Kaffir Lime March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: andrew, dinner, franca, kaffir lime, makrut lime
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On Monday 3rd February, the theme of our dinner was Kaffir Lime. Andrew and Franca cooked the dishes, and Franca also hosted.
Entre
For entre, Andrew made Mark Wiens’ tom kha gai (chicken tom kha soup).
Main
The main course was made by Franca, and consisted of sticky pork with kaffir lime leaves, and lime leaf chicken with rice noodles and cucumber.
Palate Cleanser
Franca then gave us a ginger and kaffir lime granita.
Dessert
For dessert, Andrew made a lime and coconut tart in a macaroon crust.
Chickpeas March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: andrew, chickpea, chickpeas, dinner, franca
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On Monday 11th November, we had a dinner on the theme of Chickpeas – the versatile legume. Andrew and Franca cooked the food, and Andrew also hosted.
Entre
To start the dinner, Franca made chickpea chips with a dipping sauce.
Mains
Andrew served the main course of Nigella’s mughlai chicken with papadums and raita, Not Quite Nigella’s chickpea spinach and red lentil curry, and North Indian onion and cucumber salad.
Dessert
To finish the meal, Franca made aquafaba pavlova with balsamic strawberries and vanilla cream, and chickpea lemon slice.
Crunchy March 22, 2020
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: crunchy, dinner, franca, laura
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I’ve let a bit of a back-log build up of older posts, but hopefully I can catch up to the present shortly. Back on Monday 9th September (2019), we had a dinner themed around the Crunchy texture. Franca and Laura cooked the dishes, with Laura also hosting.
Entre
To start off the crunchy feast, Franca made her own corn tortilla chips with guacamole and sour cream.
Mains
Laura served up the main course, with crackling roast pork belly, crispy smashed potatoes, and apple, fennel and walnut salad.
Dessert
To finish, Franca gave us peanut brittle parfait ice-cream.
Spanish August 9, 2019
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, franca, Jacinta, spanish
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For Monday 3rd June, we went regional, and had a Spanish dinner. Franca and Jacinta were our cooks for the evening, with Jacinta hosting.
Mains
The mains were served tapas-style, with a range of smaller dishes for sharing. These included fried eggplant with herbs and honey, ricotta with grapes and olives, Frank Camorra’s ensalada de remolacha (beetroot salad with fennel and cumin), and Frank Camorra’s prueba de matanza con patatas panadera (fresh chorizo with baker’s potatoes).
Dessert
For dessert, we had individual serves of crema catalana.
Eat Your Greens March 18, 2019
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, eat your greens, franca, Jacinta
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On Monday 4th March, we had a coloured culinary theme, with a dinner where we were asked to Eat Your Greens. Jacinta cooked together with Franca, who hosted us all.
Drink
We started with a cucumber & mint spritzer from Jacinta.
Entree
Jacinta then switched on our appetites with avocado & almond cucumber rolls.
Mains
For main course, we had delicious Kilkenny mash, steak with chimichurri and chorizo, and Brussels sprouts and pancetta salad.
Dessert
To conclude, Franca made us a cucumber mint & vodka granita, and Jacinta served a labne orange cheesecake with pistachio crust.
Brown Sugar January 5, 2019
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: brown sugar, dinner, franca, Jacinta
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On Monday 12th November, we enjoyed a dinner themed around Brown Sugar. Franca and Jacinta created the dishes, with Jacinta hosting.
Drink
To whet our appetites, we started with a brown sugar caipirinha.
Entree
To start the meal, we began with bacon and onion jam, with cheeses.
Mains
The main course was brown sugar and garlic butter pork, brown sugar bourbon sweet potato, apple slaw, and brown sugar cornbread.
Dessert
To finish the meal, we had coconut and lime cheesecake with brown sugared pineapple.
Geometric Shapes January 5, 2019
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, franca, geometric shapes, laura
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On Monday 6th August, Laura and Franca provided not just amazing-tasting food, but amazing-looking food, with a theme of Geometric Shapes. Laura hosted, and both Laura and Franca made sweet and savoury dishes.
Entree
To begin the meal, Laura made vegetable samosas (in a tetrahedron shape).
Mains
For main course, Laura served chicken involtini with smoked mozarella (in cylinders), and Franca made us arancini “balls” (in a conical shape).
Dessert
To finish the meal, Laura gave us gluten-free lamingtons (in cubes), and Franca gave us the most spectacular dessert we’ve ever had – a chocolate sphere filled with raspberry ice-cream and raspberries, topped with peanut butter caramel sauce.
Nightshades June 9, 2018
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, franca, laura, nightshades
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On Monday 7th May, Franca hosted the Nightshades dinner and served up dishes together with Laura.
Entre
Franca began the meal with roast chilli and bacon crumb.
Mains
Main course included an incredible moussaka and some other dishes I unfortunately can’t remember.
Dessert
Laura finished the meal with two desserts: a chilli chocolate mousse and a creme cheese cupcake.
Rice February 11, 2018
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, franca, laura, rice
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Yet again we had a theme that we were surprised hadn’t been done yet, and this time it was Rice. Laura hosted and provided up with the savoury dishes, with Franca joining her to provide us with the sweet ones.
Drink
Laura (assisted by her daughter) started the evening with a strawberry and sake cocktail.
Entre
Laura started the meal proper with two entres: Vietnamese rice paper rolls with crispy tofu, and Thai chicken and black rice soup.
Main
For main course, Laura gave us chorizo and spinach paella.
Dessert
To finish, Franca served us a chocolate and peanut butter ricebubble slice, a pandan sticky rice slice and a rice pudding with poached pear.
Fruits Starting With P January 3, 2018
Posted by andrewescott in Dinners.Tags: dinner, franca, fruits starting with p, laura, p fruits
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The evening of Monday 13th November 2017 was the night of the dinner themed for fruits beginning with the letter ‘P’. Franca hosted and cooked dishes along with Laura.
Drink
Franca started things off superbly with a Bellini cocktail.
Entre
Franca then served a roasted pear with blue cheese and thyme.
Mains
Laura made Thai pineapple chicken fried rice, and Franca made pork and pineapple Thai red curry and a pomelo salad with chilli, lime, peanuts and coconut.
Dessert
To finish, Laura served Malaysian pineapple tarts and coconut and passionfruit self-saucing pudding.
