Saturday saw the great cook-off. I decided to cook a 3 course meal for my parents plus a little extra to see them through the week. Well, to see Dad through the week while Mum was away.
Fisrt off we had pumpkin, corn and bacon soup. After a few attempts at this, I've now found the secret is in putting the soup through a blender rather than using a stick blender. It makes the taste much more smoother and let me just say - secret ingredient is a pinch of curry powder!
Next we had pork in cider sauce with prunes and apple and potato mash. It's one I've been working on for a while now and it's beautiful. I finally got the consistency right on the sauce for this batch and the apples gave a nice creaminess to the mash!
The extra for Dad was lasagne. It's one of my signature dishes and thankfully one he loves. This one was a stand out as I've finally learnt the benefit of fresh pasta sheets! And lets face it, who doesn't love a great lasagne!
And finally, for dessert, my first ever cheesecake. My Dad is the cheesecake king so I was under a bit of pressure. This little beauty was a Violet Crumble Cheesecake and lets just say it was bloody beautiful. I think the recipe had too much butter in it but given I was a cheesecake rookie, I didn't feel confident playing with it, but now I will. Now the future is open wide as to what masterful versions I can make!
And finally, for dessert, my first ever cheesecake. My Dad is the cheesecake king so I was under a bit of pressure. This little beauty was a Violet Crumble Cheesecake and lets just say it was bloody beautiful. I think the recipe had too much butter in it but given I was a cheesecake rookie, I didn't feel confident playing with it, but now I will. Now the future is open wide as to what masterful versions I can make!