Desperate Anglo Housewives : Bordeaux > she's back and dating in her 50s

Succulent roast turkey Number 1 Thigh Enemy...worth 2 slices, every time! Perfumed stuffing  ( or was that "dressing?") Molasses sweet potatoes Pan-fried Brussels sprouts with pistachio Creamiest mashed potato Homemade cranberry sauce with a zing of orange zest... Did I mention.. Water-baked cheesecake,  Bread, NO, Croissan t and Butter Pudding. Not to forget, my thighs' biggest enemy...Pecan Pie. All washed down with lots of fabulous, big, Bordeaux reds. I have been truly honoured to have been invited, again, for Thanksgiving with American friends.  My fourth Thanksgiving, I have now learnt to "prepare" myself.....avoid all food in the 24 hour countdown to Thanksgiving supper. The tried and applied DesperateAngloHousewife formula in order to be able to eat everything...TWICE! This is an eating marathon. But more important than the food is the sharing, loving and extreme generosity that people put into this. At a time when we are all suffering fr

Something decadent to ward off the grey grey weather.... After the week from hell,  grey rainy skies and falling temperatures, what could be better than a homemade brownie pig-out? Here is the easiest, fail-free recipe plus it's flourless. Flourless Dark Chocolate Almond Brownies Flourless Dark Chocolate Almond Brownies 225 gr darkest chocolate 225 gr butter 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 200gr fine white sugar 3 eggs , beaten well 200gr ground almonds Preheat oven to 175° C. Melt chocolate and butter together over low flame. Take of heat once melted and mix in the vanilla and sugar. Stir in beaten egggs and ground almonds. Pour mixture into a baking tin and bake 25 - 30 mins. Once cool cut into squares. Enjoy!!

When Christmas falls early... It's mid-November...just.  There are already Christmas trees decorating the shops.  Is it me or is this incredibly early ? Yesterday this DesperateAngloHousewife took a walk into the city centre, enjoying the last wave of autumn "heat." I walked into Galleries Lafayette to find myself in a Christmas wonderland. Such was my surprise that I actually walked straight out for a reviving espresso. There is an economic crisis...apparently. Should we be encouraged to start spending already? I was obviously not the only person on the planet to be surprised by this early-onset-Christmas-syndrome displayed by retailers. Every national TV station was commenting about it last night. I learnt that marketing research had revealed that this is what the customers want (according to Galleries Lafayette, Paris). It makes people "happier,"...the Christmas spirit, putting them in a better frame of mind. Shopping cheers up the public...Just

Rainy days ahead.. Every time it rained my father used to ALWAYS say... " Great weather for ducks!"   As a petulant and disagreeble teenager, I would raise my eyes to heaven and sigh at the constant repetition. Now, like so many of us, I find myself saying the same things as my parents. I even feel like my parents when I say them. I come out with all the classics I swore I'd never burden my children with... The hours sleeping before midnight are the most important.  Eat three pieces of fruit every day, otherwise your growth will be stunted.. Close that door, were you born in a tent... Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been! Eat your brocolli, thousands of starving children would! Bored? I was never bored at your age! If I'd talked to my mother the way you talk to me.... Always change your underwear, you never know when you'll be in an accident.  I slave for hours over a hot stove and that's all the thanks I get! Because