Victoria's Cooking
My wife is a fantastic cook. She regularly amazes me with her culinary expertise and last Saturday night she excelled once again.
Rob and Lucy were coming round for a meal but due to circumstances beyond their control they were unable to attend. Victoria and I decided that this was no reason to cancel the evening and had a nice romantic meal for two instead.
For starters we had Parmesan Polenta with Gorgonzola. Polenta is (apparently) an Italian cornmeal dish that is a substitite for pasta or potatoes. You get it in granuels and whisk it up until it looks like mashed potato. You then add flavourings and whisk it some more. It is then placed in a tray and left to set to a slightly rubbery texture. When you want to eat it you heat it in the oven for 5 minutes and then melt the Gorgonzola on the top under the grill. It is really nice and cheesey, if not a little filling for a starter.
The main course was genius. We had Pork Belly in a chilli marinade painted with chocolate and chilli. The pork was marinated and then cooked in the oven. After this it was sliced and Victoria melted some chocolate, mixed in some diced chilli and painted the slices of pork with it. It then went into the oven for another 10 minutes. We had it with roast potatoes and a Thai salad. It was delicious. I don't think I have ever had any meat with so many different and yet complimentary flavours. This is the second time I have had a chocolate and chilli dish and they are turning out to be real winners. If you don't like the sound of it then give it a try anyway as I was not too keen to try it initially either. Trust me, it's a great combination!
For dessert we had a chocolate Pavlova with cream and rasberries. You can see a picture of it above.
This is a Nigella Lawson recipe and it is amazing. The sourness of the fruit balances the sweetness of the Pavlova and cream perfectly. It also looks really impressive, as you can see from the pictures.
All in all we had a really good night. We listened to some great music and drank a little too much wine. A most excellent evening indeed.
Rob and Lucy were coming round for a meal but due to circumstances beyond their control they were unable to attend. Victoria and I decided that this was no reason to cancel the evening and had a nice romantic meal for two instead.
For starters we had Parmesan Polenta with Gorgonzola. Polenta is (apparently) an Italian cornmeal dish that is a substitite for pasta or potatoes. You get it in granuels and whisk it up until it looks like mashed potato. You then add flavourings and whisk it some more. It is then placed in a tray and left to set to a slightly rubbery texture. When you want to eat it you heat it in the oven for 5 minutes and then melt the Gorgonzola on the top under the grill. It is really nice and cheesey, if not a little filling for a starter.
The main course was genius. We had Pork Belly in a chilli marinade painted with chocolate and chilli. The pork was marinated and then cooked in the oven. After this it was sliced and Victoria melted some chocolate, mixed in some diced chilli and painted the slices of pork with it. It then went into the oven for another 10 minutes. We had it with roast potatoes and a Thai salad. It was delicious. I don't think I have ever had any meat with so many different and yet complimentary flavours. This is the second time I have had a chocolate and chilli dish and they are turning out to be real winners. If you don't like the sound of it then give it a try anyway as I was not too keen to try it initially either. Trust me, it's a great combination!
For dessert we had a chocolate Pavlova with cream and rasberries. You can see a picture of it above.
This is a Nigella Lawson recipe and it is amazing. The sourness of the fruit balances the sweetness of the Pavlova and cream perfectly. It also looks really impressive, as you can see from the pictures.
All in all we had a really good night. We listened to some great music and drank a little too much wine. A most excellent evening indeed.
Comments
Very fruity and chocolaty, a good mix :)