If you could choose only one meat, what would it be?

We were having a dinner party conversation last week "if you could only eat one meat from now on, what would you choose?" It's a toughie for most meat lovers but my answer is most definitely a PIG! Whilst Pork wouldn't be the highlight of a last meal (I'd be choosing Roast Beef with Yorkshire puddings and horseradish sauce for that!) pork is an all rounder. Let's play it out over a weekly meal plan - for which I am famous!

Rick Stein's Pea and Ham Soup

Monday - on Monday at our place we like to have fish so maybe for "porker" week I would choose Jamie Oliver's bacon wrapped fish on a bed of asparagus. (Roasted white fish wrapped in smokie bacon, with lemon mayonnaise and asparagus)

Tuesday - often I am out on Tuesday nights so I leave something for my hubbie to prepare for himself - how about bangers and mash - a Dude food speciality!

Wednesday - whilst trying to lose weight, I am always looking for fast and lean. One of my favourite ingredients these days is pork loin.  Marinated in hoisin sauce and quickly seared in the pan is a quick, delicious mid week dinner. (Hoisin Pork Fillet with Stir Fried Chinese Greens)

Thursday - typically by Thursday I am starting to get lazy so a delicious  pea soup with ham hock that I've
prepared earlier in the week will be just the ticket. 

Friday - Friday night is pizza night in our place, a prosciutto and rocket pizza takes us right back to our Italian Honeymoon. 

Crackling with Roast Pork

Saturday - Saturday I like to spend a bit more time in the kitchen. Maybe some homemade pasta with a bacony carbonara sauce, or a classic slow cooked pulled pork, falling apart in some yummy BBQ sauce? (Curtis Stone's Pulled Pork Sandwich)

Sunday - Sunday kicks off with a big breakfast with poached eggs, garlic mushrooms and of course bacon. And of course, it finishes with a roast - juicy Roast Pork with mouthwateringly crispy crackling! 

Now do you see what I mean? So, which meat would you choose? 

*this post was not sponsored in any way by any Pork authority, but if any of them felt like giving me a lifetimes supply of pork, I could happily find ways to use it! Oink oink! 

My Dude Food Challenge

Duck and Mushroom Arancini with Spicy Saffron Mayo

MasterChef has its "Dude Food" Challenge tonight and I feel like I'm quite well practised in this type of food - way more than the delicate restaurant plating that is normally required.


The entree at our dinner party last night was a good example of hearty but fun snacky "Dude Food". My hubbie requested Arancini balls for his birthday, but with a day of activities planned, I promised it at the next dinner party we hosted. He is very proud of his risotto, which he slaves over for hours, so whilst I got to enjoy that for dinner on Friday night, we made double the dosage so we'd have enough for the risotto balls to serve to our guests as an entree. 

I've never made Arancini before but in my experience the rice in the centre is warm, soft and gooey whilst the breadcrumb is golden and crisp. I had my doubts about whether mine would be exactly that. A good tip of double crumbing though was the secret success factor and after deep frying the balls for a few minutes will golden, the crumb was crispy and the insides perfect -  scrumptious with the spicy saffron mayonnaise!