Roll out the solo violinist playing a sad and sorrowful song , slowly and mournfully gliding the bow across the note perfect strings.
Once again i have been left alone. Callings from a distant land have beckoned my husband and he has answered with a weekend trip leaving me feeling bare, stripped back and without will.
This may be a slight elaboration on my actual feelings, i felt these harrowing feelings of abandonment for all of about five minutes, just long enough for me to resurrect a long awaited plan that has been lying dormant in my mind for some time now.
I know a small sophisticated soiree filled with a small group of some of my nearest and dearest associates is not exactly a mean feat but i was determined to try and stretch some of my more food limited tasting friends imaginations by trying to tempt their self restricting tatsebuds with some of the things that they would never normally entertain in eating.
Having quite meticulously and obsessively planned this ladies night for some time ( every hour of every day for at least 2 months ) i was truly convinced of my meal choices, fully believing that even the most stubborn, (can be) cantankerous friend of mine would have her small food minded brain opened to a new food lit light - ( que heavy sigh ) how wrong could i have been .
I know to some of my readers my what are irregular choices to my friends are normal every day ingredients to you and I but i thought serving pigs trotters stuffed with sweet breads followed by braised squirrel would be pushing it.
Starting with what i thought was a complete fail safe recipe of roasted squash, dolcelatte and parma ham salad, was not the boldest move but i was eager to ease them in gently. For those who turned the same colour as the dolcelatte when i mentioned blue cheese i served fresh mozzarella instead.
It became apparent that a handful of my guests were not accustomed to butternut squash preferring to favour sweet potato instead as their alternative to potato. The general consensus was that the squash was a sweet ambrosial and wholesome replacement to their usual choice of root vegetable, especially when pared the lush dolcelatte Italian milky cheese.
How ever my most challenging guest which i was out to most convert was polite, but not best impressed -
' Its soggy', was her answer when pressed about her resentment towards the mozzarella.
' I only like it cooked, like when its melted on a pizza '.
Feeling like i was being spoken to by the upturned disappointed faces of Greg Wallace and Micheal Roux Junior of Masterchief fame i turned back into my solence of the kitchen licking my wounds.
Unsure why i go out to disappoint myself with my unimpressed close bosom buddy i decided against telling her the actual contents of the main course, choosing instead to give her a vague misrepresentation of the meal i was intending to feed her. Choosing not to give a pre dinner informative speech on the way that the gallant and graceful venison meat once softly skipped through the golden leaves of a forest nearby and how the beef brisket came from a well bred bovine that i have watched graze in a neighboring field i concluded it was best described plain and ordinarily as ' Meat Ragu '.
I had suitably impressed myself , leisurely and gently cooked, the meat had become palatably pleasing and effortless to eat. Unable to support its once robust and tough structure the meat had now become as supple as a highly trained yoga instructor, sinews all broken down and oozed into the sauce.
With an uncommon addition of a couple of squares of dark chocolate ( it goes without saying that it must be of best quality ) to reside against the smokey tastes that the venison had liberated the multitude of layers were becoming more apparent on my now quite frequent tastings ( cooks perk ).
Not a word was uttered, no quick quip, no sarcastic stamp down and certainly no displeasing looks.
My particular pettifogging friend said no words of disdain nor no words of joyous appraisal but the silently satisfying look on her face was enough reward for me.
' Meat ' Ragu
Olive oil
Around 1kg of meat made up of what you desire, i used half and half of diced beef brisket and diced venison haunch but you could always add some good quality pork sausages just to mix things up a bit
2 onions finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Around 4 tbls of tomato puree, mixed with about 300 mls red wine
3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
3 good sized squares of the best dark chocolate you can afford
A handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt, pepper and sugar.
Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan, then add the onions and the garlic gently until softened.
Add the diced meat ( you may need to do this in two batch's ) and brown and seal well all over.
Add the tomato and wine mixture, turn up the heat and allow to reduce to a third.
Add the tomatoes, a sprinkle of salt pepper and sugar and stir well.
Bring to the boil then lower the heat to a very slow simmer, place the lid on top.At around the two hour mark, check to make sure your sauce is not to thick if so add more wine or water, then add your squares of dark chocolate.
