TestaRossa

Thanks! Americans use cups and they are specific measurements in fluid ounces I think! I just thought that might be what you meant too!

indiebird

you are so right Lorna, my granny did too, but I don't always have the confidence I did buy american measuring cups but they are in storage in the UK... I did see some rather lovely ones when I was home in the summer but couldn't quite justify them in terms of money and luggage space... I have a lot of the australian womens weekly books, inherited from my name and they were all in cup measurements and I loved all the muffin recipes etc so they came in handy for people like me not always comfortable with wondering what size cup the recipe meant in the 1st place.

TestaRossa

Is Australian womens weekly the same as the one we used to get in the UK when I was a kid? My mum got it every week. I learnt to sew from it. Just that I know someone who has the oz ww cookbooks and it made me wonder..

indiebird

As far as I know it is the same company but the Australian cookbooks must have been sold in the UK from, I think, the 1970's onwards. I think it's a bit like US Vogue and UK Vogue or whatever. The editoroal team cater for their own country. I love 'em, but I do have an over-enthusiastic love of kitsch!!

TestaRossa

Oh, is it the cookbooks you have too? For some reason I thought you had a stack of old mags!! Wish I'd kept my mum's I must admit! My friend's books look quite new, I think she probably got them on-line from Amazon or somewhere. Are they any good?

indiebird

No it is the cookbooks. Sorry TR was not clear. I get the feeling that the recipes from the mags were compiled into books and some that I have are from the 1970s but they go up to the 90's so they must have had a prolific output. They are good cos they are a bit different to what might have been about in the UK in the 70's. I like the cup measurments as it seems simpler (if you know what size cup you're dealing with ) and the fact that it tells you the oven temp in terms of 'hot', 'moderately hot', 'very hot' etc. It kinda took the mystique out of baking for me but without taking it away from other people who must think you're terribly talented to have made a cake.

TestaRossa

Going to give this a try tonight! Will let you know how it goes. Got some chicken and pork sausages specially!

TestaRossa

It worked!! First time ever!! Thanks Indie, I used your measures but with just two eggs and it's come out really well! Ta!

indiebird

Ahh you're welcome TR. See the secret is the fat being hot in the pan before you pour the batter in. Sounds yummy!!

TestaRossa

Sure was! I also left it on the stove top for about a minute before I shoved it in the oven, so I could see it starting to rise like it should even then. In the past I've relied on the oven to be hot enough and it hasn't worked at all! So thanks again. Antonia loved it! Wasn't a fan of the sausage but she ate the batter!

indiebird

Ahhh I so need to get some sausages and make it myself. I'm hungry just thinking about toad in the hole now...

TestaRossa

JohnD63

Now i'm going to have to try it also

bricwood

I was with an Italian last week and he told me English live on bread and jam and cups of tea!, Italian food is nice but English is just as good, if you cooked a fantastic meal Italians would not admit it, although I took some Italians to the English place in London where they do steak and kidney pud and they went back the next night on there own, I bought what I assumed to be minced beef this week to make cottage pie and cooked it with onions and it look a strange light colour , I will eat it today and find out, the only potatoes I can find are the yellow ones, not good for everything, I have eaten my last tin of baked I brought with but am well stocked up on Marmite, I WILL SURVIVE

Lorna at Vicenza

Hi Bricwood,

a lot of the pre-packed and some of the butcher's mincemeat here is a mixture of beef AND pork mince. It's what they all use for Bolognese sauce etc. If yours looked quite pale it probably had a lot of pork in it. You can get just beef mince everywhere though so look out for that next time you want to make a cottage pie. "Macinato di manzo".