Roast Beef

How to Prepare a Traditional Roast Beef

- video recipe

Preparing roast beef may seem intimidating at first, but really there's little more to it than putting the roast in the oven and pulling it out when it's done. The roast in this recipe, depending on the exact size you choose, feeds 8-12. Roast beef makes a great centerpiece for a holiday or other special meal.

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Dauphinoise potatoes

Dauphinoise potatoes

By Mike Robinson

This creamy and garlicky side dish goes perfectly well with all kind of roast meat such as lamb, roastbeeff, chicken...

Recipe

Serves: 6

Cooking and preparation

• Preparations time: 20 minutes
• Cooking time: 45-60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 kg/2lb 4oz baking potatoes, peeled and placed in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from browning (use floury potatoes such as Russet, King Edward, Maris Piper or Desiree)
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 500ml/17½fl oz double cream (you may need a bit extra)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• You will need a large gratin dish
  

  Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C/320F/Gas 2.

  2. Slice the potatoes into thin slices, about 2mm-3mm/0.13in thick. Place the slices into a bowl as you cut them.

  3. Trim the ends off the garlic cloves but don't peel. Grate the cloves on a grater. The flesh will go through the fine holes and the skins will be left behind. Scrape the grated garlic flesh into the bowl with the potatoes.

  4. Season the potatoes, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.

  5. Pour the cream over the potatoes and mix well again.

  6. Place the potato slices into the gratin dish. They should come to just below the top of the dish. Press the potato down with the back of a spoon or your hands so it forms a solid layer. The cream should come to just below the top layer of potato (top up with more double cream if necessary).

  7. Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, then check it. If the cream looks like it's splitting, your oven is too hot, so turn it down a bit. When cooked, the gratin should be golden on top and the potatoes tender. If necessary, give it another 15-20 minutes.

  8. Serve the dauphinoise as a side dish to roasted meat or poultry.

PHRASAL VERBS

Phrasal verbs are very common and are a really good way to make yourself sound more natural when speaking informal English.

They can be difficult, but here you can find out how to use phrasal verbs to talk about each of our topics.

Check out the Funky Phrasals box to see the phrasal verbs to look out for in each topic.

You can listen to conversations where the phrasal verbs are used, hear extra examples, and you can also get down to some funky music.

If you like, you can read the conversation script on the web-page or, if you prefer, download the complete text of the conversation and the examples.

And, at the end, you can test your knowledge by trying the quiz.

THIS IS A USEFUL PAGE FOR THOSE WHO TEACH HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY. THE LANGUAGE USED IN THIS INTERACTIVE ADVENTURE IS QUITE BASIC AND THE PROFESSOR SPEAKS SLOW ENOUGH FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND. SO, ENJOY THIS FANTASTIC JOURNEY TO ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS.

PANCAKE DAY

Shrove Tuesday 2010 (Pancake Day)
In the UK, Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day (or Pancake Tuesday to some people) because it is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake.
Pancake Recipe

Ingredients For the pancake mixture: 220g/8oz plain flour, sifted pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 pint of milk 50g/2oz butter Makes about 8 pancakes Method for making the batter Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets a airing. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk the eggs making sure any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl are mixed in with the egg. Gradually add small quantities of the milk, still whisking Continue whisking until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a non-stick frying pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of the melted butter into the batter and whisk it in. Let the pancake mix stand for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Pour any left over butter into a dish. This will be used later to grease the frying pan after each pancake has been made. Make sure the non-stick frying pan is really hot before adding about 2 tbsp of the batter mixture. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip the pan around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. Carefully lift the edge of the cooked pancake with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife to cook the other side Slide it out of the pan onto a plate. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate.

To serve

Traditionally pancakes are sprinkled with caster sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice .......

