Today is Mothering Sunday (or Mother's Day) in the UK. Yesterday evening my sister, brother(who took the photos) and I managed to pull off quite a feast. As our mum is jetting of to New Zealand next week for a month, rather than going out for a meal on Mothering Sunday, (which is usually a guaranteed sign for having a terrible meal, poor service and longs waits for the meal) we decided to have a go at cooking a 3 course meal. With my sister doing the starter, me the main and brother making the pud, the kitchen was quite a scene.
As we live a 2 hour drive from my parents we decided to have the meal Saturday night meaning we could all drink and have a leisurely meal. Original intentions was for it to be a Welsh themed meal as we were eating on St Davids Day, but I'm not too confident with roast lamb, and we couldn't think of a quick easy Welsh dessert. However sis did manage to get Welsh goats cheese into the starter.
Sis made Goat's Cheese and Cranberry Parcels on a bed of leaves dressed with blackberry vinaigrette. They were delicious and I'll certainly be making them at home. 
For the main course Hubby and I cooked topside of longhorn beef with mustard crust from Quenby Hall, honey roasted parsnips, roast potatoes, Yorkshire puds, cauliflower cheese and purple sprouting broccoli. The smell of the beef cooking filled the house and mum commented on how good the beef was. It tasted like beef should taste. It was rarer than the photo shows. This was the first time I've cooked roast for 7 people and I must say myself we didn't do too badly! Sis made the gravy as I just can't make it.
For pudding my brother made strawberry gratin. We found the recipe in Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook. It was really easy to make and delicious. It tasted a bit like cheesecake with a creme brulee sugar topping. 
I was a really enjoyable evening and it was all washed down with various liquor coffees and Hotel Chocolat truffles. It was far better (and cheaper) than any meal we could have had if we had gone out for Mother's Day lunch.
Congratulations to Barbara Ghezzi from Suffolk who won a years supply of Kinder Bueno. The prize should be with you by the end of the week.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Mother's Day Feast & Kinder Bueno winner
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What a lovely treat for your mum. That's a great looking dinner!
ReplyDeleteJules your mum is very lucky, what a lovely treat! The spread you put on sounds delicious and the pics vouch for that. I'm sometimes a believer that at times food done at home is far better than eating food out!
ReplyDeleteMaria
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Thank you so much for a lovely blog with such tempting photographs! Thank you also for letting me know I am the lucky winner of a year's supply of Kinder Bueno!!! - Barbara
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous meal and how wonderful that the three of you made a meal together for your mum. Am most tempted by the goats cheese parcel mmmm.
ReplyDeleteThis is one beautiful treat for your mum Jules. I find good food cooked and baked with love can't match anything you can buy in a restaurant. All your food looks stunning! :D
ReplyDeleteRosie x
Quenby Hall is not too far from where I was born and bred. In fact I was not too far from there on Mother's Day!
ReplyDeleteDid you get the meat from a Farmer's Market?
The menu you put together looks wonderful.
sylvie - thank you :)
ReplyDeletemaria & rosie - I will nearly always choose a homecooked meal over eating out.
Barbara - enjoy your prize!
Pixie - The goats cheese parcels are certainly worth a try.
Maragret - I got it from Chantry Farm Shop near Melbourne (there is a link on the left side of my blog). They stock Quenby Hall beef.
Looks lovely Jules. I am very tempted by the goats cheese parcels :D Mmmmm.
ReplyDeleteThank you also for linking to your brothers site whom I looked at the other week - it all makes sense now!!!!
I love the strawberry gratin! Delicious!
ReplyDeleteclaire - although he's my bro I don't always agree with his cooking!
ReplyDeletetartelette - The strawberry gratin is so easy and delicious. Well worth a try.
Oi, what you saying about my cooking...! Will update my blog as soon as my computer is working again :( wireless card has broken (again)
ReplyDeleteMike
Mike - you know I think your mad for some of your crazy food combinations!
ReplyDelete