Dinner with Gordon Ramsay...

Okay, not really.

But my friend Brenda was recently bemoaning the fact that she owns eleven cook books and has never made anything out of any of them. She and I had recently discovered that, by dint of our husbands' jobs, each of us often dines alone and I was reminded of a most excellent arrangement that I used to have with a neighbour of mine when I lived up in Seymour. 'Captain John' was stationed at Puckapunyal but lived off-base (and was, in fact, the only person under 70 in our little block of units). We both got fed up with cooking for one, so one night a week we'd each cook dinner for the other.

So simple! So tonight, Brenda and I instituted what we hope will be the first of many 'Ramsay night' dinners, where we take turns cooking from her Gordon Ramsay 'fast food' cookbook. First cab off the rank was panfried cod with caramelised onion and steamed greens, and a tomato and basil salad - see?! (This is our first attempt to do arty food photography). We're not sure about Gordon's preparation times - he swears every meal can be put on the table in 30 minutes - but then, we suspect he spends his time actually cooking, not talking for 17 minutes and realising the fish is over done! Tasted okay though. B's turn in a fortnight... bring it on!