Experimenting!

We had a very busy morning as after dropping Sophie off at work, we popped to the Weston Favell Centre and then called to see Mum and Dad. We could only stay half an hour as Mike had swapped his shifts so he was free tomorrow.

We hurriedly downed some coffee and biscuits and then sped home to get Mike. It would be a lot better if he could change permanently to Saturdays as that would leave Sunday completely free!

After a late breakfast, I prepared dinner - haggis-stuffed chicken for Keith and I, pate stuffed for Soph and Mike. It's Come Dine With Me season again and my dinner is on the 4th November this year. I did Bonfire Night last time so I've decided to go with a Scottish theme! I wrapped mine and Keith's chicken in Parma Ham while the children's versions had bacon. I then covered them with foil and popped them back in the fridge.

As it was another beautiful day I ventured out into the garden and mowed the lawn, "hoovering" up a lot of sawdust from the felled tree in the process. I also tidied up some pots and swept up a load of leaves. By the time I finished it looked a lot neater but my heart wasn't really in it. I feel we've really neglected our garden this year, although the experts say that leaving some parts a bit wild can be good for wildlife. That's my excuse, then!

Towards evening we collected Mike from his place of work and then carried on into Northampton to get Sophie. On returning home I concentrated on dinner as I was a bit nervous of the outcome! We didn't even have the Chinese van to rely on as they must be on holiday!

I forgot to get some kind of sauce for the chicken and although we had gravy, I concocted something of my own...I mixed a chicken stock cube with some butter and milk and then added a dash of Talisker whisky. Talisker is very peaty so it really affected the taste of the sauce, but I did manage to tone it down with some more milk! It wasn't bad at all and the chickens came out very well, retaining lots of moisture and succulence! Both Sophie and Mike enjoyed their pate versions, and Keith and I liked ours stuffed with haggis, although next time I make the dish I will mix the haggis with some whisky (but not Talisker!).

After dinner, Sophie and I watched two more episodes of Black Lake and my daughter spent most of the time hidden behind a cushion. It was very scary!