As mentioned in a previous post of Kitchen Invasion, there is always an element of surprise on a Kitchen Invasion night. This time was the most surprising of them all, in the best possible way!
I
n fairness, my friend P.’s pancake party is borderline to qualify as a proper Kitchen Invasion. First, I was not in charge of the pancakes. Second, I had prepared the lasagne at mine 10 days prior to sustain a horde of hungry Scottish Reelers for an after-party at home (a story for another time…). Out of the two extra-large trays prepared, there was one too many and, as P. was concerned that his guests would get hungry waiting for the pancakes to be freshly made, I gave it to him to freeze. As I had to resurrect the dish in someone else’s oven and give it yummy kick at the last minute, I will squeeze this post as a mini-prowess of The Kitchen Invasion Project, but really it is much more that that!
The Shrove pancake party is an annual tradition at P.’s. It is always a pleasure to attend as the ambiance is friendly, with many good friends joining and plenty of new faces/potential new friends. This time though, the room was mostly filled with common friends, and the numbers in attendance was higher than usual. For the occasion, P. had even organised prior a small van to store his living room’s furniture. It made me smile as I thought he was victim of his own success, when in truth he had plotted it all very well. At about 10pm, P. climbed a few steps of his staircase to address the crowd. Soon after he began his speech, I started to blush and slowly became more and more overwhelmed with emotions. The speech was about me, in the kindest laudatory terms. I was already very touched and grateful, when suddenly he announced the cake was coming.
Indeed, it was my birthday. I had had so much to organise and deal since the start of 2016 – moving home, Gatekeeper’s book launch and more – that for the first time since my students’ days, I had opted for not to planning anything. This I had revealed to him 10 days prior when accepting his invitation, already glad to celebrate with pancakes (and lasagna).
When the cake made its way down from the room where it had been hidden, what a cake it was! A huge cake in the shape of a book, with an exact replica of the Gatekeepers cover. My birthday surprise was an oversized edible birthday book. I was gobsmacked, speechless and struggled to contain my tears. This generous friend had organised it all alone: this pancake-turned-birthday-night was a surprise to everyone but him. It was such an act of kindness, such a considerate and generous deed, I fumbled with my words to thank him. It took some time before I managed to compose myself.
So not only was this post originally about a very minimalistic Kitchen Invasion, it turned out to be hijacked by the kindness of a friend and my birthday cake!
Moreover, my book tasted absolutely delicious!
Sadly I do not have the birthday cake’s recipe to share with you. Still, here is the one of the Smoked Cod & Spinach Lasagna (Suitable for Vegetarians – Large tray for 16 people)
• The Original Recipe:
1 box of lasagna
2 bags of frozen spinach
1 litre of milk
500g of mature cheddar (to grate)
250g flour
125g butter
500g of smoked cod
Seasoning for spinach and the white sauce.
In brief I defrost the spinach. In the meantime I chop the fish and prepare the white sauce with the butter, flour and milk. Then I alternate layers of lasagna, spinach, fish, white sauce and repeat. 8 finish by covering all with cheese.
• The revival touch
1 pot of 500ml single cream
250g grated extra mature cheddar
Salt & pepper
Upon my arrival at the pancake party, I headed to the kitchen and placed the lasagna in a dish. I poured evenly single cream on top and covered it with grated cheddar, then placed it in the oven at 170/180 °C until the cheese was melted and formed a light brown crust.
Thank you for reading.
Yours, Virginie
