PRIVATE DINNER PARTY, Margaret Brown



I love all aspects of cooking and it is really rewarding when I get such positive feed back as I did from my latest dinner party, even more so when it involves my utmost favourite styles, creating a variety of amazing curries from different parts of Asia. I love to make everything from scratch, utilising the best quality ingredients to make my own curry pastes and sauces and I now make a lot of my curries from taste and experience. I gained a lot of my initial love for them when I visited Asia on my travels as a younger chef and from many books and television series, particularly from Ricky Stein who has had amazing experiences around Asia. 

We started the evening off with some light canapes that were enjoyed with a few drinks in the lounge area whilst I made the samosas and bhajis. These followed shortly afterwards which were thoroughly enjoyed before I dished up the curries. We had versatility in strengths of sauces, with the mild green Thai curry to the spicier beef Ran dang which is definitely one of my favourites. The butternut squash curry was inspired from North India with Kashmiri chillis and whole coriander and cumin seeds in the recipe. I also did a medium Sri Lankan style King prawn curry with ground spices, turmeric, ginger, dried lime and coconut milk, finished with  toasted cashew nuts. I also made fresh chapati dough and added sliced garlic, fresh coriander, cumin seeds and dried coconut for added texture and flavour.


The brulees were a great way to finish off the meal, and then coffee and petit fours were served in the lounge area.

I really enjoyed the whole evening and Margaret was a complete star, helping me in the kitchen when I was busy.



Menu


Canapes:

Char grilled asparagus spears, Parma ham, garlic and basil mayonnaise,
x x x
Crispy duck pan cake rolls, Sweet chilli sauce,
x x x
Tempura King prawns, mango mayonnaise,


To Begin:

Poppadoms,
x x x
Spiced potato samosas,
x x x
Crispy onion and coriander bhajis,
x x x
Diced red onion, cucumber, tomato, fresh coriander, lime,
Mango chutney, 
Fig and ginger chutney, 
Coconut yoghurt.


Main Course:


Beef Ran dang: 
Malaysian curry with red chilli, ginger, lemongrass, coriander , tamarind, coconut milk.
x x x
King prawn Sri Lankan curry: 
Ground coriander, garlic, cardamom, turmeric, green chilli, dried lime, coconut, cashew nuts.
x x x 
Thai chicken green curry:  
Green chilli, fresh coriander, galangal, lemongrass, Kaffir lime, coconut milk.
x x x
Butternut squash and spinach curry: 
Fresh chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin seeds, fenugreek, tomato, fresh coriander.
x x x
Cardamom and cinnamon rice
x x x
Garlic and coconut chapatis, Coriander naan bread.


To Finish:

Duo of creme brulee

Vanilla and honeycomb, vanilla and chocolate tuille,
White chocolate and raspberry.


Petit fours

Chocolate coated strawberries, 
Chocolate and orange truffles, sesame seeds.




"Thank you so much for all your efforts this evening.  The meal was fantastic and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Thank you again for a wonderful evening and see you soon" 
Margaret Bathurst Brown


"Thanks for a tremendous dinner last night.  Every course was spot on and I would be hard pressed to find a  favourite, they were all so good from the canapés through to the main meal.  It made a great evening and a wonderful way to say goodbye to Margaret.  
I’d love to have the recipe for the beef curry, if possible as that was exceptionally tasty" 
Brandon Ashton


"Just wanted to congratulate you on the wonderful dinner that you cooked for us on Friday.  Everything you gave us was absolutely delicious and it was a real treat to be able to relax and enjoy it.  Thank you for making our farewell for Margaret so memorable" 
Penny Charles




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