Quail Pancakes, Yabbie Gnocchi, Chocolate and Raspberry Cake = Another successful Cookup Part 3

Ok ... I promise this is the final installment with the great reveal at the end. When you last left these pages we were about ready to make our Pancakes.

This is a 3 person job. One to separate the rolled out pancakes, one to fry in the pan, the other to slap onto the board and separate in 2. So it was pretty much an assembly line and it would have been great to have a video of this. But alas we are but 3, and it was all hands on deck.

One to separate, one to fry and one to slap on board

Waiting for the bubbles

Slapping on the board and peeling into 2

The final product

I was convinced that the pancakes weren't cooked enough so some of them were a little burnt and the blame laid squarely at my feet. To which I say "whatevs!!" Let him who doesn't creepily take the shopping with them despite having a car to leave said shopping in cast the first stone! (I got it in P!! Not quite as successfully but its in nonetheless!)

But it was well worth the effort. The Quail was absolutely heaven. Combined with the sweet and sourness of the salad and the texture of the pancake, we were seriously in danger of turning this into our main by gutsing the lot (all 24 pancakes!!)

Plated and a-table!!

No hard and fast rule but P starts with the quail meat

Then the cucumber and citrus salad

One fold

Second fold

Ready for the mouth

Thankfully, there was only so much Gnocchi that it divided into 3 in just the right proportion - not too much and not too little. I'm still unlikely to be ordering gnocchi at a restaurant anytime soon - its just a little too heavy for my liking. But the yabbie sauce was sweet and rich, yet light at the same time. I would repeat the sauce but use another kind of pasta (like linguini) instead. And perhaps I would add a sliver of preserved lemon to cut the richness.

Stock for the Gnocchi sauce

Gnocchi con Yabbie - plated

A simple salad for accompaniment

Accompanying our main was P's Lost Valley Cortese 2007 - a rather Viognier-like white which went perfectly with the seafood flavours in the Gnocchi.

Now for the dessert. Before I proceed, let me confess that I am not the biggest berry and chocolate fan. In fact I like my chocolate unadulterated by fruit of any description, fresh, dried, candied or otherwise. I know .. please feel free to yell at the screen while you read this. But in my defence I did take one mouthful to see if I could come at a Chocolate and Raspberry tart. I had to scrape the chocolate layer off the evil vein of raspberry hideousness underneath (I feel your side-eye) and you should have seen the look of complete incredulity on P's face - it was priceless!!

A menstrual Mess (I know .. I went there!!)

So let me critique this the best way I can. The crust was perfect and the chocolate to die for. And by all accounts, the whole confection (raspberry mess included) was divine.

Chocolate and Raspberry Tart

Another one to put to bed. P feels like something meaty for the next one - I would love to do some game poultry like guinea fowl or pheasant or better yet, goose!! Fun times ahead. And of course I couldn't leave you without evidence of the happy punters concerned!!

PS I did exaggerate about the tart for effect and to get a rise. It was trully scrumptious but I simply don't like the 2 in combination.