Welcome to flavor country.

One thing Matt Perger and I have in common is our shared appreciation of deliciousness. On one of the rare days of our pounding the pavement at Market Lane we were discussing the topic, pastry in particular. This led to the unexpected lending of a rather interesting title called Bourke Street Bakery on the premise that I would put together a meal in gratitude.

We set a date in the very distant future and I was suprised when I looked in my planner last week and discovered that it was coming up already. It just so happened that the night I had planned on cooking was the culmination of a 14 day working stint and the mammoth task was seeming a little more than daunting. Intent on proving my domesticity I began to cook late into the evenings, testing the interesting pastry recipes (Vinegar? Who would have thought!) and gifting jars of successful lemon curd combination to grateful friends.

What I came up with was a giant meal that was intended for two but ended up feeding six with left overs. I really need to reign in on the portion sizes!

Dinner table

Mushrooms.

Chicken and leek pie.

Lemon curd tarts.

First up was pea and pancetta soup with white truffle oil, then only stuffed portobello mushrooms with thyme and lemon zest. After was a chicken and leek pie with fennel and radiccio salad with a lovely lemon curd tart for dessert.