Friday 29 April 2011

Forever Nigella #4 and the Royal Wedding

I thought I wasn't really gonna be into this wedding event, but the fact that I've been watching (and enjoying) the TV coverage from the morning till now means that I'm actually kinda into it. I thought the ceremony was good and very British. All the hats the women were wearing are fascinating. I couldn't help but thinking, what would lady gaga wear if she was invited to the wedding...

Watching from the news I saw many places all around the country, hosting their own street party and I suppose the royal wedding is such a great excuse for people to get together for some food, drinks, royal romance and getting to know your neighbours.

I had my own party at home with some friends, and yes, I am well aware that having 10 people over at 10 am on a day I plan on doing absolutely nothing sounds completely outrageous. I don't do this all the time, but it's nice every now and then. Perhaps, next will be the Queen's diamond jubilee next year. That's what I call planning ahead.

Fitting nicely with this month's Forever Nigella challenge hosted by Sarah at Maison Cupcakes we had few selections of finger food all by none other, the one and only, the domestic goddess... Nigella Lawson. The great thing about all of the following recipes, they can be done ahead of time, meaning quite a lot to prep the night before, but nothing difficult and very little to do in the morning which is ideal.

Chips and dip are a must-have for me, especially for in front of the telly event. I have made this peanut butter hummus a couple of times and it's so delicious. It's like a thicker and creamier version of Thai or Indonesian peanut sauce. The peanut butter gives a slight sweetness, and works beautifully with the flavours of garlic and cumin. The hummus can be made the night before and then store in the fridge in an airtight container.


Chicken wings are a favourite amongst my friends. Nigella's salt and pepper wings are so delicious, they're gone within minutes out of the oven. The wings are marinated in a salty, lemony, garlicky paste with crushed pink peppercorns for overnight in the fridge. In the morning, roast for 40 minutes in a hot oven and they are done!


Pigs in blankets with mustard dipping sauce were also on offer. I assembled these little pigs the night before and in the morning glaze them with an egg, and for slight crunch, I sprinkled some with sesame seeds and some with nigella seeds.


As well as nibbles, I think it's rather nice to have something a little more substantial but still light, like turkey meatballs in tomato sauce. These meatballs can be cooked the night before, store in the fridge and then reheat the next day. Serve with chunks of crusty bread to soak up the sweet tomato sauce. I'm afraid the pictures of these meatballs are pretty horrific, sorry...

Last but not least, for something sweet to complete the afternoon of Britishness... lemon cupcakes baked appropriately in union jack cupcake cases and mini flags! I adapted Nigella's mini lemon bundt recipe from How to Be a Domestic Goddess and alter the icing slightly to make it creamier by adding butter, lemon zest for flavour and a drop of yellow food colouring for aesthetic purpose.


Overall it's been an enjoyable day and I wish the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge many happiness for years and years to come. So how's your Royal day?

25 comments:

  1. Oh, Michael, you outdid yourself. How I wish I could have been there. By the time I got up this morning the ceremony was over, but I saw all the stuff after that and of course they replayed everything. I got kind of choked up. They are a beautiful young couple and everything I've learned about William in recent days suggests that his Mum instilled some very important values in him (and presumable Harry as well). It was a swell day of celebration over something that would never go over so well here across the pond. Your snacks are absolutely awesome!

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  2. What fun! I didn't watch - it WAS three am here in California...
    The snacks look and sound delicious too.

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  3. i know i ended up watching a lot too love the peanut butter hummus

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  4. Unfortunately, I didn't watch it. An hour ago, I was looking for a hummus recipe without tahini and I stepped into Nigella's PB hummus. Now that you made it, I'll do it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!

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  5. wow... what a spread! you have some very lucky friends M... I too got totally embroiled in the TV yesterday, just couldn't tear myself away... and those hats!!! OMG!!!... I am naughty though because I didn't make my pigs in blankets yet and it seems i'm running out of time!

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  6. I love the pigs in blanket!
    Good Luck with the newlyweds!

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  7. I havnt had breakfast yet...I can be on your blog! ha

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  8. That all looks delicious and that peanut sauce looks yummy!!!!

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  9. I saw it all in reruns, but enjoyed it a great deal. I'd say you did a super job with the celebratory dinner!

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  10. Peanut butter hummus!!!! That is my meal. And if I watched the royal wedding than you had to have watched it. Wish we had a royal family. And thank you for googling brickle, the English always expand my vocabulary.

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  11. I enjoy all aspects of the Royal wedding except for the nitpicky analyzing of every detail the US media loves to do. Your celebratory dinner sounds perfect. The hummus sounds fabulous and I love the union jack cupcake liners. I need to find some of those!

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  12. The peanut butter hummus, how very unique. I like it! I like the salt and pepper wings too. I went over to the link you provided and checked pig in a blanket ( a very popular appetizer here in the states),

    All these finger foods look delicious.

    I enjoyed all the Royal Wedding festivities too.

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  13. Oh... my invite to your party must have gotten lost in the mail :( Bummer!!!! Than again, maybe it's best, I think I may have fought your guest for all the fantastic food!!! :)

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  14. I'm with Jenn, thinking my invite was lost in the mail. What a fab post, totes digging the pigs, and those darling lemon cupcakes, your brilliant, what a fun arvo of cooking. :)

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  15. Hi Michael .... thanks for stopping by The Spice Garden! Always nice to meet new people and get new perspectives on things! Royal wedding fervor was here in this household too ... although I didn't invite folks in for a party! We all met for lunch in a small cafe and then went for a tasting at a local winery. We remembered to toast the royal couple with 'free wine' Hic! Then, we bought a case of varied to bring home for future dinner parties. Yes, I know ... tacky, but fun!

    Your tidbits look just delicious and I'd have really enjoyed those patriotic cupcakes!

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  16. Wow, what a fun party...everything sure looks yummie...I did not watch the wedding, it was too early here :-) Have a great week Michael!

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  17. I wish I could have come to your royal wedding party! I watched on the telly, long enough to see 'the' dress. Then I got board. We had take away Malaysian as our accompaniment. Nice and spicy.

    By the way, what's with all those bizarre hats on the women?! or are they 'hair pieces'? How could anyone see anything behind someone with one of those on?!

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  18. What a delicious way to enjoy "the wedding"!

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  19. What a delicious feast! That's a good one - I'd love to see what Lady Gaga would wear!

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  20. I did not watch the Royal Wedding because I don't feel well the past few days. Always love recipes that can be done ahead of the party so that I can have time to make myself pretty before the guests arrive. I am sure your guests enjoyed all those delicious food you prepared.

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  21. I did not get to watch but have seen some clips...sounds like you had a great party and some delicious food :)

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  22. Yumm... Pigs in blanket with sesame and Nigella seeds! Your version is definitely better than mine. What a lovely array of food you had for the Royal Wedding street party, your guests must've been spoiled rotten! Btw, who needs Lady Gaga's hat when we had Princess Beatrice's? Haha...

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  23. Peanut butter hummus? how brilliant is that. I must have had my head under a rock. We watched the wedding down under as well. In spite of always living in the camera's eye, William appears to be a warm, compassionate, sensitive man. His mother would be proud. His father must have picked up where his mother left off because he's seems a lovely young man.

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  24. I did the same thing on Mother's Day but my shindig started at 11am instead of 10am. That peanut butter hummus is very intriguing! I will have to try that out.

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  25. This is one hell of a spread, and I love those little patriotic cupcakes!

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