"If you were on Come Dine With Me, What would your menu be?"
This is always a question that is in the back of my mind, and until now I haven't been able to decide what I would do.

Starter:

Naturally I got a good few cookbooks for Christmas and as I was flicking through one I found a starter that would be perfect in my opinion.
A Duck salad would be great as it is complex with the cooking of the duck and light enough for a starter. This is a roasted duck and watermelon salad with toasted cashew nuts and the picture is literally mouthwatering! By the looks of it, this is an asian inspired dish and looking at the ingredients I can see why, there are all kinds of flavours involved. 
One thing that caught my eye was the dressing, it's definitely one I'd like to incorporate into other dishes.

Main:
I think this is the course that I struggled with deciding on the most. I thought fish would be most suitable but I really think I would go for chicken. 
The dish I have in mind is chargrilled chicken breasts on linguine with a chilli and garlic salsa puttanesca. What a mouthful! (see what I did there...)
I would most definitely make my own pasta to make this simple dish more impressive. These simple bunch of ingredients all come together to make such a delicious, comforting dish. If I had something like this put in front of me, I'd think it looked pretty good.
I'd perhaps make the pasta so it would have spinach in it, not only would it add a lot more colour to the plate - no on likes a plate of beige food - but it would also add flavour (slightly) and a whole lot of added nutrients.

Dessert:

Now I've known, deep down, what I would do for this for a while which is a melt-in-the-middle chocolate pudding. I made these for the first time at Christmas, and if I do say so myself, they came out perfectly. It was the right balance between cake and chocolate sauce and it would obviously be served with ice cream. Some might say that this is too much for a dessert but if the first two courses are balanced right and everything is time correctly then, in my opinion, it would all go down a hit.


I wouldn't necessarily call this a winning menu but if I put this 3 course meal on the table to my best standard, then for me I would be happy and rather proud of myself.

I haven't given loads away about each of the meals, purely because I want to eventually make each of them to share with you all. 


What would you have as your Come Dine With Me menu?

What I Love About The Current Season

The Weather

I’m probably the only person in England that sort of enjoys the weather at this time of year. Obviously not the torrential rain, that’s just too much but the cold mornings, getting dark early and even the light showers of rain. I’m a strange one, I know!

Comforting, Warming Food

You may, or may not, have noticed that the last couple of recipes that I’ve written are “comforting and warming”. This fits perfectly in with what I love about the season, they aren’t quite my dad’s stews or my mum’s crumbles, but they’re the best that I can do and they are just what I love to eat this season.

Spending Time With Loved Ones

Cringe! But these nights in with these people are just what I love to do and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Sundays

I’m not working too many of the following Sundays and it feels like they finally have meaning again! Having a lazy Sunday, wander around town or around Richmond Park are just a few ways to have the perfect Sunday. Topped off with a roast dinner of course!

TV

Oh my, the TV at this time of year is when it’s at its finest! X Factor, all the reality tv shows are back, I can’t get enough of them!

I love Autumn because…

Now the summer has ended (boo) and we’re going into Autumn. This has to be one of the better seasons for me, even if it means going back to School or University. While I was planning this blog post I came up with a whole page of reasons I like Autumn.

To start with the air gets more crisp and fresh as the cold sets in, none of this hot and muggy nonsense we’ve been having in England.

The changing colours of the trees and the crunch of leaves under your shoes, how can you not love it? Dog walks in the autumn are definitely the best! And not forgetting when it gets darker a bit earlier in the evenings…

TV…need I say more. All of my favourite TV programmes start again in the autumn, there’s just so much to watch and X Factor is basically the count down to Christmas right?

It also means it’s almost time for Thursday late night shopping too. Wandering aimlessly through shops as dusk settles and the shop lights light up the street. Walking through the markets is so much nicer than when it’s boiling hot and it’s something I’m going to make more of an effort to do.

Not forgetting the food (you knew it would come up at some point!).the hot soups, homemade stews, apples at Halloween, all kinds of pies, huge pots of chilli and yes, of course, a Sunday roast dinner! No more of all this salad business, but don’t worry I’ll be finding autumn alternatives and keep you posted!

I don’t normally treat myself to new clothes that often, I get a few staples and work around that. However recently I’ve felt the urge to look for a few new bits thi season. I’d love a chunky cardigan for when it gets colder and I need a new coat too. I can’t wait to get out my woolly chunky snoods, they are unbelievably warm and great for when you go on walks. And boots as well, always a must.

It also seems like the perfect excuse to have a bit of down time to myself. After summer being so hectic and just plain crazy, it’s time to have those cosy Sunday nights that don’t require much thought. Light up a nice smelling candle and do some writing or watch my favourite TV programmes and let everything else wait till Monday morning.

Fortunately, or unfortunately in some cases, I’m all into new starts. So, as September is in full swing, and we’re already a week in, it’s time to pack up the rest of my things and move back to Kingston ready to find a new job. I actually cannot believe it’s already a week into Septembers. It feels like only last week it was the beginning of the summer holidays.

Lastly, but by no means least and without a doubt the best bit, it means it is time to almost get ready for Christmas. And I LOVE Christmas, I mean really love it, but I will have to save that for another day or I will get too overexcited and it’s only September after all.

So for now, I will live in the moment and enjoy Autumn while it is here!