Impress Your Guests

I used to make this dish for my family when I was younger and recently revived it for my 22nd birthday (have I mentioned I'm 22 enough recently?!). It's a straightforward meal that is perfect for dinner parties as the prep can all be done in advance. Just make them up until the point you have to cook them in the oven and put them in the fridge instead. Shove them in the oven 30 minutes before you want to eat and enjoy a drink and nibbles with your guests.

I love the idea of effortless dinner parties and yet never succeed. One eye fully made up and frantically stirring a sauce with one hand while laying the table with the other. My friends find it hysterical, and my parents ask why I don't do dishes where everything is prepared well in advance. I suppose I like the challenge, but also I seem to have no concept of timing, and consequently run late for everything.

Slow Roast Shoulder of Lamb

Where to start? I had an amazing time in London and I'm not sure how to compact it all down into one post, so instead I'm going to write two as my time with Isabel (a friend of mum's) was very different to the days that I spent with my friends from college. I spent all of Saturday with Isabel and we went to Borough Market to buy food for supper. Wow! Borough Market is incredible!!! It was very busy but there's so much to see. We bought some delicious salami from Canon and Canon (I believe it's all British charcuterie, which is quite cool) and from another stall we got some unbelievably good parma ham and burrata. For the main course decideon slow roast shoulder of lamb was decided upon (recipe below). Going to The Ginger Pig's stall for the lamb, we almost received goat instead! There was only one shoulder of goat amongst 5 or 6 of lamb and they looked almost identical so it was an easy mistake to be made - fortunately we noticed it had the wrong label as the man picked it up.

Don't Say Never Trust A Skinny Cook: Cod With Parma Ham And Roasted Veggies

So, this is another Hairy Dieters recipe and I have to admit that I didn't make it myself (mum did) but it tasted delicious and I need something to post for you today! I chose the recipe as one that I wanted to cook over the next few weeks whilst I'm at home. I'm hoping to stockpile some completed blog posts so that you all have something to read whilst I revise for my exams in May. I was in London this weekend, which is why mum cooked, and I had an amazing time - check back in a few days to see what I was up to as I post about Borough Market, the amazing meal I ate at Polpo, and Minyi and mine's now traditional trip around all of the food halls in London! 

A very full but bright plate!