Opening Up ....

My rhododendron has moved on from being in bud  to opening up. It is interesting watching the different stages and blip is great for capturing this for posterity (i.e. more rhododendron  pictures will follow). 

I slept well last night and woke up feeling refreshed with no after effects from yesterday's migraine.

We have friends coming for dinner tonight (O&D) - we enjoyed a lovely meal at theirs earlier in the year and look for to reciprocating.

My contribution will be the canapes and the dessert. I am be baking some savoury red pepper and courgette muffins this morning to go with the cake salé.  I am defrosting. We will serve this with sherry.  Apparently this is/was quite the thing in Paris. I will also make chocolate cake for dessert using my normal recipes to which I will had a genorous slug of Bob Dylan's Heaven's Door Bourbon (as you do).  T will offer the aforementioned as deoch an dorais* (one for the road but literally drink of the door) - I will refrain.

 T will also make grilled halloumi with pineapple, walnuts and rocket for a started and Spanish style chicken for the main.  

It's been fun planning the menu and combining old favourites with new dishes. T had also tried a salmon glazed in bourbon earlier in the week which was very tasty but requires refinement before serving to guests. 

Off now to put on my apron and roll up my sleeves ... 



Have a lovely weekend all ! 


In additing to deoch an dorais  Gaelic also has the four drams you take in the morning:

*deoch-sheide  morning bumper, first/bed/nest dram
*deoch air uilinn  second/rising/elbow dram
*deoch chasruisgte  third dram, barefoot(ed) dram 
*deoch-bhleith  fourth/ground-meal dram



I refrain from these as well