Morning Aber's - hope you had a lovely wekend! Right to business todays menu for those etc. Oh plus veggie option

[merciasounds]

starters: Smoked Trout Pate with lemon and dill, melba toast and salad garnish
OR
Marinated artichoke hearts, olives, salamis and focaccia bread, oliver oil
OR
Garlic Mushrooms

'Sticky' BBQ chicken with Chicory, orange and watercress salad
OR
'Belly Buster' mixed grill, 5oz rump steak, gammon steak and steak burger, Glouc. Old spot thick butchers style sausages, lambs liver, kidneys and grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and peas (chips, hand cut if required!)
OR
Crown Roast of Lamb - rosemary and red wine gravy, new potatoes and petite pois peas

Vegetarian Option

Cheese flan with caramelised onion confit
OR
Quorn 'chili' with red kidney beans served with rice
OR
Vegetable and pasta bake - 'ratatouille' mixture of veg in a creamy garlicky sauce with pasta shells with a crispy top baked until golden

Puds
Trio of sorbets (Mango and passionfruit, lime and blackcurrant)
OR
Baked egg custard with stewed rhubarb and plums
OR
Fresh cream Strawberry or chocolate gateau

21 cheeses!! crackers, grapes and celery

teas of coffee/liqueurs

plenty of cold wines, beers lager and ciders - nearly out of stout (down to the last two cases!)

[joggerjayne]

Oh, wow ... at this time of year, I love artichoke hearts. That's a def.

I don't think I could handle the mixed grill. The chicken sounds interesting.

And the cheese (all 21 of them!).

=0)

[eash]

Hi Mercia,
I've started Weight Watchers today so I'm going to be good and have garlic mushrooms, assuming they're not in a creamy sauce, and the Quorn chilli and some sorbet. Thanks :-)

[merciasounds]

JJ - SO glad your back!! I've seen you around and you didn't pop by, i thought I'd done something to offend you!! Nice bottle of dry in fridge for you~!!

[Greedyfly]

Belly buster for me please although I won't manage the entire thing =(

[joggerjayne]

Don't take this the wrong way, mercia, but ...

... nothing listed under "vegetarian option" ever sounds appealing.

=0/

[merciasounds]

Okies Eash, no not in creamy sauce. And I'll stop using butter and cream just for you and use fat free yoghurt, and very low fat olive oil spread instead!!

[ethandron]

i made a quorn chilli on saturday and have to say it was really good, not like i remember quorn mince. even my husband, a confirmed carnivor, enjoyed it. we had it with a dollop of sour cream on top and some doritos on top of that, lovely mix of flavours and textures.
we're having lamb this evening too, with roast broc and cauli sprinkled with ground corriander and garlic, and roast carrots and sweet potato.
do you have the week-end off all this cooking mercia, and maybe go out for a meal for a change? i bet you think you could have done it better when you get served up some of the stuff in restaurants, i know i do and i'm not a professional.

[joggerjayne]

You couldn't possibly offend me, mercia ... you're too lovely.

Maybe I've not been here at the right time when the "menu" was popping up in "Latest Posts"

J x

[rinkins]

Garlic mushrooms, and lamb and some of JJ's wine lol

[joggerjayne]

Melons ...

If we're sharing the wine, we'd better have 2 bottles !

[rinkins]

Good point JJ lol

[eash]

Thanks Mercia :-)

[rinkins]

mmmmm...might get some prosecco...

[merciasounds]

Ethandron, people are always asking me when do I take a day off from cooking - and I ask why? - I don't find it a chore, I love cooking, if there is a time when I don't cook, (rarely) I don't feel right, it's like something is missing and I'm on edge!! If you gave me these three options, or to stay at home and cook for say, 50 people, it would be stay at home every time
1. go to Paris for the weekend
2. Sit on a beach
3. Go clothes shopping

and I need new shoes too - but no, i would rather stay at home and cook!!

[joggerjayne]

yum !

[merciasounds]

JJ and rinkins - got a Villa Sandi Prosecco Frizzante - it's about £8 a bottle got it from Magestic Wines, it's very nice aparently

[joggerjayne]

mercia ... we'll take it !

[AB Editor]

Morning Mercia,

We've put a semi-permanent link up for your profile (left of the central ad bar). Hope you like it.

Spare Ed

[merciasounds]

OOh Ed, I feel SO special now!! (blushes!)

[jno]

where would you look if you didn't have a central ad bar?