Yuppiechef Simple Summer Cookathon

In December I took part in the Yuppiechef Cookathon. A great excuse for a mid-week dinner party, right? Personally I felt the menu was a little dislodged, that the dishes didn’t complement each other. I also really don’t think Wild Mushroom Risotto (which I absolutely adore!) is suited to a summer menu. But nevertheless, we had great fun and all my guests left satisfied with full tummies.

Here are some pics from the evening and links to the recipes.

PS It's really tricky taking pictures of your friends and dishes while trying to be social and getting to taste the food at the same time!

No dinner is complete without friends. 

Beautiful nut brittle. 

Melon salad with spicy seed brittle (I added some parma ham.)

Click here for the recipe.

Wild mushroom risotto 

(I made it with shitake stock and drizzled with truffle oil just before serving.)

Click here for the recipe.

Chocolate pudding with strawberry ripple ice cream
Serves 6 

You will need

For the chocolate pudding:
2 Tbsp melted butter, for greasing
125g butter
150g Valrhona chocolate (or use at least 70% cocoa solid equivalent)
200g castor sugar
½ tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, beaten
100g flour
Cocoa powder, for dusting

For the strawberry ripple ice cream:
200g strawberries
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tub vanilla ice cream

You will need six ramekins.

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Brush each ramekin with melted butter and dust with cocoa powder.
Remove your vanilla ice cream from the freezer so long to allow it to melt for about 20 minutes to half an hour.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate. Stir in the sugar and vanilla extract. Once melted, remove from the heat and leave to cool.
In the meantime, prepare your strawberry ripple sauce. Blend the strawberries with the castor sugar and vanilla until puréed. Place in the fridge to chill for a few minutes.
Your chocolate mixture should be cool enough now. Whisk the eggs into this cooled chocolate mixture. 

Once that’s sufficiently mixed begin folding in your flour.
When you’re done mixing your chocolate batter, divide the mixture between 4 ramekins or mugs and bake for 12 -15 minutes.
Return your attention to your melting vanilla ice cream. Pour it into a large bowl or bigger container. Stir through the chilled strawberry mixture to make a ripple and return to the freezer while your chocolate puddings bake up in the oven.
Just before they’re done, remove your strawberry ripple ice cream from the freezer for a few minutes to defrost for easy scooping.
Once your chocolate puddings are perfectly baked, serve with a big dollop of strawberry ripple ice cream.