Happy Holidays
No, don't worry, I'm not about to give you a blow by blow account of my Christmas hols. However, here are the highlights...
Work Xmas party:
Meal at local restaurant. Started off nicely then degenerated into a debauched conversation with the bosses wife about dental dams. Frankly I was horrified to learn they teach about these to 10 year olds in schools. I'm not going to go into it here but any Google search will fill you in on the details.
Family Christmas:
We had my parents, little sister and Mother-in-law for 3 days over Xmas. It was lovely and very relaxed with far too much food. Santa was very generous, bringing me lots of egg based products, including a stylish egg timer, an egg poaching device and a gadget that perforates bread into perfect soldiers.
New Year in New York.
Needless to say we had an amazing time and squeezed in an enormous amount of activities. We saw a show (Avenue Q), went up the empire state building, looked at dinosaurs in the natural history museum, went round the Guggenheim, the Museum of modern art, went ice skating in the park, saw the new Rocky film, went to a gig, did a boat ride round Manhattan, ate in lots of nice restaurants and diners, did tons of shopping, walking, and architecture appreciation. Then we came home and slept for a day. It was marvellous.
Classic quotes overheard in New York:
Whilst in midtown Manhattan. (The perfect logical grid with consecutively numbered streets and avenues. Honestly, it's impossible to get lost.)
Woman: (looking at a map) This map is wrong! The street numbers are going in the wrong direction.
Whilst on the 'Circle line' boat trip that circumnavigates Manhattan.
girl: 'look Mom, there's the Empire State building again.'
Mom: 'No it's not, we passed that an hour ago'
Girl: 'Well it looks like it to me'
Other daughter: It is Mom. We have gone round the island and now we are on the other side.'
Mom: Have we?
Daughter: 'That's why it's called the circle line. We are going in a circle.
Mom: 'Are we? I don't get it.'
Whilst in The Natural History Museum:
Woman: Hey! (looking at a time line showing the history of the dinosaurs in relation to human occupation of the earth) see here... (explaining to her husband) These numbers here show how many millions of years ago the dinosaurs were alive. Or is it thousands of years?... oh well, it doesn't make any difference...
Work Xmas party:
Meal at local restaurant. Started off nicely then degenerated into a debauched conversation with the bosses wife about dental dams. Frankly I was horrified to learn they teach about these to 10 year olds in schools. I'm not going to go into it here but any Google search will fill you in on the details.
Family Christmas:
We had my parents, little sister and Mother-in-law for 3 days over Xmas. It was lovely and very relaxed with far too much food. Santa was very generous, bringing me lots of egg based products, including a stylish egg timer, an egg poaching device and a gadget that perforates bread into perfect soldiers.
New Year in New York.
Needless to say we had an amazing time and squeezed in an enormous amount of activities. We saw a show (Avenue Q), went up the empire state building, looked at dinosaurs in the natural history museum, went round the Guggenheim, the Museum of modern art, went ice skating in the park, saw the new Rocky film, went to a gig, did a boat ride round Manhattan, ate in lots of nice restaurants and diners, did tons of shopping, walking, and architecture appreciation. Then we came home and slept for a day. It was marvellous.
Classic quotes overheard in New York:
Whilst in midtown Manhattan. (The perfect logical grid with consecutively numbered streets and avenues. Honestly, it's impossible to get lost.)
Woman: (looking at a map) This map is wrong! The street numbers are going in the wrong direction.
Whilst on the 'Circle line' boat trip that circumnavigates Manhattan.
girl: 'look Mom, there's the Empire State building again.'
Mom: 'No it's not, we passed that an hour ago'
Girl: 'Well it looks like it to me'
Other daughter: It is Mom. We have gone round the island and now we are on the other side.'
Mom: Have we?
Daughter: 'That's why it's called the circle line. We are going in a circle.
Mom: 'Are we? I don't get it.'
Whilst in The Natural History Museum:
Woman: Hey! (looking at a time line showing the history of the dinosaurs in relation to human occupation of the earth) see here... (explaining to her husband) These numbers here show how many millions of years ago the dinosaurs were alive. Or is it thousands of years?... oh well, it doesn't make any difference...
posted by Rach at 12:46
8 Comments:
On Jeremy Clarksons latest DVD he starts off by saying that whenever he is in the US he feels like the only person invited to a garden party for very rich chimps.
Victoria and I want to go to New York. We are officially jealous!
Get yourself there! You can easily have a great time in 3 or 4 nights and pack loads in.
It's probably a great place to take alice too; there are loads of cool things for kids, like Central park zoo, the most amazing toys shops with ferris wheels inside them, great kids shows on broadway like the lion king and beauty and the beast, plus it's easy to get around.
god, I sound like the tourist board.
I don't think that Alice will be invited. :-)
I'm sure her grandparents will love to look after her for the duration of our trip.
Now, speaking of poached eggs, I would like a blog post from you at some unspecified point in the future about how to make a perfectly poached egg. Of all the things I can do in the kitchen, poaching an egg isn't one of them. They always fall apart in the pan.
I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.
The best methods I've come up with so far are:
- Use a serving ring (or an egg frying ring) to keep the egg all in one place.
- Place the egg in cling film and tie.
The cling film method is probably the best, though a little fiddly.
Chris,
There's a knack about creating a whirlpool in the saucepan just before adding your egg, but Rach will tell you more I'm sure.
Or you could get something like this instead...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001IWVFI/shopzilcouk-homegarden-21/ref=nosim
The tip with these, which we learned by not doing it, was to completely submerge it in the water while cooking the egg. MM, delicious.
Now all the ladies need to do is lay some bloody eggs.
I should say, I've tried *every* tip under the sun, to no avail (apart from the ones I mentioned).
If I create a gentle whirlpool before putting the eggs in, the only difference is my broken up egg is spinning around, rather than floating around, if you see what I mean.
I thought about getting a poaching cup, but went for the ring, as can also be used for frying, and also as a serving ring.
I just don't understand why when I watch someone like Ramsey spinning his water he gets a perfect egg, yet I get "eggy water".
I have just looked up "dental dams" on google as you suggested and quite frankly I was shocked!!! I must be on old fogey but I didn't even realise there was a need for something like this - and I have a poaching pan for my poached eggs!!!
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