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Malone

I was disappointed to hear of your poor dunking technique, so a graceful retirement seems a good idea.

I love the smelly and/or blue cheeses, although I have never tried the old boot one. Of others, I prefer my own County's cheese, Cheshire, whether protected or not, Perfect with one of Grunger's Melton Mowbray pork pies.

Thanks, Jigjag. You can eat all the smelly cheeses, and I can eat all the millionaire's shortbread - we're sorted. I'm not a huge fan of pork pies, so you can eat my share of those too. Grunger will, I know, provide me with any number of other pies (steak, meat and potato, rhubarb...) at the drop of a bakeress's hat... I only have to ask.

Malone

Do you watch Have I got News for You? I dont but I saw it a few days, and amazingly, after your last posting, the World Pie eating Championship in Wigan was featured. Grunger lives there and I am wondering if she appeared or possibly her pies?

Grunger

Were you in the competition, or did you bake any of the pies? There seemed to be a lot of them, quite large too. I liked the bit about each mouthful had to be chewed 32 times!

NOt a complaint, for once!
On Christmas Celebrity Masterchef, Greg Wallace said to Mel B "You're making ravioli, then?"
"No" she said "it's one big one, so it's a raviolo"

Jigjag, I didn't see HIGNFY, and I don't think I'd enjoy watching a pie eating championship. Decent pies should be accorded due respect and every mouthful savoured. I'd treat one of Grunger's pies with the right amount of reverence... and gravy or sauce or pickle, whatever was called for.

ChrisE. I have always liked the word 'raviolo', but feel one is not really a meal... maybe a starter?

You should have seen the size of the raviolo she made? Nearly covered the plate.

jigjag

I didnt watch the programme but I was aware of the Championship. I fear it is giving Wigan a bad name, when we have so much to offer, e.g. the Pier and the largest food factory in Europe.

Malone

Yes, I would be cheesed off if anybody ate one of my cheese pies in 10 seconds. I think they use Meat and Potato to slow them down. As you say, the right accompaniment is important

Chrise

Glad they got that right - I am waiting for panino.

Needing a break from last-minute Christmas shopping, I called in at the market café and enquired about the soups.

“Today we have two soups, onion and French onion” Cassie informed me.
“What’s the difference?” I politely enquired.
“Onion soup is made with onions, and French onion soup is made with French onions, I think” she replied. “I assume Paul gets them from France.”

I ordered both and was surprised that one was garnished with fried onion rings and the other with battered onion rings. Both soups looked and tasted the same. I have no idea which was which.

Jigjag, what an ... interesting lunch. If you were meeting up with anyone afterwards, I hope you had a packet of mints handy. A double dose of onion soup, with added onion garnishes, might leave behind a lingering fragrance.

ChrisE, thanks for the raviolo info - depending on the filling, I could maybe manage the bumper-sized one. I think a recent series of MasterChef had a raviolo with an egg yolk in the centre, I quite fancied that.

jigjag @831
My Welsh grandmother was convinced that she could speak French, as she could converse with the "French onion sellers" who cycled around the valleys with strings of onions over their shoulders. She didn't realise that they were Breton, and speaking a language pretty similar to Welsh!