WELSHCAKES AND SALAME

That's "Welshcakes" as in Welsh cakes, not "Welshcakes" as in me! Sorry about the lack of posting over the past two days but I was either cooking or recovering! Since about 8.30 last night, I've been in what my friend Lee would call the "aftermath of the aftermath" stage and by 10 pm I'd decided that all I was fit for was sitting down with something seriously alcoholic - so I did.

Above you see my St David's Day table set for the buffet tea to which I had invited about fifteen friends, with, from the left: salame tarts, mortadella and Asiago bites, tea punch, Welsh rarebit muffins [at the back], bang-bang chicken and strawberry and Asiago bites. Oh, and I always put out some crisps or something as I am terrified of not having prepared enough food! Second photo, from the left: Welshcakes, mandarinetto cake [at front], chocolate cake [that's a C for "Cymru" on it] and the rest of the salame tarts, this lot topped with olive pâté and basil. I did make some hot tea as well for those who wanted it, in case you're wondering! And here I am "flying the flag" in the third picture.

Liz, the Welshcakes are the best approximation I can manage with the ingredients available here and using my testo romagnolo as a flat griddle. I didn't make bara brith [Welsh fruit cake] as Italians in general dislike dried fruit. In a country where the power goes off at the drop of a hat if you've got too many electrical appliances switched on, the prospect of making "real" Welsh rarebit, which is toast covered with a cheese sauce, daunted even me; besides, you want to be spending time with your guests, not faffing around in the kitchen. So when I was menu-planning, I thought, "There must be a way of making rarebit-flavoured muffins or buns" and sure enough, Nigella has a recipe for rarebit muffins. [Had I not found this, I would have made one up.] The ragusano cheese worked well in them. I have joined the ranks of British women here who complain that their cakes, muffins and buns don't rise in Italian ovens and I think it's to do with the humidity as well, for even a cake which has risen will sink before your very eyes as it cools. Never mind: "The proof of the pudding...." For the bang-bang chicken I adapted Elizabeth Luard's recipe: instead of steaming a whole chicken with ginger and spring onions tucked into it as she does, I poached boneless, skinless, chicken breasts along with these flavourings. I toned down the sauce a little for Sicilian tastes - but not much! The salame tarts are a Jill Dupleix idea but, rather than topping them with silverbeet as she suggests, I got the olive pâté brainwave. When you entertain and you don't have a partner to dispense drinks, keep everyone chatting and generally help out, you just have to think of ways to minimise your time in the kitchen once your guests arrive. This does mean thinking everything through for several days beforehand and it probably increases your preparation work, but I think it is worth it. By the way, Italians see no "shame" in using plastic plates and glasses: they'd think you were mad if you didn't when you invite a lot of people!

Well, the company was jolly, everyone partook of a bit of everything, we toasted Wales with Asti and for a few hours yesterday, strains of We'll Keep a Welcome, Cwm Rhondda and , of course, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau rang out from a balcony over a small Sicilian street.