WINE & DINE WITH ANGELA LANSBURY

  Introduction To Italian Food Seeing Sicily Italy produces some of the world's best wines and foods. As a child under the age of ten I travelled half price on P & O cruise ships and we landed in Sicily to visit the Roman ruins. Then as a student in the Sixties I went with our car on a small plane to Italy, visiting Rome, and Pisa, enjoying the myriad types of pasta.  Sardinia Later I visited Sardinia. Best Prosecco My first wines were the lower alcohol sweet and/or sparkling wines such as Asti Spumante. Now I am a protagonist for Prosecco.  At the Real Italian Wine & Food show I shall be looking for the prosecco which has been awarded the title of best Prosecco ten years running, from the company Azienda Agricola Biasiotto. Our favourite lunch time meal every Saturday back in the sugar-laden Sixties was at the Italian restaurant Dino's in Edgware station where we had canneloni. We knew nothing about healthy food and had no idea that pasta was fattening as well as...

Members & Guests of the Civil Service Club, London  If you have ever worked in the Civil Service you may be eligible to join the Civil Service Club, which is between Embankment station and Charing Cross station by Trafalgar Square.  You might go there if you have a friend who is a member, or who belongs to a club which meets there, such as the Central London Wine Society (several Wednesday evenings each year). Walking up to it, or past it, you will notice that it has a front open air courtyard where members and guests can take their food and drink from the downstairs bar and indoor eating area. It is a bit like a pub, with interesting pictures of London. Bar Ground Floor Food from the bar area can be ordered if you are in a meeting upstairs and they will bring it up to your meeting room. Reception Decor The reception hall desk where you sign in has flowers and a picture of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the late queen. Upstairs Restaurant Upstairs restaurant, decorated fo...

You might be looking for a quotation for a dinner party speech or to advertise an event or destination.   If music be the food of love, play on. Shakespeare Cassius has a lean and hungry look. Julius Caesar, in the play of that name by William Shakespeare. Champagne - in victory you deserve it, in defeat you need it. Napoleon Bonaparte. Angela Lansbury is the author of  Quick Quotations Who Said What When Wedding Speeches & Toasts

 It is such a shame to throw away wine bottle corks. I collect corks. I love to be reminded of my favourite wines. I like recycling. Here's a quick summary of uses: 1 Fill a large glass vase with used corks to decorate a table at a dinner party, restaurant cashier desk, wine bottle display, or wine trade show. 2 Frame corks in a picture frame. No glass needed. If you have broken the glass of a frame, you can use the frame. 3 Place card holders For dinner parties and wine tastings. Slice off the cork vertically so it sits flat on the table. Make a diagonal cut to insert the name card. If you don't have the time or resources, or don't know in advance who will attend but want them to sit alternating men and women, or with VIPs beside the host or at a top table, ask business people for their business card and use that as the table card. 4 Xmas trees and Wreaths Description English:  Christmas tree and wreath made out of corks. Crop of  File:Christmas tree and wreath made out ...

  If you are a tourist some top places to visit are Auckland Area Day Trip to the KUMEU RIVER  region 1  Soljans Estate Winery  Cellar Door A great shop sells wines, and glasses with the letter S (for Soljans, therefore handy if you wish to remember the company, or if your name is Sarah, Susan, Simon, or Smith). The shop also has tempting caps, bags and scarves. The wine tasting was 15 New Zealand dollars per person for five wines. I loved the great wine from my favourite Gewuztraminer grape. 2  Kumeu River Winery Run by the famous Michael Brajkovich, who makes a huge range of seriously interesting wines. Auckland to Rotorua  From Auckland, we went to the Rotorua hot springs area, in the Waikato wine region (Wai is the Maori word for water). Near Rotorua we visited the evocatively named  3 Volcanic Hills winery. Up the cable car to the tastings at the top. Great view of the top of the cable car and down the hillsides. Huge tasting room. Friendly and kn...

  Don't be afraid of long menus Or young waiters, arrive early Ask for their help, make them feel good They'll smile, chat, show teeth pearly To those used to using chopsticks Knives and forks are confusing cutlery  Everyday layouts won't confuse the Brits But silver service is a mystery Each country has its own good rule But it needs communication To diners and new waiters To avoid lots of confusion  Let's talk about a knife and fork The knife is on the right The fork is on the left The soup spoon's first, far right Why is the knife on the right? Easy to understand Before forks were invented Knives were gripped by your cutting, (fighting!) hand Soup Course And Plate The British eat warming soup first (The Chinese eat soup last) Soup spilt in laps mishaps the worst Tilt plate away, danger is passed Knife & Fork Position You start from the outside. Placed A-shape on plates is silent talk Still eating, paused, might finish soon. Next, the soup spoon and the tea sp...

  Vasco & Piero's Pavilion Italian Restaurant has been our family's favourite in Central London for a long time. It's always a delightful surprise because the menu changes twice daily. The restaurant is clean, white bright and fresh with white linen table cloths. We went there again in November 2024. You can sit at small square tables for two, oblong tables for four, large round tables, or bar stools, or in a private room behind glass walls at the back. My companions chose a glass of red chianti to match the colour and intensity of their red meat dishes. I opted for Prosecco, sparkling white as a starter and to go with my white meat main course, chicken. Good enough. My husband, who is a wine educator, approved of the label credentials, the region and grape variety, and the taste. The restaurant has Umbrian items.  A member of our family from overseas wanted soup, which was not on the menu. They immediately offered to make one specially for her, a 'simple' mixed...