A Taste of Autumn

Cycling round markets today to buy the ingredients for tonight's feast. We'll be having roast pumpkin with girolles, parmesan cream and walnut bread to start off - a recipe I've made before from my wonderful book Cheese.

I wanted to make grouse dumplings with potato rosti cakes, creamed parsnip and parsnip crisps in red wine sauce...from this recipe I found on the BBC website, but the grouse in the covered market is hugely expensive and I've never cooked it before, so opted to use pheasant breasts as a substitute. I have two lovely friends helping to cook, and a couple of others popping in for champagne beforehand to help me celebrate my birthday tomorrow (tomorrow I'll be on the touchlines again, dutiful football mum that I am).

As my friends know, I love cooking but it doesn't always go to plan. The boys tell their friends that it can go one way or the other - fantastic or truly awful - you just never know which it is going to be..... I'm sure the champagne will help keep us on track though ...

Looking at this picture in preview I wish I'd focussed on the shallots at the front, but no time to do another one, I have to get my apron on!