Lightly pickled

The summer continues to be utterly glorious, and we have had another delightful lunch event.  This one was a buffet lunch for some VIPs, for which we were asked to provide "interesting salads" and desserts.

It was an extremely hot day, the thermometer on my car registered 34 degrees C at 3pm, but despite the heat, we were able to provide some delicious food, and ensure everyone had plenty to eat before they braved the sun again.

The large bowl contains an Italian grain salad, with a mixture of different types of basils and tomatoes, as well as delicious lemon dressing.  The smaller bowls contain roasted peppers with garlic, and gently pickled strips of cucumber, which went down a storm with the fantastic poached salmon our client provided.

Sadly, due to forgetfulness of my part, I failed to photograph Jo's lovely strawberry cream tarts, but rest assured they were very popular.  To compensate, here is a photo of the chocolate mousse cakes, which the police officers (discreetly staying out of sight in the kitchen) absolutely loved.

The guests enjoyed them too.

So, to sum up: hot weather, lovely food, lots of happy people.  Exactly what we would hope that a summer lunch party would be all about.

Fishy

Summer is here, and we are very glad to be able to say that the first garden party of the year went with a real swing.  The weather was glorious, there was a bouncy castle, and the food was excellent.

Well, we would say that, of course!

But look:

A whole poached salmon, several delicious fresh salads, baked glazed ham and new potatoes, all served with home-made mayonnaise and a selection of our savoury chutneys.

In case you're wondering what happened to the salmon's tail, it's here...

It was reunited with the rest of the salmon when we served the food. 

As you can see from the sunny smile on Jo's face, we had a lovely day.  Seeing all the empty plates coming back afterwards was a bonus!

Someone* forgot to photograph the desserts, but I can tell you they were lovely.  A raspberry Pavlova, and a light no-flour orange cake with orange syrup.  Most people opted for "a little bit of both please" and some even came back for more!

Fingers crossed that the next party will be graced with such a beautiful sunny day.




*Me.  I was too busy making sure people were enjoying their lunch.  Sorry.