31st December 2013

Happy New Year!

For the last couple of New Years Eve's Steve and I have hosted our friends at our house.  We throw a big fancy dress party, get all our friends round, lay on a hot buffet (courtesy of Iceland for the most part), rearrange the living room to fit the 20 or so people we have over in somehow and drink ourselves into a stupor.  At midnight we link arms and sing auld lang syne whilst jumping up and down and attempting not to fall over.  The next day the house is a bombsite, the floor is sticky and there is normally a broken glass somewhere, mirroring the broken state of my head.

New Year 2012.  Believe it or not this was quite early!

New Year 2013.  We had just lost the quiz and had won a wooden spoon for our efforts.

We didn't do that this year.  I could say this is because we are feeling the need for more subdued New Year's these days, we are more mature, we prefer a quiet night in or we just don't have the stamina anymore for wild parties.

I could say that but it wouldn't be true.  In reality I just completely forgot to organise it and by the time I got my backside in gear most people already had plans. 

So instead we went quiet (ish) and intimate.

We had James and Sasha (and Ashley who was asleep in the travel cot upstairs) and RV and Claire around for dinner and games.  We still had to rearrange the living room but it was significantly less hassle than I had anticipated.  To be honest I actually didn't lift a finger to help with the furniture - Steve did all that for me!

I did lift a finger in the kitchen though! I cooked a 3 course meal for 6 and a cheese course - I was actually quite impressed with myself!  I have hosted dinner parties before but have never attempted three courses - normally someone else brings dessert.  We started with antipasta sharing platters similar to this one, moved onto beef stew with dumplings and finished with creme brulees and coconut and pistachio baklava's, the recipes for which will be appearing on the blog in due course.  All the food was chosen as it could either be prepared the day before, assembled at the last minute or cooked earlier in the day and left to simmer for hours, meaning that I had plenty of time to relax and not worry about anything.

We sat down at around 8pm for the first course of food and spent the first hour or so just chatting and gossiping.  Once the starters were cleared away we then cracked open the first board game.

We started with the Logo game.  Sasha and I were in a team together and the first three sets of cards we got were all to do with cars, which isn't exactly a strong point for either of us.  Everyone else got rounds of chocolate and alcohol so we felt decidely hard done by.  We lost.  Spectacularly.

To console us I served the main course and after devouring it and cracking open (and drinking) a couple more bottle of wine we then felt ready to tackle Cranium.  This is easily one of my favourite dinner party games as you end up in fits of giggles at the ridiculous things you are required to do! Cranium always seems to require a little less sobriety than most other games.  Unfortunately this did result in me shouting out rather rude words attempting to guess what Steve's drawing of a 'bum bag' was, leaving him laughing so hard he was unable to draw anymore.

Note to self, must take games more seriously.

Halfway through playing I served dessert which halted play for a little while.  We then carried on, getting more and more competitive as the play progressed and the bottles emptied.

There was copious amounts of drink to wash down the food with.  We started on champagne, moved onto beer and wine, then onto port and Baileys to complement the cheese board and then back onto the champagne (Chapel Down, a local vineyard and one of my favourites) as midnight struck.  There was also a bottle of very good Old Pultney that had appeared at Christmas!

We pushed the boat out a little with the cheeseboard, trying a few that we hadn't had before.  The blue disappeared really quickly but the Gjetost was less popular.  I think I was the only one who liked it - if you haven't had it before it is a Norwegian cheese that tastes and looks exactly like fudge, but with the texture of cheese and a cheese aftertaste.  The girl at the Macknade's cheese counter said it has a marmite effect on people - you either loved it or you hated it.  I loved it, everyone else hated it.  Odd, as I don't like fudge!

As the witching hour approached we turned off our music system and turned on the TV to watch the fireworks display over London. 

The displays are always fantastic and this year I think they really outdid themselves.  The countdown started, everyone coupled up and we opened the back doors to see the fireworks going off through the town, harmonising with the display on the TV.

Everyone took a quiet moment with their loved one, reflecting on the last year and what the future year will bring.

2013 has been an incredible year for us, busy and chaotic and wonderful and I can only imagine what 2014 will bring.  To all my friends, family and readers, I wish you a wonderful 2014.

