For Ellie and Charlie

Two of our bestest and loveliest friends got married on Saturday and unfortunately we couldn't make it , dog sitters were all away and we had to work. In order to celebrate we decided to have a special meal in their honour. Now Ellie and Charlie love food (though you wouldn't think so to look at them!) and Ellie is off to study at Leith's in September so the food had to be good.

We started with salmon quenelles with mixed leaves and homemade mustard mayonnaise. I had never had quenelles before though the husband had. The recipe is quite bizarre, you make choux pastry and mix salmon , herbs, black pepper and lemon zest to the dough then really chill it down   then mix in cream. The mixture is then poached in salted water with a little white wine. Mayonnaise is easy to make and I had loads of spare egg yokes left so mayonnaise was an ideal way to use them. Beat the yolks for about five minutes until they become thready then dribble in olive oil drop by drop whilst beating well. The Kenwood is perfect for this and is my most used gadget. Its about 30 years old and was given to me by my mother in law after my original one; bought by my mum in 1974; gave up the ghost when the motor burnt out!  Back to the mayo,  dribble in the olive oil about 1/4 pint to a yolk and keep beating till it emulsifies. Then add a large dollop of mustard and chill till ready to use.

For main course we had roast duck with roast veg and potatoes. I usually just stick the duck in the oven and leave it to cook at 180 for 20 minutes per pound plus 20 minutes. It comes out OK but not brilliantly. This time I decided to follow the amazing Julia Child's recipe. Remove the wish bone  then put thyme salt and pepper in the cavity. Pop on a baking tray and roast at 250 for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180 and turn the duck onto its side, cook for 30 minutes then turn onto the other side for 30 minutes. Then pop it onto its back and sprinkle the breast with salt for the remaining cooking time. When ready rest for at least 20 minutes. The potatoes and parsnips were par boiled then for about 5 minutes then rolled in semolina, goose fat, salt and pepper and roasted for 45 minutes.
The duck was fantastic all of it being moist and melt in the mouth rather than some bits dry and a bit stringy and crunchy on the outside fluffy on the inside potatoes and parsnips.

For dessert we had meringue with strawberries and basil cream. I hate making meringues, they always seem to come out too crispy or too chewy. On Saturday I thought we were going to have chocolate meringues done in the usual way beaten egg whites then add sugar and beat like mad when it gets peaky and stiff add cocoa powder, turn it out and bake for an hour on a low heat. It all went wrong and came out like a brick . Sunday morning 6am lets start again. I did think at the time that I should find a reliable recipe so I sat down with Nigella, Julia et al piled around me and eventually plump for Julia Child's recipe in Volume 2 of Mastering the Art of French Cookery. The only reason I fell for that one is because it looked interesting. The sugar was boiled with a little water till it became stringy when dropped into cold water. This was then added to the beaten egg whites with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cream of tartar. Baked in the oven at 120 for 2 hours. Strawberries and meringue you cant go wrong with and a friend had told us about strawberries with basil. A bit sceptical to start with but you have to try everything once. I whizzed cream with fresh basil and a little sugar. It was a revelation the freshness of the basil really brings out the flavour of the strawberries and the meringue was crisp on the outside and deliciously chewy on the inside . Perfect!
I think Ellie and Charlie would have enjoyed it and may they have a long and happy life together!