A couple Saturdays ago myself and Mark decided to stay in and watch the UFC. Afterwards, sticking with the fighting theme, we watched The Raid: Redemption. It’s a really good movie with very impressive fight scenes! Oh wait, this is a food blog, my bad! Where was I?
I can’t just sit in doing nothing on a Saturday so I decided to make an occasion out of it and make Mark a three course meal. I enjoy cooking and have been trying to learn and improve my skills since moving out. Being the fantastic girlfriend that I am I made all of Mark’s favourite foods – tomato bruschetta, spicy meatball pasta and eton mess. All pretty simple really!
For the bruschetta I put an onion and a large clove of garlic into a blender to chop them very finely. You can rub the garlic on the bread instead if you prefer. Then I quartered 3 tomatoes, took out the seeds and juice and chopped them into small pieces. If you read my Review of Stoop Your Head you will understand why the centre had to be removed – I just don’t trust it!
Mix everything together with a little olive oil and a good shake of salt, pepper and basil. Drizzle your bread with olive oil (I used a ciabatta bought in super value) and toast on both sides. Simply pour your tomato mixture on top of the bread, drizzle with balsamic vinegar and serve! This starter is great because it’s so easy and you can prepare it in advance to avoid getting frazzled if you have guests over!
I followed the recipe below for my main course –
http://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/food/recipes/2011/1011/2700-meatballs-in-spicy-tomato-sauce/
I prepared the meatballs, fried them, added the sauce and then set it aside. Once we finished our starter I just had to cook the pasta and reheat the sauce so there was only a ten or fifteen minute gap. Don’t forget the parmesan on top and for the table!
The one thing I’ll say about this recipe is that the meatballs were quite soft and fell apart. I think they should have been fried longer than the recipe states before adding the sauce and the sauce should simmer a bit longer. It could also be due to fact I forgot to soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and just threw both in separately. I just got so excited about using my new blender to make the breadcrumbs and I got lost in the moment! I never said I was an expert…
Finally – desert! Eton mess is perhaps the easiest desert ever and it’s soooo good! Crush up a meringue nest, add a dollop cream (or ice cream) and then throw loads of freshly chopped strawberries on top! Perfection! You can add other berries and drizzle with chocolate sauce if you like. You could even garnish with a sprig of mint if you’re feeling fancy, the possibilities are endless!
So why not try making these dishes yourself and let me know how you get on! Find me on Facebook and instagram – @lovefoodbaby. Oh! I did notice that all the food I made was red, the colour or LOVE! This was not intentional, I’m afraid I’m just not that smooth!
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