And props 😉

I is mine. And various ideas for it were proposed to me or thought up by myself. But none excited brain or pallet (Imperial with Coronation chicken and Mongolian mutton, or Pasta a-la-Romana? Idiotic & Infantile – fun idea, but super boring food (jam sandwiches? fish fingers?)

Then, dangerously close to the designated date, in the car on the way somewhere, my son Aidan suggested Idioms.

I initially wrote it off as cute but impractical (another useless I term), but then, just within that same car ride, Aidan came up with a few ideas for it: Low hanging fruit, Bigger fish to fry… turns out, there are surprisingly many idioms which contain foodstuffs!

Once we started, it turned into an avalanche – and a delightful word game for literary nerds such as we are.

As dinner plans progressed and the menu was prepared, we manifested these idioms both in culinary, visual, and symbolic form – and had an absolute riot doing so:

Eggheads: please note our coke-bottle glasses; How the tables have turned: said tables being the musical turntables, playing records all evening 😉 :

Low-hanging fruit: a selection of fruit in a low-hung hammock, which also contained Apples & Oranges for comparison:

To drink I turned lemons into lemonade (juice from 6-8 lemons, sugar, water, and ice), and red wine – En vino veritas! (Latin for After the Wine, comes the Truth):

For starters, we had Small Fry courtesy of Bernhard, in the form of battered, fried whitebait: Dip the (raw) tiny fish in a mix of flour, chopped garlic, chopped coriander, and paprika, then in whisked eggs, then fry in medium-deep oil until golden (make sure the oil is hot when you chuch in the fish, then control the heat so they don’t burn). Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon and/or herby mayo:

For the main course, we had much Bigger Fish to Fry: Vietnamese-style fried Tilapia (known in the UK as St Peter’s fish):

Being a sweet-water fish, it doesn’t have that heavy ‘fishy’ smell like cod or halibut, so I much prefer it. I started off following this excellent recipe but veered off a bit as the Tilapia I found were far too large to be fried whole, and I took some liberties with the seasoning – using powdered ginger, onion soup powder, white pepper, and allspice (This was delicious, and will join our household staples):

The sides were Couch Potatoes (baked potato couches), Peas in a Pod (sugar-snap peas quickly tossed in a pan with lardons and lemon zest), and A Bit of a Pickle – home-made pickled cucumbers, courtesy of Idit:

For dessert, we had a Piece of Cake, from which I Cut the Corners, served with whipped Cream – which had been Guarded by the Cat. It was also Sugar-Coated (= dusted with icing sugar).

(This was a light and delicious Berries Cake; I used a square tin for the corners, but will go Deep Round next time):

But wait. This is far from all!!

Dorrotya was a total Cat Lady for the night (or Having Kittens?), and Idit upped the ante by Putting her (choc) Eggs in One Basket, having A Chip on her Shoulder, and Keeping the Eyes on the Prize!

With this kind of competition, I really had to Bite the Bullet – this was a Tough Nut to Crack, and always. a Long Shot (of Mescal…); But we all took it with a Pinch of Salt.

To wrap things up, we had goody bags for all – for our beloved guests to Take the Biscuit and Bring Home the Bacon!!

All in all, coming up with, preparing, and enjoying this food-for-thought dinner was a consummate joy. (Barring the bit when Bernhard and I FORGOT THE CAKE at his apartment and had to get his son Max to put it in a taxi to my place… But still – all’s well that ends well 🙂