So on a random Wednesday nearest the birthday boy's actual day we got all glam-ed up and prepared for a dinner party à la Corsellis. Knowing Zoe well (we have lived together for four years) I know two things...
1. She does not really cook (one winter being a little bit skint she seemed to live on super noodles!)
2. She likes a drink or three!
I was not disappointed when we were served Dirty Martini's in huge glasses to begin with in the garden!
Dirty Martini
1. Swirl a dash of vermouth around the glass and pour away.
2. Combine 50ml of very cold vodka (preferably straight from the freezer) with a dash of brine from the olive jar and add a couple of stuffed olives.
The drinks were basically pure vodka with a tasty but alcohol infused snack at the end, I could drink it whilst very cold as it is quite tasteless but it got harder to drink as it warmed up, it beat me but I did try!
We all took our place at the table next to our cocktail inspired place names - Zoe Colada, Mikee Tai, Clairetini, Benllini, Mojado and my favourite Mathatten.
For our first course each couple were served a platter of six bruschetta, all were grilled to perfection - four with the classic mozzarella, basil and tomato with a drizzle of olive oil and the other with a unusual homemade chunky pistachio and coriander pesto - heaven!
Zoe's Pistachio and Coriander Pesto
Ingredients
• 50g Shelled Pistachios
• A big handful of coriander
• 1tsp chilli powder
• 1-2 garlic cloves
• 100ml olive oil
Method
1. Pop the pistachios in a blender and whizz until in to small chunks.
2. Add everything else!
3. A note on the olive oil, use less if you want it quite chunky dip or topping or more for a pasta sauce.
We then went to our main course and to be honest no dinner party is complete without a mini disaster and this is the course that two choose to happen. Zoe had prepared everyone an individual beef wellington with our initial on the top in pastry, packed with a steak chunks, homemade mushroom stuffing, mustard and pate. Whilst cooking through the filling burst free from its pastry casing but it was still edible so it was served up with some new potatoes, this is when disaster number two struck - the veg preparation had been forgotten!
None of this mattered as even though it was now beef wellington mess, it was delicious! The mushroom stuffing and pate added depth of flavour and the pastry was perfect if not intact! The potatoes were a triumph as they were perfectly seasoned using Maldon Salt, it is naughty but my new favourite seasoning. Everyone cleared thier plates so it must have been good as we guzzled some delicious white wines.
Then on to the duo of desserts, this is where I helped out by making the very popular Triple Ginger Cheesecake I made a couple of weeks before. Zoe also made a proper cake for the birthday candles but it had a really unusual combination - Parsnip and Maple Syrup Sandwich Cake - both were delicious and complimented each other perfectly as they both had a warm spice flavour running through, with the cheesecake being creamy and the cake spongy and soft. The parsnip cake is a little like a carrot cake but lighter and more fluffy, the recipe was from BBC good food and can be found here.
After this huge amount of food we retired (quite tipsy) to the living room for a comfy seat and some coffee. In our drunken states we totally forgot to score each other but I would give Zoe an 8.5 for the amazing amount of effort that went into the preparation, the pesto in particular was a highlight and her amazing hostess with mostess attitude!
As we are now looking to go our separate ways, I am looking forward to these dinner parties becoming a regular thing just as an excuse to see each other!
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