As a regular reader of the Sainsbury's Magazine I had spotted a tasty-looking themed menu in the October issue so promptly invited some friends over and got cooking.
The menu consisted of baked Camembert with pumpkin dippers and crudités, followed by smoky chipotle chicken one-pot with chunky coriander guacamole, with a spiced treacle and hazelnut tart for dessert.
I had to make a few tweaks in order to cater for everyone but I can't say they had any effect on everyone's enjoyment of the meal.
Firstly I had to make it all gluten-free, which is my excuse for the pumpkin dippers spreading out rather more than expected - still deliciously cheesy and fun, if a little thin and losing their shape!
I then had to substitute the coriander, since it is a pet hate of one of my friends. I chose parsley instead.
As for the treacle tart, as well as being gluten-free it turned out a whole lot more ghostly. I couldn't lay my hands on the recommended bat cookie cutter for the decorations but think the ghosts look just as fun floating around in the treacle.
OK, so I'm not likely to be picked to take part in the next Great British Bake Off as a result of my efforts (not least because I don't get the impression that the judges do gluten-free very willingly!) However, in my defence, the tart didn't have a soggy bottom and, in spite of some shrinkage at the sides and a little bit of a spillage of the filling, it tasted delicious and my friends were sent home (willingly!) with a doggy bag of treacle tart.
Huge thanks to my friends for being my guinea-pigs and indulging me in my food fun. And, now that it's tried and tested, I'm busy working out what cookie cutters I can use for the same menu on Christmas Eve!
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