Last Week

Last week was my birthday and I invited Caz and Jan over to cook a lovely dinner - at least that was the plan. I wanted to cook something I haven't done yet and decided on Quails. The English Market is normally a save bet - not this time. Aldi got some but they are frozen, so I had to put my 'Quick-Think-Cap' on and decided on the spot to cook pheasant instead.

Since Caz and Jan are mad about fish, I decided on a light seafood platter for starters and made sesame prawn toast, crabcakes and sushi. Rather than making the sushi myself I thought I give O'Connells in the English Market a try - taste wasn't bad but I will make them in future myself again.

Since Tuesday was a really cold day, I decided on a winter warmer soup (mainly to use up the rest of my Jerusalem Artichoke harvest). A drizzle of truffle oil and homemade bread turned this simple soup into something special - the empty bowls proved it.

So, the main course was meant to the highlight of the night.....and I failed miserably. I quartered the bird and pan friend the pieces until golden brown. I was very conscious about overcooking the bird. Anyhow, the meat looked good, I panfried some mushrooms and made a lovely gravy from the scratches in the pan. Potatoes Dauphinoise were my choice of side dish (mainly cause I love them). I served the food (which looked actually quite good)....and I was nervous - with good reason. Jan's bird was cooked perfectly while - and here is comes - Caz' was almost raw. Both pieces were the same size and in the pan for the same amount of time....and were completely different. I was mortified. Caz tried her best to make me feel good but I was beyond saving. So my poor lovely friends, I will have to try again and you have to eat.

Dessert was cheese cake New Yorker style and it seem to have made up for the disastrous main course.

Brighteyed me forgot to shoot photos again.....