Cosmopolitan Martini

It was Aggie's brithday. She wanted cocktails. We were broke so say no to cocktail bars!
Instead, we invited a few friends round for a mini party.



Ingredients:
Lime
Cranberry Juice
Vodka
Cointreau
Noilly Prat or Dry Martini
Orange Peel
Ice cubes

Martini Glasses
Cocktail Shaker

One shaker makes about 3 glasses.


The Cosmopolitans went down very well and was the cause of all our laughters!



Ice in shaker
splash in a little dry martini or noilly prat. Shake. Then throw away.
Add:
1 part vodka
1/2 part cointreau
1 part cranberry juice
A squeeze of lime juice

Shake shake shake

Pour into Martini glasses
soak orange or clementine peel in some vodka and set a light
put into the glass.

Be merry

Dill Fish Cakes & Steamed Rice With Fish Sauce & Chilli Dip

One for the solitaire...

You can buy these fantastic fish cakes with dill from the freezer in one of these Vietnamese Supermarkets on Mare Street, Hackney. It looks like a 7inch fishcake. Its £2.99.



Fry it on low heat til golden brown
Make rice

Pour some fish sauce over some crushed up fresh chillis


Slice up the fish cakes and eat.


You should also boil/ fry some veg and have with it as well.
And don't forget a lovely pot of green or white tea like Dragon Well, Genmaicha or Jasmine Silver Needle or Jasmine Pearls!


I can carry on eating the whole fishcake and four bowls of rice in one sitting. Its somehow so simple and comforting in solitude -

Sirloin Steak With Peppercorn & Soy Served With Cheesy Mash

The Aggs came round for dinner the other day. We were blood thirsty after Vodka Martinis at the new "Off Broadway" Bar on Broadway Market, Hackney and the typical new year discussions about changes to be made. (There is a nice crowd and atmosphere in there).

As well as the Chicken Soup which tastes full of health, we had steak and mash cooked to perfection.



Ingredients

Sirloin/ Fillet/ Rump Steak (Can't go wrong when you buy it from M&S)
Peppercorns
Garlic
Soy Sauce
Potatoes - Milk, Butter, Cheese
Lemon

Marinate Steak in Peppercorns, Olive Oil, Crushed Garlic, Soy Sauce & Squeeze Of Lemon
Peel & Boil the Potatoes.
When potatoes are nearly ready to be mashed:
In hot pan, fry steak. About 2 mins on both side - I like it rare/ medium.

Rest for 5 mins
Make mash with Milk, Butter, Cheese or however you like it.
Serve with Mash. Add veg or salad.

We could not decide which dish to eat and ate everything at once, together, this then that! It was all soooo good!