I must be hungry. My mind is turning that image into enough clams for a million bowls of chowder.
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Ooh, Hiroshima-style! Noms.
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Today we’re having an early Christmas lunch with my folks, my sister and her family, as everyone will be spread to the four winds on the day itself. I’m taking two things - a salad and gougères. I made the gougères for the first time about ten years ago and I’m essentially banned from bringing anything different, so gougères it is.
They’re amazingly easy, but because they’re choux pastry everyone assumes they’re difficult. So a fantastic result-to-effort ratio, as well as an impress-folks-to-effort ratio.
The salad is a very Christmas salad. Block-rocking beets, avocado, radishes and a raspberry dressing with pomegranate seeds. This photo is last year’s. Yes, I’m pretty predictable.
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Recipes would be appreciated. And what is block-rocking beets?
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A play on a song from The Chemical Brothers.
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Yes, “block-rockin’ beets” is a terrible Chemical Brothers-related pun (thanks for the link @TobinL)that I’ve been using for far too long…
For the gougères:
Into a medium saucepan, put:
250ml water;
80 grams butter (2.5oz); and
A pinch of salt
…and bring to a boil. Take off the heat immediately and dump in:
150 grams plain flour
Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed. Return to the heat and keep and keep stirring for 30 seconds. Remove from heat again.
Allow the pan to cool a little for a few minutes and stir in four eggs, two at a time. This bit is not pretty - when the eggs first go in it looks awful, but a min or two beating and all’s well.
Stir through 100-150 grams grated cheese (Emmental, a sharp cheddar), a finely chopped garlic clove and some black pepper.*
Drop in spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet (large walnut size?) and bake at 180c for 20-25 mins. Serve hot with drinks.
*optional and awesome - add 10 roughly chopped anchovies and 12-15 chopped black olives at this stage.
The salad (I can’t attribute the recipe I’m afraid - original long-lost)
2 bch baby beetroot, trimmed (leaving 2cm stems) and boiled until tender and then skins rubbed off
1 bunch radishes, washed and sliced thinly on a mandolin
2 handfuls of baby chard leaves
1 avocado, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1/2 cup pomegranate arils
Dressing
2 tablespoons ev olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
1 punnet raspberries
To make dressing, sauté onions in oil and then add vinegar, sugar and bay leaf and simmer until liquid is syrupy. Turn off heat and add raspberries and allow syrup to cool.
Combine the rest of the salad ingredients except for the pomegranate arils and then when ready to serve, drizzle the syrup with the raspberries over the salad and garish with the pomegranate arils.
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Excellent, thank you!
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I disagree. I think it’s cute as a button! 
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A little something covered by Stephen Colbert the other night. Per his show… not a hoax. Is anyone really sure… especially these days?
Anyway, it originates from the UK:
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Ponyo approves.
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Confusion? Desperation?
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Hawaii maybe?
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You used a large can of beer as bait to catch a large… …slug? Duck-worm? The scissors on the right are clearly for impaling a passerby so I’m going to guess the State of Florida.
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I’m gonna guess Washington State and you’re going to make unagi.
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Winner! This guy was in the swimming area at Waikiki beach.
Half credit
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Even Mr. Creosote would pass on it.
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