Yesterday it was my 21st birthday, and rather than go out for a meal as we have done in previous years, my boyfriend Chris and I decided to stay in, get some nice ingredients, and cook at home. After looking through my Marie Claire cook book, we found a couple of nice recipes, and adapted them to suit our tastes a bit more.
For our starter we had scallops, as being a lover of seafood, I have always wanted to try them. We kept it relatively simple and had them fried in butter on a bed of salad, but with a homemade dressing. It was made from lemon and lime juice, chopped fresh garlic and chilli, olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. The citrus juice made it lovely and refreshing, while the heat from the chilli (though the seeds were removed) provided a pleasant zingy aftertaste.
For the main course we had lamb, that was marinated in lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh thyme before being pan fried in olive oil alongside some more sprigs of thyme. We served it with boiled asparagus and dauphinoise potatoes. The potatoes were made simply by heating a carton of double cream with some chopped garlic and a sprinkle of cheese at a low temperature, and pouring it over thinly sliced potatoes arranged into layers, before cooking for approx 40 minutes. It is quite a rich dish, but the double cream can be half mixed with natural yoghurt or UHT milk if a less indulgent result is required!
For dessert we cheated, and had slices of triple layer rocky road birthday cake that my mum had bought me. It was accompanied by a lovely latte macchiato made by my new red Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee machine, a present from Chris.
Though it did require slightly more effort than just sitting in a restaurant and being served, it was fun to choose exactly what we wanted, rather than being restricted by a menu. And of course it was much easier on our pockets!
No comments:
Post a Comment