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS FESTIVITY JUST CLICK HERE

DIRECTIONS 1

DIRECTIONS

DIRECTIONS

Differences between British and American English

British and American English are the reference norms for English as spoken, written, and taught in the rest of the world. For instance, the English-speaking members of the Commonwealth often closely follow British English forms while many new American English forms quickly become familiar outside of the United States. Although the dialects of English used in the former British Empire are often, to various extents, based on British English, most of the countries concerned have developed their own unique dialects, particularly with respect to pronunciation, idioms, and vocabulary; chief among them are Canadian English and Australian English, which rank third and fourth in number of native speakers.

THE LEMON TREE

THIS IS A REALLY GOOD AND EASY SONG TO PRACTISE PRESENT CONTINUOUS. TAKE THE CHALLENGE AND FILL IN THE GAPS. IT IS SUITABLE FOR ALL LEVELS!

JUST CLICK HERE AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LISTEN TO THIS SONG AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS!!! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS PAGE...

This is a complete list of all the irregular verbs and their pronunciation. This time in British English. Listen to this video at least once a week and you will not have to study them by heart. The video is a bit boring but I think it is good practice.

Pronunciation: 'ed' endings
Regular verbs in the simple past all end in 'ed'. These two small letters can be pronounced in three different ways. In the programme we find out what these different pronunciations are and give our challenger Sebastian the chance to produce the correct sounds in our role-play.

Listen to the programme!
To listen to the audio and do the quizzes please click here.

SONG: TITANIC

ENJOY THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG WHILE YOU IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH!

TO DO THE EXERCISES CLICK HERE.

IRREGULAR VERBS: PRONUNCIATION

THIS IS A VIDEO WHICH WILL HELP YOU PRONOUCE IRREGULAR VERBS IN A PROPER WAY. I KNOW IT´S NOT BRITISH ENGLISH, BUT I THINK IT IS PERFECT AS LONG AS YOU LEARN TO PRONOUNCE THEM WITH "ANY" BUT A SPANISH ACCENT.



IF YOU WANT MORE PRACTICE JUST CLICK HERE .

BRITISH VS AMERICAN ENGLISH

THIS VIDEO, STARRING DOCTOR HOUSE, IS TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES IN VOCABULARY BETWEEN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN ENGLISH. ENJOY YOURSELF, IT´S GREAT FUN!!!

HOW TO MAKE A DELICIOUS APPLE CRUMBLE

THIS IS A DELICIOUS AND TYPICAL BRITSH DESSERT.

THE RECIPE IS REALLY EASY, YOU ONLY NEED SOME APPLES, FLOUR, BUTTER, BROWN SUGAR, SOME DROPS OF LEMON JUICE & SOME CINNAMON. THAT´S ALL!!! SIMPLE BUT MMMMMMM.......... YAMMY!!! JUST TRY IT! (the custard powder and the oats that the girl adds at the end are not necessary)

Introductions - Social Language

This is the first Real English contact with the Present Simple tense, introducing new verbs in a form which express generalities and habits, such as going to work everyday!

First, watch the video and then do the exercises! It´s just a click away!


If you liked this video and want to see many more, just click here!

Key Vocabulary

Surname, family name, first name
Where are you from?
What's your job? address? phone (telephone) number?
How old are you?

Key Dialogue

1. What's your first name?
2. Fred

1. Where are you from?
2. Atlanta, Georgia

1. What's your job? / What do you do?
2. I'm a teacher.

1. What's your address?
2. 34 White Street

1. What is your phone number?
2. 308-6730

1. How old are you?
2. 54

1. Are you married?
2. Yes, I am.

PHONETICS: LONG VOWEL SOUND / 3 : /

PHONETICS
LONG VOWEL SOUND / 3 : / = "WORK"



If you want to learn and practise more about The Sounds of English click here

PHONETICS: The Sounds of English (Introduction)

Introduction

Good pronunciation is very important for good spoken communication. However you do not have to speak like a native English speaker to have good pronunciation.

There are many different natural varieties of English pronunciation in Britain and around the world. The activities and resources in this part of the site are designed to give an introduction to certain features of standard southern British English pronunciation.

There are videos, interactive quizzes and downloadable activities and materials which can be used for self-study or for teachers with lower-intermediate students.