Friday Night: Grandma's birthday tapas, but what do we eat?

So, tomorrow, although actually it's Monday, is Grandma's birthday. She's 342 this year which is pretty cool in itself, but I'm off to take her round an orchid farm in the morning. This is what she loves, along with photographs. There have been many long afternoons in her house with her showing me her shots of the better restaurants along the Loire and down the Ligurian coast which seems to be where she spent the 50s and 60s.

It's tapas tomorrow, and so we (this is me and the mercenary (city lawyer) brother who we shall call johnny bollinger, who can also cook a little too) have put together some bits and pieces...



Croquetas of smoked cod (should really have been bacalao, but we ran out of time), cannellini bean dip, which may end up a little like waxy houmous with chilli and lemon, and which is slightly borrowed from running with tweezers, for which thank you so much (hyperlinks will follow when I learn how it works; I'm new, indulge me), prawns grilled with saffron, pimienton, garlic, chilli and lemon (this was going to be quite an exciting idea with lots of nutmeg, but then we remembered that johnny's uncle is allergic to nutmeg!), roasted tomatoes (quite what is the deal with heirloom tomatoes - have you been keeping them in the attic for a couple of generations? If so I may pass) with garlic and anchovies, some polpettini of aubergines, basil and mozzerella (proper stuff, in case you doubted), a ligurian broad bean salsa which may be italian but is gorgeous enough to get on this post, and some mushrooms which probably will get done with sherry vinegar and saffron, but who knows...

With all of this you would imagine (well I would, and mr bollinger is kind of stroppy about this) that there would be some rather special wines being drunk. Well there might, but there aren't. It's a dry show, mainly because we have to be back in town by about 7pm to watch mr sheridan stomp on a sea bass. next time, promise...

Which sort of brings me on to the prep process. People have to eat, (even johnny b, although he will do a decent job of pretending he doesn't and that man can live by wine alone). So tonight there was a very pleasant bit of aged sirloin, charred to within an inch of its life and still bleeding in the middle, that we cooked with a very smoky and savoury SA chenin (Jean Danieel Signature) and then ate with a nearly feral 1998 Musella Amarone. Something for next time is what you should eat with and what you should drink from...

Roast Chicken

Last night, after quite a hectic day at the office, I needed something easy but tasty to cook. I had a Packington Poultry http://www.packingtonpoultry.co.uk/ chicken in the fridge (bought from the Butcher and Grill in Battersea http://www.thebutcherandgrill.com/) and so decided that roast chicken would fit the bill nicely, leaving leftovers with which to make soup.

I stuffed the chicken with a quartered lemon and some seasoning, put some olive oil, salt and pepper on the skin and sat him on top of some floury potatoes. There were gorgeous smells coming from the oven as the chicken went temptingly brown and crisp and the potatoes developed sticky, crunchy corners.

I needed something green to go with it all so I chopped some leeks and cooked them in my new birthday pan with a splash of white wine. When they had melted, I took them off the flame and stirred in a tiny bit of butter. Glossy and gorgeous.

The chicken was delicious (and it did go well with the wine Mr Seychelles), had so much natural flavour that just oozed through the slight citrus hint.

Exactly what I was after.