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Every Sunday, while we watch the PBS period drama, "Downton Abbey," we eat over-the-top desserts.
One week it was cupcakes.
Last Sunday, I bought strawberry cream cheese pastries and pimped them with fresh, probably poisonous, flowers.
Naturally we plucked off the offensive botanical matter and consumed the goodies.
I should probably be talking about vampires, but here I am talking about my insatiable appetite for British melodrama. I mainly read non-fiction that centers around the Wars of the Roses and Tudor periods. I have no desire to write about Henry and his wives--I just can't get enough of him. I was a huge fan of the HBO hit series, "The Tudors," and when it ended, I gleefully latched onto PBS's "Downton Abbey." Each week, I'd stuff myself with scones while I watched the drama unfold in the green countryside of Hampshire. The series focuses on the inhabitants of "Downton Abbey," upstairs and downstairs. I especially love the kitchen scenes. This character-driven series zeroes in on the (slightly impoverished) Earl of Grantham, his sensible (and wealthy) American wife, and their daughters.
Every week, we're treated to over-the-topness in a grand way, from food to emotional angst to twisty love affairs. I love the meals and the confusing array of silver and crystal that adorn Downton's dining room table, even though I would have been a failure as a footwoman. But that doesn't stop me from swooning over the flower-covered wedding cakes and the juicy wildness that flows between the characters.
Because like the best fiction, this is what pulls me in each week: the characters. I want someone to free Bates, I want Edith to find a happily-ever-after, and I flat out adore Maggie.
Downton is based on a real place, Highclere Castle.
A look at the real Downtown Abbey:
I love the series so much, I even made a Pinterest board. But, of course, Pinterest is great for finding recipes, too,
which is another passion.
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