It's Coleridge's Birthday!

Today is Samuel Taylor Coleridge 's birthday, born in the romantic and dairy rich shire of Devon in Southwestern in England. What would he have eaten for his big day? Pasties, buttery and flaky pastries filled with beef, pork and possibly chicken. Maybe a slice of the fish intense Stargazey Pie , with the little heads of pilchards. It would have been washed down with a delicious cup of scrumpy - a strong, slightly carbonated cider made from the county's famed apples. He may have finished with a Dittisham plum tart smothered with clotted cream.

To him, a toast  - not with scrumpy but with a modern American treat - the German chocolate cupcake!

Summer Theme Parties

It is summer and the time for all sorts of parties.To make them more memorable think theme . Nothing is more entertaining and fun than a party with a set theme You don't have to go all out as with Sean Combs and his all white Hamptons party but you can have something similar on a smaller scale.

Ever since the arrival of Downton Abbey, teas have become almost de rigueur  for theme parties. These are still fun and the food can be a nice change from sloppy barbecues. Think watercress and chicken salad  sandwiches along with jam and butter ones too.Scones dripping with clotted cream are a must.as well A variety of teas can be served from  the fruity Lady Grey to soothing chamomile or mint, Wimbledon will be starting soon and you can serve their signature dishes, strawberries and cream washed down with champagne. Another Masterpiece classic Poldark has been retooled and revamped for a new generation. Winston Graham's classic romance adventure takes place in Cornwall, where rum was smuggled  freely and drunk freely. Have a Sunday night watching party (it's on PBS  stations at nine on that day) with what else rum and  Cornish pasties. If you're in the New York City area you can buy this last  from the famed Myers of Keswick on Hudson Street. If not it's a simple recipe  of  pastry filled with any kind of chopped meat, usually beef mixed with  potatoes. . You can also make a stargazey pie, a seafood variation of shepherd's pie, toppedwith pilchards staring up at the sky, hence the name,. Have a dessert of blackberries and clotted cream. Both are as Cornish as the  region's broad accent and tin mines.

Of course you can look to America for  theme ideas. Have a Saturday night hoedown, complete with  barbecue, Coca Cola cake and a variety of mayo based salads. Guests can also bring their own favorite picnic dishes  for a down home pot luck get together. New England clambakes are another great way of celebrating.It's  not only clams but also lobster and clams along with mussels steamed on rockweed or seaweed.  True clambakes also have sausages and corn on the cob. Other sides are potatoes, carrots and onions. Remember to include a coffee pot full of melted butter for the seafood  and veggies. A similar shindig is the Wisconsin fish boil. This is a tad more laborious than a clambake but it's essentially any white fish cooked with onions and  potatoes in  heavily salted water. The fish oil floats to the top where it's set aflame similar to crepes Suzette. Melted butter is dribbled on the fish and veggies afterward. It is usually served with cole slaw followed by cherry or blueberry pie.If this is too much then think  drive in  movie. Invite friends over to see a classic or celebrate a birthday with a favorite flick.  Have dogs and burgers along with butter drenched popcorn and malteds (you can make this last a bit naughty by adding a shot of vodka, or bourbon). Have boxes of Juniors Mints Red Vines and Good N Plenty for dessert.

It's summer! Celebrate with parties, full of good fun and good food! Try an English tea or a New England clambake  - whatever you want  for a warm weather get together!

A Perfect Tea For Coleridge

Today is Samuel Taylor Coleridge's birthday and for many of his fans, including myself , this is a day to celebrate the great poet's birthday.He was born in the lovely Devonshire town of Ottery Saint Mary , where cream teas and other good food abound.This is English country food, of the finest farm to table and sea to table variety. Devon is a coastal county or shire located on the English Channel.It may be the birthplace of Coleridge but its main seaside town, Torquay, became famous thanks to the hilarious TV show "Faulty Towers" over forty years ago.The area boasts true farm to table cuisine.One of the most famous dishes is the pasty.This is a small, handheld pie stuffed with meat, usually beef or sausage.The pastry is buttery and flaky ,a melt in your mouth treat, especially if the filling is juicy and tender.Another tea or lunch time treat is white pudding, a highly spiced pork sausage.Mutton, lamb and beef are abundant here and everyone from visiting foodie's to locals can enjoy a variety of different roasts and stews .Since there are plenty of creameries, there is also plenty of good cheese.A favorite and decadent treat is fried cheese.This is when small wedges of different cheeses are breaded and then deep fried .A dash of tart lignon berry jam.They also love potted cheese, basically leftover cheese mixed with butter an, pounded for malleability and then poured into a pot.Sometimes sherry is added for zing and then it's served with bread or crackers.There is some good cheese here, from the cream cheese like Curworthy and Sharpham, a Devon take on the French Brie.Surprisingly seaweed plays a part in the diet too, thanks to locals gathering it up from the Devon coast. It's not as popular as it once was, however some chefs are cooking with it and appreciate it's nutritional value The county is also famed for it's cream teas.This is a proper English tea but with clotted cream generously dotting scones along with a healthy scoop of homemade jam.Most usually serve the tame and almost boring strawberry jam but some prefer the highly tart and eye opening rhubarb and gooseberry sorts.Devon is also known for their apples and these along with apple cakes abound here.Some recipes have been handed down since Elizabethan times and I'm sure Coleridge enjoyed a few during his boyhood in the Devon countryside?Clotted cream also figures in fudge as well.Creameries featuring fresh made ice cream is sold throughout the area, some creameries even using clotted cream as a base. Samuel Taylor Coleridge grew up with some of the freshest foods for his time.They can still be enjoyed today, thanks to the purity and abundance of meats, fish produce and dairy.Devonshire food is the food of poets, supplying them with sustenance for centuries.

Royal Birth Day Foods

England is celebrating the new Prince of Cambridge with not only gun salutes and balloons but also with celebratory foods. Britons are probably giving this new Windsor a champagne toast, they are also enjoying some party foods as well. There's a whole range of tasty nibbles that are being served tonight.

The United Kingdom has a plethora of dairy farms and well fed cows. It's known for its;creamy cheeses as well as beef dishes . Hopefully there are crackers spread with sharp but tangy cheddar and the blue veined Stilton.,The Welsh give Caephilly cheese, a crumbly white one with a slight . tang.Since the English also gave the word the sandwich, thanks to John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, people should be enjoying a late celebratory supper with them. Sarnies as they're called there can be made with hearty slices of cottage loaf, cheese slabs and freshly cut roast beef or ham. They could be thin sliced affairs affairs will with any kind of meat paste and pickles.

The English will probably also celebrate with their famed meat pies.This can include shepherd's pie, a hearty beef stew topped with piped mashed spuds.The Cornish from southwestern England give us pasties, tasty  little pies filled with everything from roast beef and gravy to potatoes The area also gives us the farmed stargazey pie, a pilchard and egg filled one with fish heads bursting through the crust or gazing at the stars.Of course there are the famed English roast dinners, perfect for any party. This can be roast beef but also a roast turkey or goose, complete with all the trimmings and sides.

The United Kingdom is in full party mode right now thanks to this new prince, There are so many different celebratory foods to choose from  cheese and pies to roasts and sandwiches. It's a definite feast for a this latest royal