlords, rankled by what they characterise as a tiny group of obstructive, highly politicised residents, backed up by an enfeebled Westminster Council who accommodate their demands at the expense of Soho’s economic health. ‘We have what they call a stakeholder interest,’ explained James, the avuncular 71-year-old managing director of Soho Estates (West End property portfolio: £1 billion) when we met in his top floor Manette Street office on a dank autumn morning. ‘I will clearly tell you that I have never been asked to meet the leader of Westminster Council… [so] when they say ‘we are consulting with business’, you wonder who and where.’ The question remains: who does Soho belong to?

Ask detractors, and they may point you toward the Soho Society. The group has its roots in the early 1970s, when a coalition of local residents banded together to safeguard the area against mass demolition. It was fundamental in both the extension of the Soho Conservation Area and creation of the Soho Housing Association, which endures to this day. Today, the Soho Society spearheads campaigns, promotes local history, broadcasts a weekly radio show and even organises a yearly fête. In short, they’re precisely the kind of usefully civic-minded busybody you’d want advocating for your own neighbourhood. But perhaps most importantly, it retains a formal consultative role with Westminster Council regarding any new licensing and planning applications in the area.

On this reading, it is this cluster of residents who have stifled the area’s development. Their alleged interventions are numerous: Pride events refused temporary licences; the basement jazz club blocked on the basis of potential noise; a battle to recognise the Dean Street Tesco Express as an ‘asset of community value’. If the supermarket lacks aesthetic merit or special interest to tourists, it is undeniably useful if you live locally and are running low on bog roll and milk.

Perhaps most damning of all, their opponents say, is their dogged opposition to outdoor dining and hospitality across the area. Back in the summer of 2020, there was tacit agreement between residents, business and commercial stakeholders that action needed to be taken to save Soho’s hospitality industry. Between July 2020 and the end of September 2021, restaurants set out outside tables and chairs in freshly pedestrianised roads across the neighbourhood. It was a resounding success, at least from a business perspective, with 100 table and chairs licences granted and 14 streets closed until 11pm, seven days a week. Residents, who had to deal with the associated noise and chaos, did not share in the spoils.

The scheme eventually ended despite similar arrangements persisting in other pockets of central London, including nearby Covent Garden. The Conservative-led Westminster Council began drafting a longer-term plan, entitled ‘Vision for Soho’, with permanent alfresco a key component. These plans were quietly paused, then effectively scrapped in 2022, as the council was captured by Labour for the first time in its history; a political upset driven, some contend, by Labour’s pandering to the residents’ anti-alfresco demands. Many of the residents I spoke with refute this characterisation. For some, the spurious charge was evidence that their sincere concerns had ceased to matter at all; that their continued existence was an irritant to both the council and the area’s commercial interests, who would much rather transform the area into a booze-soaked chain-pub bacchanalia.

There was one man I urgently needed to speak with. Tim Lord is the society’s current chair, a position he has held since the summer of 2018. The 59-year-old lawyer moved to Soho in the summer of 1991. Like many, Lord had fallen in love with the area’s inclusiveness and sense of possibility. ‘It was a great place to live. I’m a gay man. For a lot of us from a similar generation, you’ll hear the same thing: that it was the first place they felt accepted, and safe.’

Lord holds strident opinions and has been known to communicate them with a force some argue can tip into hectoring. The idea, he says, that the Society exercises a sinister hold over the council is laughable, even if he concedes that the conversation around alfresco had become pronouncedly toxic. The Soho Society did not claim to speak for everyone in the neighbour­hood indeed there were plenty of residents who did not share their campaigning zeal, who were only dimly aware of their activities, if at all.

For some businesses and several commercial landlords, Lord has become something of a bogeyman: a supercharged NIMBY obstructionist, hellbent on opposing any new development that runs afoul of the Soho Society’s tastes. Which is, his critics allege, all of them. James told me that, since 2022, the Soho Society had reviewed 102 planning applications and taken issue with 101 of them (Lord offered a very different stat from 2023, which had them opposing 78 of 348 applications. Since July, they had reviewed 127, objecting to only 18). I met with Lord several times over the course of reporting, and our discussions were always productive and amiable. The caricature of a bristling and myopic parish councillor did not fit with the self-aware, humorous man in front of me. Though it was true, he told me during one of our early meetings, that there must be some in the Westminster Council licensing department who likely considered him a flagrant pain in the arse.

Lord’s stance can be summed up as follows: the idea that Soho’s nightlife is declining is not supported by factual evidence. Of its 491 licensed premises, 121 have late-night licences with closing hours ranging between 1am and 6am, with a cumulative capacity of almost 23,000. Between 2020 and 2023, an additional 51 new alcohol licences were granted, raising this capacity by several thousand. One of the Soho Society’s roles is to scrutinise applications for their potential impact on residents, as well as the area’s general character. Talk of the area’s general decline as a tourist destination is, he says, nonsense. ‘It is more mainstream. Less transgressive… it’s much more popular. There was always drinking and entertainment in the area, but it wasn’t the only thing that was happening.’

