Blog Archives
The official royal christening photo, “Family Guy” style
Have you seen this? “Family Guy” has spoofed the official christening photo of Prince George! (And Stewie has taken the place of our young prince…)
“Downton Abbey” cast has been Simpsonized
Adrien Noterdaem has Simpsonized the full cast of “Downton Abbey.” Check it out here!
(And if you keep scrolling, you’ll see the Simpsonized versions of characters from “The Wire,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Luther” and more!)
“My Blackberry is not working” comedy sketch
So this comedy sketch from Ronnie Corbett and Harry Enfield is making the rounds again – and it is still funny!
For the non-Brits in the room, the only things to note is that Orange is a mobile phone company in the U.K. and I had to Google “dongle,” which probably has nothing to do with nationality and more to do with my lack of techy lingo.
Anyway, go forth and enjoy!
Anthony Hopkins’ love letter about "Breaking Bad"
I’m pretty sure that I’ve blogged before about my obsession with “Breaking Bad.” It is the Best Show in the History of the World (in my book)… and apparently, this is where Anthony Hopkins and I have something in common.
Check out the letter that he wrote to Bryan Cranston, as reported by Gawker.com:
Dear Mister Cranston.
I wanted to write you this email – so I am contacting you through Jeremy Barber – I take it we are both represented by UTA . Great agency.
I’ve just finished a marathon of watching “BREAKING BAD” – from episode one of the First Season – to the last eight episodes of the Sixth Season. (I downloaded the last season on AMAZON) A total of two weeks (addictive) viewing.
I have never watched anything like it. Brilliant!
Your performance as Walter White was the best acting I have seen – ever.
I know there is so much smoke blowing and sickening bullshit in this business, and I’ve sort of lost belief in anything really.
But this work of yours is spectacular – absolutely stunning. What is extraordinary, is the sheer power of everyone in the entire production. What was it? Five or six years in the making? How the producers (yourself being one of them), the writers, directors, cinematographers…. every department – casting etc. managed to keep the discipline and control from beginning to the end is (that over used word) awesome.
From what started as a black comedy, descended into a labyrinth of blood, destruction and hell. It was like a great Jacobean, Shakespearian or Greek Tragedy.
If you ever get a chance to – would you pass on my admiration to everyone – Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Aaron Paul, Betsy Brandt, R.J. Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Steven Michael Quezada – everyone – everyone gave master classes of performance … The list is endless.
Thank you. That kind of work/artistry is rare, and when, once in a while, it occurs, as in this epic work, it restores confidence.
You and all the cast are the best actors I’ve ever seen.
That may sound like a good lung full of smoke blowing. But it is not. It’s almost midnight out here in Malibu, and I felt compelled to write this email.
Congratulations and my deepest respect. You are truly a great, great actor.
Best regards
Tony Hopkins.
“Downton Tabby”
Well, if you’ve ever felt like “Downton Abbey” is missing a bit of feline flair (and who hasn’t?), keep an eye out for “Downton Tabby” by Chris Kelly, which will be released Dec. 3.
If this cover is an indicator of the quality read that awaits, we are all in for a treat!
First world problem: Missing the Emmy Awards
Congrats to “Breaking Bad” for winning Best Drama. Sure wish that I could’ve seen it!
Waaaaah! I can’t believe I missed the Emmy Awards yesterday. Not only did I miss them, they weren’t even on my radar. I had no idea they were happening yesterday until I went online and spotted some headlines – the top being that the U.K.’s Damian Lewis from “Homeland” didn’t get the big prize.
Cue the sad trombone.
All I could do was live vicariously through The Mirror’s play-by-play account of the evening. And sieve through the Red Carpet photos on Huffington Post. Le sigh.
Cauliflower bake with hazelnut crunch crust
A few months ago, we got “The Little Paris Kitchen” cookbook by Rachel Khoo and after a long summer of not feeling terribly interested in spending time in the kitchen, I’ve finally gotten around to cooking from it – Cauliflower bake with hazelnut crunch crust.
I like the simplicity of her recipes and the French flair (Khoo is a Brit who now lives in Paris and adds some Britishness to her French dishes). It’s seasonal, fresh and easy and the results speak for themselves – my cauliflower bake was gone in a day and it was a great recipe to get the kids to eat their veggies.
If you haven’t seen Khoo’s show before, it’s currently on the Cooking Channel in the states, showing every Friday at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Cauliflower bake with hazelnut crunch crust
3 lbs heads cauliflower, trimmed and separated into florets
1/3 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped
1 slice of extra crunchy toast, roughly chopped
Mornay sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk, slightly warmed
1/4 onion, skin removed
1 clove
1 bay leaf
1 pinch salt and pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
7 ounces gruyere cheese, grated (can also use Comte or Parmesan)
To begin with, steam the cauliflower in a colander fitted inside a pan. Steam for around 15 minutes so the cauliflower still has some bite left in it.
For the sauce, melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Add the flour and stir hard until a smooth paste is achieved. Take off the heat and leave for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the milk, mixing all the time. Place it back on the heat and add the clove, bay leaf and leek. Simmer for 10 minutes, constantly stirring. Remove the leek, bay leaf and clove. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir the cheese into the warm sauce, saving a bit to sprinkle on top. Mix the cauliflower into the sauce and give it a good stir. Pour into a baking tin.
Sprinkle on the remaining cheese and top with the crushed hazelnuts and broken up pieces of toast. Bake for 20 minutes and then place under the broiler for a few minutes to get a golden and bubbling crust.
We dug in so quickly after I took it out of the oven that I later realized that I had forgotten to take a photo of this golden brown and bubbling goodness! Trust me when I say it looked and tasted divine!
Benedict Cumberbatch name generator
Looking for a way to wile away your Thursday? Try the Benedict Cumberbatch name generator!
I am Honkytonk Creamsicle! And Bentobox Candygram! And Rinkydink Snickersbar! I can’t stop clicking …
British teeth, pt. 2 (Electric boogaloo)
Speaking of teeth, I have to share this little clip from “The Graham Norton Show.” He interviews Olivia Colman, who was in “The Iron Lady,” and yes, the topic of “funny English teeth” does come up.
Thanks, Lillie, for sending this!
BRITRISH.COM 