What a Mezze! Meal Plan and Recipes

Dinner party’s are such fun and whilst lots of work, nothing beats feeding an appreciative crowd. I often turn to the queens of cookery for inspiring dinner party dishes, and did again to food temptress Nigella Lawson and the original bad girl Martha Stewart for Saturday. There was enough food to make a whole week’s meal plan out of – no joke! So my lovely readers… break it down!

Cucumber and Pomegranate Salad

Day one – Lemon and Herb Pork Chops, Fatoush and Nutty Quinoa
Day two – Baba Ganoush, Red Kidney Bean Dip, Olives, Pomegranate & Cucumber Salad, and Pitta
Day three – Oven Roasted Sea Bass with Potatoes, Red Pepper, Anchovies and Garlic (this is Rick Stein’s actually… )
Day four – Chocolate Ganache Tart with Chewy Citroen Base (who’s even thinking about the main with this dessert on the horizon?!!) Do my Vertigo Burgers if you are stuck for ideas 😉
Day five- Sweet Potato and Pork Mild Nonya Curry (made with remaining uncooked pork from day one)

Thank you Martha

Rum (Pepper) Steaks

Yet another silly hat in our house…introducing my son’s Easter ‘bonnet’ and my celebratory Pina Colada!

Rum Steaks were our Saturday/Easter weekend dinner, scroll down for the recipe.

A great excuse to mix up some ‘modern’ and low fat (made with coconut water not cream) Pina Colada cocktails on the side which were all too easy to drink. Here’s a picture of the Steaks, served with Sweet Potato and Courgette Wedges seasoned with Cayenne Pepper, Ground Coriander, Cumin, Pepper and Salt.

And here’s the recipe for the Rum Steaks…

4 cloves garlic finely chopped or crushed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp red wine
4 rib eye steaks (or your preference)
50g salted butter
2 medium brown or white onions sliced thinly
2 tbsp dark rum (or white if yo don’t have dark)
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 cup single cream

Combine garlic, salt, ground pepper and wine in a small bowl. Arrange steaks on a plate, spread wine marinade over the top and refrigerate for 1 hour plus. Melt butter in medium heavy based frying pan; sear steaks over high heat for 1 minute each side. Set steaks aside in a warm place. Reduce heat to medium, add onions to the pan, cook until onions softens and begins to brown. Add rum and peppercorns, stir well. Reduce heat to low, add cream, stir. Bring sauce to boiling point, remove from heat. Pour sauce over steaks and serve.