Yeah, me too. I am thankful for the considerable latitude the mods give the WFD threads and I know we musnt take advantage of that, so I'm always happy when the mods offer a guiding hand to us as this.

They do a good job - I recently had cause to draw their attention to language being used on another thread. At first, they were unwilling to act and make an amendment to the offending post but, in due course, they were clearly persuaded as it was changed. One of the difficulties of different cultures that occur on international boards. What might be acceptable language in one culture (and used in that way) may well be a vile racist term in another culture.

Told ya it'd be easy peasy!

And, yes, both family members who have had stents were seriously advised to start low Cholesterol diets. Both have completely ignored advice.

I had high cholesterol diagnosed years back. I now take a daily statin. And I take reasonable care of the diet (although the dispassionate reader of the last 200+ WFD threads might reasonably conclude that i do not)

The best thing that the Netherlands has brought to fries is the oorlog (war) - three stripes across your serving - mayo, ketchup and peanut satay sauce. Tasty - and very pretty as well, to my mind.

As I mentioned, these are ready made ones bought from the supermarket.

If I was making them, I'dwould just use minced Bambi and, probably,a little pork or bacon to add some fat.

Like the supermarket, the farmer who sells eggs at my farmers market also marks their box with a "best before" date. She usually boxes them the day before the market and the date is usually about a week longer than supermarket eggs.

The supermarket ones I have at the moment have a best before of 22/5 and are at least 2.5 weeks old already.

I find iceberg a bit boring. That's not to say that it doesnt have its uses - although one of them isnt in my salad.

It's good as a wrap - say for Chinese style roast duck. Havnt done this dish in some while but I dunk the leaves in boiling water to soften a little and then fill them with cooked minced beef and rice (seasonings as you wish), before baking them for 20 minutes.

Zouk is near to the venue and I like it there, in spite of its claim to be "authentic" south asian and then have lobster thermidor on the menu, which sort of undermines the claim a tad.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/854328

Another possibility might be Tai Pan, on Upper Brook Street which is a decent enough, if not stellar, Cantonese.

Others - perhaps near to your hotel (which I'm guessing may be the Holiday Inn Express on Oxford or the IBIS on Princess Street) - would be Middle Kingdom (Sichuan) or EastzEast (Punjabi and actually in the IBIS building).

In that part of town, you're a bit snookered if you were wanting British/Euro style food.

Upcoming - Bambi burgers.

I used to buy them all the time until about 3 years back when the supermarket just stopped having them. And then, the other week, I just spotted they were back and snapped up three packs.

I've got some leftover cooked new potatoes which I'll just slice up and fry to a crispness. And a salad alongside - watercress, spring onion, red pepper, grated carrot.

Stents are so easy peasy these days. And, yes, I know it's easy for me to sit here and say this. And, yes, I'd be worried shitless as well - even knowing that it's easy peasy.

Thoughts with you - and all that stuff.

Oh, I love the idea of chips in a sandwich - or, as we'd call it in northwest England - a chip butty.

Great that there's an Egyptian version. Now that may well be a carryover from the time of the Great War. A division of north west troops was garrisoned there in 1914 -1916 and I can just see our local lads persuading the locals to make chip butties for them. I'll see if the military history board I use has any info.

Much as I enjoy the influences on British eating habits that have come from empire and immigration, I'm with Paprikaboy in thinking that "British food" is about our traditional dishes, even if these may have a modern spin to them. It's about local, seasonal produce cooked in a north European style. It's what I eat for dinner most days of the week. A local popular bistro prides itself on only using ingredients grown in the country or imported, as it says, through "traditional trade roots". Means they are happy to use asian spices and Spanish citrus, but you won't find an aubergine on the menu.

It doesnt have to be stuck in the past, though. A traditional dish from my region is Lancashire Hotpot. Like Irish stew, Lobscouse or Welsh cawl, it's a simple long cooked dish of lamb, onion, potato and stock. My mum used to cook it regularly. But I've also had it at a local Michelin starred restaurant. Yes, it's roots were still in the dish but it had become very refined and was lovely.

Even better than the naan idea, take a khobez (or any other eastern Med. flatbread) and top it with the oil/za'atar mix. Then put it in a hot oven for a minute. It crisps up beautifully. I always think of it as Palestinian pizza.

So, on the reasonable assumption that my fellow Europeans, on the mainland, don't refer to their breakfast as a "continental" one, only as "breakfast", then it's probably safe to assume that Americans have appropriated it from British usage (as we do call it that)

I remember, years back, we catered a family gathering where we'd poached a whole salmon. And, in classic style, decorated it with thinly sliced cucumber to sort of resemble the fish scales. That was a lot of slicing and very careful positioning - a complete ball-ache, indeed. Never again!

I wonder if that's a hangover from the time that Egypt was a British protectorate (1882 - 1953)?

"The Continent" would always imply the mainland of Europe.

Although "Europe", as a perjorative term, usually implies the European Union, which includes Ireland.