It’s a view echoed by Brian Clivaz, a minor legend of central London hospitality and long-time chairman of L’Escargot, the venerable French restaurant in the middle of Greek Street. ‘Oh it’s mobbed,’ he breezily explained. ‘Far more so than a decade ago’. This change could partially be explained in terms of transport, with a day, or night, out in Soho now even more accessible on account of the Elizabeth line, finally opened for use in May 2022.

Soho was – is – unique, agrees Lord. Nowhere else in London could offer the same blend of hospitality, retail and culture. And no one was proposing to transform the area into a suburban idyll, a Penge-on-Piccadilly. But there had to be balance. And until the alfresco debacle, things worked pretty well for the most part. But something had since tipped badly out of whack. Alfresco was just the first and best-publicised battleground. If James and others in the Soho Business Alliance wanted its return, it wasn’t due to any concern with preserving the neighbourhood’s vaguely transgressive charm or its appeal to tourists, from London or elsewhere. It was just about maximising returns in the crudest way possible. As for nightlife, it used to be pretty simple. Licensed venues – apart from a handful of nightclubs and late-night spots – would wind down around 11pm. This was no longer the case. ‘At one AGM, an old woman who has lived in Soho for ages stood up and asked what happened to the protected hours.’

Lord sent me the results of a survey in which the majority of the respondents reported seriously disrupted sleep at least three or four nights a week, caused at least partially by ‘people drinking and shouting in the street’. It isn’t just about noise, Lord repeatedly stressed. Figures published by Westminster Council earlier this year suggest that the borough now accounts for 9.2 per cent of all reported crime in London. This is particularly acute in Soho, he says. ‘The number of people coming [to Soho] now has attracted organised criminals who prey on these visitors.’ Thefts and sexual assaults are on the rise, with an overstretched police force rendered almost irrelevant. In May 2023, two off-duty police officers were stabbed on Greek Street, a particular crime hotspot. It was suggested to me by several people I spoke with that this might have contributed a reluctance to patrol the neighbourhood.

‘I have some sympathy with the police,’ said Clivaz. ‘They don’t have the resources and the West End is a very big area.’ Any increase in late-night licences would only exacerbate an already fairly dire problem, says Lord. The council’s own recent cumulative impact report seems to agree, concluding that reported incidents, particularly theft, ‘feature prominently in areas with a high concentration of licensed premises’ and that any proliferation of additional licences would only lead to a further increase in crime. One couldn’t really blame the businesses in question for wanting to open later and longer, in an attempt to cope with years of rent increases imposed by landlords, including Soho Estates. When I put this to James, his response was withering. It just wasn’t that simple. The market sets the rent, the landlord merely adheres to it. ‘It would be a retrogressive step to say this [should] become a low rent area… it’s an improved area. Look out the window. It’s the middle of the city.’

I’d first emailed James in hope rather than expectation, back in late September. His response arrived within minutes. Yes, he’d be happy to chat. In the meantime, I was to read his recently composed open letter on the future of Soho, which railed against the Soho Society and Westminster Council, whose stubbornness in planning and licensing matters was making them seem more like ‘a rural council… [than] the most important local authority in the entire country’.

James’s biography is undeniably captivating. The native Cumbrian moved to London in the 70s to pursue a modelling career. After a stint with Levi’s, among others, he became acquainted with the late Paul Raymond, legendary Soho porn-turned-property baron. Some years later, James married Paul’s daughter, Debbie, with whom he has two daughters.

From reasonably humble beginnings, Soho Estates now preside over a portfolio of West End property bars and restaurants, grand office spaces and residential accommodation. ‘This is a privately run business. A family business, started by one man, my father-in-law, in 1958, God bless him,’ he offered as we spoke in his office. ‘This family business will continue. It is generational. We are a professionally run inherited estate… and we have a respect for the historic nature [of the] area.’

James’s arguments are straightforward. History, nostalgia, call it what you want, is all well and good. But times are changing whether one likes it or not. ‘If you don’t accommodate that change then business will go somewhere else.’ With every high street in the country struggling, why would Soho be any different? And if the area retained its vibrancy, it was in spite of the restrictions and roadblocks put up by a tiny group of residents – and a council in their thrall. ‘Anyone else would like to take Soho’s magic and put it in Shoreditch, or Hoxton, or Brixton.’ Businesses struggled to get a fair hearing from the council, he suggested. As for the Soho Society, the less said the better.

