Dreamy dinner, the beef loose and flaking with obliquely sliced carrots and halved chestnut mushrooms bopping their heads above a thick hot cider sauce. Flecks of thyme adding green to the tawny nectar.

Six chunky dumplings oozing horseradish and parsley melted into the stew adding ooomph of their very own. They were, by the way, not regular ball shape dumplings, these were fashioned from a Swiss Roll shape. Make the dough, lay it out, spread with horseradish and herb, roll up and slice. Cute or what?
A small amount of mashed potato and a handful of buttered peas completed the heavenly robust dish.

However....
Not all went well...

My ordinary run-of-the-mill rice pudding got a bit overdone, so instead of soft and creamy we had firm and firm:( I'd misplaced it in the oven, instead of it residing on a lower shelf I'd stuck it up high. Why? Hormones.

But being a resourceful cook and not wishing Mr H. to leave the house tonight unsatisfied I laid over the over- baked pud a quick jammy sauce. Lovely. He didn't even notice...
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Columbo was fab, one of the better ones. A Friend in Deed. Good story, the usual murder etc but this one was spiced up with a little blackmail. Excellent stuff. Directed by actor Ben Gazzara in 1974. I love Columbo.
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Mr H. is doing a gig tonight so I will lose myself in the fiery swamp that is my giant red blanket. Will definitely watch a film, which one unsure, but will definitely be bloody:)

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