Birthday Delights: the first stirrings

Sue and Kevin share (sort of) a birthday. That is extremely good news. For us. This means that we are to have a shared birthday meal... cooked by chef Sue! On arrival at their homestead, the first delight is these!



And then these... Now, don't be fooled. These look like sausage rolls, but they are so much more than that. They are one of the most exquisite items of pastry to be eaten by humankind... if you're lucky. The recipe is a secret. If you want to taste them, you will have to find and enchant Sue. 

And Steve may not allow that... He fiercely defends these seductive items, so much so, that guests really do have to keep count of how many have been eaten by whom. Steve still managed to grab the lion's share. Despite my vocal counting.


The cat was denied a pastry fancy, despite pretending to be dead.

The birthday meal began with a scallop dish, which is now Kevin's favourite thing in the universe. This photo shows one that has already been launched upon...


Then duck. Not even the Marks and Spencer's lady voice could do this duck justice. It was sublime! And that sauce! Orange tang and then some! Vegetable vermicelli and a disc of potato... which I asked about and was given an answer, but am still not able to fully describe. It began as a baked potato; I know that.

And now... 

 There are no words... 

 Look at it. 

 Pudding. (Yes, pudding is a word, after all...)

 Kevin's had a candle in it and the song was sung. Twice. Once, all together, and then again, by Steve in a surprisingly good Welsh-style tenor. We didn't know he'd been harbouring that voice.


Some people say it is rude and crass to take photos of the food you eat, but this was a necessity.

 What came next was so unutterably heavenly that there is no photo. 

 But Sue had made truffles. There were dark chocolate orange ones and milky chocolate cappuccino ones. Kevin was also presented with a box of them to take away for his birthday. Kevin will want to share these with me. Surely?

 It is probably rude and crass to leave your hosts' home and then visit their latest project and take photos, but there was a story about this beam. It's HUGE, but, somehow, with reference to Scrapheap Challenge, once again, they got it up there! How?!



We spied these beauts on their lawn!


Driving home through Pompadour. Louis XV's favourite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, lived in luxury here. He had this enormous chateau built for her. Pompadour is more famous these days for its Anglo-Arab Stud Farm and horsey goings on.


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