I’d done some prep yesterday, but today I was cooking a full three course meal!
Scamp left to go to FitSteps just before 10am and was back about fifteen minutes later to report that there was work being done on all the roads leading to the town centre. There had been no notification of the works and there were no diversion instructions. She was not a happy bunny.
To make the most of a bad start to the day, we drove to Tesco to stock up for tonight’s dinner for Crawford & Nancy. Drove home and decanted all the food and drink, then I drove up to the fish van at Calders and picked up tonight’s slab of cod which would be the centre of the main course.
A bit more prep after that because Scamp always says that the “mise en place” as the French describe it, preparation, is the key to success when cooking. It worked for me. Almost an hour later I was prepared and had some free time to get today’s PoD in St Mo’s. It was a male Wolf Spider looking for a mate. They’re called Wolf Spiders because they don’t build webs, but stalk their prey.
Today’s EDiM prompt asked for A Bridge. I chose the railway bridge that carries the Stirling to Glasgow line over the Luggie Water. It’s really quite an old bridge, stone built and bears the name SCM1 132/676. Wouldn’t it be so much nicer if the had called it the “Bridge Over Luggie Water”, but the railway companies aren’t very romantic, so SCM1 132/676 it is.
Back home we had the living room to clear and the table to set. By 7pm we were ready to receive visitors and there they were at the door!
After getting drinks organised I started in the kitchen. First task was making the filo pastry nests for the starter. I’d already measured and mixed up the egg and milk for the nest and it was just a case of pouring it into the nest, adding the chopped up veg and cooking the four ramekins in a water bath. One down!
Next was Bacon and Peas with Cod. I’d made the bacon and peas many times, but I’d never fried the big chunks of cod in butter before and was a bit worried about making a mess with this fairly expensive chunk of fish. However, it all just worked and, although it would have been better with a bit of salt, there were no complaints.
Finally it was Creme Caramel (the grave symbol still doesn’t work on a Mac). All that was needed was to extricate it from the ramekins and serve. It looked the part and, even better, it tasted right! One more thing to do and that was to make the coffee which turned out strong, but otherwise it was fine.
Finally I could relax and enjoy a wee dram or two with Crawford because Nancy was nominated driver.
When they’d left I checked my phone and saw Fred’s photos of the Northern Lights. I got one grainy green photo on my phone, but nothing on my camera. Maybe being slightly inebriated contributed to the lack of photos.
Hoping for a lazy day tomorrow and maybe another chance of an aurora photo.