GUEST CHEF RETURNS!

OK, before I get into this I have to acknowledge that I have been very lax with this blog - after all - what is a blog exactly? Don't want to spend the time I have to be updating this on looking for the definition but I am pretty sure you are supposed to post stuff regularly! Details would be boring - suffice to say it's been a busy couple of months. AND I am still planning on improving all sorts of things about my blog - in the meantime - here are some meals we have enjoyed in the last couple of months.
I love to have Dave in my kitchen, we decide on a menu, go to the market, change it because of what looks good and then he is SO QUICK at prep. Oh well, if I did nothing else but cook for a few years I'm sure I would get there too! (Meant to be a compliment Dave, not sure it sounds like one.)
We had Jerk chicken, shrimp and vegetables, served with a saffron rice. The chicken was boneless thighs, cut and skewered, shrimp were alternated with cherry tomatoes on skewers. We bought a jar of 'Jerk spice' which Dave smelled and added some ginger to. Also did some summer squash and onions in same spices. Dave knocked up a salsa (took him 5 mins, would have been half an hour for me!) of red onion, jalapeño, red pepper, lime and cilantro, if my memory serves me well. He then made the delicious rice dish: fried a little finely chopped onion with a finely chopped red chile, added the basmati rice, saffron and some shucked corn, got it all coated in the oil then added the water, put the lid on the pan and turned the heat down and magically it was ready at the same time as everything else! Grilled the chicken, shrimp and veggies, seemed effortless but of course fantastic!
I made the dessert, and it was pretty good: Strawberry mascarpone tart with Port glaze. It was on the front cover of the current Gourmet magazine and had been winking at me! Again, great to have Dave at the market with me because our fabulous Wilton Village Market was out of mascarpone that day. I asked Dave if I could use Creme fraiche, he said it would be too runny. He suggested one tub of creme fraiche mixed with one tub of whipped cream cheese and if worked a dream. I have made it again since, and in the heat of a fabulous weekend at a friend's lake house, I forgot to add the sugar to the cream mixture. Texture suffered but I must say I preferred the taste - have to figure out how to get the best of both worlds next time!