Blog From A Broad

gonna party like it's paul's birthday



What a gloriously busy weekend that was, mostly involving food and drink. On Friday morning, Paul opened his pressies (I got him a titanium Seiko watch and a set of port glasses) and cards (yes, he got one from the dog as well but it was meant to be humorous so shut up). After work, Paul and I went to one of our favourite Chinese restaurants (The Chinese Bridge Restaurant in Godmanchester) and when we got home, cracked open a bottle of Zinfandel we got at Francis Ford Coppolla's vineyard last May and dug into the chocolate cheesecake I made the day before.



On Saturday, I surprised Paul with a visit from Russ, Debs, and Jake the dog (who spent most of the weekend confusing Jasper as he kept trying to shag him). They drove all the way down from Warrington for Paul's birthday, and we all went out to the Old Bridge Hotel for dinner. I truly cannot say enough good things about this restaurant, which was a huge relief as I had booked it without knowing much about it. For a starter, I had grilled squid stuffed with coriander (that's cilantro to my American friends), tomato (that's "tom-ay-to" to my North American friends and myself), ginger (that's...oh no wait, never mind), and garlic, served with a rocket (umm I think that's arrugula to everyone else) salad. My main dish was a perfectly grilled piece of hake (a white fish) served with incredibly fragrant and flavourful potatoes, in an olive, tomato, and green bean sauce. For dessert, I went with an old favourite - sticky toffee pudding. Gorgeous. It's always a good sign when four different people eat four different things (starters, mains, and desserts), and all four agree that it was an excellent meal.



On Sunday, Paul's brother, his wife, and their two girls came over for a roast chicken lunch wonderfully prepared by the birthday boy himself. I made chocolate chip cookies with specially imported Chipits that my Mom had sent me, and niece Polly declared that they were the best chocolate chip cookies she had EVER tasted (which is very cute coming from a 4 year old). The girls absolutely adored Jasper, mostly ignored us (we're getting used to that), but we had an excellent day. Completely knackered, we had soup, cheese, and crackers for dinner and flopped on the sofa for the rest of the night.



This week, we will be mostly eating grilled things and salad.