Surprising

I already have over 100 cookbooks, but every now and then I can't resist buying more. The latest impulse buy was a used copy of The New Spanish Table. Yes, I already have half a dozen Spanish cookbooks, but they're all fairly traditional, and this one has the kind of food you get in smarter restaurants in Spain -- Anya von Bremzen has hobnobbed with the likes of Arzak, Berasetagui, and Adria, and even raided their fridges.

So since we invited V, G and I for dinner this evening I decided they could be guinea pigs -- I don't normally risk cooking something completely new for guests. The starter was a green salad with dried apricots, toasted hazelnuts, and an orange and honey dressing -- very nice! Pudding was more of a stretch -- it's a pear and Roquefort cheesecake. It looks as if it should be sweet, but I could imagine serving it as a savoury with salad. Once you get used to the tang of the Roquefort it's good, but I think I'll put a bit less in next time. Anyway, it looked good, although this hasty photo doesn't really do it justice.