Friday, October 17, 2008

Am having some people over for lunch tomorrow and so have been preoccupied with what to cook. I am a bit of a foodie, if you don't know that already. I like reading recipe books and watching cookery shows. Not indiscrimimnantly, though. I do have my pet hates when it comes to celeb chefs. Nigella Lawson. And that Aussie Martin something or other. He does this show where he supposedly walks into a supermarket and approaches random shoppers (invariably female and attractive) and offers to cook them dinner. "For fuckssakesssss gimme a fuckin break" I mutter to myself whenever this show is on.

Well you know Nigella Lawson, she is supposedly the domestic goddess of the 21st century. For me she just might as well be a lap dancer. A lap dancer who wears cashmere cardigans with pearls as she licks her fingers and bats her lashes.

I do like most TV cooks though, even the ones whom most people seem to hate. Ainsley what's his name, Delia, Jamie, Rhodes, Floyd, the River Cottage double barrelled guy, even good old Martin Yan. It's all good to me. Recently I quite like this Hester Blumenthal person. He takes an - ahem - "scientific" approach to cooking and in recent years he started wearing the kind of eyeglasses that I always associate with Danes and Finns and Germans. And of course it helps that he looks as if he is related to Ray Mears, the wilderness bushcraft guy, whom I think my husband adores. (Hey, anyone that my husband adores can't be that bad, you know?)

And so, to wrap it up, here's what I've got so far for tomorrow:

1. curried mince pork and onion tart
2. ricotta and tomato tart
3. braised beef shank in cloves, star aniese and xiaoqing wine
4. tuna and chick pea patties with sweet chilli dip
5. spicy basamati rice with chickpeas and raisins
6. thinly sliced pork belly in garlic, chillie and sesame oil dip
7. lemon and chillie squid and prawns with coriander and peppers on a bed of fresh peas
8. Augergines, broccoli and oyster mushrooms (yes, this is the token veg dish)
9. Orange chocolate mousse
10. Banana cream pie

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