How to host a Dinner Party for a Russian Model

H and I have had so many busy weekends, whether it’s travelling or work that the last couple of weekends have been bliss to just sleep in, enjoy H’s cooked breakfast (or bought one) and then enjoy whatever the day may bring.

This Saturday we had a friend of H’s coming around for dinner and I’d been given the briefing that his girlfriend is a 6ft red haired Russian model. And both are vegetarian.

My first surprise was that a Russian was vegetarian. I thought that the main staple foods of Russians consisted of meat (goulash) and potatoes. Maybe she’s over goulash like I’m well over sausages! I ate so many of those damn things when I was a kid, that unless it’s the gourmet spinach and pinenut ones I just won’t eat them.

I can’t say that I’ve ever had dinner with a model, let alone a 6ft red haired Russian model, so my first concern was what to cook. After spending time with H’s mum this week and reading through the family Indian cookbooks I decided to cook some Indian curries.

If you’re the slightest bit interested in the menu, here it is;

Entree : Pappadums and Pakora (with some homemade chutneys)

Main : Bhendi (Okra) curry, Aloo Palak (Spinach and Potato), Gobi (Cauliflower) curry, accompanied with raita, chapati and rice

Dessert : Fresh Fruit and melted Toblerone for dipping

On the day in question and after sorting all the food, I went to get myself ready. That was when I opened my cupboard to get out some clothes, and had one of those ‘oh shit’ moments... what the hell do you wear to a dinner party when you’ve got a 6ft red haired Russian model coming?

Perhaps I should have done that extra gym workout this morning... or sat in the sauna for a few hours to at least make myself feel a bit slimmer. But really, what can a 30 something woman do to try and make herself look half decent against a 20 something woman that is a 6ft red haired Russian. No point.

After feeling depressed about my lack of wardrobe (and the fact that Blighty adds on pounds no matter how much you exercise), I finally settled on a safe option of casual jeans and a top. However when she walked through the front door I had omitted to wear any shoes. That was a big no no, as you can imagine being 5ft something, I looked like a dwarf next to her (and she didn’t even have heels on). Thankfully we were seated for most of the night.

You may ask how dinner went?

She ate.

Actually more than me. And here I was brainwashed by those trashy magazines that tell us models starve themselves. I can safely say they, or this one, truly do eat.

The evening went well, although I don’t think she understood all the things I said, the Aussie accent can cause confusion even for the Brits at times.

What did I learn?

That the benefit of being a 20 something model is you can wake up the next morning and look perfect even if you've had a few red wines, unlike my disheveled state.

And that next time I WILL wear high heels!

My first attempt at Wedding Cake

If anyone has been through the experience of organising a wedding, or going through as I am, you will know that whenever you mention the 'W' word the price increases dramatically.

So in my attempt to try and save costs where possible, I wanted to try and make a wedding cake.

Of course a massive wedding cake is a little different from the usual cupcakes that I make, so firstly I had to do some research via google. Thankfully I found some really good sites and a couple are worth mentioning;

• http://www.designer-cakes.com/ is a scottish guy that has a number of free online courses and a range of great looking cakes.
• http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk/ ...and one day when I'm working I'll be able to afford to do one of this lady's cake courses. Absolutely amazing! And great tips in the blog comments.

I decided to try a lemon Madiera cake. Not the easiest thing to make as I've mentioned in my previous blog, however when I did get the courage to cut it into 3 layers it actually looked quite good. 

Next step was the lemon curd buttercream that I smothered in between.

Layered Madiera Cake with Buttercream

I could have stayed with the buttercream to do the outside, however I wanted to try a white chocolate ganache.

Now with the White Chocolate Ganache

And then was the fondant icing. Damn hard to work with when you have a tiny kitchen and a rolling pin that's not big enough.

Now with the Fondant

Next step was the fun bit... making it pretty. I stuck to the flower decoration as I'd like them flowing down the tiers if I end up doing this for my wedding.

  

Of course that isn't the final step... Taste Test.

Yum

The fact that H has gone back a few times for more cake must mean it's ok. I wasn't particularly happy with the fondant as I couldn't get it looking all nice and smooth like the professional ones, but let's see I may just have to make my own wedding cake.

What to do on a little chicken day...

Baking of course!

And if you don't know what a 'little chicken' or 'chicken little' day is... 'the sky is falling in, the sky is falling in'. In other words... an overcast, dull, dreary day with no blue sky.

One of the things on my to do list has been to trial a wedding cake. I'm debating whether or not to bake my own to save money. So yesterday I tried a Madiera cake. There were so many tips on how to cook it online i.e. place a bowl of water in the oven, wrap the tin in newspaper, scrape the batter away from the middle before baking.  I did try these, however it has come out quite crusty on the top and right now I'm too scared to cut it, so will leave it for a day.

After that I trialed Golden Cauliflower Soup with Moroccan Spices which I found on Foodily. A healthy and yummy soup if you're after something different.

  

And finally I decided to make H's favourite Lemon and Poppyseed cupcakes. This time I decorated them a bit differently... 

  

  

Now I think it's time to put my feet up with a glass of wine!

Back in Blighty

Holidays don't last long enough...

We spent our last couple of days in a hotel on the Bay of Bengal. It's called Vivanta and while it looks lovely, other than a gorgeous dinner in the seaside restaurant on the Saturday night and a treat in the spa on the Sunday, I wouldn't bother going back. 

It was that bad I wrote a review on Trip Advisor. The breakfast hall gave me flashbacks to the time I was at the Singapore Night Zoo with Mum, desperately trying to protect some elderly Aussies from being stampeded by holidaying Indians.

The hotel room

A free dessert from the only nice restaurant

These were scattered all around the spa

Now its back to reality in Blighty...

H is back at work and I'm joining agencies in the bid to find some work when I head back to Oz for the few weeks before Xmas and our big day.

The invitations have finally gone out and I now just have to sort out the photographer (I'm not paying the thousands that these people seem to want) and entertainment.

More soon...