Healthy Leftovers

Indulgence At It's Best

Menu

Lasagne, green beans and a light green salad with parmesan cheese

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Rich chocolate fondue with strawberries, bananas and marshmallows to dip 

My house mate Anna turned 21 last week and to celebrate I cooked her a simple and fun two course meal. I absolutely love lasagne and whenever I want to make something big, that takes very little time I always turn to this dish. The chocolate fondue was the perfect desert for what turned out to be a rather indulgent dinner. As there wasn't a starter we began the night with some drinks and crisps and I was able to spend time with everyone as lasagne doesn't demand much attention. It was a lovely, chilled night which I think Anna really enjoyed, she's such a great person to cook for anyway being such a foodie. 

My oven at university isn't the best, not that a good workman blames his tools, but it caused issues with the last lasagne I made, it was too crispy and not creamy enough. So I rang my mum, of course, and she let me in on her new and improved way of doing it. It was, funnily enough, to add more cream. So when pouring the ricotta and nutmeg mixture over the layers throw in a bit of single cream too and this will loosen it up. I also protected the lasagne with some tin foil before I put it in the oven, it sounds obvious but when the oven isn't very good it is important to prevent burning. The lasagne turned out to be the best one I'd made, it was soft and flavoured but with the all important cheesy crunch on the top layer. 

The chocolate fondue was glorious! It was so delicious and naughty; literally just melted Green&Blacks chocolate but the fruit added a lighter texture to it. On my way back from Germany this Christmas I flew out of Zurich in Switzerland and had time to kill in the airport which ended in me buying this cute fondue set. I really couldn't resist and just knew everybody would love it. Don't worry it will make another appearance...probably in two weeks time at the Valentines Special so keep your eyes peeled!

The Missing Tart

Menu

Squid & chorizo on a bed of rocket, home-made harissa and a slice of lime

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Boeuf Bourguignon with fried bread, celeriac mash & glazed beans

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Raspberry tart served with vanilla ice cream 

Welcome to my blog, its first post and the very small living room where all my dinner parties will be held. My guests arrived at 8pm having had a few drinks at The Garden House down the road and settled down at the small coffee table. Poor Jack and Will had to perch on the sofa thanks to their long legs, but the rest of us were comfortable tucking ours under the coffee table and none of us wanted to leave when I served up the meal.

I began the meal with fresh squid bought from Norwich market in the afternoon, flash fried and curled up onto the bed of rocket. The slice of lime really added a light zest and the home-made harissa gave a spicy kick to  fairly tame flavours. I find you can always tell by the colours on your plate what kind of meal it's going to be and perhaps what it is lacking. The red of the harissa makes everything a bit more exciting. 

                                                  

I'd made the home-made harissa a week earlier to the dinner party with my mum who has never taught me how to cook but who I have watched in the kitchen my entire life and have picked up all my skill and knowledge from. Now we cook together, not as pupil and teacher but in a partnership, enjoying each other's company and workmanship. 

The beef stew was such a pleasure to make, I really enjoy taking my time over a dish because, usually, the more time you allow your ingredients to have the more flavour they will produce. So having cooked the stew for two hours on Thursday, I cooked it again for another 45minutes before serving and added a cheeky dash more of red wine. The fried bread was spot on to bring some crunch to an otherwise soft and rich meal.

This was the only photographic evidence left of the desert. Oops. For the Raspberry Tart I used a pre-made pastry all the way from Italy! However, it let me down and ended up being far too thin, it still tasted delicious but the structure of the tart was a bit of a flop. Next time I will definitely make my own shortcrust pastry, thick enough to 'trellis' across the top of the tart (criss-cross the pastry).  Served warm next to cold ice cream and whipped cream is always the way to go with a desert like this. 

Overall the night went fantastically, I had such a wonderful time producing dishes that I had never cooked before but with my confidence was able to pull off. I could not have done this without friendly supportive faces though, as a young chef I need to begin with my fans and I will tackle strangers later! I believe that food makes or breaks an evening and I think I may have made this one. 

Chess X

Click here to see the recipes.