migrant|roo

With peanut butter and M and Ms - for Buzz's send off tomorrow :)

One of my favourite things is to spend Sunday morning deciding what to have for dinner, Sunday afternoon buying the ingredients and Sunday evening crafting a delicious dinner.

Tagliatelle with a mushroom sauce and grilled chicken For the sauce, fry shallots and at least 15 mushrooms (finely chopped, I used Shitake and Button) both very finely chopped. When very soft, add a glass of milk and half a glass of double cream. Add 1 crushed garlic clove and season (I crumbed in a bit of a chicken stock cube).

The chicken was scored deep and stuffed with a herb crust, made of dried mixed herbs, garlic, olive oil, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Grill on a low heat for 30 mins (baste them to keep them moist).

The pasta was made using my brand new pasta machine :)

Evidence

Tangy Snickers Cheesecake

I've wanted to try making a cheesecake with Snickers for ages :) I used a presentation ring (you know, the things that make round rice-towers) to build the cheesecake, it worked wonderfully.

For the biscuit base, 4 crumbled digestive biscuits, knob of melted butter and a teaspoon of dark brown sugar. Pack the biscuit base down into the ring.

Whip mascarpone with a shot of coconut rum, and a teaspoon of lemon and lime marmalade. Smoothly layer over the biscuit base. Whip a little cream until thick and add a thin layer over the mascarpone.

Melt 2 Snickers bars and smooth that over to top the cheesecake, then chill in the fridge to properly set it for a couple of hours.

Gently pull the presentation ring up when ready to serve. I drizzled a reduction of lemon and lime marmalade and coconut rum around the cheesecake, which finished it beautifully.

Evidence

It was a delight! The cream was lighter than the mascarpone which kept it from being claggy like some cheesecakes are. The tang and sweetness from the lemon and lime was so good with the mascarpone, coconut flavour and of course, melted Snickers. I'm well and truly chuffed with how well both dishes turned out :)