There was, I thought, a fairly heavy irony in Paul Raymond’s son-in-law being one of the key figures in Soho’s sanitisation. It was also slightly comical to hear one of central London’s most powerful and influential commercial landlords complain about the prissiness of a local authority long criticised as being riddled with conflicts of interest and an exceptionally cosy relationship to property developers (in 2022, Jacobin labelled it the ‘sordid epicentre’ of local authority corruption in the UK). It is difficult to know exactly what Westminster Council thinks about this characterisation – or the opposite charge of being obstructive to business – as they did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

People like harking back to a golden age, James reflected. When I Camisa & Son, a beloved Italian deli on Old Compton Street with its roots in the late 1920s, whose building was owned by Shaftesbury, shuttered in August, it provoked a wave of local grief and hand-wringing. But James told me that Mr Camisa had sold out to Alvini, an Italian food and wine importer, years ago, while the property’s freehold passed to Shaftesbury Capital. ‘The world of business will move on and adjust to what the world of business requires,’ was his stark take on matters. After our meeting drew to a close, James pointed out the window, down to the rain-slicked streets we’d spent the hour pontificating over. I couldn’t help thinking how grey and small things looked from such an exalted vantage point.

During the end of my last conversation with Lord, he sounded unusually downbeat. The fight over the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, yet another staunchly contested local issue – had taken a negative turn. After another bitter, years-long struggle, Labour-run City Hall had overruled Labour-controlled Westminster Council to ramrod the plans through. Lord told me he just didn’t know if the continued existence of Soho’s residential community was possible, the way things were trending. ‘And if that’s [the aim] it would be better if it was communicated honestly.’

On a balmy Thursday evening in early September, I left my home in south-east London and caught the train to Charing Cross. I’d made plans to meet a friend for a drink and we’d finally agreed on the French House, a storied haunt on Dean Street. On arrival, the pub was packed with a good-natured, reasonably giddy late-week professional crowd. It was long after ten by the time I said my goodbyes and headed back out into the nighttime crush. Rickshaws in various shades of fluorescent pink cruised past, bearing naive or just catatonically pissed tourists. Post-theatre punters spilled out of the theatres, to mingle with the spirited dregs of the post-work crowd on the narrow streets. On Greek Street, I walked past a couple of comically open-air drug deals and a young couple having a screaming row about the size of their dinner bill. A pile of fresh sick lay proudly splattered outside the entrance to Tottenham Court Road tube.

I tried to recall if it felt busier, or more unsafe, than any other night I’d spent in the neighbourhood over the years, or if I was suffering from a bout of lager induced Baader-Meinhof. That I was simply seeing the chaos I wanted to see, to reinforce my sympathy with Lord and the put-upon residents. On leaving the densely packed streets, this sympathy was trumped by relief at returning to quieter, saner air.

Francisco Garcia

[KEVINAA 106]

Here is links to the French + African island Mayotte hit by cyclone and many feared dead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayotte

Off the coast of Madagascar and Mozambique.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/15/hundreds-feared-dead-as-cyclone-chido-devastates-french-island-of-mayotte

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c205wnvlqn6o

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/cyclone-slams-into-frances-mayotte-archipelago-killing-least-11-2024-12-15/

https://news.sky.com/story/close-to-1-000-people-feared-dead-after-cyclone-in-french-territory-of-mayotte-13274095

 

Edited December 16 by KEVINAA

[KEVINAA 106]

This was uploaded on September 8 2024 - NZ date.

AI RECONSTRUCTS HITLER'S SPEECH TO ENGLISH (Extended)

Video length - 6:23

 

Edited Friday at 14:03 by KEVINAA

[Vesper 29,014]

Gordon Ramsay: my 12 tweaks of Christmas — that really work

How does a man with 17 Michelin stars to his name make festive celebrations special? Well, there won’t be any turkey or Christmas pud

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/gordon-ramsay-christmas-meal-tips-advice-87ckwzpvq

Gordon Ramsay with a slice of his favourite Christmas centrepiece, beef Wellington

 

Gordon Ramsay has got a busy 2025 ahead of him, with his opening early in the year of three restaurants, a cookery school and a bar in a skyscraper near Liverpool Street in London. The 12-seat chef’s table on the 60th floor will be the highest restaurant in Europe and he describes the project as “the biggest launch I’ve done, not just in the UK but the world”. But any hopes of a quiet Christmas to prepare himself have fallen by the wayside.

He had thought it was just going to him, his wife Tana, and their two youngest sons, Oscar, 5, and Jesse, 1, at home in southwest London, but his older children had other plans. “We’ve been out of the house for the last three years and it’s undergone a complete refurb, including digging three metres down, so obviously [his older children] Meg, Jack, Holly and Tilly all moved out. Lo and behold I found out last week that they’ve all put their apartments up for rent and they’re going to be moving back in. It’s going to be crazy.”

He calculates that there will be 25 of them for Christmas dinner, including girlfriends, boyfriends and fiancés (24-year-old Holly announced her engagement to the Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty recently). There will be a party for the couple and 300 guests on Christmas Eve. “Not in the house,” the chef, 58, hastens to add, but in one of his London restaurants, Bread Street Kitchen. “Oh my God, just the thought of the house being trashed …”

The next day, Oscar will be bouncing on Ramsay’s bed by 6am. “So we’ll go downstairs together and do presents for the boys. I never like to rush Christmas Day. For us it is all about enjoying the day and not stressing out.”

