Progressive Meal

I usually don’t go to Ramsoc socials as they clash with my kayaking pool sessions, but anything involving food is worth my time! Especially if I can show off my amazing cooking skills, as I wanted to cook for Ramsoc since the last weekend away I went on. So I said goodbye to kayak and prepared myself for a night delicious food and great fun.

I immediately decided to prepare a mushroom risotto, which is one of my best dishes (my housemates can support this!). I wanted to honour my Italian origins with this amazing recipe I found on the internet (I wish I could say it’s from my granddad but all he taught me so far is how to make pasta and it’s very, very, very long to make...).

My Wednesday was really busy as I spent the day running from a tutorial to a lecture and to archery practice where I spent my afternoon shooting (a little) and chatting (a lot). As soon as I was home I the sacred process of cooking my amazing risotto; grating the parmesan, chop the many, many mushrooms, garlic, onions and parsley. Then the most important part of the cooking process: the rice. It’s all in the dosage because I have to be cautious not to burn it but we don’t want it too liquid either!

The cooking process involves a lot stirring and I quickly started to overheat in front of the stove because of my poor choice of clothes; the shirt I picked had an enormous amount of fabric in front and was keeping me way too hot while cooking this bowl of rice! With the noise of the cooking, the door of the kitchen closed and my intense concentration I didn’t even hear the doorbell and suddenly Helen appeared in my kitchen! She was quickly followed by the rest of my guests, Alex, Julia, Adam and Dan. They all sat in the living room and chatted, but I would be incapable of telling you what about since I was left alone in the kitchen, finishing my risotto. It was quickly ready though and they all sat while I decorated my dish with some slices of parmesan and leaves of parsley (I am indeed a compulsive perfectionist).

After this amazing starter (I’m sure we all agree on this), I revealed the next destinations of my guests and myself. Some of us (me included) were unlucky enough to have to go all the way to Beeston, so we left quickly as not to be late for the most exciting part of the evening. I of course missed the bus and arrived quite late at Adam’s house where I would have my main. I knocked and was invited in by a mysterious young lady I didn’t know who showed me the living room. I was removing my coat when suddenly two very tall men in religious robes appeared in front of me. They greeted me and disappeared up the stairs, leaving me there wondering if I had entered a priory by mistake… Miraculously Adam found me before I panicked and quickly reassured me that I wasn’t in a church, just his housemates hosting a religious debate on Harry Potter…

In the living room all the other guests, Patrick, Lee, Claire and Tom, were already here and had pretty much eaten all the buffet (or was it the mysterious monks?). Not demotivated in the slightest, I grabbed a plate and managed to get the left overs of each plate which was more than enough. It was really tasty, although I couldn’t identify most it… The buffet style allowed for a more informal and friendly atmosphere, which was totally like Adam. I was also offered a glass of wine, while Tom and Lee were brave enough to try the homemade brew, which they swear must have been at least 20% alcohol! They sadly had to decline Adam’s offer to do the famous beer race, which consists of running up the stairs to the top floor, down the beer, and run down quickly (I really wanted to witness that, so disappointing guys!). Before leaving the house we even got a very special guided tour of the cellar, which is impressively large and has windows… underground... It’s quite an old house and Adam thinks that the ground must have been lower a few centuries ago.

I left for my dessert with Lee to Julia’s place, in Broadgate Park. I must admit I was quite happy Lee knew BP because I never realised how big it was and didn’t even know there were so many entrances! We had a look at the map at the gate and I made a fool of myself in front of Lee… my map reading skills failed me that night and I completely blame it on the wine.

The other Charlotte (or am I the other Charlotte?) arrived at the same time and James was already there. Julia had prepared an amazingly large selection of desserts! Chocolate cake with chocolate icing, cheesecake, vanilla cake, more chocolate cake, another cheesecake with Nutella this time (extra Nutella allowed!) and even more delicacies that I can’t remember! She also offered us a large choice of beverages that included rum! I obviously went for the more reasonable hot chocolate, but with a shot of rum (I swear I am not alcoholic, despite the mulled wine I take on walks…). It was a great course and I wished my stomach was larger! I was quite sad to leave, a few more minutes and I my stomach would have allowed for more cheesecake and Nutella!

We all left together for the Malt Shovel Inn were the rest of Ramsoc was already gathered to have one more pint and share our amazing food stories.

By Charlotte Rossetti