Neneh Cherry.. know the story.

 A woeful tale of pure youtube crack... It's way to late and I have to go to Buffalo in a few hours. Yet here I sit.

  I love Neneh Cherry! Starting with BUFFALO STANCE , and then on the RED, HOT, +BLUE AIDS benefit cd:

And then to one of my favorite songs ever SEVEN SECONDS ( I cant embed these so you have to go with the links.) 

So, here I an surfing around all the tv stations last night , when I find out that she had, many years later,with her best girlfriend a cooking show! on BBC2. I LOVE IT.I am not sure when it ran. but it is the most fun show to watch. Great music too.. They are playing tunes and drinking and cooking, I wanted to be there. She and her best pal are great cooks, and I love to watch English cooking shows... Ms. Cherry is seriously a mini United Nations in her own body, so her cooking style is QUITE  unique. SO , lots of different flavors and such. Here is the start of one of the shows, they are in three parts, the others will just pop up on youtube.  ( just double click the video)

ENJOY !

Sticky fig balsamic shallots
Ingredients:
125g/4½oz good-quality butter
1kg/2lb banana shallots, peeled
4 tbsp fig balsamic vinegar (or balsamic vinegar if fig balsamic vinegar is not available)
4-5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste (available from specialist Asian food stores)
3-4 sprigs thyme
2-3 bay leaves
1 glass red wine (you may not need it all)


Method
1. Heat the butter in a large lidded pan and add the shallots. Cook over a low heat until the shallots are browned evenly.
2. Add the vinegar, sugar and tamarind paste. Stir until the shallots are coated.
3. Add the thyme and bay leaves and cook until the shallots have caramelised (about 15-20 minutes).
4. Pour in the wine, a little at a time, letting each addition cook into the shallots and reduce a little to preserve the stickiness of the shallots.
5. When the shallots are glazed, put a lid on the pot and cook for a further 45 minutes to one hour on a low heat until completely soft.
6. Remove the lid and finish the dish by shaking the pan, allowing any excess liquid to cook off.
7. Serve the sticky fig balsamic shallots hot or cold.

Dinner

Steak, Salad, Fresh Pineapple....

O.K. , I am calming down a little ... just breathe.. where is that paper bag...

Torn.

The big , BIG , question of the day..

Phooey on if the G-8 will come up with a plan for a little global recovery. Bail out funds? yesterdays news...

IS MICHELLE GOING TO CASUAL IN LONDON ????... ( if I had hair, It would be pulled out)

This was to meet Prime Minster and Mrs. Brown at 10 Downing this morning. 

J. Crew.... Cardigan, pencil skirt. I like it, I like the mixing, I like the "young-ness" of it, love the shoes and accessories - and SHE LOOKS GREAT, fit, young, healthy....it is a very pretty sweater, close up here.

BUT, is it appropriate for , well, The President of the United States and the First Lady to meet the Prime Minster of Great Britain for the first time? I am not judging, just asking....

It was a "working visit", Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Brown toured a hospital.

Well, first, is The Queen shrinking? 

A night time cardigan.... you can not really tell from these pics, but the skirt is lovely and over a crinoline, I do like it better with out the sweater.. not sure if there are rules about being sleeveless with Her Majesty.

There is a matching long coat that she wore over to arrive, more pics and close ups of the new DO here....

In other news about their visit to London, Mr. Jamie Oliver is cooking dinner for them all tonight! The MENU:

JAMIE OLIVER MENU FOR WORKING DINNER OF G-20, 1st April 2009

Baked Scottish Salmon with Seashore Vegetables, Broad Beans, Herb Garden Salad, Mayonnaise and Wild Garlic-scented Irish Soda bread

• Vegetarian option is Childwickbury Goat's Cheese with Roast Shallots, Seashore Vegetables, Herb Green Salad and Wild Garlic-scented Irish Soda Bread (no mayo)
Slow-Roasted Shoulder of Welsh Lamb, very first of the season Jersey Royals, first of the season Asparagus and Wild St George Mushrooms. Mint Sauce and Gravy

• Vegetarian option is Lovage & Potato Dumplings with first of the season Asparagus and Wild St George Mushrooms

Hot Bakewell Tart with Home-made Custard

I am making a little bit of fun over all the hulla- balloo that the world is in over Michelle. This can not be easy for her, she is a Harvard Law School trained attorney, and an accomplished woman on her own, this can not be easy for her, to have SO much focus put on her cloths. She would look just lovely in a paper sack...

Neil stalks Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols

The drive way to their house on Martha's Vineyard.

Rainy Day, again

BUT, look what this rain is bringing:
LILAC BUDS

Last Nights Dinner

Big night in Mendon... Pookie sometimes does a dance , if I get my voice high enough....

Oh, man, .. that is a good one....

That Eric Holder is QUITE the prankster! 

Has us all in stitches over this one:

U.S. to Drop Case Against Ex-Senator From Alaska

 From the NYT: 

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department moved on Wednesday morning to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, who narrowly lost his seat last year shortly after being convicted on seven felony counts of ethics violations.n a stunning development, Justice Department lawyers told a federal court that they had discovered a new instance of prosecutorial misconduct in the case and asked that the convictions be voided. Attorney General Eric F. Holder Jr. said that in the interests of justice there would be no new trial in the case.
Mr. Stevens, who is 85, had been the longest serving Republican in the history of the Senate. He had been charged with lying on Senate disclosure forms by concealing an estimated $250,000 worth of goods and services he received, mostly to renovate a chalet he owned in Alaska.

WHAT A KIDDER.....yuckity yuk yuk yuk