Post 177: Come Dine With Me - menu declarations

Come dine, come dine away....

I know it's getting terribly popular these days, but we're about to play Come Dine With Me at home. To show we were early Come Dine With Me adopters, we've even played before in 2008. There are 4 competitors. Yesterday we had to declare our menus, and now we'll schedule the feastings over the next month or two, when we can all organise to be in together and no one has to get up too early. Last time we played, we did it all in a week and we were all rather over-faced by the prospect of sitting down to another really big dinner by the end.

The runners and riders are:
Me (my successes and failures are all displayed here):

• Starters: Casoncelli di Bergamasco. Bergamo is one of my favourite places and this is their local pasta; big ravioli style with pork, butter and sage. I've never made pasta before. To be served with Chianti or Salice Salentino
• Main: Portugeese steaks (with Chicken breast for the ladies). Steak with potatoes in a rich very garlic-y gravy with a slice of ham on top and a fried egg on that. This is a blatant attempt at crowd pleasing by me - VegBoxBoy Junior is a huge fan of meat. To be served with an Argentinian Malbec, or if I can find it a Bairrada  
• Desert: Baked alaska, with Marsala wine, if we're still standing.. Something else I've never attempted 

Mrs VegBox (doesn't enjoy cooking much, but does a fine roast dinner)

• The menu very cryptically just says aperitifs followed by 'Special Kebabs'. However, she has imposed a holiday-wear dress code

VegBoxBoy Junior* (increasingly enjoys cooking, does a fine stir-fry. Main food interest - big lumps of meat):

• Starters: Garlic and Herb Scallops with a hint of Lemon
• Main: Duck Breast with noodles and a crunchy rice topping

* I suppose I ought to be VegBoxMan, given my age - but that sounded far too much like a bloke that might deliver you a Veg Box 

VegBoxGirl (the early ante-post favourite: has bested me previously in the making of both Lasagne and Victoria Sponge) has also declared a theme - mexican night

• Starters: Chicken flautas and crispy potato skins
• Main: Mexican Tacos and Chicken Fajitas
• Desert: Elephant Ears and Ice Cream

Bring it on - more posts to follow as we progress through the competition.

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POSTSCRIPT:
Here's the write up for:
-  VegBoxGirl's Mexican Night
- VegBox Boy Junior's Scallops, Crispy Rice and Duck Noodles
Next up, Mrs VegBox's Special Kebabs.

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