Roast Pork Belly with Gratin Dauphinois followed by Orange Sorbet

Cholesterol disaster! Gastronomic delight! The advantage of having parents who can cook well, is that I am learning how to adapt the recipes in the 'MasterChef Cookery course' cook book, to fit in with a busy family weekend. The trick to fabulous crackling, is apparently to score the skin and use plenty of salt on a high temperature. Then lower the temperature right down and cook the pork belly at a low heat for a long time. I used wine instead of water (3 guesses who suggested that?!) If anyone has any suggestions for a different approach to crackling - please comment on this blog - all input welcome! There was a divide in opinions with this meat. My parents and siblings adored it, claiming it was delicious, melt in the mouth, with very crunchy crackling. Personally, it wasn't my favourite because it was just too fatty for my palette.

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/pork-belly-roast/

Ratings:
Taste: 10
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 7
Just to add insult to injury, I decided to completely clog up everyone's arteries by baking sliced potatoes in milk, then in cream, which keeps them sweet and tender. I can now add 'mastering a mandolin' to my list of achievements! The fact that our mandolin requires a major in physics and mechanical engineering to assemble, again required tuition from my father, who loves all culinary gadgets! The end product was perfectly al-denté (with a little crunch) and creamy with melted gruyère on the top. To balance out this health disaster, I steamed some broccoli to serve with the meal!

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3253/ultimate-gratin-dauphinois

Ratings:
Taste: 9
Appearance: 8
Difficulty: 6

Although we have an ice cream machine, it wasn't cold enough to use, so I adopted the traditional method of stirring the sorbet by hand! Each individual instruction taught me something new; how to make syrup, how to whisk egg whites into soft peaks and finally how to make a sorbet. The recipe suggests adding Campari for a grown up sorbet, obviously I didn't comply! I love citrus flavours, what is your favourite sorbet flavour? Please comment.
This was very simple to make and a wonderfully refreshing end to an indulgent meal.

For similar recipe go to:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8760/orange-sorbet

Ratings:
Taste: 8
Appearance: 9
Difficulty: 5