Second Wedding Anniversary: Part One

Friday September 24th saw us celebrate our second wedding anniversary. We can't really believe that it has been two years since we found ourselves at Ludlow castle taking our vows in front of our family. We were lucky; nothing went wrong and the weather was beautiful (no need for that huge white umbrella to go with the photos, though really I mustn't grumble, it has served me very well since). We honeymooned in Rome and Florence and enjoyed sensational food and immersing ourselves in history and each other for 8 blissful days.



Us in Ludlow Castle's Chapel; Bar Castel Sant'Angelo;
Wall fountain in the Vatican Museum gardens; Rooftops of Rome

Of course, the highlight of our marriage so far is M, but we have enjoyed many a happy moment and know that there are still plenty more to come.

 

Last year, with a 2 month old in tow, we drove out to Skenfrith to see the castle and have a meal at The Bell. This year, it was my turn to treat L for our anniversary and chatting one day over dinner, we realised that going out for a three course meal with M was not going to be possible. She is a good little eater, but doesn't like to stay in her highchair if there is no food in front of her. I suggested that I would cook for us and L agreed.

The next week, saw me scouring the supermarket and farmers market for ideas and interesting ingredients. L is a pudding man, so a simple starter and main course would be followed by an intricate dessert that had to be started the day before our little meal. Since I prepared four different dishes, I'll have to spread them out over a couple of posts in order to prevent repetative strain injury in my hands from typing all of the recipes.
Today, I present our appetizer and starter. We washed them down with some delicious pink prosecco, which is one of our favourite drinks at the moment.

Marinated Olives

Ingredients
400g can black olives in brine
200g can green olives in brine
1 red chilli
1 orange
small handful fresh thyme
150ml olive oil

Method
Zest the orange into a bowl or jar and strip the thyme leaves on top of it.
Thinly slice as much of the chilli as you like (I used two thirds of mine), seeds included, and put them with the orange and thyme.
Pour the olive oil on top of the flavourings and set aside for half a day to start the oil infusion.
Drain the olives, shaking off any excess brine and tumble them into the marinade. Leave covered for up to three days before you want to eat them.



Baked Camembert with crudites

Ingredients
1 whole camembert in a wooden box
1 sprig rosemary
3 garlic cloves



Method
Preheat the oven to gas mark 5.
Remove the plastic wrapper from the camembert and replace the cheese in the base of the box.
Peel and slice the garlic into a couple of thick slices. Insert a knife into the camembert and push the garlic in before gently removing the knife.
Repeat with the rosemary sprigs.
Put the stuffed cheese into a small ovenproof dish and cook in the centre of the oven for 20 - 25 minutes until the cheese is just golden on the outside.
Serve with crudites of your choice and some freshly baked bread.