Feasting

Saturday night was a feast of amazing colour and proportion. Even though there were only six of us, we made up for it by having food for 12. The morning after the Potence dinner I quickly met up with a friend who wanted to borrow some fabric for a toga. He then came with me to the shops where I bought a fine file, and a trolley; you know the sort; made of wood, drawers, wine rack, shelves, and this one with a built in knife block... mind you I had to build it in!

Anyway I rushed home to get cooking, preparing for a special dinner party: the next installment of my regular food-friend group. Theme this time? Hidden secrets.

Inspired by a dish my friend Jeremy served, I made the following:

Seems a bit dull at first glance; boiled egg? but no! The egg is filled with white chocolate mousse, with a yolk made of an orange marmalade with just a splash of brandy. It was a total pain to make. Clearing out an egg with only one hole is a pain, believe me. I had to use a syringe to empty the egg, and then rinse it out multiple times. I then had to get chocolate mousse into the syringe and into the egg, which was quite a challenge. I then added a long thin tube to the syringe and injected that into the centre of the mousse.

But all the pain was worth it - they were a real show stopper:

Other exciting dishes included pork tarts with a raspberry top:

spinach and gorgonzola parcels, stuffed lamb, home made fortune cookies:

and icecream filled mochi:

One of the most exciting dinner parties yet!

The next day, I got up early (like 9.30am!) and went and sang at mass. Then, after a quick lunch, I got to spend an hour or two at home before heading out for dinner with a friend for Malakoff. I am sure that you know what Malakoff are don't you? A genuine Swiss speciality (of the Canton Vaud), it consists pretty much of a ball of cheese, on a slice of bread, the whole thing crumbed in an ingenious fashion and then deep fried. I realise it sounds a bit naff, but actually its very tasty; and hey, contains two of the food groups: cheese and burnt crunchy bits (well ok they aren't really burnt as such, but crispy counts!) Cholesterol city, we only managed two each. All in all a grand weekend of feasting!