Catering For Boxing Day

On the only dry morning of a largely dreary day we visited Tesco for Jackie to obtain further ingredients for her Boxing Day curries, and to acquire petrol.

Having now read fifty more pages of ‘Dombey and Son’ I scanned the next nine of Charles Keeping’s exquisitely detailed illustrations to my Folio Society edition.

‘Painted and patched for the sun to mock’

In ‘The horse, in his struggles to get up, kicked him’ features the artist’s trademark dog, with Keeping’s own imagination demonstrating the animal’s distress at the accident.

‘Awake, doomed man, while she is near’

‘Mr Dombey, in a paroxysm of rage, pulled his hair rather than nothing’

‘She confronted him with the same self-possession and steadiness’

‘ ‘Don’t mind her,’ she said; ‘she’s a strange creetur’

‘She cast the gems upon the ground’

‘The captain carried her up’. Note how the stairs are indicated.

Of all the delicate details in ‘She dared not look into the glass’ perhaps the mirror is the cleverest.

Later, I published https://derrickjknight.com/2021/12/13/a-knights-tale-78-divorce/

The Culinary Queen perfected her Boxing Day Chicken Jalfrezi during the day,

saving enough of the sauce prepared yesterday to see us through the week on lamb jalfrezi and pilau rice, which we began this evening with her favourite Hoegaarden and more of the Malbec for me.

70 comments

  1. That’s they way to do it. When you finally perfect the sauce – don’t give it ALL away! Oh dear – now I’m hungry!

  2. It is very doubtful that the Boxing Day celebration will take place, given the recent Covid measures, but the food looks delicious!

  3. What is all this talk about lockdowns? Clearly, I’ve not been keeping up with events there — we’re so nearly completely open, you rarely hear anyone talking about what I like to call the Demon Virus. Well, apart from the media, of course. I hope you have a chance to share that delicious curry as you please, and with whomever you wish!

  4. Charles Keeping has cooked a unique curry with aromas drawn from the main author’s storyline. Jackie is a connoisseur of subcontinental dishes. Greetings of the Season!

  5. The drawings are as evocative as ever. Thank you for pointing out the mirror.
    That’s clever of Jackie to make extra sauce. I was noticing your stovetop. The controls by my burners say Hi, Low, and have numbers in between.

  6. The sketches are amazing and I agree with, Liz, the characters show a lot of emotion. Jackie’s culinary delights look delicious.

  7. Immensely enjoyable illustrations by Mr Keeping transfixed my eyes by his inimitable flowing lines.
    Jalfrezi looks tempting, both the chicken and the lamb varieties. My compliments to the Culinary Queen.

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