...all the rest have 31.

Week 31 was a really awesome adventure for us, as we took on Bloody Mary Mussels, Herby Salad and Gorgeous Rhubarb Millefeuille. For the record, I don't even know how to pronounce the name of the dessert, but luckily for me you don't have to be able to say it to eat it. It was delicious, by the way. This was a pretty chilled out meal, aside from a bit of prep work (lots of chopping and mixing!) the actual cooking process is a breeze.

The mussels were awesome. Having had little experience with how to cook them and what to pair them with I wasn't sure how they would go, and I've never prepared/consumed a Bloody Mary either so I wasn't sure if I had the flavour balance right. Its a fairly simple process, you just whip up the cocktail and then add it to a hot pan full of fresh mussels. Easy! And they worked out to be totally delicious too. The smell of it bubbling away on the stove is enough to drive you mad, it smells lovely and you can't wait to hook into it. Definitely worth the torturous wait! This dish has even managed to convert Dear Housemate to the mussel-eating side.

The herby salad is really fresh and fairly simple. Mr Oliver wasn't joking when he said herby. The herbs probably make up about 1/3 of the final salad, with just a little bit of tomato, celery and rocket to break it up. It is suprisingly tasty and really fresh and light, I can see this one working really nicely for a summer bbq or just as a quick side salad with a difference. Along with the salad we also had some bread, warmed up nicely in the oven, and our guests provided a nice drop of wine.

Dessert was the real treat this week. I can't recall ever cooking with or eating rhubarb so I was really pleasantly surprised by how the dish worked out. It was almost too easy to make. You really just cook a bit of puff pastry, drop some stewed rhubarb onto it (cooked down with some sugar, vanilla and a bit of orange) and pour over some vanilla custard and crème frache. Dead easy, looks really cool and tastes awesome! It is quite a thin dessert in terms of its actual presentation, so I think this one would be awesome if it was served stacked up on itself, if you had the time and a decent sized cookie cutter or egg ring to set to work on it. It isn't overly sweet, but is the perfect little treat at the end of the meal. I'll make this one again, it is super simple and could easily look so impressive. And there were no complaints at the table!

So there you go. I really enjoyed this week, there were a few elements I hadn't had the chance to try before and aside from a bit of prep work the actual construction and cooking of the meal was dead easy. And there wasn't a single uneaten mussel left at the end of the meal, which is always a good sign! Next week (this week, really) we're having Sea Bass & Crispy Pancetta, Sweet Potato Mash, Asian Greens, 1-Minute Berry Ice Cream,and Sparkling Lemon Ginger Drink. Sounds yummy, I can't wait!

Til then - Bon Appetit!