Guess what is in here?
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Friday, 10 May 2013
The Elvis
Guess what I have just had for lunch?
Guess what is in here?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Guess what is in here?
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, 9 May 2013
America Tour - Day 6 Nashville
If I thought I was tired before - well - you should see me now. It is 9:30pm here and I'm bushed!!!
Had a good day. Late start so a long leisurely breakfast and then a long leisurely stroll around SOME of the complex. Loads more photos. Set off at 11:00am to go to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum in Nashville. Pretty impressive. More photos.
Then had a local guide on board for an extensive coach trip tour of greater Nashville. This included a tour of the homes of the stars. I hadn't heard of most of them but there were still quite a few I did know. Got back and went to the Wildhorse Saloon for a farewell dinner. I declined the line dance lessons!
Had a load of booze. Well. It was the last night. Got back to this massive hotel complex and a Sam Adams in The Irish Pub. Now here in my room and pondering the long boring day ahead as I return home.
Think I will be having an early night now. Need to pack the suitcase and it will be picked up in the morning at 9:00am. I depart for the airport at 10:00am. Three hour wait at Dulles Airport before the eight hour flight home. It is an overnight flight but I don't expect to get much sleep so will probably try and sleep a bit on Monday morning when I get home. Then need to do some shopping as I have nothing "fresh" in the house.
Can't wait for the next 30 hours or so to be over.
America Tour - Day 5
Trying to remember what I did. It's hard work. I think by now I am in Nashville. Came over from Memphis this morning. Had a mosey around the main drag where all the honky-tanks are located. These are bars with a stage area and have live music playing all the time. Had a massive lunch in one of these bars. Then we were taken out to the RCA Studios where Elvis recorded some his big hits after leaving Sam Philips at Sun Studios in Memphis. Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, The Everley Bros, Buddy Holly and loads of others recorded there.
Now all settled in at the last hotel. It is around 15 miles out from the city centre. It is a massive place called the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Centre. I have fully unpacked for the first time. Having a little breather now as in one hour we get taken to the Grand Old Opry Show. It is a two hour show I think and we have a backstage tour once the show finishes. Should be good.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
America Tour - Day 2
Ought to finish off Day 1 first. Went out to The New Orleans School of Cooking - see
http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/. Didn't get hands on but still a very enjoyable experience
and the grub was great.
Started out with some Gumbo. This is a Southern classic. This was chicken and Andoullie (smoked
pork sausage), loads of chicken stock and The Trinity (onions, celery and green pepper). The main
demo was making Chicken Etouffee. This is thickened with a roux, equal parts butter and flour. She
(the lady doing the cooking demo) really put some time and effort into keeping it moving and really
cooking it until it changed colour to a light brown.
She then added it to a pan of prepared chopped Trinity and garlic and then gradually blended this into
very hot chicken stock and cooked up for 20 minutes. Added prepared chicken and cooked some more.
The whole time she kept up a continuous line od banter and engaged everybody in the "show".
Meanwhile we were enjoying the gumbo with iced tea.
We then ate the Étouffée with beer. Nice! While we were eating that she talked about Bread Pudding
which is very popular there. We then had some she prepared earlier. Finally she made up some Pralines
and we went out munching them. You can tell I enjoyed it!
After that we walked down to a jazz pub near the hotel on Bourbon Street. Not my favourite music but
it nicely finished off the day.
Anyhow, moving on to today, had a coach trip to the wider New Orleans area. Started the trip by going
to the St. Louis cemetery. That don't impress me much. Then went to lake Pontchartrain outside New
Orleans and saw the famous levees and the one that failed and caused all the devastation we saw on
TV,
They have done a really quite remarkable job providing new housing and clearing up all the damage.
You would never know what had happened.
Had a kip when we returned and I went out to eat some local delicacies called beignets at Cafe du
Monde - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BeignetsPowderdSugarCDM.jpg
and also http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets
After re-charging my batteries I went out for my last meal in New Orleans. Decided I wanted more of
the local cuisine and went to Pere Antoine’s on Royal Street. Found just what I was looking for with a
New Orleans Sampler. Started with Gumbo and then had Shrimp Creole, red Beans, rice and
jambalaya. Finished up with more bread pudding. Very rich and fruity. Completely stuffed after that.
Staggered back to the hotel and collapsed in heap!
http://www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com/. Didn't get hands on but still a very enjoyable experience
and the grub was great.
