18th October

It's been a while since my last post about Saturday night... that's how long it takes me to recover from a good night these days.   In my youth bouncing back was not a problem.   It didn't matter how hard we partied or for how long... the next morning we woke with a glowing complexion and boundless energy to do it all again.   Not anymore!   I'm lucky if I'm not feeling the repercussions four days later.    Doesn't stop me though.   Life is far too short not to spend it laughing with friends at every opportunity.

On Sunday, Mr M and I mainly ate leftovers from Saturday night.   Mr M loves coleslaw so to accompany our feast he made a very lush coleslaw mix including carrot, cabbage, red pepper and watercress coated in a sauce made from mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, fresh lemon juice and freshly cracked black pepper.   Perfect side to a leftover delight!

Midweek supper this week consisted of one of my personal favourties.... unfortunately, it's not one of Mr M's.    Cauliflower cheese has to be one of the nicest things ever, however, as it doesn't contain meat it generally gets a disdainful look from my other half.    As a result I have taken to pimping it up a bit to get a more enthusiastic response.   It seems to work too.   Here's the recipe:

Pimped Up Cauliflower Cheese

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

pancetta or bacon cut into small cubes

mushrooms

1 tblspn plain flour

knob of butter

300ml milk

1/2 tub of philidelphia cheese

handful of grated parmesan cheese

1.   Cut the cauliflower into segments and boil in salted water until tender.

2.   Pre heat oven to 180C/gas mark 4

3.   Fry the pancetta or bacon in a frying pan until crispy.   Remove and keep to one side.  Add the mushrooms to same pan and fry until cooked.

4.  In a saucepan melt the butter then add the flour.   Stir for about a minute over the heat then on a low heat, very slowly add the milk, stirring all the time to get the lumps out.    Once all the milk has been added continue to stir until the sauce has thickened.   Add more milk if necessary to get the consistency you want for the sauce (must be thick enough to coat the cauliflower well).

5.   Add the philidelphia to the sauce and stir continuously over a low heat until incorporated into the sauce.   Add the parmesan and do the same.

6.   Once the cauliflower is cooked, drain and place in an oven proof dish.   Add the pancetta and mushroom to the sauce and pour over the cauliflower.

7.   Cook the cauliflower in the oven for approx 20 - 25 mins until it's piping hot throughout and the top is golden and bubbling.

YUM!