to launch my internet ramblings i held a dinner party last wednesday. the tasters were four friends and they assured me of approval. however they're good friends so take this with a pinch of salt if you are a sceptic.

to start: boiled egg with asparagus soldiers
simple to start, this recipe doesn't require much preparation, leaving you free to entertain your guests or in my case try and engineer plates, people et al around a rickety, diminutive table. boil one egg per person for a maximum time of 4 minutes for a egg which won't run away with you. the asparagus i boiled too for a similar length of time in a pan with a generous amount of swiss bouillion powder ( a vice of mine). sprinkle parmesan over the asparagus to make your soldiers less modern camouflage warfare, more flamboyant red and gilt of the 18th century.



for main: chicken escalope with a truffle, shallot and bacon cream sauce, served with garlic mushrooms, broad beans and fresh tiger loaf
this was probably the most impressive of the three courses but nonetheless i could still make it from scratch after wolfing down the starter. for the sauce: i made an error in buying a bag of tiny shallots this meant much peeling and much crying. i would advise buying around 1.5 sizeable shallots per guest. once chopped roughly add to a frying pan with 8 strips of bacon again roughly cut. you will realise i am not one for neatness. once the two are cooked add a dollop of wholegrain mustard and creme fraiche. stir so all are combined and allow to bubble along but not to become excessively hot. the sauce reduces quickly so avoid a high heat and add water if it becomes a little gloopy. it is fairly rich so i used half fat creme fraiche and would not overload the portions. to give it another nuance add a couple of drops of truffle oil. a point on truffle oil: firstly i imagine a few raised eyebrows as this is ostensibly a student blog but waitrose (oh dear, eyebrows even higher) stocks a small bottle for a surprisingly reasonable price, used sparingly this is not so extravagant as it first appears...; secondly, the truffle is more controversial than its chocolate cousin so i allowed my friends to add the oil themselves.
the chicken i pan fried in a little olive oil and seasoned. once cooked i added this to the sauce and made sure it was clothed in the creamy goodness.
the mushrooms are perhaps to garlicky for the french but what with twilight fever coming over us again i thought it best not to be overly cautious. i freely admit to my laziness so along to 4 finely chopped clothes (i had to make an exception to my rough cutting here, apparently most people don't tend to like eating whole chunks of garlic for some reason) i added a couple of teaspoons of that jarred, purreed stuff. sorry to any food snobs out there. bite me (you ain't coming close with the intense garlic). so as to avoid intense indigestion the broad beans were simply boiled and served plain.
i make no pretence at being a domestic goddess so the bread was bought from sainsburys bakery but cut thickly and served with unsalted butter spread over it the guests seemed happy.



for pudding: put on your sundae suit.
on wednesday i was feeling a little worse for wear so postponed the brownies with a lavender and white chocolate sauce in place of sundaes. i dressed up the menu change with other reasons ranging from my current obsession with america to a homage to all those 'surprise' desserts on come dine with me.
this is the lazy girls pudding but it went down a storm. i decided to go so kitsch i like to think it verged on cool, so to compliment the neopolitan ice cream (ice cream i am sure the italian mammas would despair over) i piled the table with bowls of sweets. the secret is in the sweets and as a girl known to favour pick n mix suppers over michelin starred ones, this arena is my forte. it is all in the textures. mix jelly beans with m and m's, glace cherries (the more nuclear the better) with oreos, then garnish with mini marshmallows and toffee and fudge sauce.
death by sugar.



to seal the deal: the all inclusive extras
we drank: to keep with the unintentional theme of kids playing grown ups we washed it down with rose and lemonade. cheaper and, if we're honest, nicer than champers.
we heard: after having to listen to countless awful soundtracks in restaurants, we loosley arranged the music to fit the food. for the starter and main johnny flynn played out so as to compliment the wholesomeness. yet for pudding david bowie young americans is a necessity. play it loud like in a burger bar and picture your laptop less tinny, more like a dukebox.

CHEFS MAY TURN IN THEIR GRAVES BUT I SAY YUM.