Enjoying a fabulous meal and catching up with good friends is always great, Saturday night we spent the evening doing just that and had an amazing meal cooked for us, from the Snail canapé to the Tuna starter, Greek main to the Cheese. All accompanied with a selection of tasty wines. So let me tell you about my dinner at Betsy’s!

The love of good food is a common theme for us all so I know we are in for a treat. The evening started catching up over a gin and tonic; after the sunny weather we had over the weekend it was just the perfect refreshing drink. Then over my a delicious glass of pink cava (you all know by now bubbles are my FAVOURITE) we had a canapé of garlic snails –  I have had snails before a long time ago and couldn’t really remember disliking them so was happy to give them ago. They were great but you have to get over the mindset that they are snails which could be hard when they are in the shells but I enjoy trying new tastes and food.

To start we had Carpaccio of Tuna with Rocket lettuce and shavings of parmesan all lightly dressed to add a blend of flavours without taking any flavours away from the Tuna. It all complemented each other brilliantly. Served with a fruity but perfectly chilled Rosé.

For main a delicious Greek Stifado of Beef which had been slow cooked so the flavours had really matured and the beef, well it just melted in your mouth. All served with mixed peppered rice, as somehow our hosts knew I didn’t like plain rice! Now normally I’m guessing a glass of red would go brilliant with this dish, however I enjoyed the citrus flavours of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as it really brought out the spices in the Stifado.

I’m all for a meal which spans over an evening so we took a break before heading into the final course where I was treated to a very special glass (or 2) of New Zealand Oyster Bay Chardonnay. I know NZ is better known for Sauvignon Blanc but this Chardonnay is something special so if you get the chance it’s definitely worth a try.

For dessert we had cheese and biscuits served with figs and grapes as well as homemade chilli jam, the brie had been left out in room temperature so was just the perfect consistency and I love my cheese with some sort of red currant jelly and this chilli jam was perfect. Of course I had to enjoy with a lovely glass of red wine.

I would to thank our hosts for a fantastic evening, we will have a lot to live up to next time. I would also like to thank our special cardboard guest “Jenson Button” for joining us for the evening!