• Four celebrity chefs and their favourite Christmas recipes

Most of the kitchen prep will have been done the day before, with each of the older children specialising in their own area. “The rule for a happy Christmas is delegate, delegate, delegate. Everybody will muck in. Meg and Tilly love their vegetables so they’re brilliant on veg prep. Holly takes care of decorations and Jack’s obsessed with cooking meat. He does it brilliantly.”

On Christmas Day there will be a late breakfast at about 11am of scrambled eggs on homemade brioche with smoked salmon and, as a real treat, thinly shaved white truffle. “We’ll be there around the table for at least 90 minutes and enjoy a couple of glasses of buck’s fizz or champagne before heading out on to the common for a long walk.” Finally they’ll sit down to dinner at about 5.30pm. “We like to stretch the day out and enjoy as much daylight as possible because it goes quickly.”

Not too quickly. Celebrations in the Ramsay household continue until New Year’s Eve, when there will be a lunch party to celebrate twins Holly and Jack’s 25th birthdays, and it’s only then that the chef can properly relax — that’s when he, Tana and their younger two will head down to their house in Cornwall for a week. “There’s something so nice about getting that wetsuit on and getting in the cold water,” he says.

He may feel he needs the practice. Ramsay, who is a keen Ironman triathlete, can’t help but feel the competition of having an Olympic athlete in the family. Talking of the 140-mile swimming, cycling and running competition, he says, “He may spank me on that swim but I will absolutely kill him on that bike. No one will catch me on the bike.”

Gordon Ramsay’s favourite festive tips and recipes

1. Up your brunch game

The thing about eating on Christmas Day is it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Don’t try to cram too many meals and too much food into one day. By having a proper brunch at about 11am, it will see you through to dinner later. There’ll be some in our house wanting waffles with berries and honey, but for me it’s got to be smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. People cook their eggs too fast — the key is to take your time, and use a very gentle heat. The pan should never get too hot to touch. Then keep folding the eggs with a spatula rather than stirring them to create beautiful soft curds.

2. Everyone loves roasted nuts

A few days ahead of Christmas, I’ll make a bit batch of spiced roasted nuts, and when the smell of the cayenne pepper and smoked paprika fills the house it signals Christmas is here. Put 250g mixed nuts in a frying pan over a medium heat and toast them with a couple of pinches of salt. Then sprinkle ½ tsp each of cayenne pepper and sweet paprika and finally add a sprig of rosemary. Give the pan a good toss to make sure they are all coated and they are done.

3. Have fresh figs, beetroot and ham to start

I’ve already had salmon for brunch, but I want a starter to be something equally light, easy and vibrant. So we’ll put plates of ham — San Daniele and Pata Negra — in the middle of the table and garnish it with some lovely ripe fresh figs and beetroot that’s been peeled and roasted in advance with balsamic vinegar and olive oil so it is beautifully caramelised. Then everyone dives in and helps themselves.

4. Ditch the turkey

Beef Wellington is the new Christmas Day turkey. There, I’ve said it. Bin the bird and go all-in for a proper showstopper. My mum will be furious because she loves the Christmas traditions, but a beef Wellington is such a thing of beauty, a table centrepiece and so much more delicious. If you are making it yourself, for four to six people you’ll need 1kg beef fillet (ask your butcher for a centre cut so it’s an even thickness) and don’t even think about making your own pastry, not when there are so many other tasks to do. Then you’ll need a mushroom mix called a duxelles. Don’t get too bogged down about which mushrooms to use — any type will do.

Beef Wellington

SHUTTERSTOCK

Beef Wellington recipe

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 x 400g beef fillets
• Olive oil, for frying
• 500g mixture of wild mushrooms, cleaned
• 1 thyme sprig, leaves only
• 500g puff pastry
• 8 slices of Parma ham
• 2 egg yolks, beaten with 1 tbsp water and a pinch of salt
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the red wine sauce

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g beef trimmings (ask the butcher to reserve these when trimming the fillet)
• 4 large shallots, peeled and sliced
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 thyme sprig
• Splash of red wine vinegar
• 1 x 750ml bottle red wine
• 750ml beef stock

Method

1. Wrap each piece of beef tightly in a triple layer of clingfilm to set its shape, then chill overnight.

2. Remove the clingfilm, then quickly sear the beef fillets in a hot pan with a little olive oil for 30-60 seconds until browned all over and rare in the middle. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.

3. Finely chop the mushrooms and fry in a hot pan with a little olive oil, the thyme leaves and some seasoning. When the mushrooms begin to release their juices, continue to cook over a high heat for about 10 min until all the excess moisture has evaporated and you are left with a mushroom paste (known as a duxelles). Remove the duxelles from the pan and leave to cool.

4. Cut the pastry in half, place on a lightly floured surface and roll each piece into a rectangle large enough to envelop one of the beef fillets. Chill in the refrigerator.

