A mammoth undertaking

Today would have been our eighteenth wedding anniversary. It gave me quite a jolt when I realised this morning what the date was.

We usually marked our anniversary with a good meal, which Chris would cook. So I decided that it would be appropriate to commemorate the date by making a big effort with dinner tonight – far better than sitting on my backside moping.

I made Pomegranate Chicken with couscous, followed by an Eton Mess. The chicken dish was one of Christopher’s particular favourites, though I’d never cooked it before. We first had it at the British Museum, of all places, years ago. We’d gone to see an exhibition about Agatha Christie and her husband the archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. I remember there was a railway carriage outside the museum from the original Venice-Simplon Orient Express – as in Murder on the Orient Express. Even the museum restaurant had got into the spirit of the exhibition, with a Persian-themed menu. We rather gingerly tried the pomegranate chicken, and loved it. Chris spent ages back home trying to recreate the recipe, which includes nutmeg, cinnamon, pomegranate juice and seeds. I felt very adventurous tackiling it myself this evening, as it’s way outside my comfort zone, but it was delicious. And better still, I made two portions of it, so I can have the other half at the weekend 🙂