The Ladies Night Out Club Blog

Homebaking Challenge

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 by Tara

Filed under: Events, Social Events

The first homebaking challenge was fun last night and we had a delicious range of biscuits to try and to rate out of ten. There were white chocolate chip cookies, shortbread, spiced cookies, orange biscuits and chocolate cookies. As you can see they all looked really good and tasted good as well. Kate Biddle won this weeks challenge with her white chocolate chip cookies. Well done Kate. So if you fancy getting the recipe book out come and join us for the cupcake week on Tuesday 9 March.

There will be some more photos of the evening on the blog soon…

Come Dine with Me - Final dinner

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 by Tara

Filed under: Events, Social Events

The last and final Come Dine with Me took place on Tuesday 1 December at my house. Katie was cooking and I offered her the use of my house and cooker for the occasion. It was actually really nice to have all of the girls around the house for the final dinner especially as I revealed the winner on the evening.

Sarah and Claire were the first to arrive and Katie brought out the nibbles for the evening which were, basil, sundried tomatoes and mozarella bites. We had a quick catch up about what we had been up to during the last couple of weeks and I told them a little bit about the Self Protection evening. Lynne arrived soon afterwards and I then took the ladies on a quick tour of the house whilst Katie was busy in the kitchen. They also got a peak at my messy study ‘the club command centre’ and my graduation photos.

After the tour around the house we returned downstairs and sat down for the first course. Katie’s vegetarian menu was:

Tomato and Lentil Soup
Vegetarian Lasagne with salad and garlic bread
Caramel and nut terrine

What the girls thought of Katie’s menu

“I found tonight’s meal the biggest surprise, as the menu looked really simple. The soup was brilliant and I wouldn’t normally order that from a restaurant menu so it was nice to try something a bit different. The lasagne was lovely and was cooked perfectly. The garlic bread was the best bit I was glad it wasn’t the standard beguettes that you would buy from Sainbury’s. The dessert was nice but hard to judge as desserts aren’t really my thing. The menu was simple and well executed.”

“Very nice meal I wasn’t sure when I saw the menu I must admit. I don’t normally have vegetarian lasagne so it was nice to try it. The dessert was lovely but slightly rich for my taste but the food overall was brilliant considering how simple the menu was.”

So I know you are all keen to know who won the Ladies Night Out Club Come Dine with Me. The winner (drum roll…………….) was Claire McNally and she won the prize of a Center Parcs twilight spa session. It was a very close contest and the were only two point between the winner and the fourth place. Well done to all of the girls that took part and I know all of you enjoyed the food, the sense of achievement and the laughs that we had throughout. I am going to run another ‘Come Dine with Me’ in 2010 so all the budding chefs out there get your recipe books ready.

Come Dine With Me - Third Dinner

Thursday, November 26th, 2009 by Tara

Filed under: Events, Social Events

The third dinner at Lynne’s house was quite different as I knew a few weeks ago that we were going to be treated to a menu of Thai food. As Thai is one of my favourites I knew I was in for a treat and was really looking forward to tasting her Thai starter and the green curry for the main.

I was quite pleased as again on this occasion I was getting lift to Lynne’s house and so I could have some of the sparkling wine that was offered before we had the first course. I was really impressed with her house as well and loved all of the furniture that she had in her front room. We didn’t get to snoop around the rest of the house until later in between the first and second course.

The conversation over dinner was again interesting and we talked about Lynne’s time in New Zealand and how she meet her husband whilst she was working over there. Katie was also telling us all about the recent bout of flu that she had been getting over and told all of us that she was now finally getting better.

We discussed an important decision that Claire was making concerning her job and we all encouraged her to make the right one for her own sanity. We also got the opportunity to take a look at Lynne’s wedding photos which were absolutely gorgeous.

Lynne’s menu was:

Thai style fishcakes and Thai spring rolls with sweet chilli dipping sauce

Thai chicken green curry with Jasmine rice

Vanilla cheesecake with Mango fool

We managed to have a wander around Lynne’s house in between the first and second course and we were all impressed with the bathroom and the wonderful job that they had made of all of the rooms.

So now as we get nearer to the end of the Come Dine with Me series it is very close on who will actually win the competition and I am getting really excited about doing the reveal at the end. The last dinner will be taking place at my house on Tuesday 1 December so keep checking the blog to see who will win.

