Perfect dinner party starter

Serendipity was hard at work- the lovely Jasper of fabulous indie band Northhighlands posted a link on facebook to Brooklyn gastro pub- DonnaBklyn , his friend had done the interiors.
I duly took a peek and found, courtesy of their chef, what had to be the perfect dinner party starter- Avocado a la plancha- Mexican shredded oxtail relish dolloped in half an avocado....can you taste it? ....sublime perfection- added bonus, the surprise of this decadent little dish as a starter.

Months later, a Thursday night was settled on -we gathered the seldom seen friends who flee to their holiday places come weekends. I realised my recipe needed Mexican chillies, not in this tip of Africa, then the night before, as I reached for the prunes, there it was in my cupboard still with its ribbon on, .....a gift from Marie over at 66 square feet, from her luncheon in January- thank you Marie!

I followed it with red pepper and tomato soup, then 4 hour slow cooked pork shoulder- I was so excited about my packet of 'los chileros de nuevo mexico', that I tossed it with the pork as well, along with cherry tomatoes, chopped red onions, cumin and lime juice.

All was not perfection- I found the pineapple and red pepper salsa that I should have served with the pork on the outside table the following morning...these things happen. I also dropped the ball with the mashed potatoes...let's call the lumps rustic, shall we?

The starter is a bit of work (here's recipe)- but trust me....throw in some great wine, good friends and you'll wonder why you don't do it every Thursday.