A perfect Sunday evening

Starting to sound like a stuck record, but we had Rachel and Ross round for dinner again tonight. Still, good food, good wine and good company - it doesn't get much better than that.

It also gave me an opportunity to dry run my beef in beer with herb dumplings that I am cooking for a retro dinner party next weekend. Rather nice it was too. Slow cooked shin of beef in guiness with shallots, baby carrots, button mushrooms and light fluffy dumplings. The only change I think I will make is to the dumplings. My mums dumplings were heavy suet dumplings and I think this is more 70s than the light and fluffy modern version I cooked tonight.

Others are taking care of starters and desrts. I wonder what we will have? My memories of the period:

Starters - Prawn cocktail, stuffed pancakes, eggs mayonnaise, pate and melba toast .....

Deserts - Black forest gateaux, sherry trifle, baked alaska, crepe suzette ....

And of course, we should have a bottle of Liebfraumilch for the ladies and a party 7 for the men :-)