Episode 2, the actual dinner party 2!

The evening of Friday 25th June was the second dinner party, set in 1973. I had decided not to try the cocktail beforehand, so as to be a surprise (strangely, I’ve never drunk one before!) The cocktail was a Tequila Sunrise and I know the layers are supposed to be separate, but when I poured things in, it all just mixed…pretty orange colour, but not right! I also missed the lemon out, so pleasant, but sweet. I tried it again on Saturday lunch time, and got it very pleasantly right. Turns out putting ice in on top of the grenadine slows down the tequila/orange juice etc so keeping the layers distinct. (Pre-dinner nibbles…cheese and pineapple hedgehog)

The starter was salmon mousse and melba toast, and it’s a starter that’s made from ingredients which are all in tins or packets, which is possibly all mum would have available when she first started making it in Nassau in 1967. It’s got a bit of sharpness to it from the vinegar, and tasted just as good as I remember it from our Christmas brunches.

The main course was a Beef Stroganoff, and I was much more pleased with it this time!

I did it again in a slow cooker last Tuesday, and then again properly for the dinner; using a slow cooker was good for the dinner party version where mum/I couldn’t have just left the table for 20 or so minutes to cook. It was gorgeous, meltingly tender…although I really need to work on my portion control for rice! Modern stroganoff seems to generally have paprika in, but mum’s didn’t, and I think it was probably because it may not have been available to her when she first started cooking it in 1967/8. I was supposed to have been doing a mushroom stroganoff for my vegetarian friend, but sadly they couldn’t come…they got contact traced by the NHS app, and had to self isolate…so we FaceTimed them during the liqueurs…no reply, but that was probably safer for them!

Dessert was Black Forest cheesecake and/or brandied oranges. I didn’t have time to trial Black Forest gateau, and also realised that mum didn’t have a specific recipe…and after a friend looked at mum’s notes, I realised she might have been buying them, so I used mum’s cheesecake recipe and adapted it into a Black Forest cheesecake…it was gorgeous, and rather rich! I added melted chocolate to the cheesecake mix, as well as cherries soaked in kirsch, reduced the kirsch syrup, piped cream rosettes and topped with chocolate covered cherries. The dinner was concluded by liqueurs and After Eight mints…

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