National Trust Pies

I made a couple of pies from the National Trust book of traditional desserts; a Codlin Pie with sour apple and quince, and a Royal Pie of mincemeat and fruit with a meringue topping.

Apparently the 'royal' originally referred to a pie topped with royal icing (can this be true? Royal icing wasn't called that until the 19th century), but the more modern version is topped with softer whipped meringue.( Read more... )

The Codlin Pie was less successful, I think because it was really too sour; you were supposed to make it with brown sugar and I used muscovado, which isn't as sweet as white granulated sugar. It wasn't very palatable with yoghurt, though it looked pretty, but it was much nicer with a dollop of Bramley apple curd on top. (This is basically the same as lemon curd, with one of the lemons substituted by a cooking apple; unfortunately the lemons are probably the cheapest ingredient anyway! It tastes pretty much the same as lemon curd, with a hint of apple puree if you focus, but takes an awful lot longer to thicken.)


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POTO and real opera

"What Do We Mean by Opera, Anyway?"

A very interesting -- and readable -- article from the Journal of Popular Music Studies, bringing a positive critical approach to Lloyd Webber's work; the suggestion of "Think of Me" as being closely aligned to Balfe's I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls, for example, reminding us that 19th-century opera did indeed contain such catchy folksong-style 'lollipops' as well as the grand arias designed to show off technique, as sung by Carlotta.

As often in Lloyd Webber's economically designed musicals, the “aria,” or song, does a good deal of dramatic work, effectively introducing Christine, setting up her rivalry with Carlotta, and establishing her relationship with Raoul de Chagny, who joins in singing to the same melody from his box.

Naturally I'm also entertained by the conclusion that "the sterile modernism of [Don Juan Triumphant is] proof that Christine does not belong with the Phantom" ;-p