The Kentucky Anglophile...
Happy sunny Friday to everyone! I got a little bit of a late start to my day today thanks in part to finally having the time and desire to catch up on some television series I've been wanting to see for some time now. I find that every January, after the hustle and bustle of holidays and taking decorations down and getting into a new routine, all I want to do is just relax on my off days as well as every evening after dinner! And before you know it, it's 1:30am! This past week I have caught up on two of my favorites-Season 2 of The Crown and Season 2 of Victoria. Is it obvious I'm an anglophile? I have been way before I even knew what that word meant! Certain fiction novels based on the historical lives of kings and queens, knights, castles, and romance as well as Hollywood movies like The Three Musketeers, First Knight, King Arthur, etc. have always grasped my interest and imagination. But what really excites me and engrosses me are movies or television series that ring so close to the truth that they envelop you and make you feel you are right there living it. For example, The Titanic. Okay, well we all know Rose and Jack's story was fiction (even though there's probably 3% of each of you that wonders!), but the way the producer did everything in his power to keep the authenticity of the ship, the wardrobe, the resemblances to the real people, I mean, all the way down to the type of whistle the captain blew was what I love. I'm a visual person so I want to see what it was really like! Then there was Downton Abbey. I mean, if you were Downton fan, did you seriously just FEEL like you were a member of the family?!?! I KNOW you just wanted to reach out and slap Mary for being such a B...ully...yes, that's what we'll call her lol. The era, the clothes, the ways of life for British upper class and lower class...every Sunday from 9pm-10pm (and prayerfully a little longer) I was NOT TO BE DISTURBED!😂
Ever since Downton Abbey ended (and that was one of my saddest nights ever lol) I have done everything to find British period dramas to watch. Fortunately, America has shown such a huge reception to more period dramas that companies such as Netflix, Stars (Outlander), Showtime(The Tudors) have taken successful financial risks to produce/air the programs. For example, the first, just the first, season of The Crown cost Netflix and Left Bank Pictures 100 million pounds...that's almost 139 million US dollars. For one season! I LOVE IT! And I love the show! I will take period drama over reality TV any day!
And you know what else I've been doing this month? Cooking! Well, I should say, trying new recipes. One of my "Encourage To Try" initiatives for the new year was to try at least one new recipe a week from the HUNDREDS I have saved on Pinterest. I'm not sure I'll be able to do it weekly but a least a couple new recipes a month is the goal. Last week I tried two new recipes-Cream Cheese Chicken Chili (over spaghetti) and last night was Beer Cheese Soup with ham and bacon. Mother Of Pearl... both were surprisingly pretty good! Here's a pic of last night's soup served with soft pretzel rolls (store bought, sorry!)
I had a few people ask me for the recipe so I decided to create a board on Pinterest specifically for the recipes I've found on Pinterest that Bill and I love. We have tried many different things and some have been "so so", but the ones on this particular board we really like and have gone back to several times. You can follow me on Pinterest-my user name is Iamanarita.com or click here to see all my boards. The board THIS IS A-MAY-ZA-ZING is the board with all the recipes we like.
As we continue to try new dinner recipes, including desserts, I will be adding to this board if they're definitely keepers. There are just so many I want to try, especially all the desserts! I am such a huge lover of reading recipes. I can sit there, read it all and tell you, as I drool, 'THIS IS going to be good!' Or I read them and think, "hmmm, this would probably be good if I added _______ or maybe ______". I don't normally follow high profile chefs or recipes from them. I'm sure they're delicious, but I am looking for recipes that people created on their own, tried somewhere and were given the recipe, or my favorite ones to pin are the ones that say, "GRANDMA'S RECIPE FOR..."! Oh Lord, whenever I see the word Grandma in a recipe I get excited! It means real scratch cooking! Real butter, real sugar, good ole fashion deliciousness! Grandma means homemade! Seriously, when has grandma failed us?!
I'm also about easy and cheap! Don't give me a recipe that calls for a cheese I can't pronounce and probably have to fly to France to buy. I did that once, buy a fancy cheese I mean lol. I made some french potato casserole. Sadly, I'm not sure if I made it right because to be honest, I had nothing to compare it to. I never had the authentic version so I'm not sure if it turned out right. Of course I didn't think about this until after I spent an arm and two fingers for the cheese. Now I refuse to make an international dish until I've at least tasted its authentic version...can some of my pen pals please send me some freeze packed food lol?!?! Now, I have had macarons, but have you ever seen a recipe for them? Nope...I want easy! After seeing the recipe and all the work, I'll just buy them!😂
So, for all you cooks out there, if you have a recipe or five or even a recipe board on Pinterest full of some great ideas please send them to me or let me know. Some of the best recipes come from other's favorites!
Hope you all have a great weekend! Take in some period dramas if you can!☺️ Maybe Outlander or Victoria! Although the real life stories fascinate me, the real life actors are much nicer to look at lol. You can thank me later!
