The way to a man's heart

When it comes to men, The Mother Hen has taught me many things in life. amongst them

1. Don't play games
2. You capture his heart through his stomach
3. Always put a brush through your hair and a slick of lipstick on before you see him.

This from my mother who is the single most glamorous person you will ever meet, and an amazing cook, and is being taken to Le Manoir tonight for dinner with Raymond Blanc.

I generally fail at the lipstick and hair brush bit, but the cooking i can do.

Sweet potato dauphinoise of sorts.

It looks quite homely, verging on the nursery food, but i promise you it is food that will have him on his knees. It epitomises the quote "baby i'm gonna treat you so nice, you're never gonna want to let me go"

It's a lot like wearing a fair isle cardigan and giving him a glimpse of the peep-hole bra you are wearing underneath.

6 sweet potato
garlic 2 cloves of normal, i thought about using the fancy black but it smells weird.
Double cream i used a 284ml pot
Milk - use the cream pot to measure out 284ml
Nutmeg
Gruyere or other such nutty cheese approx 150-180
Seasoning

Peel the sweet potato and slice in thin discs, if you have one of those fancy mandolins, use it. I don't so i used a sharp knife.
Warm the milk and cream with the garlic, and add the sweet potato, simmer for 5 minutes.
It will look like carrots in milk at this point and you will wonder what the hell that Miss Pickering knows about cooking anyway. Bear with.
Select a serving dish, you are going to serve it in this straight onto the table, no small individual portions, you don't want to miss out on the bit where your hands brush against one another as you both reach for the spoon at the same time.
Fish out the garlic with a fork and smoosh it all on the inside of the dish.
Spoon out the sweet potato leaving the liquid behind, and place in your chosen dish.
Grate your cheese, and add 3/4 of it to the pan with the cream. Grate in nutmeg and season. I think it is this bit that makes it magic, cream and cheese and nutmeg, this is the bit that will make him fall in love, unless he is lactose intolerant.
Pour over the potato
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
Bake at 200 degrees C until golden (25-30 minutes)

You could serve it on it's own, or with some steak.

Make it now, and email him the link so that he will return home with a Hello Sailor.