Beef Stew and Dumplings

This post does represent me putting my hands up and saying publicly 'I was wrong'.  Not an easy thing for me to do I have to say!  I have been with Steve for a long time now and during that time I have always told him I hate slow cooked beef, that it is dry and chewy and flavorless and that I would much rather have a steak where you wipe its backside and send it to the table, preferably still moo-ing (I like my steak blue - Parisian blue, not English blue).

Steve on the other hand has frequently gone googly-eyed over a slow cooked joint of beef.  He is a Northern boy by way of Lincolnshire and I strongly suspect that gravy runs through his veins instead of blood.  This weekend I caved and agreed to cook him a beef stew with dumplings.  With the proviso that I could get a pizza if I hated it.

I spent ages online looking at different recipes, different cuts of beef, different cooking times and methods and amalgamated a lot of them into this version.

Oh. My. God.  This was incredible.  Lip smackingly, scrape the bowl, stick your nose in and lick it clean good.  The beef had the most rich, succulent, decadent aroma that lit up your taste buds like fireworks night (this would actually work extremely well as a belly warmer on November 5th!); it melted in your mouth, it was gelatinous and sticky and soft. The dumplings were soft and fluffy and mopped up the gravy better than ciabatta (haven't tried it yet?  Next time you have gravy make sure you have some ciabatta).  The noises that came out of Steve as he bolted down his meal were bordering on the obscene.

So I thought I would share this recipe here.  Before I do I have a few announcements / warnings.

1) This is not healthy.  Not even close.  It is worth it.
2) If you cannot get shin of beef or beef dripping, do not substitute.  Please.  I'm begging you.  Just go to your butcher and arm wrestle them until they agree to order it in.  Most supermarkets should have it on their meat aisle shelves though.  It is a really cheap cut of meat.  Beef dripping can normally be found near the butter and margarine.
3) If you have any leftovers, try them on top of a slice of buttered bread the next day.  Trust me - you will never turn back.
4) It takes a couple of hours.  Do not even attempt unless you can spend 2-3 hours near the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• Beef Dripping (10g per 150g of beef) (if anyone can find this is smaller packets than the monster I had to get can you let me know?!)
• As much shin of beef as you think your family can handle.  Then add a bit more for good measure.
• Small bottle of red wine (or big and drink the rest.  Whatever floats your boat)
• 1.5 medium carrots per person - diced
• 1/2 stick of celery per person - diced
• 1/2 leek per person - diced
• 3 small shallots per person - peeled and left whole
• 1 bay leaf per person
• 1 clove garlic per person - peeled and crushed
• 2 fresh sage leaves per person
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped thyme per person
• Flour
• 5 Chestnut mushrooms per person - brushed and halved
• 250ml liquid fresh beef stock per person
• 100ml beef gravy per person
• Seasoning - salt and pepper

 For the Dumplings

I cheated and got a just-add-water dumpling mix.  There is a great dumpling recipe here though http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/beefstewwithdumpling_87333

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

In a large casserole dish that is both hob and oven-proof, melt the dripping.

Cut the shin of beef into large chunks.

Season the flour with salt and pepper and coat each chunk of beef in the flour.

Brown in the dripping for about 5 minutes then add a generous slosh of red wine.  Reduce down until bubbling.

Remove the beef and set aside.

Add all the veg bar the mushrooms to the dripping, beef juice and red wine mix and soften.

Add the garlic.

When nicely soft return the beef to the pan and add the herbs.

Pour over the liquid stock, stir it all together, cover, stick it in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, remove from the oven, stir and add the beef gravy.  Cook for 30 minutes (covered).

Make the dumplings. If you coat your hands in oil it is easier to roll the dumplings as the dough is very sticky!

After 30 minutes, remove from the oven, add the mushrooms and stir in.

Place the dumplings on top of the stew, making sure that they don't touch each other or the edges of the dish if possible.

Cook for 30 more minutes (uncovered if you want the dumplings slightly crispy)

Serve with mash potatoes and green vegetables if you feel like it.  I find this a hearty meal all on its own though.

Stick it on the table.  Tuck in.