5. Lay a large sheet of clingfilm on a work surface and place four slices of Parma ham in the middle, overlapping them slightly, to create a square. Spread half the duxelles evenly over the ham.

6. Season the beef fillets, then place them on top of the mushroom-covered ham. Using the clingfilm, roll the Parma ham over the beef, then roll and tie the clingfilm to get a nice, evenly thick log. Repeat this step with the other beef fillet, then chill for at least 30 min.

7. Brush the pastry with the egg wash. Remove the clingfilm from the beef, then wrap the pastry around each ham-wrapped fillet. Trim the pastry and brush all over with the egg wash. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 30 min.

8. Meanwhile, make the red wine sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan, then fry the beef trimmings for a few minutes until browned on all sides. Stir in the shallots with the peppercorns, bay leaf and thyme and continue to cook for about 5 min, stirring frequently, until the shallots turn golden brown.

9. Pour in the vinegar and let it bubble for a few minutes until almost dry. Now add the wine and boil until almost completely reduced. Add the stock and bring to the boil again. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour, removing any scum from the surface of the sauce, until you have the desired consistency. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Check for seasoning and set aside.

10. When you are ready to cook the beef Wellingtons, score the pastry lightly and brush with the egg wash again, then bake at 200C/gas 6 for 15-20 min until the pastry is golden brown and cooked. Rest for 10 min before carving.

11. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce. Serve the beef Wellingtons sliced, with the sauce as an accompaniment.

From Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course (Hodder & Stoughton £30). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members

Roast potatoes with thyme and garlic

GETTY IMAGES

5. The secret to the perfect roast potato

Simmer your potatoes in water with bay leaves, fresh thyme and garlic. Then, once they are parboiled, drain off the water, crank up the gas and put them back on the heat for 30 seconds, shaking the pan. Then leave them to steam, the longer the better. The edges will become fluffy and they will absorb more of the flavours of the herbs and garlic. Then roast them in hot oil — people get obsessed by goose fat but to be honest, vegetable oil is just fine — but don’t use too much. You want the potatoes to roast, not to deep fry.

• James Martin’s ultimate potato recipes: roast, dauphinoise or mashed?

Roasted sprouts

GETTY IMAGES

6. Roast your sprouts

This is a game-changer. Sprouts get a bad rap because no one, and I mean no one, likes an over-boiled sprout, so roast them instead. Blanch the sprouts the day before and plunge them in iced water so they keep their colour, then dry them between two tea towels. On the day, add a little oil and a few chunks of pancetta to a roasting tray, tip in the sprouts and cook them for 15 minutes or so alongside the potatoes, until they are slightly charred on the outsides.

7. Add clotted cream to your bread sauce

You don’t have to be a super-confident chef to add something special that will elevate the flavour of the accompaniments. Try whisking a good dollop of clotted cream or mascarpone into bread sauce before finishing it with a grating of fresh nutmeg, or add a splash of port to the gravy or cranberry sauce to get things a little richer.

8. I’m not a big drinker but at Christmas I do like a glass of …

Champagne. I mean, it’s a time for celebration, isn’t it. It’s been a big year for the Ramsay household, what with Meg joining the police, Jack coming home on leave from the Royal Marines and Holly getting engaged to Adam [Peaty]. There’ll be sauvignon blanc and pinot noir on the table too, but I won’t overdo it. I don’t want to fall asleep on the sofa and wake up to find Oscar has drawn whiskers all over my face.

Mint-flavoured ice cubes

GETTY IMAGES

9. Up your ice game

A simple way of making drinks a bit more special is to make herb and fruit-flavoured ice cubes to garnish simple cocktails or soft drinks. You can use anything from raspberries, mint or even rosemary to jazz up a G&T or a glass of sparkling water. Alternatively, add a few pomegranate seeds and a splash of juice to a glass of fizz to create an instant festive cocktail with a lovely red colour.

10. Christmas pudding is too rich

I have a sweet tooth, and I do love a great dessert, but much as I love flambéeing a Christmas pudding, it’s so rich I can normally only manage a small spoonful. One thing I do love to finish a meal with is my Christmas bombe, made with shop-bought Swiss roll, cherries in kirsch and meringues and cream. You can make it a month in advance and keep it in the freezer for when you want a hit of creamy, chocolatey, boozy goodness.

Gordon Ramsay’s christmas bombe

CHRIS TERRY

Christmas bombe recipe

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 400g good-quality chocolate Swiss roll (jumbo size)
• 390g jar cherries in kirsch-flavoured syrup
• 180g caster sugar
• 75ml water
• 2 large egg whites
• 300ml double cream
• 50g preserved stem ginger in syrup, chopped, plus 1 tbsp syrup from the jar
• 1 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau
• 50g chopped mixed glacé fruit
• 30g marron glacé (optional), chopped
• 30g shelled pistachio nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• Few redcurrant sprigs, to finish (optional)
• Icing sugar to dust (optional)

Method

1. Line a 2-litre bowl with a double layer of clingfilm, leaving some excess overhanging the rim. Cut the Swiss roll into 1cm slices and use to line the base and sides of the bowl, cutting a few of the slices into pieces to fill the gaps as necessary. Drain the cherries, reserving the syrup. Drizzle the Swiss roll slices with the kirsch syrup, saving a few tablespoonfuls for the top. Set aside.

