The celebrate the New Year, I have today launched my new ice cream recipes website. Many months in the making and with an improved layout, more space for content, new photos, new recipes and special features, I hope it will serve my readership as well as the last site did.
Here's a taster of what's new in the site ....
Special feature - an exclusive interview with a French master ice cream maker or artisan glacier as he's called in France.
I love ice cream desserts and it was almost exactly one year ago that I enjoyed one of the best I've ever tasted - Eton Mess, a glorious combination of meringue, forest fruits and vanilla ice cream.
The scene of this special ice cream dessert experience was the Windsor Castle pub, one of the most celebrated in central London and a favourite haunt of Old Etonians. It is also happens to be my close friend Mary's favourite place to enjoy a spot of lunch. So when visiting her again just last week, there was no doubt in my mind where she would suggest we went at midday!
For main course we both selected the asparagus and green pea risotto with fresh parmesan which you can see in the photograph - delicious!
"What shall we have for dessert?" came the question. There was no competition ... Eton Mess! This time, however, there was a difference. It had an added little 'kick' .... sloe gin. What a combination! What's more I think it even appealed to Chloe, Mary's cat, who accompanied us to the pub. Look carefully at the top right hand corner of the picture!
"Oh hello Chloe!" said the young lady serving us, reaching out to stroke her as we studied the day's menu. Chloe is indeed a very special cat .... a Bengal with beautiful markings that make her look like a miniature tiger and stunning bright blue eyes, she is also a fully qualified Pets As Therapy cat who does great work within the local community. No wonder she's a welcome regular at the Windsor Castle!
Did you know I have a page on my ice cream recipes website about animals eating ice cream? I had been looking at YouTube videos a while ago and could not believe how many videos people had uploaded of their pets eating ice cream. From cats and dogs to horses, rabbits and even lizards! So I revisited a few of them today. The cats were particularly interesting as they had such a focused, yet deft way of devouring their favorite sweet treat! This first one shows a cat eating ice cream from the bottom of its owner's ice cream cone. The second shows a cat eating ice cream in a more delicate way.
My mind then turned to what has to be the cutest kitten I have ever seen - Chloe who belongs to my dear friend Mary in London. A bengal kitten discovering the fun of a wicker basket for the first time is a joy to behold. The basket had contained locally made foods that I had taken as a present for Mary but Chloe decided it was to be her new toy basket!
Here is the video clip I took of Chloe in her basket. I dare you not to smile when you watch it.
NOTE: Chloe has not (as yet) eaten ice cream ... but she certainly looked on with interest that day as she watched myself and Mary eating Eton Messs with vanilla ice cream in the pub!
I just came across a wonderful web page about a historic medieval church in London. I'm a big fan of medieval history to be honest so am always on the lookout for new and interesting, related websites.
Thinking of this London church, reminded me of my recent day spent in London with my dear friend Mary during which we ate a delicious Eton Mess ice cream dessert at her local pub! It had followed a super salad for lunch and was the ideal 'icing on the cake' on a warm summer's day in the city. The Eton Mess must have made a big impression on me because since that day I have begun to notice it being mentioned more and more in the media.
Top TV chefs such as Nigella Lawson and Delia Smith have both published Eton Mess recipes and Nigella has even starting referring to it when publishing other recipes! I found an example here on a Daily Mail article where she writes about a Lemon Meringue Fool recipe and says:
"Think of it as Eton mess, Amalfi style."
Now that's what I call popularising an ice cream term! What's more, I never would have read that if it hadn't been for the medieval church page - who says history is dead?!
Windsor Castle Eton Mess - With Vanilla Ice Cream!
On a recent trip to London I met up with my dear friend Mary whom I had not seen for over 10 years. The welcome was as warm as I could have wished for .... mid morning chocolate biscuits and English tea at her apartment followed by a super lunch at the local pub (more of that in a minute!), a walk in some beautiful gardens and then back for afternoon tea with cake and hot cross buns. Just as well that when I did leave, I had plenty of time to catch my train - I was so full I couldn't possibly have run!
Catching up on all our news, we recounted stories and reminisced about 'old times' (we used to work together in the same office in Regent Street many years ago). Our conversation was interspersed by the delightful play of Mary's new Bengal kitten, Chloe - searching for her ball and then chasing and playing with it, scampering here and there, quick as a whip. Chloe is without doubt the most adorable kitten I have ever encountered, with incredible, big, blue eyes. I challenge you to view this short video clip and disagree!
Chloe's Big Blue Eyes
When lunchtime arrived, we went to a local pub taking Chloe with us. The 'Windsor Castle' is a characterful, old pub and one of the most celebrated in London. The staff are friendly and helpful - everyone of course adored Chloe the moment they saw her - and the manager even came over personally to say hello. The food ... well, it was delicious.
After our main course (I had a lovely goats cheese salad), Mary insisted we have a dessert. I was too full I explained! So Mary suggested we share a dessert. Well, we had no idea that the pub has always been a favourite with Old Etonians (I learned this after our visit), so it was by pure chance that we opted for the 'Eton Mess' from the dessert menu. It turned out to be one of the pub's specialities.
Now if you've never had an 'Eton Mess' before, this is an English, 'fun' dessert for summer. It is derived from a well-known strawberry and cream dessert traditionally served on 4 June at Eton College in England when students picnic on the playing fields after the prizegiving ceremony.
The standard 'Eton Mess' recipe calls for broken meringue pieces, strawberries and cream - here is a very quick and easy Eton Mess recipe from the BBC.
However, at the Windsor Castle pub they take this dessert to another level, adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream along with some fresh, forest fruits. Ice cream and fruit - it was just as if it was meant for me! Served in a tall ice cream glass, the Windsor Castle pub's Eton Mess was topped off with sliced, fresh strawberries and fresh mint leaves. Score? 10 out of 10 - it was superb.
Welcome to "A Blog of Ice Cream" by Shelagh Caudle, Editor of www.ice-cream-recipes.com, launched in 2001 and established as one of the world's most popular websites for information on ice cream making, ice cream recipes and other related topics.
"Oh hello Chloe!" said the young lady serving us, reaching out to stroke her as we studied the day's menu. Chloe is indeed a very special cat .... a Bengal with beautiful markings that make her look like a miniature tiger and stunning bright blue eyes, she is also a fully qualified 
Here is the video clip I took of