That’s what Nat said when I asked what she wanted me to cook for her birthday dinner.  Not a ringing endorsement.  And I understand why – history is not on my side.  For the record I’ve copied the photo of the last dish I was trying to emulate from Cuisine.  Below is the recipe.  Please feel free to cook this and show me how you got on.  I wasn’t that successful.  My cooking attempts often don’t look like the photo.

Which got me thinking about designing, when I never follow a recipe.  I never try to recreate a look.  Perhaps because I’m hopeless with cushions and I never know where to place the pomegranate…..  Or perhaps because my design is (unfortunately) more like a smorgasbord – with a bit of everything.  I like to think there is a coherent theme/story – I could be wrong.

Or perhaps because it’s true that I am good with leftovers – be it in the kitchen – or the rest of the house.  I like to work with what I’ve got.  But I also like to create something I’ve never seen before – something original (of course Austin Kleon would say nothing is original).  Let’s just make it tasty :-)

For the steak and asparagus

80g panko breadcrumbs
30g (large handful curly parsley, finely chopped
1 loosely packed cup mint, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil