Dinner with the Girls... (and 6 children)

Last night it was Valentine's Day. And I could have had a romantic dinner with candlelight, roses and sweet-nothings. But I would much rather share a Saturday night with my 2 gorgeous girl-friends and their various off-spring.

The fact that that there were no offers of romance is incidental. Even if there had been, I would still have chosen dinner with my fabulous friends and 6 children. No, really. I would.

I don't get to sit down with my girlfriends nearly enough, so it is vitally important that we have quality chat time.

No exaggeration! The importance of conversation (catch-up, information sharing, the revealing of secrets, general chit-chat and giving of advice) cannot be underestimated.

So, it is always my goal to get out of the kitchen when the crowd descends, and get myself thoroughly involved with what is being shared.

Determined to have that 'quality friend time' (ie. "quality time spent with friends", as well as "time spent with quality friends"). I put together a menu of old favourites - all made well in advance.

Lamb stew - prepped in the morning, and left simmering in the slow cooker for 6 hours. Have to love the slow cooker.

Roast vegetable and rocket salad - prepped in the morning, and tossed together with the dressing at the last minuteCriss-cross potatoes - a baked potato variation, that is prepped an hour or so before the guests arrive.

Home-made pizzas for the children - easy-peasy, made ahead, into the oven just before arrival time.

And home-made, smooth-as-velvet, totally-wicked, chocolate ice-cream. More about this tomorrow. (note to self: do NOT finish all the ice-cream, must leave some to photograph. Must leave in freezer. Do not be tempted!

To make it even easier for everyone (that is, easier for me), I set everything up as a buffet, and let the beasts loose.

The roast vege and rocket salad is always a hit. It has substance, tastes great, looks impressive, and is 99% made ahead.

300-350g peeled butternut pumpkin
300-350g peeled sweet potato
250g zucchini
2 red onions peeled and cut into wedges
1 Tbsp olive oil
Ground black pepper
Sea Salt
1/4 cup pine nuts
50g rocket leaves
1/3 cup balsamic dressing of some sort

Chop the pumpkin, potato, onion and zucchini into large bite size pieces. Too small, and they tend to burn.

Lay all the chunks in a baking tray. Smother with olive oil. Add a generous amount of black pepper and salt, and toss about with your hands, to ensure every piece is well coated.

Ooppps, forgot the zucchini. Let's try that again....




Right, that looks better.

Roast in a 180-200 degree oven for about 30-35 mins.

I know I sound a bit vague on this, but I've come to learn that every oven is different. Mine seems to be hot... if a recipe says 200 degrees, then I opt for 180. You know your oven, and what works best for you.

And if you aren't on intimate terms with your major kitchen appliances yet, then just keep an eye on the proceedings. Don't presume that the temperature and time in a recipe will be perfect for you. I've learnt this the hard way.

When you remove the veges from the oven, turn it off, and pop in the pine-nuts on a baking tray. The heat from the oven will toast them nicely. Do not forget they are there. Do not leave them for longer than about 3-4mins. I did. And I had to re-do the nuts.

In fact I had to replace the pine nuts with slivered almonds, because I mutilated the pine nuts, and I didn't have any more. The slivered almonds still went well with the salad... so it wasn't a major calamity. I mean I've had worse disasters in the kitchen. This was nothing!

Put aside the nuts. Put aside the veges in a large serving bowl. Leave them on the bench, or chill in the fridge.

A little bit before you are ready to serve, add the rocket leaves and nuts to the roast vegetables. Add the dressing. Toss about a little. Done.

This salad is best at room temperature, so you can leave covered on the bench until it's time to eat.

This salad is also good the next day. I love left-overs! The rocket will wilt a bit, but it still tastes pretty darn good.