What the girls thought…

“It was absolutely gorgeous and it is my favourite so far. All the food was perfect everything was made from scratch and the fishcakes were amazing. She used really authentic ingredients as well. Enjoyed all of it and she put in a huge amount of effort.”

“The food was very nice and I have not had Thai food before so it was quite an experience. The main course was just spicy enough without being overpowering. Very nice hostess and very nice house too and been a really great evening.”

“The starter was beautiful and was of a very high standard. The main too was really good and she put in a lot of effort to make an amazing curry. The dessert was definitely the best bit for me and really topped off the whole menu..”

Come Dine With Me - Second Dinner

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 by Tara

Filed under: Events, Social Events

The second dinner at Sarah’s house was lovely and provided an ideal opportunity to catch up after Bath. When the girls and I arrived Sarah’s twin daughters greeted us and read a very long list of drinks on offer.

Sarah then gave us some snacks to munch while we waited for Claire to arrive. Just before dinner we got a guided tour of the house from the twins who told us all about their room and why pink and blue were their favourite colours.

Sarah’s menu was:

Watercress & Bacon Salad

Glazed Oriental Salmon served with new Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables

Lemon, almond and strawberry gateau served with light chocolate sauce.

As you can tell the food looks good and very impressive considering it was all low fat.

Over dinner the conversation covered what we did whilst on the Ladies Night Out Club’s weekend away in Bath and Claire’s upcoming wedding in May.

With the conversation turning to to weddings we talked a little bit about dresses and we also got to look at Sarah’s previous wedding photos from 1992.

What the girls thought…

“The menu worked really well and the Salmon was absolutely gorgeous.”

“The food was lovely and I absolutely loved the sauce with the salad and the glaze on the Salmon. The pudding was very tasty and you could really taste the lemon, the chocolate sauce was delicious. Overall the menu worked really well.”

“I liked the salad as it was really fresh and quite a unique idea and will probably try it at home in the future. The Salmon was really fantastic and I really enjoyed it. The cake was also good and when Sarah told me it was low fat I was surprised..”

Come Dine With Me - First Dinner

Thursday, November 5th, 2009 by Tara

Filed under: Events, Social Events

The first ‘Come Dine with Me’ dinner at Claire’s was a great success and it was nice to have a night in with the rest of the ladies. It was also a good opportunity for all of us to get to know each other.

We talked a lot about careers and having a passion in life. We found out that Kate wanted to be Wonder Woman growing up and that Sarah bought her first house when she was 19. Also that Claire wanted to be an engineer since she was 11 as her dad told her that there weren’t many female engineers.

Lynne let us all know about her attraction to Brendan Cole from Strictly Come Dancing and both Lynne and I chatted for a while about how much we loved ‘Strictly’ and what we thought of the celebrities and who was the best dancer.

We couldn’t help but talk about the weekend away in Bath as most of the ladies there are also going away for the weekend. So we discussed our plans for the weekend and what we wanted to do while we were there.

Claire’s menu was:

Sweetcorn and Butternut Squash Soup with home-made bread

Pan Fried Duck with Cranberry Sauce

Eton Mess

As you can see from the photos the food looked amazing and the girls were equally impressed. We even had a small opportunity to have a wander around the house just like the TV show and to be honest it was all very neat and tidy, just as I thought it would be.

I did have a bit of a difficulty though at the start of the evening trying to get into the estate where Claire lives. It is a gated residence and unfortunately even though I dialled the right number the intercom had other ideas and insisted on dialling everyone else’s number instead. Luckily someone was coming out of the estate so we managed to sneak in after they left.

So with the first dinner out of the way the girls are looking forward to visiting Sarah’s house next Tuesday night. Look out for what she is cooking and the photos of the food next week on the blog.

What the girls thought…

“The food was gorgeous. The soup was delicious and the home-made bread was a bit special. The sauce on the duck was amazing and the vegetables were will cooked. The fruit in the dessert was tart which helped balance out the meringue and cream.”

“I thought it was excellent the food was very well presented. The evening was really nice and Claire was a fabulous hostess.”

“Overall the evening was fantastic I can’t fault it. The home-made bread was absolutely amazing the soup was lovely. The meringue was really impressive that she had made which was brilliant.”