stood up

today, friends were to come over for an early supper with their kids. messages had been exchanged last night to check & confirm everyone was still up for meeting up. so, today i spent cooking

Yotam Ottolenghi's Brussels sprouts with caramelised garlic and lemon peel - takes forever, but it is totally worth the effort. also, it is meant to be served at room temperature so you can make it in advance. i kept the chili on the side, to add for the adults once the kids had helped themselves

i also cooked jamie's crunchy thai salad (without the noodles) - kept the spicy ginger, chili & herb dressing to the side again

i made a tarte tatin,

and finally i defrosted 2 monkfish tails so i could make nigella's roast monkfish

3pm - all ready to go, just needed to load the dishwasher and then we'd be ready to receive & entertain our guests.

then... the telephone went. would i prefer to come to theirs? (no thanks - was polite enough not to mention i'd just spent 4 hours in the kitchen preparing their meal)

then the 'phone went again. actually - if i didn't mind, they'd give it a miss. today is a bit hectic. but i should definitely come to supper at theirs any evening this week.