Dinner of Champions
I started yesterday morning with making the dessert and the starter. Like last year, I planned a cheesecake, but unlike last year, I went for slightly smaller portions and more decorative. So I baked it in a cake tin so I could press out shapes.
The starter was a combination of two tiny cream-cheese and ham pastries and two pieces of deviled egg. The pastry cups were store bought so I stuffed them with herbal cream cheese and topped it with prosciutto. I then boiled the eggs and made a mustardy filling.
By the time noon came around, the cheesecake was cooling, the pastries and eggs were in the fridge waiting for the evening, and all the vegetables (carrot, potato, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) for the main courses were sliced, diced, shredded and what not.
This left me enough time to have a cuppa tea and relax 😀
Later in the afternoon I finished the dessert by using a ring mold to cut out four circles and decorated it with blackberries on top and sliced strawberry around it.
After that, it was time for actual cooking. I started with a traditional oven roasted chicken and veggies. After quickly browning the chicken in a pan I put the sliced and diced carrots and potatoes in an oven dish, mixed with herbs and spices, spread the chicken on top and shoved it in the oven to forget about it until the rest was done.
Then I put the cut broccoli and cauliflower in another oven dish and made a cheese sauce. When that was done, I poured it over the veggies, and added this dish to the oven, also.
For the third dish, I stir fried shredded Brussels sprouts and cabbage with bacon bits and curry powder.
And finally, I made chicken saltimbocca: chicken covered with prosciutto, spinach and parmesan and then rolled up. First it gets cooked on all sides so it stays together better, and then the pan is filled with a chicken broth and it is boiled in that for a while.
While these were finishing up, I got the rest out of the oven/off the stove and on the table and starter plated up. Time to eat!
The food was well received, even Dad, who normally doesn’t really say anything about it but just eats, came out and said he liked it. Even the dessert, which I think he skipped last year, went in smoothly. I call that a win 🙂
Tonight it’s Nienke’s turn to do dinner. The plan is roast beef with broccoli and cream sauce and roasted potato. Sounds delicious!
The cemetery where my grandparents are buried held a remembrance event last night. They covered all the paths and walkways on both sides with tealights in jars and invited people to come and bring a light to their loved ones there. They also offered warm drinks and cake because winter’s nights are cold. If you didn’t have a candle or light, you could get one there. And there was also a rack to place lights on if your loved one wasn’t buried here. All of this free of charge, just asking for a donation if you could.
I went with Mom and my Aunt and were planning to visit not just my grandparents, but also my grandfather’s parents, and my grandfather’s brother and his wife. We had planned in advance, so I had bought two lanterns while I was at Ikea getting my plates. My aunt had also bought a lantern so we had one for each grave. And earlier in the day, Mom and I had stopped at the florist for some pretty plants that can withstand the winter.
Had a needed lie-in this morning. Last night I went out for dinner with my aunt and uncle, their kids and grandkids, and my parents. All in honour of my uncle’s 80th birthday. We went back to Yankee Doodle, where we’d also been with them last March. Had a great time, but didn’t sleep well. I woke up around three and lay awake until seven. I entertained myself playing iPad games and messing with the cats.
When I got downstairs, I found Captain had slept on the sofa 🙂 So much progress in just a few days!
I came home Tuesday to a new edition of Flow on the door mat as well as next season’s theater catalog. After the first run through, I was on 9 shows I wanted to see.
Then Thursday I had planned to go see The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared after work, but it rained so much I decided against it. Instead I went to the Bruna at the train station and bought books (including The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman). Once home, I watched The Normal Heart (I had recorded it when it premiered on HBO Sunday).