Many Britons (me included) will happily use the term "British Isles", to include the islands of Great Britain (together with those islands that form an integral part of Great Britain), Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. However, I appreciate the phrase is not really politically correct these days, harking back to a time before the Repubic of Ireland gained independance from the UK. I simply don't know how or if Irish people describe these islands collectively.

The UK's relationship with "Europe" is very much a matter of current political discussion. I think that, in due course, the UK will leave the European Union. This will not be a good thing, IMO - but then my political opinions are more in tune with the Green Party in Greece, than the Conservative Party led government of the UK.

You'd probably need to decide whether to mean Europe with or without Ireland, as well. That country's tradition with regard to breakfast is similar to that of the UK. Of course, it's the only European country that we're physically connected to.

I'm going to marinate a slab of tuna in some east asian flavours - mirin, soy - that sort of thing. And then cook it under the grill so the marinade bakes on. It'll need a couple of minutes or so each side as I am not a fan of the modern way with tuna, that just sears it and leaves the inside raw.

Thinly sliced cucumber gets a brief marination in bottled teriyaki sauce and is eaten as an accompaniment to the fish. There'll be jarred sushi ginger as well. And some noodles which I'll soften and then toss around in the wok with some spring onions.

Spot on, PB. I'm a fan of Sainsbury's own brand organic butter - as is Mrs H who uses the unsalted version in her baking.

Certainly you'll find a cooked breakfast - bacon, eggs and so on - in Ireland and the UK. Although I doubt whether you would ever see them described as "American style".

In the UK, the "Full English" breakfast will include most, if not all, of bacon, sausage, black pudding, eggs, fried tomatoes, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms. Of course, it's only described as such in England. In Wales, it's likely to be called the "Full Welsh" but will be pretty much the same. The "Full Scottish" may well also include haggis and white pudding. In Northern Ireland, you'll be getting the "Ulster Fry", same as everywhere else but including a potato cake or bread farl. Throughout the country, it's quite common, if you want all the items on the breakfast, to ask for the "Full Monty" (the origin of the phrase is uncertain).

On the other hand, it used to strike me as very odd, when visiting America, to see menus referring to a "Continental Breakfast", in the same way as I would refer to a continental breakfast - the continent being Europe. Is this description something Americans have appropriated to describe a breakfast based on breads and pastries, or is the reference to the continent of America and it is co-incidence that its based on breads, etc?

I wouldnt have considered scrambled eggs, cold cuts and cheese to be particularly American. They are pretty much pan-European breakfast items for hotels. In particular, I see the meats and cheeses very much a Dutch or Belgian breakfast.

I tried Googling for Plugra in the UK and got zilch. A fair bet, therefore, that it's not exported to other EU countries either.

Anchor - New Zealand, not Australia.

I've commented on here in the past that Rules is my favourite restaurant in the capital. If I had realised that it had private rooms, I would have recommended it unreservedly. Well, sort of unreservedly - the cuisine is traditional British, so if you were wanting something with a more modern take on things, then it wouldnt be right. Buit it could be a great place to celebrate - London's oldest restaurant and , in October, it'll be right in the middle of our game season. And game is something Rules does excellently.

Thought I'd treat myself - and I forgot there's also a one-person portion of a lemon tart (although I bought two portions!)

I've no experience of Windows, but ate at Galvin La Chapelle on a recent trip.

Truth be told, it was a bit underwhelming for the reputation that it seemed to have (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/898943

What Windows has going for it must be the spectacular location. And, so I gather, damn good service - general manager Fred Sirieix has an excellent reputation for providing superb front-of-house. Certainly, I can see it being the sort of place I'd like to celebrate at. I reckon an email or phone call to chat about your requirements would be well worth while.

Without wishing to be overly pedantic, but Kerrygold is an Irish, not British, product with its name being trademarked by the Irish Dairy Board.

In the UK, it is not at the top of the list of branded butters - those would be Lurpak and Anchor. I believe it comes in at no. 3 or 4, along with Country Life.

Any idea of what sort of food you're looking for - modern/traditional, British/other, etc.

For such a large group, you may want to consider the idea of a place which has a private room - hotels with a good reputation for food would be a good starting point (although it was elsewehre in the country, that's what we looked towards when we were planning a large gathering)

"International* cities (meaning outside of the US in this case)."

Not for me, it doesn't ;-)

Mrs H, her sisters and elderly parents are now ensconsed in their holiday apartment in Florida. Here, in north west England, it's again chilly and looks like rain. But the gloom of Man City's defeat yesterday has lifted with the acceptance that they simply didnt play very well.

I'm going to spend the morning pottering round the garden. And I'm looking forward to dinner, I'm starting with a couple of pigeon breasts, tossed in extra virgin rapeseed oil and thyme, quickly fried as a topping for a handful of mixed salad leaves, rapeseed oil and Cheshire cider vinegar as a dressing. I'm also slow roasting a smallish piece (it'd easily feed three) of organic, rare breed belly pork. Alongside, roast butternut squash, apple sauce, Jersey Royals. Cheese for afters (Aberwen and Teifi)