As I sit here I wonder how to review the second installment of Come Dine with Me that took place last night at a very exclusive venue - Chez Sharff. Yes, thats right, it was at my gaff. I can't review myself - thats just weird and rather narcissistic. However, for the sake of my blog and my yummy looking photos I will relive the evening.
So as are the rules with CDWM, you have to send your guests the menu the week before, but I wanted to make a little surprise for everyone in the form of a sweet and sour little treat. I realised this week that strangely, all 5 of us have been to South America so I thought I'd make my favourite cocktail in the world - a passion fruit caipiroska - which hails from the most wonderful country of Brasil. Now, the night was all on track to go swimmingly well but as I went to mix up the ingredients I realised my liquidiser was kaput - completely broken from it having a rather large crack down the middle. So I had to improvise and use a handheld musher thing - not so perfect but the cocktail was still rather yummy.
Soon after finishing our aperitifs we sat down for the first course. I made a rare beef and horseradish salad with roasted beets and parmesan on a bed of rocket. I was really quite pleased at how that went as it was something fairly new for me. I'd never bought raw beetroot before, for some reason thinking it was a bit of a pain to cook but why on earth I thought that I will never know, as its just a root vegetable which, with a bit of roasting is quite delicious. I made a horseradish sauce with creme fraiche and a bit of lemon and the meat I used was a sirloin that I flashed after it had been rubbed with rosemary and salt. It was a lovely starter and would make a really good lunch in warmer months.
My main was rack of lamb on a bed of sprout puree with individual boulangere potatoes and honey roasted carrots. I realise that sounds really rather posh and stuck-up but it really isn't - something I realised, that I had forgotten while making all of this is that actually cooking is pretty easy - its just the timing that you have to get right. People shouldn't be scared of cooking - it does often look daunting but you've just got to play around with things, follow a few recipes and get to know what goes with what.
The sprout puree I do have to thank my eternally clever Mother for as its something she has made for years and it really is one of my favourite things ever. (Although, in my family it is known as "mush"). Its such a treat though, as it has a lot of cream and butter in it so its rare to get made but on this occasion I thought it was the perfect bed for the lamb and something a little different too. I made a herb crust for the lamb made of breadcrumbs, mustard, parsley and thyme. The boulangere potatoes would have been a nightmare before a few weeks ago when my delightful parents bought me a magimix. Man alive, I don't what I did before I had one - they are unbelievable. Cutting vegetables into thin slices will never be a problem again.
After a good break and lots more wine the final dish was served. I made lemongrass panna cotta with a lime-creamed biscuit. Panna cotta is another dish that sounds super scary to make but I was actually amazed that it literally is just boiling milk, cream and sugar together, adding some gelatine, putting it in the fridge and bobs your boob like wobbly dessert. The lime-creamed biscuit was me attempting to use a piping bag and filling those cigar like biscuit curls with my cream mixture. It was a bit of a faf if I'm honest, but I felt quite chef-like doing it, so I guess that was quite fun.
So, that's pretty much it. Lots of wine, full bellies, a needless but wanted tray of chocolates at the end and hopefully some good food. My friends will be the judges and I'll find out when my marks arrive at the end. The third date is in the diary - January 2011 at Steph's house. Another one to look forward to.
