I feel tired already – the planning, the shopping, the timetable, the work, the expense. But also I feel a frisson of pleasure.
I like choosing foods that hold hands from beginning to end in such harmony I wonder if I have discovered the perfect menu. It's fun to choose wines that not only match the food but also the temperaments of the invited.
I thought my dinner-party days were over, but apparently not. A new generation of entertainers has picked up where we left off. We're asked for our recipes for pesto, French apple pies and bitter-chocolate meringue tarts.
It's only history repeating – it's a nesting thing. And the Easter weekend is an opportunity to celebrate the last hurrah of summer or embrace the cool draught of autumn.
Getting the menu right requires planning and preparation. How about a cool mousse entree, followed by a no-fuss fish dish served with a gutsy dressing but simple vegetables? Dessert will be an apple-and-autumn-raspberry crumble from Traiteur, in Merivale.
Ingredients6 boned skin-on salmon portions (120g each) 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 large sheet of cooking foil Anchovy and tomato vinaigrette: 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped 1 medium-sized tomato, skinned, quartered, seeded and diced 1 handful flatleaf parsley, finely chopped 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Freshly ground pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 180deg. Mix the olive oil and lemon juice and brush all over the salmon portions and the inside of the foil. Place the fillets in a row and fold the foil loosely to make a parcel. Put this on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.
Serve with small potatoes and fresh green beans
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