This post is an entry for the Taylor Wimpey Dinner party Competition. With a simple brief to create a Dinner party menu of Starter, Main course, Dessert and an accompanying wine.
Anybody that knows me will appreciate that food is something I enjoy with a passion and it just so happens that here in Mid Wales, on the Ceredigion coast, we have been blessed with some of the finest ingredients to work with. Festivals run through the year and most towns and villages will have at least one food based event, usually in the summer months. Some of the larger towns suh as Cardigan or Aberaeron, will have several and many annual visitors will often coincide their visit with the seafood festivals, true taste expo's or local walled garden harvests. A couple of years back I created a dish using locally picked wild mushrooms and fresh vegetables from the National Trust gardens at Llanerchaeron. With this dish I found myself in London as a contestant on Tesco's Real Family Cooks on Channel 5. Unfortunately I never made it past the filmed qualifiers, but a family weekend in London was a treat in itself.
So, what kind of treat would a guest be served at my Dinner party?
WELCOME APERITIF
Chilled Raspberry and Strawberry smoothie
I always believe that the palette should be prepared before a treat. Fresh Strawberries and Raspberries can be picked at Penlanlas Fruit Farm just up the road in Aberystwyth. If you take the children, this is guarenteed to be an adventure in itself and if you stop at the nationally acclaimed Rachels Organic factory, you can pick up an unbeatable pot of natural yoghurt with which to blend your fruit. Mix with ome crushed ice made with Ty Nant water and you will set the taste buds tingling!
STARTER
Medalions of Welsh Black fillet and wild mushrooms.
A simple starter that needs no 'tarting' up, the taste is all natural and mindblowing. Cut some Welsh Black fillet steak into medalions approximately 3cm thick. These should be cooked slowly in a deep sided pan with a small knob of local unsalted farm butter and a splash of red wine. Add some local woodland wild mushrooms (These can be bought at Llanerchaeron) and serve over some crisp rocket salad. A thick sauce will have been created during cooking and you can add a little cream to this, stir and spoon sparingly over the top of your dish.
MAIN COURSE
LOBSTER served with 'STWMP' and crispy Leek.
If you live in Cardigan Bay then a Lobster main course is an obvious and delicious main course dish. I know many people will mix their Lobster with a thermidor sauce or add a minted mayonaise or such. NOOOOO! This is a criminal assault on the most delicious food you will possibly ever taste. This should be simply cooked and presented with a wedge of lemon. A local country dish is 'Stwmp' a simple mash made with potato and Swede, seasoned with butter, pepper and salt. This can be mashed with a little double cream and then piped 'Duchesse' style onto the plate alongside the Lobster. To make crispy Leek, you should finely julienne your leek very thinly in strips of about one to two inches, then flash fry in a little olive oil.
DESSERT
No Bake Cheescake, served with fresh Double cream.
To make a simple no bake cheescake, mix together one part marscapone with two parts Philadephia. Crush some digestive biscuits and layer across the bottom of small dessert bowls. Spoon and sculpt the cheescake mix over the biscuit and leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. This simple dessert, served with fresh cream is pure decadance.
WINE
Although it would be traditional to have a red wine with the steak starter, after the fresh smoothie aperitif, it would be nice to serve a cold crisp Reisling which will set off the Lobster.
So there you have it, a complete feast, easilly prepared, locally sourced and you just know that your guests will be blown away.
