Capitol

Ate out tonight at Capitol. Delicious. Here's what we ate:

Appetisers:

Fried squid with aioli

-(Nat ordered this. It was really good. But then what isn't good with aioli?)

Bruschetta with tomato and basil

-(This looked great but when not eaten straight away the bread went soggy)

Half dozen Cleveland oysters, served natural with lemon and salt

-(I tried the oysters. I won't let someone waste an oyster on me again for a while. Unless it's Nat's dad trying to make me acquire a taste for them. Which he's implied he might do)

Ricotta gnocchi with sage butter, nutmeg and pancetta

(I ordered this. The sauce was THE BEST. I drained the bowl with my spoon)

Mains:

Crispy confit duck with portobello mushrooms

-(Nat ordered this. I tried it. It was sooooo good. I wish I'd ordered it. But Nat said I couldn't order the same thing as him.)

Risotto of zucchini, pine nuts, basil and Parmesan

-(This was nice and light, it was like eating zucchini with Parmesan sprinkled over top, but in the form of a risotto)

Grilled beef scotch fillet, cauliflower crushed with melted Taleggio

-(I heard this was good. And that it went great with the oysters)

Roast lamb rack, caponata and green olives

(I ordered this. It was nice. The lamb wasn't anything to rave about but caponata is my new favourite thing)

With added sides of crushed roast potatoes with rosemary, and sauteed spinach.

Dessert:

Soft centred chocolate pudding with creme fraiche for all four of us

(Pretty much a fondant, not that I've ever had a fondant. But very nice. So light and just delicious.)

I'm devastated to say that I forgot my camera. What a pain. Sounds good though huh?

Steak with salad

Tonight Nat made me delicious beef porterhouse steak with salad and mushrooms. The mushrooms were cooked with red onion and vinaigrette and were delicious.

Also, update: I tried the parsnip crisps again today. They were awesome. Nat said they weren't his thing but I loved them. New favourite.

Stir Fry with chick peas and parsnip crisps

I attempted parsnip crisps tonight. Sliced as thin as possible, olive oil, salt and pepper, baked then grilled. I think it's a winner idea, they tasted delicious, but I didn't quite get them crisp enough to be called crisps. I'm going to try again tomorrow.

Then I made a stir fry, with plenty of veges. Cooking oil in the pan, shallot and garlic next, when translucent all the other veges in. I used carrot, brocolli, mushrooms, cabbage and celery. Put in some soy sauce and sesame seeds to taste. Stir that for a bit then add cooked chickpeas and tons of peanuts. They give a nice crunch. And add some chilli, I used flakes, if you want. I added it near the end because chilli gets hotter as it's cooked and I didn't want it too hot.

Then I put the stir fry on the parsnip (not) crisps. The only thing I would have changed is I added a bit too much soy sauce so it was really dark, and cooked it for too long because I was waiting for my crisps. So it got a bit droopy. You could always add more or less veges, and rice or crispy noodles would be great.

Lasagne

I was at my sisters house for dinner. Sorry I forgot to take photos! Tut tut I know.

She made a big beautiful lasagna and I made a big salad and we had peas too. It was great.

Red Cod Fillets

Tonight Nat, once again crisping to perfection, cooked red cod fillets for dinner. I made the sides: asparagas, salad and chips (not pictured).

Delicious! I'm loving all the fish lately!

Roast lamb 2

Sunday roast with my husbands parents tonight. My sister and her family came as well so it was another feast with the in-laws, two days in a row. Sorry but no photos tonight...

Roast lamb

Roast potatoes and kumara

Gravy

Rice

Green salad

Fresh green beans, just barely cooked

Dessert:

Pineapple

Grapes

Lychees

Triple chocolate and Vanilla ice cream

Hersheys hot fudge sauce

Delicious

Fresh Snapper with Fennel

Check it out.

Some friends of ours were visiting, staying with our in-laws for the weekend. We went over there to share in a feast. Nat's dad Peter cooked a beautiful snapper for us, so good one of the guests sucked the eyes and Peter drank the juices from the plate. And the fennel was beautiful.