This year I celebrated my 20th birthday at home after a long summer of travelling. Instead of going out to a restaurant we continued a family tradition of cooking at home. I based the menu on a few things I encountered during my travels (the salmon is a traditional Finnish recipe).
- Drinks:
Pretending to be a bar tender is always good fun and we made negroni royales before dinner. They're super easy just add some martini rosso and campari to prosecco (or cava) like you're making orange squash and you're done. Making cocktails also gives us the chance to get out the posh glasses.
- Starter:
It seemed logical to keep the starter pretty simple as we had a lot of cooking to do. I dispatched my Dad to Waitrose with a list of my favourite deli counter goodies. I made some really strong garlic mayonnaise to have with smoked cheese, olives and stuffed peppers.
- Main:
This is the traditional Finnish salmon recipe. We did it on the BBQ to recreate the effect of smoked fish. You cover the salmon in fennel, sea salt and lemon and parcel it up so it cooks in its own fat. I then made some extra creamy mash using mustard and the food processor. The sauce is the easiest and most delicious accompaniment to fish, just mix some green pesto into some Greek yogurt and proceed to dollop. Then I added some fresh rocket in some balsamic dressing.
- Dessert:
Baking is one of my favourite passtimes and learning how to make a macaroon whose structural integrity isn't compromised by just looking at it has certainly taken me some hours to perfect. These ones had a white chocolate and black current filling. To do so check out http://www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk/2011/01/how-to-make-perfect-macaroons.html (do everything she says and if in doubt whisk more and leave them to cool completely before you remove them from the tray).
I also made my own ice cream but only because I like to do funky flavours, this one was blueberry and almond.
I also made some tiny ones to go with some after dinner espressos.
