Asparagus and seabass

I've been eating an awful lot over the past day or so attempting to stave off this cold.

I had such a craving for mini rolls yesterday, I don't think I've had one for years, but I was a bit disappointed to see just how 'mini' they really are and the caramel flavoured cake bar was gone in a couple of munches.

My sister made me dinner - an attempt at shepherds pie but without the baking in the oven, which I think is a bit of a waste of time as it doesn't particularly impact the taste. The mincey, gravyness was pretty delicious, a homely, heart-warming meal, which certainly soothed my throat. The mashed potato didn't go quite to plan however as after peeling and boiling the spuds we realised we were lacking the vital masher, so instead we decided to crush them a little with a fork and add lots of butter to make up for the lumps.

Today I was taken out for lunch by a publisher. We went to Rules on Maiden lane, which was like a wonderful step back in time. The walls were wood paneled with grand paintings adorning the walls. The plates were something you might imagine having when dining at Princess Anne's and were rimmed with a burgundy and gold pattern.

I thoroughly enjoyed the menu chosen, which is not always a given when eating from a set menu. For starter we had asparagus (for which i suffered the smelly after-effects), served with a creamy hollandaise sauce and half a lemon wrapped in a gauze type material, very fancy!

For mains we had my favourite fish, seabass. So delicate. It was served on a bed of samphire and courgette, possibly my two favourite vegetables. This was accompanied by an ice cold glass or two of some kind of Sancerre, which was gorge. I was stuffed after this and felt slightly sickened at the sight of the chocolate puddings which were then bought out and so I just had a few spoonfuls before retiring back to the office.

A lovely lunch with some very nice people, it certainly comes as a welcome break from the mackerel salad I will be back to tomorrow.

Mr P is currently making me dinner... again. He's a good'un.