Main:  Lamb Fillets with Creamy Pest
Women’s Weekly Dinner Party Cookbook No. 3 Pg. 95

Dessert:  Mango Roulade with Raspberries & Elderflower
Delicious Magazine December 2019 Pg. 143

Hi there everyone,

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all.

Hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and longer days and survived the silly season unscathed.  It’s a great time to start eating outside and doing more gorgeous salads (much to the MAV’s dismay!).  This week was a real winner.  It’s not often I get all elements coming up roses, however, this week I did.  It was such a simple menu too.  The lamb fillets were available at my Woolworths butchery so that made it easy and economical and of course, a simple pesto can be whipped up very quickly.

I chose to serve this with a beautiful salad – a recipe pinched from my vegetarian friend (the gorgeous Soo).  It is a beautiful and unusual layering of flavours, combining vegetables and strawberries with nuts and lentils.  The dressing is just lovely but I must say that when I smelt it I was a little put off which just goes to show you how wrong I can be because it is fabulous with the salad. This would also be a wonderful fully rounded meal for a vegetarian with the addition of some gently fried halloumi.

I also did the stuffed mushrooms in the December Delicious Magazine on page 84.  All the recipes to follow.  The treatment of the lamb fillets was very simple, a case of brown and then put in the oven for 10-15 minutes so this amounts to one of those meals you could do after coming home from work very easily. The fillets were tender and divine. With regard to the salad, there is a bit of prep but nothing terribly hard so that too could be done after work.  However, the mushrooms are a little bit more involved but so very worth it because they were exceptional. The Main received a rousing 10/10!  Wahooo!!! I really just love sitting back and looking at all their faces to see the reactions to dinner.  Is there anything better than taking the time to cook for family and friends – I consider it a gift really to both myself and the recipients of the meal.  It’s the time of year when I find myself reflecting on the value of family and good friends but also start to feel overwhelmed at the number of invitations out.  Why is it that everyone suddenly needs to see you before Xmas (there are 52 weeks in the year after all).  I have learnt now to gently say no or push some of the get togethers out to the New Year so that we don’t end up a wreck by the end of the Xmas period.  It truly is the silly season.

Now for the dessert and yes, I know you will be saying “oh no not another meringue based dessert”  but I find myself drawn to them and this one was sensational I have to say.  It called for elderflower cordial and rosewater, however, I found elderflower and rosewater cordial so just used that.  Always great to improvise otherwise we get our nickers in a knot over ingredients that are unattainable without the 5 kilometre excursion to some out of the way country to find that secret piece of the recipe puzzle.  Okay, a slight exaggeration.  Anyhoooooooo, I also didn’t use dried raspberries but all fresh of course.  This is a recipe that you could easily substitute the summer fruit you particularly like.  Just be sure to slice it thinly.  It was light and fresh, it almost felt like nothing in your mouth which, of course, meant no-one felt guilty having a second piece……………… especially the MAV.

Do hope you will treat your family to this menu.  Until next week…..

From my table to yours with love.x