In Which Monday Menu Mayhem Works Well With Others

What an exciting weekend this was, friends.

That most elegant of elegant ladies, the lovely Dame de Laliberte came to Scout Camp to shake things up (and to help me deal with a dangerous overabundance of chardonnay).  As a result of this meeting of the minds (and the Cougar Town lovefest that followed) the Menu was not only Mayhemic, but chock-a-block filled with Nigella goodness.

Saturday tea (yes, dammit, we had tea... followed by apéritifs, natch) began with Pigs in a Blanket, which Nigella called Franks and Blanks, and so they shall henceforth be known.  Behold:

The awesomesauce of this recipe is indeed... awesome sauce.  The recipe didn't call for exactly equal parts dijon mustard, honey mustard, and sour cream, but that's what it ended up with.  I liked the puff pastry blankets, too (as opposed to the more biscuit-y blankets of my youth)-- they were light and crunchy and they hit the spot.

Cocktails (kir royales, duh) were followed by a simply superb meal of Nigella's Taragon Chicken, and Lady Lib's own home-made, hand cut pasta, and grilled asparagus:

In this one you brown the chicken and some scallions in the pan, and then cook them in vermouth and taragon in the oven.  Add some cream at the end to form a nice sauce, and you're good to go.  I have to say that I'm not normally a fan of taragon (no licorice for me, thanks), but the flavors in this dish simply cannot be denied.

And honestly, I never thought it could be so easy to make pasta.  Sure it's a long process, but my goodness, the results are well worth it.

(Those curious will note that I made the chicken, La Lalib made the pasta, and Boy Scout grilled the asparagus.  TEAM WORK, PEOPLE)

And so I thank you, my darling Lady Liberty, for shedding your light on our humble kitchen, and for leaving it a better (if messier) place than it had been before.

I'm just kidding.  It's always that messy.