Oh my goodness, it feels like being in an industrial kitchen this evening as I try and cook TWO main courses.  AMWs duck – for the first time ever – plus my all time favourite non-silver-screen-suppers dish – Leon’s Sausage, Kale and Flageolets Casserole.  It doesn’t sound like much does it? But my goodness it is delicious.  Lord.  I know why those professional chefs have a million timers going off all through service though.  Ten minutes simmering on that one, add the stock after 15 minutes for that one, turn the heat down on the other one and add the kale…..  Just like all of us in The Completion Club with our timers going off all over the world – where is my POMODORO timing device?

I’m on a new schedule.  Now that my house is well and truly warmed I am going to get on track for finishing this book in 2010.  There will be more test cooking, more sample recipe page writing and more keeping on top of the requests for test cooking recipes.  Apologies if you are still starving and waiting for me to send them out.  Frankly, I am still drunk after the housewarming.  Let’s face it, when I cleaned up next day there were 8 cans of Stella Artois, 3 full bottles of wine and 7 or 8 half bottles left knocking around.  I can’t have them distracting me from my work can I?!  I must get rid of them, by drinking them…  Tonight if at all possible.

I promise that everyone who has requested a recipe to test will hear from me this week – honestly!  The call is still out if you fancy like joining in.  The more the merrier!

OK, oven timer has just bleeped.  Dinner is done.

Stop press – the duck was very good.  But I am going to try it again because Natalie – a brand new friend of the Silver Screen Suppers project – has commented that it is a pretty Americanized version of a Chinese dish.  When Anna proposed this recipe in the 1930s most American housewives wouldn’t have had much – if any – experience of Chinese cuisine. I am sure Anna brought it down a notch for her inexperienced readers.

But just you look out when I have my Chinese cooking wine, ginger and garlic to hand!

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