Father's Day

I have not really felt like writing about frivolous things lately, but I think I am getting my 'mojo' back and, once again, can record the trivia of my life.

In our family we always look forward to a celebration, not least because of the card Melissa will make for the occasion. Yesterday was Father's Day and we celebrated with a family lunch. Melissa came good with one of her cards and I cooked a lunch which, even if I do say so myself, was so good it has to be shared. All the recipes come from the August edition of Delicious magazine and are by Belinda Jeffery. I made:
Ruby chard, cheese & almond tart (I was able to use the ruby chard from my garden)
Crunchy rosemary potatoes
Slow-cooked red capsicums and tomatoes (has to be tasted to be believed - really good)
Watercress, fennel, pear & pecan salad with lemon-pressed dressing, followed by
Muscat-poached pear & almond cake
This photo is not very good quality because I have taken it from the magazine, but it gives an idea of how pretty everything looked on the plate. The cake, however, is the real thing. I thought the edges were a little overcooked, however the texture of the cake was beautifully moist and flavoursome.
It is not often that all the flavours on a plate complement each other so well, but everyone agreed they all worked perfectly together.
I can now confess that I had a culinary disaster just ten minutes before everyone arrived. One of the tarts I had made ended up face down on the kitchen floor. I decided to apply the 30 second rule, ie if the food is not on the floor for longer than this, it is safe to eat. Fortunately it was still in its tin, had remained largely intact, and didn't look too terrible when it was scraped up. However, I made sure that I served everyone else the surviving tart and I had the splattered one. The 30 second rule must have worked because I suffered no consequences.