Milan. Happy Birthday.

Earlier this year I lost a very dear friend.  Composer, electrical engineer, amazing guitarist, impresario, lyricist, manager, he was a remarkable person who lived life to the full.  He accomplished all that despite being afflicted with muscular dystrophy which greatly restricted his mobility. Although he used to say "just a little problem" 

He introduced me to jazz while I was still at school.   Not at a concert but at the rehearsal of his band he was managing.   He asked me to stand at the back of the auditorium and tell him how they came over.  I was flummoxed,  I knew nothing of jazz - it all sounded like discordant sounds to me - and even less of the technology of the equipment that conveyed those sounds. But over time I grew to appreciate the subtlety of the genre.

Another passion we shared was food.   He savoured the English roast with all its trimmings.   Particularly  Yorkshire pudding which is often served as a starter here In Yorkshire.   We looked long and hard for the perfect Sunday lunch. Mostly in vain.   Toby. Harvester, Berni - do you remember them? - Maybe we should have gone to Simpsons.

For logistical reasons I rarely cooked with him. But I think he would have appreciated this..  some of the best conversations we had were how a a good Yorkshire pudding should look feel and taste and how a good roast potato should crunch but best of all how meat should be craved to your dinner plate we ate well and enjoyed the classics tastes and talks of a good Sunday roast.

He remains in our memory as very special person, who was all about life and gave his time to many others  despite his own setbacks in life.

Here are a few tips for making these yummy creatures and a recipe. Perhaps in his memory you could cook them and continue remembering him and  also great sense of humour!

A quick and easy recipe:

4 large eggs- room temp, equal amount of flour to eggs and equal amount of milk to flour with a touch of water and a pinch of salt

1. Sieve the flour into a bowl and season with a little salt. Gradually add the milk and water mixture until a consistency of thick double cream is achieved. Leave to stand for at least an hour.Rest is best for Yorkshire pudding batter so longer the better.
2. Just before putting in the oven, whisk the eggs (with an electric whisk if possible) and add to the mixture, whisking the batter until smooth.
3. Make sure your fat is very hot in the tray before pouring it in- that way you will have light airy cooked pudding that have risen. Gas mark 7 22o oc for 30-40 mins.

Enjoy!