Started out with some Gumbo. This is a Southern classic. This was chicken and Andoullie (smoked
pork sausage), loads of chicken stock and The Trinity (onions, celery and green pepper). The main
demo was making Chicken Etouffee. This is thickened with a roux, equal parts butter and flour. She
(the lady doing the cooking demo) really put some time and effort into keeping it moving and really
cooking it until it changed colour to a light brown.
She then added it to a pan of prepared chopped Trinity and garlic and then gradually blended this into
very hot chicken stock and cooked up for 20 minutes. Added prepared chicken and cooked some more.
The whole time she kept up a continuous line od banter and engaged everybody in the "show".
Meanwhile we were enjoying the gumbo with iced tea.
We then ate the Étouffée with beer. Nice! While we were eating that she talked about Bread Pudding
which is very popular there. We then had some she prepared earlier. Finally she made up some Pralines
and we went out munching them. You can tell I enjoyed it!
After that we walked down to a jazz pub near the hotel on Bourbon Street. Not my favourite music but
it nicely finished off the day.
Anyhow, moving on to today, had a coach trip to the wider New Orleans area. Started the trip by going
to the St. Louis cemetery. That don't impress me much. Then went to lake Pontchartrain outside New
Orleans and saw the famous levees and the one that failed and caused all the devastation we saw on
TV,
They have done a really quite remarkable job providing new housing and clearing up all the damage.
You would never know what had happened.
Had a kip when we returned and I went out to eat some local delicacies called beignets at Cafe du
Monde - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BeignetsPowderdSugarCDM.jpg
and also http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets
After re-charging my batteries I went out for my last meal in New Orleans. Decided I wanted more of
the local cuisine and went to Pere Antoine’s on Royal Street. Found just what I was looking for with a
New Orleans Sampler. Started with Gumbo and then had Shrimp Creole, red Beans, rice and
jambalaya. Finished up with more bread pudding. Very rich and fruity. Completely stuffed after that.
Staggered back to the hotel and collapsed in heap!
Monday, 15 April 2013
America Tour - Day 1 -
New Orleans is brilliant. After getting up at 6:15am on Sunday 14th April 2013 and getting to bed 23 hours later I feel surprisingly well after six hours sleep. Just come back from a walking tour of the French Quarter and then a bicycle taxi ride around to get my breath back I found this rather nice Oyster Bar. A large Chardennay and a dozen oysters later I feel very refreshed. Now back at the Four Points by Sheraton on Bourbon Street. Maybe a kip.
Ok, that was good. Now in the bar and getting more refreshed with a small glass of beer. $4. Tsk! Anyhow here is a photo of lunch!
Yes, it was THAT good. Lets stick in some photos of the local architecture.
Going here for lunch tomorrow - I think.
I love these. They are dotted about in various places
These gas lights are a nice throw back.
This is the place featured at the start of King Creole when Elvis stuck his head out of the second floor window (second one in with the green shutters closed).
This was just parked up. Nice, huh?
Rail crossing you have to walk over to get to the Mississippi. I love these classic American signs. Talking of which, here is another.
Walked past this place after my Oysters on the way back to the hotel
Got loads of photos already but this will do for now.
Off out to make my tea in an hour or so. Then off to a Jazz Club. You can see what I'm doing here, can't you. Clever. Eh?
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Ok, that was good. Now in the bar and getting more refreshed with a small glass of beer. $4. Tsk! Anyhow here is a photo of lunch!
Yes, it was THAT good. Lets stick in some photos of the local architecture.
Going here for lunch tomorrow - I think.
I love these. They are dotted about in various places
These gas lights are a nice throw back.
This is the place featured at the start of King Creole when Elvis stuck his head out of the second floor window (second one in with the green shutters closed).
This was just parked up. Nice, huh?
Rail crossing you have to walk over to get to the Mississippi. I love these classic American signs. Talking of which, here is another.
Walked past this place after my Oysters on the way back to the hotel
Got loads of photos already but this will do for now.
Off out to make my tea in an hour or so. Then off to a Jazz Club. You can see what I'm doing here, can't you. Clever. Eh?
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Saturday, 13 April 2013
America - here I come!
Well. Off in the morning at 7:15am. Blimey.
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Irish Stew with layered potato top
Still eating this right now and it is marvellous. Half a tin of M&S Irish Stew supplemented with diced carrot and chopped dried apricot. Miniature sliced potato layered on top, in oven at 190degC for 90 minutes and grilled on high for five minutes to brown. Now really quite full !!!!
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- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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