2. Put the sugar and water into a small heavy-based saucepan and stir over a low heat to dissolve. Increase the heat to high and boil until the syrup registers 120C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, in a clean large bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.

3. When the sugar syrup is ready, gradually pour onto the egg whites in a steady stream, whisking as you do so. Continue to whisk until the meringue has doubled in volume and the sides of the bowl no longer feel hot.

4. In another bowl, whisk the cream to soft peaks. Fold in the ginger syrup and orange liqueur, followed by the meringue. Taste and sweeten with a little more ginger syrup if required. Stir through the cherries, chopped ginger, glacé fruit, marron glacé, if using, and chopped pistachios. Spoon into the Swiss roll-lined bowl and level the top.

5. Cover with the remaining Swiss roll slices, cutting them to fit as necessary. Drizzle with the rest of the kirsch syrup, then fold the excess clingfilm over the top to seal.

6. Place a flat plate on top (one that just fits inside the rim) and weigh it down with a heavy tin. Chill for an hour, then remove the weight, wrap and freeze the bombe.

7. To serve, unwrap the bombe and place on a flat plate or cake stand. Decorate with sprigs of redcurrants dusted with icing sugar if you like, or serve it just as it is. Let it stand at room temperature for about 15 min before slicing.

From Christmas by Gordon Ramsay(Quadrille £15). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members

11. End with a British cheeseboard

Britain makes some of the best cheese in the world, so rather than cramming my board with loads of inferior cheeses, I like to offer a few of my favourites: stichelton, which is similar to stilton but made from unpasteurised milk; a mature farmhouse West Country cheddar; Baron Bigod, which is like a British brie, and a soft goat’s cheese such as Ragstone, Dorstone or Rosary.

12. Leave enough for leftovers

With so many youngsters in the house, things you had your eye on can disappear overnight. The older kids will go out to see friends and come back at midnight with the munchies and the next day you find the beef Wellington’s gone. But no waste! That’s the Ramsay mantra. Boxing Day will be cold meats with piccalilli and nice salad, or my favourite, a kind of hash brown made with grated potato and finely sliced sprouts, and then a fried egg on top.

Restaurant Gordon Ramsay High, Lucky Cat Bishopsgate and the Gordon Ramsay Academy open from February 3. gordonramsayrestaurants.com

[Vesper 29,014]

The best bottles of wine to serve on Christmas day, from red to fizz

Jane MacQuitty picks this year’s best wines to serve on the big day, from starters through to pudding

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/best-bottle-wine-serve-christmas-day-xm9l05j5c

Christmas is coming, and it’s time to stock up on special bottles for the big lunch. If you’re kicking off with a smoked salmon starter, then leafy, lemony, limpid chablis is the answer. The golden, smoky 2023 Brocard Chablis has the acidic persistence to cut through the oiliness of the fish and would also work well with a seafood platter, as will Cloudy Bay’s Sauvignon. If you’re serving punchier fish dishes, try a big flavour-friendly orange wine instead — Bonny Doon’s quirkily elegant 2023 Le Cigare Orange is just the job.

After a hearty white to drink with turkey and all the trimmings? My vote goes to Hunter’s awesome, flinty, French oak barrel-fermented, sandalwood-scented 2021 Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay. If it’s got to be a red wine, New Zealand again has the answer with its delicious, silky, cranberry and red cherry-fruited 2021 Dog Point Pinot Noir. At a pinch, this would also work with fatty goose and duck, but really you need more acidity and savoury oomph, so Berry Bros Chianti Classico is the better bet. Festive game, especially venison, need bigger, bolder reds still and M&S Collection Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Barossa Shiraz should be just the ticket.

Fortnum’s Christmas Pudding Madeira with the plum pudding, of course, but snap up Aldi’s lip-smacking, crystallised peach and pineapple licked 2020 Specially Selected Sauternes too.

Last but not least is great champagne. Pol Roger is renowned for its fine mousse, wonderful flavour and length; if you can afford to splash out, magnums look especially generous and festive and they are down £25 to £95 at Waitrose. Or let a wine merchant do the heavy lifting for you and order six standard Pol Roger bottles for £40 a pop each from The Wine Society, with free pre-Christmas delivery if you order by 20 December.

Happy Christmas!

From left: Allende Rioja Blanco, Brocard Chablis, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Hunter’s Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay, Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay

White

2022 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, California, 13.5 per cent, Majestic, £19.99, or 6 for £12.99 each until Monday
Get your skates on — there’s a fiver off this big, bold, beautiful, nutty buttered toast of a white, but only until Monday.

