World Cliff Diving Championship Finals, Dubai 2016

We had front row seats for this from our balcony.  What a spectacle Dubai can put on.  They were setting up the lighting and screens for a couple of weeks.  The actual 'cliff' was Pier 7, a 7 floor round restaurant building we look out to in the Marina.  They constructed two platforms from Pier 7.  One at 20m and one at 28metres.  

That's high.  Very high.  They hit the water at 85kms an hour.  They have some serious cajones.  Women and men compete.  Far higher than the 10metre olympic platform diving.

The evening was beautiful.  The place packed.  We enjoyed a gorgeous dinner looking out over this spectacle and felt pretty lucky to be living here.

Entree of smoked salmon mousse ravioli and tomato salad

Main of smoked salmon and angel hair pasta with caviar (pasta of course made my moi).

Pork fillet with sage, quail reduction sauce, onion puree roasted and fresh apple, braised, pressed and seared pancetta

Not the prettiest of dishes I've done but I'm making a note so that I don't forget this.  It was really rather sensational.  

The onion puree was sweated down onion slightly caramelised and simply pureed with a little whole milk.  The chewy roasted apple with the crisp fresh apple was sublime with the pork as was the gorgeous sticky quail stock reduction.   Quail bones make a beautiful subtle sweet stock that goes well as a sauce base for just about any protein.   The pancetta is my way on a different take on pork belly.  Very very easy as long as you can get a nice big square of dry cured pancetta or bacon (I bring it back from France).  Braised, pressed and cut then seared.  Unctuous and delicious with the back note of smoke/salt from the cure.  

THE AFTER PARTY

They got more and more disheveled however as the night went on......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE

Dave you are 10!  

Dad bought you for me for when I was in hospital and now 10 years on you remain my wee companion.  The family has grown.  After Dave along came Arthur, Jack, Charles, Bernard, Jamal the camel and big ted.  Of course there's Francine and Francois keeping tabs on things in France.  But little Dave is my special buddy.  Me and him have been through stuff.  

Happy birthday little friend!!

Hitting the bottle!