Pillows of Joy

Dinner club: my turn. Wasn't as prepared as I could/should have been but not a bad job considering. To start I wanted to stuff the chillies my bro gave me from his plants at the weekend so I went a-searchin' on the net and found this baby. Sometimes you find good recipes in the most unlikely places, like tucked away on someone's blog. But... I forgot to take a picture of them. They looked like the pic on the recipe only jalapeno shaped/coloured.

I went out on a curiosity-fuelled limb for the main and made gnocchi. It#s true what they say-it's tricky. They were a bit misshapen but they were fluffy and creamy at the same time and I was pretty chuffed. I boiled them then tossed them with sauteed red onions, chestnut mushrooms, wilted spinach, gorgonzola and a smidge of creme fraiche, with grated nutmeg. Bang tidy:

Then served it up with a simple baby plum tomato, rocket and avocado salad.

While I was home at the weekend I also managed to blag a few Cox's from the garden and I thought these would go down a treat stewed with some pears from my garden and a bit of rosewater, all wrapped up in shortcrust with a dollop of that creme fraiche on the side. Turns out I was right.