The Boy and I spend approximately 20 hours last weekend preparing for a fabulous dinner for our Autumn Festival (Moon Cake Festival) dinner for his cousins….
The feast was a huge success, the dishes all prepared by us (apart from the macarons, I do NOT want to talk about it)… yes even the dips and mayo were all made by us 🙂
This post, I’ll put up all the dishes and description and I’ll leave it up to you, my wonderful readers, to select your favourite dish and in the following post, I’ll put up the recipe for that dish!
So enjoy, feast with your eyes and don’t forget to comment at the end 🙂
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| Vegetarian Spring Roll and Jamon Cigars |
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Vegetarian springrolls of pickled carrots and nashi pear (V)
Jamon Cigar (Sliced Jamon with nashi pear)
Truffle Aioli and Caper & Gherkin Dip (Capers, Mayo, Gherkin and Truffle Oil)
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| Purple Congos and Coliban Potato Salad with Endives (Vegetarian) |
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| Same as above but with egg, mayo, bacon bits and chorizo |
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Purple congos (remember my post on Prahran market?)… one of our new favourite potatoes (beautiful and vibrant), they do take a lot longer than normal potatoes to cook…
Purple congos were an inspiration from our meal at Embrasse and Chef’s Nic Poelaert use of wonderful fresh produce…
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| Chicken Roulade stuffed with Serrano Ham, Chorizo, Endives and Butter on a bed of Purple Cabbages and Broad Beans |
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This chicken is the Boy’s recipe… we were meant to have 2, but one fell apart 😛
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| Farmer’s Medley in Spring |
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A dish for the vegetarian 🙂 Consists of purple carrots, baby carrots, baby corn, snow peas, broad beans, purple congos, purple cabbages and lotus roots with truffle aioli and purple carrot puree
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| 4 hour Roast Pork Belly |
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This roast pork belly was the highlight of the meal (feast) I think… it was gone as soon as we set it down on the table…
The flesh was amazingly tender and peeled off really easily… the fat was pretty much a warm, melt-in-your-mouth goodness…
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| Grilled Moroccan Prawns |
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| Grilled Tuscan Chicken with Crispy Skin Salmon |
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| Grilled Moroccan Lamb Cutlets |
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 The above was just simple grilled seafood and meats with our own version of Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean inspired spices
On to the desserts!
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| Saffron infused Panna Cotta with Blood Orange |
It was my first attempt at panna cotta and it was a success!!! The blood orange was absolutely delicious and partnered so well with the saffron…
The Boy invented this recipe up and insisted on making it… (which I did!)… I’m sure someone has done this before… and if not this, then a variation of it.
The next dessert, you’ve already met,
Sexy, velvety and amazingly set.
Layer upon Layer of delight,
It indeed is quite a sight!
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| Served on chilled glass with fresh cream, lavender flowers and crushed crystalised violets |
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| Layers of Chocolate Sponge, Cherry Ice Cream, Violet Ice Cream, Chocolate Ganache, Â & Chocolate Shards |
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The Violet Gateau as the Boy would like to share, was inspired by a combination of Phillipa Sibley’s famous Snickers dessert, Gary Mehigan’s Opera Cake and the Black Forest Cake from Le Petit Gateau…
After 2 nights of baking and attempting to make violet and lavender macarons and failing miserably, I conceded defeat and bought them instead…
Macaron’s were from Lindt… Strawberry, Rose, Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut…
So tell me dear readers, what is your favourite dish and which recipe would you like me to share?
xoxo
Everything looks great… ! Hard to pick one. And try baking macarons again…
The salad! Haha. Because I love salads. 🙂
Mind = blown.
Wow. Just wow.
EVERYTHING LOOKS AMAZING!
Salmon AND chicken! Om nom nom!
Could you post the pork belly recipe? I can cook a fair few desserts, but I'm lacking when it comes to mains. And if it was indeed the most popular, or the "main event", I'd love to make it for some guests :).
Penny: You have to choose!! I'll try the macarons again after a masterclass… *sigh*
Miche: Salad is easy!
TSC: HmmMMm…. 1 vote for pork belly =)
Oh my, I bet if you auctioned a spot at your table you'd have people clambouring (me included!). What a great effort and expense you went to and it looks so worth it 🙂
Woww… when I first scrolled thru the pics I thought you guys had a feast in a restaurant.. then I read that you and the boy prepared ALL OF THAT by yourselves?!!
WHAT A FEASTTTTT!!!
So how do I get to become one of your best friends so you can put up a feast like this for me too? Hehheheee 😉
LOVE THEM ALLLL.. but I guess especially the pork. Aarrgghhh I'm on a diet – your blog post is EVIL! Hahahahaha.
Lorraine: I know it was a feast!
Kim: It was a long day.. a very long day =)
I've asked the Boy for his pork belly recipe and he doesn't know! As he made it up.. so we'll try to piece it together and post it up soon =)
Good job!
The Panna Cotta is what I would love to learn how to make- it all looks amazing!
Thanks Ren! I'll post that up too =)