dinner

mixed salad (lollo rosso, lollo bianco, field salad, raddicio) with italian dressing, roasted seeds (soy, pumpkin, sunflower, pinenuts) and bacon bits, served with fresh ciabatta bread

penne rigate with tomato sauce, basil and real mozzarella

jamie oliver's chocolate mousse with sesame snaps

ernest & julio gallo twin valley cabernet sauvignon

am looking forward to having tina over for dinner tonight, not only because i really want to make an effort to continue our contact, but also because i enjoy cooking for others.

it's so much more worthwhile to cook for people besides plain old me. i love planning a meal, shopping, preparing, laying the table, - and of course the end result, serving, eating, talking over dinner, everything. such a social thing, sharing a meal.

didn't want to get too fancy today, and am not quite up to date with tina's likes and dislikes (she told me sauturday, that she doesn't like indian food, hence my initial idea of a curry was squashed), and plain pasta with mozzarella is safe, the salad a good, hearty green add-on, and the dessert the nice counterpoint in both taste and effort involved.
it's absolutely delicious, that mousse - Ii only made half the recipe, but it's plenty. and it's very very yum - the alcohol, honey and the 75% lindt chocolate make all the difference, i think.
unfortunately, the sesame snaps didn't turn out as expected though. the sugar syrup didn't go golden at all, but suddenly got all crumbly, cristally and dry (even though i really didn't overstir), and hastily throwing in the sesame didn't help much. the stuff tastes nice, but is neither golden, nor thin, nor bar-like: and most of it is just sesame-sugar crumble - if highly edible.
some bits did stick together though, and will be served as directed. i will need to try again, i think. - i think something might be wrong with the recipe, actually: the recipe online has some extra butter (only mentioned in the ingredients list, not in the recipe), which my book doesn't. oh well. maybe it's time to send jamie another email.

in any way, i have no doubt tonight will be nice, crumbly sesame snaps or not.

:)