Menu From Early 1970’s

[Vaughan]

1 hour ago, webntweb said:

I seem to remember the pub opposite the end of station road as the White Horse.

So do I. 

It was full of genuine antique horse brasses.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Common in the seventies. 

Prawn cocktail, Chicken   Kiev,  Black Forest Gateau.

Washed down with Blue nun,or worse still Spanish Sauternes,which was wrong at every level and now illegal. 

Cheese fondue, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs,little squared canapes covered in aspic. 

[MauriceMynah]

3 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Common in the seventies. 

Prawn cocktail, Chicken   Kiev,  Black Forest Gateau.

Washed down with Blue nun,or worse still Spanish Sauternes,which was wrong at every level and now illegal. 

Cheese fondue, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs,little squared canapes covered in aspic. 

Oh happy days

[vanessan]

3 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Common in the seventies. 

Prawn cocktail, Chicken   Kiev,  Black Forest Gateau.

Washed down with Blue nun,or worse still Spanish Sauternes,which was wrong at every level and now illegal. 

Cheese fondue, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs,little squared canapes covered in aspic. 

Ian - what makes you say Spanish Sauternes is now ‘illegal’? (I was never a Sauternes fan but my grandparents used to buy it at Christmas as a seasonal treat.) Mateus Rose was very popular then too. How our wings have spread as the years have gone by! 🍷

[stumpy]

3 hours ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Common in the seventies. 

Prawn cocktail, Chicken   Kiev,  Black Forest Gateau.

Washed down with Blue nun,or worse still Spanish Sauternes,which was wrong at every level and now illegal. 

Cheese fondue, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs,little squared canapes covered in aspic. 

Ah! Berni Inns, the pinnacle of fine dining when you wanted to impress a new laydee.

[Chelsea14Ian]

17 minutes ago, vanessan said:

Ian - what makes you say Spanish Sauternes is now ‘illegal’? (I was never a Sauternes fan but my grandparents used to buy it at Christmas as a seasonal treat.) Mateus Rose was very popular then too. How our wings have spread as the years have gone by! 🍷

Sauternes is a expensive  Sweet French wine and is certainly illegal To be made anywhere apart from Bordeaux. There most famous being d'yquem.One of the most sort after  wines often costing a small fortune. Back in the sixties many wine names were hijacked often  from Spain. Now Spanish  wines can more then hold there own.

[vanessan]

32 minutes ago, Chelsea14Ian said:

Sauternes is a expensive  Sweet French wine and is certainly illegal To be made anywhere apart from Bordeaux. There most famous being d'yquem.One of the most sort after  wines often costing a small fortune. Back in the sixties many wine names were hijacked often  from Spain. Now Spanish  wines can more then hold there own.

I see what you mean now, thank you. It was certainly French Sauternes that graced our table back in the 50/60s, replaced with French Chablis later on. Think my grandparents’ tastes must have changed as they got older, same as a lot of us probably. Sophistication of course! 

[webntweb]

The first wine that my family bought was a Sauternes at Christmas about 1958 – I was 13 and remember it being sweet. For the next few years it was Hock which tasted horrible, but is probably quite sweet in comparison with most white wines.

We were having a retro Christmas dinner a few years ago and I looked at Sauternes in Sainsbury's and it was £13 for half a bottle. No wonder my dad went for the cheaper option after that first Christmas.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Most wines are quite  rightly protected. In the same way as Stilton, Parma ham ,Cornish pasties etc.I'm a great believer in supporting local foods and drinks wherever I am.In doing so Hopefully it helps the local economy.Something that is very  important  now.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Taking of local try Norfolk  wines very good,far from cheap but occasions like Christmas  a real treat.

[Vaughan]

The sweetness of Sauternes comes from the "cepage noble" which is the method of leaving the grapes on the vine right through until sometimes early October when they are almost shrivelled. This concentrates the sugar in the grape but is difficult to produce,  normally hand picked and so quite expensive. It does keep a lot longer as well. It is a dessert wine to have with your "pudden" at the end of a meal.

But not with Christmas pudding, which is too rich. The best thing with that is Asti Spumante, a sweet sparkling wine.

[Chelsea14Ian]

Very true  there are now a number of very good sweet  wines.We still have one we brought  in Canada. For me I do have a sweet tooth  but I'm not keen on sweet wines.

[vanessan]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

The sweetness of Sauternes comes from the "cepage noble" which is the method of leaving the grapes on the vine right through until sometimes early October when they are almost shrivelled. This concentrates the sugar in the grape but is difficult to produce,  normally hand picked and so quite expensive. It does keep a lot longer as well. It is a dessert wine to have with your "pudden" at the end of a meal.

But not with Christmas pudding, which is too rich. The best thing with that is Asti Spumante, a sweet sparkling wine.

That sounds like a lot of noble rot to me! 

[Chelsea14Ian]

It is indeed. 

[ChrisB]

Back in the 60s our family business used to do work for Mayor Sworder, the Wine Merchants. At Christmas my father used to be given a bottle of Port and a bottle of Chateau d'yquem. I can't remember the name of the Port but it was supplied to the Palace of Westminster.  The last time I saw a bottle of d'yquem was in Holt and it was £120 for a non vintage year some bottles are many times that price before you start on the rare ones.

[Chelsea14Ian]

When I worked for the bank our wines were the very best.This is where I was lucky  to taste some of the best wines  in the world now and again they would  sort out some of the wines.We had very good ports,1947 and 1955,always  had my eye on that one the year of my birth.Would have to keep it away from Marina, she would only put lemonade in it.Then I wouldn't  be responsible for my actions!

[ChrisB]

Good Lord, I had completely forgotten Port and Lemon! And there was that other drink Snowball made from Advocat, lemonade and a splash of fresh lime juice. 

There was a pub in Chenies called The Bedford Arms. Back then if you ordered a Bitter Shandy they would put a couple of shakes of Angus Duras Bitters in it, that was nice, very refreshing in summer. That was before I graduated to it in a Plymouth Gin topped up with water. 

Now I am pretty much TT, funny old life.

[Chelsea14Ian]

To this day Marina still had the odd glass of port and lemon.Funny when we go to some pubs,the young  staff dont have a clue how to do a p&l.We've even been abroad  and got them to do us a port and lemon.Well remember snow balls.Theres many drinks from the sixties  and seventies that have fallen out of fashion. 

[MauriceMynah]

10 minutes ago, ChrisB said:

Now I am pretty much TT, funny old life.

Me too! Hardly touch a drop these days. Well perhaps just a heart starter in the early coffee, and possibly a little something to wash lunch down, you know how it goes.

I find a small libation while I cook the evening meal is a treat I give myself and of course something while I relax and watch TV.

I do tend to have a tiny weeny nightcap just to help with the sleep last thing but as you say, Damned near Tea Total myself.

[Poppy]

The 'best' French vintages, the Premier Grand Crus  are now mostly bought up even before the vendage ( the grape harvest) by rich investors.

 

[Chelsea14Ian]

Very true.