2023 Brocard Chablis, France, 12.5 per cent, Asda, £15, down from £17
Leafy, lemony, limpid chablis cuts through the oiliness of smoked salmon, and this would also work well with a seafood platter.

2024 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand, 13.5 per cent, Majestic, £31.99, or 6 for £23.99 each
The 40th vintage of this cult Marlborough sauvignon is a cracker, bursting with lemongrass, gooseberry and grapefruit.

2021 Hunter’s Offshoot Marlborough Chardonnay, New Zealand, 13.5 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £19.50
After a hearty white to drink with turkey and all the trimmings? My vote goes to this awesome, flinty, French oak barrel-fermented, sandalwood-scented chardonnay.

2020 Allende Rioja Blanco, Spain, 13.5 per cent, bbr.com, £28.95
Another winner with turkey, but with a lighter, vanilla-pod shtick. Order from Berry Bros & Rudd by December 20 for delivery before Christmas.

Orange

Bonny Doon Le Cigare Orange, California, 10.5 per cent, Tesco, £15
Quirkily elegant, savoury, tangy, baked quince of an orange wine. Lower in alcohol but still big flavour-friendly.

From left: Dog Point Pinot Noir, Berry Bros Chianti Classico, Granite Hill Old Vine Zinfandel, Barossa Valley Shiraz

Red

2021 Dog Point Pinot Noir, New Zealand, 13.5 per cent, bbr.com, £34
If it has to be a red wine for turkey, New Zealand has the answer with this delicious, silky, cranberry and red cherry-fruited pinot.

2022 Granite Hill Old Vine Zinfandel, California, 14.5 per cent, Tesco, £12
A French and American oak-aged, turkey-loving, full-bodied beast, brimming with rich, curranty, tobacco leaf fruit.

2021 Berry Bros Chianti Classico, Italy, 13.5 per cent, bbr.com, £18.50
Seriously delicious, tangy, savoury, herb and potpourri-heady chianti, from a top producer, Badia a Coltibuono. Perfect with goose and duck.

2022 Collection Ebenezer & Seppeltsfield Barossa Valley Shiraz, Australia, 14.5 per cent, Marks & Spencer, £14
Festive game, especially venison, need bigger, bolder reds, and this spicy, dark-hearted and black-fruited shiraz is just the ticket.

From left: Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port, Christmas Pudding Madeira, Specially Selected Sauternes, Alfred Gratien Brut Champagne, Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne

Sweet and fortified

2020 Specially Selected Sauternes, France, 14 per cent, half bottle, Aldi, £7.49, down from £9.99
Lip-smacking, crystallised peach and pineapple-licked sauternes from the great first-growth estate, Château Suduiraut, no less.

2006 Quinta da Cavadinha Vintage Port, Portugal, 20 per cent, Waitrose, £29.99, down from £36.99
Drop-dead gorgeous, single quinta vintage port, all seductive spice box and beefy plum and mulberry fruit.

Christmas Pudding Madeira, Malvasia Reserva, Portugal, 19 per cent, half bottle, Fortnum & Mason, £18.50
Surprisingly silky yet zingy, golden raisin and sweet toffee-stashed madeira with a fine smoky finish.

Fizz

Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne, France, 12 per cent, Waitrose, £42.99, down from £54.99
Scrumptious White Foil is a fragrant brioche and white flowers-scented, creamy, pinhead bubble triumph.

2015 Alfred Gratien Brut Champagne, France, 12.5 per cent, thewinesociety.com, £55
Splurge on this brilliant, smoky, digestive biscuit of a vintage champagne from a hot year and a little-known house.

[Vesper 29,014]

Three easy dessert recipes to make ahead of Christmas

Jane Lovett prepares poires belle Hélène, blueberry tart with amaretti crumb and lemon cream pots

https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/food-drink/article/easy-dessert-recipes-christmas-make-ahead-time-m2rk226mx

Poires belle Hélène

 

Christmas comes but once a year”, as the proverb goes, so it beats me why we’re always taken by surprise at its impending arrival. “Gosh, only two weeks to go,” we all say in a flustered tone when it creeps up apparently “unexpectedly”.

Preparing as much as possible in advance is the key to success in the kitchen and will reduce stress levels considerably. Doing a little here and there in the days beforehand really does make the final task much easier. So, with that in mind, here are three puddings that can be prepared well ahead, so they can be brought to the table with minimal fuss.

Poires belle Hélène

Cold poached pears adorned with hot chocolate sauce — simple but delicious. A classic French pudding that makes a lovely fruity alternative to Christmas pudding. Cook the pears in a sugar syrup if you prefer to skip the alcohol.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 firm pears (preferably Williams or Conference), peeled but left whole
• 1 bottle dessert wine
• 1 tbsp caster sugar, or more to taste, depending on the wine
• 1 cinnamon stick, split in half lengthways
• 2 star anise
• A handful of flaked almonds, toasted
• Vanilla ice cream, to serve
• For the chocolate sauce:
• 100g dark chocolate, broken into small pieces
• 150ml whipping cream
• ½ tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp strong brewed coffee
• Knob of butter

Method

1. Put the pears into a saucepan into which they fit neatly (about 20cm diameter), then add the wine, sugar and spices. Cover, slowly bring to the boil and then taste, adding more sugar if you like. Simmer for between 5-20 min, or until tender when pierced with a sharp knife.

2. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely in the pan, then transfer to a container, cover and chill for at least 4 hours (overnight is even better) before serving.

3. Make the chocolate sauce. Put all the ingredients into a small pan and stir on a very low heat until melted and combined. Set aside.

4. Remove the pears from the syrup and, if necessary, cut the thinnest sliver off their bases so they stand upright. Arrange the pears standing up in a pretty bowl or in individual bowls or plates, spoon over the sauce, scatter with the flaked almonds and serve with scoops of ice cream.

Get ahead

Complete the recipe up to three days ahead; keep both components chilled separately (the pears will keep for a day or two longer if required and the sauce for several weeks). Reheat the sauce gently on a low heat and, if necessary, thin to a coating consistency with a little pear syrup or warm water.

 

Blueberry tart with amaretti crumb

The juicy blueberries, which pop pleasingly in the mouth, are set in just enough rich custard to hold them together, with the amaretti and crisp pastry adding some contrasting crunch as they pop. The pastry is quite crumbly but is very malleable and can be easily patched up before cooking.

Serves 12

Ingredients

• For the pastry:
• 180g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 90g butter, chilled and diced
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• For the filling:
• 400g blueberries
• 225ml double cream
• 75g caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1-2 amaretti biscuits (depending on size)

Method

1. Find a loose-bottomed, round 24cm x 2.5cm tart tin and a baking sheet. To make the pastry, put the flour and butter in a food processor and whizz together briefly until you have fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, whizz briefly, then add the egg yolks and 1½ tablespoons of cold water and whizz until the mixture begins to come together. Turn out onto a floured worktop, knead lightly into a ball, then flatten into a round shape.

2. Roll out the pastry thinly into a circle slightly larger than the tin (so it comes ½-1cm above the rim), line the tin and trim the edges to neaten. The pastry is malleable enough to mould and repair any cracks — save the trimmings for any repairs needed later. Prick the base all over with a fork, place on the baking sheet and chill for 30 min.

3. Heat the oven to 160C fan/gas 4. Line the pastry case with baking parchment and fill with enough baking beans (or dried rice or pulses) to cover the base and come halfway up the sides of the tin. Bake blind for 20 min until the pastry is firm, then remove the beans and paper. Return to the oven for a further 8-10 min until the case is a pale biscuit colour and cooked through. Remove from the oven.

4. For the filling, put the blueberries into the tart case in one layer, then lightly whisk the cream, sugar and egg yolks together to combine and pour this over the blueberries. Bake for about 30-35 min until barely set in the middle. Leave the tart to cool completely in the tin before transferring to a serving plate. Just before serving, crush the amaretti biscuit or biscuits in your fingers, scatter sparingly over the tart and serve with cream or crème fraîche, if you like.

Get ahead

Make the tart up to three days in advance, cool, cover and chill. Or freeze for up to a month. You can serve it chilled or at room temperature.

Lemon cream pots

Sometimes I feel that putting in this little effort when I’m entertaining is cheating, but these lemon cream pots always go down a storm — so why not, I say. Very refreshing and great for feeding a crowd, they take a matter of minutes to make, are inexpensive and can be made well in advance. It’s best to use strained Greek yoghurt, which is thicker than regular Greek-style yoghurt.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 200g lemon curd
• 200g crème fraîche
• 200g strained full-fat Greek yoghurt
• Grated zest of 1 lemon

Method

1. Put the lemon curd into a bowl, stir in the crème fraîche and then the yoghurt and mix until smooth. Spoon into six small pots, ramekins or pretty glasses, but don’t smooth over the tops — leave the “spooned-in” pattern. Cover and leave to set in the fridge overnight.

2. Just before serving, decorate with the grated lemon zest.

Get ahead

Make to the end of step 1 up to 4 days in advance and keep chilled. A thin rim of liquid may appear around the top edge, which is fine.
Extracted from The Get-Ahead Christmas Cook by Jane Lovett (Headline £28). To order a copy go to timesbookshop.co.uk. Free UK standard P&P on orders over £25. Special discount available for Times+ members

[KEVINAA 106]

Don't Look Up - release date to Netflix on 24 DEC 2021 [CHRISTMAS EVE - 2001]

Release dates 

December 5, 2021 (New York City)

December 10, 2021 (United States)

December 24, 2021 (Netflix)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_Look_Up

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11286314/

Two low-level astronomers must go on a giant media tour to warn humankind of an approaching comet that will destroy planet Earth.

 

Huge 'Christmas Eve asteroid' the size of a 10-story building will skim past Earth at 14,743mph tonight, NASA warns, Daily Mail reports

Edited 4 hours ago by KEVINAA