Well hi there!  How is everyone today?  Hopefully, like me, you’ve been enjoying some amazing weather.  Sydney is just beautiful at the moment – a taste of spring in the air with flowers starting to bloom, and stunning sunny days.  I even went out this morning to enjoy it with a crepe at Four Frogs Mosman, and as always, it was delicious (even though I didn’t have any of my favourite Mumm champagne today!) and the company was even better 🙂

As I write this, I’m enjoying a late lunch/afternoon snack made with leftovers from Bolognese Night # Six, happily with a glass of wine, which prompted me to get my skates on to write about # 5; a little late yet again, oops.

Who were my test subjects, oh, I mean guests?  All are lovely ladies I have met through work, and now call friends: Anna, Steph M (as I have another friend, Steph G, so don’t want to confuse anyone!) and Ana.

Steph M was so very generous and brought a bottle of Piper Heidsieck Champagne, as was Anna, who brought a Ballewindi Chardonnay which we didn’t open, but will share at another dinner – looking forward to trying that, thanks Ladies, mwah!

Karinda sadly wasn’t available to attend this Bolognese night (too close to her wedding, exciting!), so I’m stepping in as the ‘control’ for this night only.  Karinda will resume her duties at the next one.  I will note that whilst none of the ladies in attendance at # five have been to any other nights previously, Anna was inspired to make the very first Bolognese night recipe and loved it, just as we did.

Onto the food!  With the exception of the nibbles, all recipes are from The Chiappa Sisters cookbook ‘Simply Italian’ (they also have shows on Foxtel).  So to start, the nibbles were a delight for the senses, a little garden of bright colours and taste sensation.  The lovely little caprese ladybugs, almost too cute to eat, and little goats toast blini’s.  Yummy, and all washed down with champagne, a perfect way to start the night.

The entrée was a pea bruschetta and oh my, so fresh and light that I truly recommend this as a starter.  Bright green peas are mixed with homemade salsa verde (from the cookbook, minus the garlic), spread onto lightly toasted ciabatta bread, with delicious mozzarella slices on the top, grilled until melty and a little toasted with balsamic glaze drizzled over the top.  So tasty yet not too filling and leftovers are just as delish to eat the next day.

Now for the main event…the Bolognese!  I was expecting big things from this sauce, expecting it to be quite similar to Not Quite Nigella’s recipe from the first Bolognese night, though there are subtle differences.  Like all Bolognese sauces, this starts with the soffritto, but a soffritto with a difference – this one uses a red onion, instead of the normal brown onion – cooked with pancetta, again, like most of the recipes so far.  This recipe uses only beef mince, and a hefty 1kg at that, though it serves 8-10 people. A glass of red wine, 140g tomato puree (not a huge amount of tomatoes, but more than some recipes), beef stock cubes with water and bay leaves.  And like a couple of the other recipes, is cooked over a low heat for 3 hours though this sauce doesn’t add any dairy whatsoever.

How did it fare?  Well, for the first time, we had mixed results with two of the ladies giving it a rather high 13.5 each and thoroughly enjoying it, whilst Anna gave it a 10.5 (remember, Anna has tried one of the sauces herself).  And whilst I realise I’m the harshest critic, I gave it an 8.5 – whilst the sauce had a lovely flavour, the texture was lacking and sadly didn’t stick to the pasta, and didn’t have the intense flavour I was seeking.  Yum, very nice, but just can’t compare to the others though it does not sit in last place.  Will you make this?  You should – and let me know your thoughts.

Finally to finish the evening, I made the poached pears from the recipe book and paired (pear, pair, ha!) them with a stunning marscapone mousse, a beautiful way to end the evening.

And now, onto number six…

Buon Appetito xx