Day Eighty - Ratatouille

Dear all,

Today was an absolute joy with Darren's Dad and Mary Lou coming up to visit and a great opportunity to cook up a storm. Darren took the helm with preparing the chicken ( I watched on from the sidelines in awe). He cut the [whole] chicken in half, scraped out the innards and started to snip away at the carcas until he had filled a large bowl with perfect chicken cuts. The meat was then marinaded and boiled before we could BBQ it later.

I set to work on the Ratatouille. Yet again my problem with 'portion control' came vigorously into effect when Darren exclaimed 'two eggplants?' whilst perusing the entire work surface full of ingredients. And he was right: a cauldron would have been better suited for this recipe. At least there will be lots of leftovers.

http://www.easy-french-food.com/ratatouille-recipe.html

It worked a treat though and tasted great - the fresh Thyme and Basil surely contributing to the mix of flavors. Delicieux. The chicken was supreme: moist with a fantastic flavor after receiving the Darren magic in the form of a saucy concoction of bone dust, marinades and secret ingredients. It was wonderful.

I decided to go all out regarding volume and made up a fruit platter and yogurt dip for dessert. It worked a treat. I added Lime Zest and Key West Lime Juice to a bowl of Lemon Meringue flavored Yogurt. The tart lime really made a fantastic addition to the dip: A great summer dessert!

We finished off the evening watching episode after episode of Fawlty Towers. A wonderful evening and lovely to see Bob and Mary Lou!