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220 Days after Lockdown - 30th October, 2020

 We are on the verge of another National Lockdown.  This will mean no entertaining indoors, all non-essential retail including restaurants and bars will be closed.

A little dinner party for 6 on a Friday evening feels very grown-up.

What an eventful evening.  Georgina & Ron  with their new puppy Max along with Carol & Simon without Rigsby their Schnauser who is a regular guest for Maggie.  What an eventful evening

Appetiser: Cod with Dill Oil, Roasted Fennel

The Appetiser was served without a problem.  This is a dish taken from Stephen Terry.  Fennel gently fried until browned and then oven roasted for 30 minutes, chopped dill added to good olive oil, and cod baked in the oven with just a little aromatics.  Our little twist is we season the cod with one of our flavoured salts




Dinner: Reverse Sear Slow Roasted Rib of Beef, Hasselback Potatoes, Cavallo Nero, Cauliflower Cheese, Carrots Braised in Butter 

Just as we were plating the main course Maggie noticed a plastic burning smell which we thought was from a little resin teddy that perches on the edge of a glass with a candle. That was resolved and we continued to plate up. The smell got worse and then the dining room filled with smoke as a metal pot with tealights in caught light! 

Quick action from Maggie as she picked up the holder with a cloth, pausing as it crossed the island to spill candle wax on the surface, then picking it up again to drop it on the floor because of the heat and smothering it, before getting it out into the back garden.  It seems our guests were very impressed with Maggie's calm and collected way of dealing with the problem

However, at the same time at the other end of the room, I opened the window to clear the acrid smoke and managed to knock 2 more tealight candle holders on to the floor and smash.  As we had Hobo and the puppy in the house I needed to deal with the glass on the floor, which I quickly swept behind the door

Drama over, dinner served and all is well with the world.  

The beef was cooked on the Monolith for 6 hours and turned out perfectly rare. Hasselbacks were good, garlicky and crispy.  The Cauliflower cooked whole turned out just too hard and needs rethinking if we do it again that way





Dessert: Apple, Ginger Pudding with Caramel Sauce, Stem & Crystalised Ginger Ice Cream

Cooked with our own apples, this dessert is light, sweet flavourful




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