The Earlwood Dinner Party Gurus

There can be no greater pleasure than enjoying a home-cooked meal someone else has prepared for you.
Knowing the care and time - not too mention the expense - they have taken, only heightens the enjoyment and specialness of the experience. The way to my heart is definitely through my stomach!
With our busy lives, disconnection from our families, community fragmentation and loss of basic cooking skills, home-cooked meals are rarer than an ABC news bulletin without a technical error.
Fortunately I have, in my circle of dear friends, a dinner party duo who, despite a recent relocation to the outskirts of known civilisation (Earlwood, Sydney), have continued their tradition of throwing on the best grub this side of the Equator.
Here is what they served up for a select gathering of eight last Saturday.
George and Derek I salute you!
Entree: Beetroot and goats cheese stack with a wedge of iceberg lettuce, walnuts and a beetroot vinaigrette. Main: 7 hour slow-baked lamb with baked onions and carrots. Accompaniments: sweet potato mash and green beans with toasted almonds.

Cheese: French brie with fruit bread and figs and sheep's milk, blue-veined taleggio with pear.

Dessert: Spicy poached pears with a white wine sabayon and fresh raspberries

(photos courtesy of George)

Dinner conversation snippets from the night :

"Why is cranberry jelly replacing the far superior red-current jelly on supermarkets shelves?"
"Should we start a DVD club since I don't read books."

" 'Flee the Cheese' would be a great name for a band."

"What's the best way of getting home from here?"

" I'm finding this conversation really boring."