March
right over to your nearest English Heritage property and get a
form to become a member. I have been discovering the delights
of some wonderful places to visit. Eltham Palace was a gem and
I’m only sorry I didn’t get there years ago. I had only known
the property through TV and films but seeing it for real brings
the Courtauld's exotic lifestyle to life. Mrs C had a snake tattoed
just above her right ankle…. There are also many English Heritage
properties, such as the cricket pavilion at Osborne House or indeed
Eltham Palace for your very ownn Vile Bodies Ball which have been
renovated to a very high standard to rent for holidays, weekends
and even the odd wedding.
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Potted Pigeon with Juniper berries
First pot your pigeon…
650g cooked pigeon breasts, shredded or mashed in a magimix
200g clarified butter made with unsalted butter plus more for
sealing about 200g
Blade of mace
Good grating of nutmeg
6 juniper berries
4 sprigs thyme – strip the leaves from the stalks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the clarified butter, spices and thyme leaves into a bowl
and melt over a gently heat. When it starts to froth, toss the
pigeon meat so that it is coated in the spicy butter. Cook for
a minute or so but be careful not to let it colour at all.
Divide the mix between 8 ramekins – make sure you collect an
amount of liquid equal to the quantity of pigeon in each ramekin.
Press it down gently with the back of a spoon. Remember to leave
room for the clarified butter seal. Cover with cling film and
refrigerate until it is completely cold.
Melt more clarified butter and pour over the top of each ramekin
to seal. Decorate the top of the ramekin with some more juniper
berries and thyme leaves. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before you want to serve.
Serve with hot sour dough toast or warm flat bread. Can be stored
in the fridge for up to 2 days
SERVES: 8
ADVANCE COOKING: Can be made up to 2 days in advance
Top tip:
For another sort of Ball altogether I am reading a fascinating
book at the moment, Dancing into Battle A Social History of
the Battle of Waterloo by Nicholas Foulkes (Weidenfeld&Nicolson
£18.99) – I’m obviously having an historical moment -
The amazing thing is that the entire battle took place on no
more than 2 ½ square miles of land, involved 200,00 men
and only lasted 9 hours!