I'm including in this blog photos of our Kashmir Night. Not sure why I didn't post them earlier but here they are.

Our Mafia Murder ReRessurection dinner went well and I actually managed to make a dish I've been trying to make for years. Finally found a recipe that worked. We used to call this dish white carrot cake in Singapore. It's a hawker's special made from white radish and rice, then stir fried with dried prawns and egg. This dish is usually served at breakfast. One of my favourites and it was fantastic. Apart from that we did so many other dishes non of which actually complimented each other. It was just an assault from Asia. Fun to do different things that we just felt like doing at the time. We had thai salmon cakes, chinese chicken, curry aubergine and potato, white carrot cake, chicken curry voluvents, plus a couple of other dishes. The vodka flowed as did the conversation. I am sorry to say that Mafia won again. What is it? Is it so impossible to find them out? Are they so good at hiding? I didn't go home till 3 staying up chatting to a few customers about life, the universe and skin products. The sort of thing one does at 3 in the morning.

What next? Not sure as in 3 weeks I am off for 6 weeks travelling with my two kids around Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia. I think we might get crazy living out of backpacks all that time and being with each other all the time but it's my family time with them as I seem to ignore them most of the rest of the year with all the running around and work I have to do. So it will be time to reconnect and drag them away from computers, TV, playstations and mobile phones. I think my daughter spends the best part of each day texting friends. I fear her withdrawal.

THE LAST SUPPER - THE ReRessurection

Yes, we are doing another Mafia Murder Night called THE LAST SUPPER - THE ReRESSURECTION (that's two more than the original). It's such a fun night and no where else in Istanbul can you play this game with such fun people while eating great food (says the cook, who is seriously into self praise). Not to mention the now lethal and soon to be banned Vodka Punch. I think at the last evening I drank myself sober which is impressive by any standards.

What will we eat? Well I haven't decided that except that it will be Asian since there is such a cry for ethic food in this city plus of course I can cook it well having been born and lived in the far east plus having had a father who was an extraordinarily good cook who taught me everything while I wept over onions he told me to peel.

Why haven't I decided the menu yet? Well mainly because I am off tomorrow to Milan for the weekend and yes I know I should be thinking about doing an Italian menu but I am not going to drag back food to cook for others when I wish to take it home to my kids for their enjoyment (I already have orders from them as to what to bring back except that ice-cream is not a possibility but top of their list).

The night begins on Friday 21st May 2010 at 8.00pm. The price will be 35tl to include food, water, drink and the game which is a bargain in itself. We already have most of the place booked up and only a few places left to go.

And perhaps in Milan I might just get the chance to go and see The Last Supper but to be honest with you the euro charge to look at it is horrendous and although I desperately love art it has never been one I was desperate to see (unlike David or The Nightwatch (which I have now seen)) so I'm wondering if I'm better off doing something else and googling the painting. Yes I know it doesn't equate to the original but not being particularly religious it's full significance will be somewhat lost on me and I can only enjoy it as a piece of art that is eroding away because L de V did not think to use the usual fresco medium and used oil paint instead (see I do know my stuff).