Stir from time to time then at around the three hour mark sprinkle your basil leaves throughout the rich and aromatic sauce and serve with pasta.
Once again i have been left alone. Callings from a distant land have beckoned my husband and he has answered with a weekend trip leaving me feeling bare, stripped back and without will.
This may be a slight elaboration on my actual feelings, i felt these harrowing feelings of abandonment for all of about five minutes, just long enough for me to resurrect a long awaited plan that has been lying dormant in my mind for some time now.
I know a small sophisticated soiree filled with a small group of some of my nearest and dearest associates is not exactly a mean feat but i was determined to try and stretch some of my more food limited tasting friends imaginations by trying to tempt their self restricting tatsebuds with some of the things that they would never normally entertain in eating.
Having quite meticulously and obsessively planned this ladies night for some time ( every hour of every day for at least 2 months ) i was truly convinced of my meal choices, fully believing that even the most stubborn, (can be) cantankerous friend of mine would have her small food minded brain opened to a new food lit light - ( que heavy sigh ) how wrong could i have been .
I know to some of my readers my what are irregular choices to my friends are normal every day ingredients to you and I but i thought serving pigs trotters stuffed with sweet breads followed by braised squirrel would be pushing it.
Starting with what i thought was a complete fail safe recipe of roasted squash, dolcelatte and parma ham salad, was not the boldest move but i was eager to ease them in gently. For those who turned the same colour as the dolcelatte when i mentioned blue cheese i served fresh mozzarella instead.
It became apparent that a handful of my guests were not accustomed to butternut squash preferring to favour sweet potato instead as their alternative to potato. The general consensus was that the squash was a sweet ambrosial and wholesome replacement to their usual choice of root vegetable, especially when pared the lush dolcelatte Italian milky cheese.
' Its soggy', was her answer when pressed about her resentment towards the mozzarella.
' I only like it cooked, like when its melted on a pizza '.
Feeling like i was being spoken to by the upturned disappointed faces of Greg Wallace and Micheal Roux Junior of Masterchief fame i turned back into my solence of the kitchen licking my wounds.
Unsure why i go out to disappoint myself with my unimpressed close bosom buddy i decided against telling her the actual contents of the main course, choosing instead to give her a vague misrepresentation of the meal i was intending to feed her. Choosing not to give a pre dinner informative speech on the way that the gallant and graceful venison meat once softly skipped through the golden leaves of a forest nearby and how the beef brisket came from a well bred bovine that i have watched graze in a neighboring field i concluded it was best described plain and ordinarily as ' Meat Ragu '.
I had suitably impressed myself , leisurely and gently cooked, the meat had become palatably pleasing and effortless to eat. Unable to support its once robust and tough structure the meat had now become as supple as a highly trained yoga instructor, sinews all broken down and oozed into the sauce.
With an uncommon addition of a couple of squares of dark chocolate ( it goes without saying that it must be of best quality ) to reside against the smokey tastes that the venison had liberated the multitude of layers were becoming more apparent on my now quite frequent tastings ( cooks perk ).
Not a word was uttered, no quick quip, no sarcastic stamp down and certainly no displeasing looks.
My particular pettifogging friend said no words of disdain nor no words of joyous appraisal but the silently satisfying look on her face was enough reward for me.
Olive oil
Around 1kg of meat made up of what you desire, i used half and half of diced beef brisket and diced venison haunch but you could always add some good quality pork sausages just to mix things up a bit
2 onions finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Around 4 tbls of tomato puree, mixed with about 300 mls red wine
3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
3 good sized squares of the best dark chocolate you can afford
A handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt, pepper and sugar.
Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan, then add the onions and the garlic gently until softened.
Add the diced meat ( you may need to do this in two batch's ) and brown and seal well all over.
Add the tomato and wine mixture, turn up the heat and allow to reduce to a third.
Add the tomatoes, a sprinkle of salt pepper and sugar and stir well.
Bring to the boil then lower the heat to a very slow simmer, place the lid on top.At around the two hour mark, check to make sure your sauce is not to thick if so add more wine or water, then add your squares of dark chocolate.
Stir from time to time then at around the three hour mark sprinkle your basil leaves throughout the rich and aromatic sauce and serve with pasta.
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