USA 1 - Ghana 2

The match went into extra time but still, the team which topped Group C ahead of England crashed out of the last 16. Ghana scored during the first part of extra time and you could see on the players' exhausted faces, that they knew at that point, the game was won. This means Ghana is the last remaining African team in the 2010 World Cup. I've no doubt they will have wide support in South Africa.

In honour of the American "soccer" effort, the tall bloke ordered an "American Hot" pizza from our favourite, local pizza delivery place: Pizza Max. This pizza place doesn't look like much from outside, but the proof is in the deep pan Margherita, which I order without fail, every time we have a lazy supper. So good are the pizzas from this place, that I feel a slight anxiety about you getting too hooked on them. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Please cut us some slack for not cooking from scratch tonight (again) - it is the night before the Lavender Festival - an event I organise in Battersea (on Lavender Hill) every June. 10,000 people came last year, so as you can imagine, this household has been rather tied up in all the planning and preparations for the Festival!

Denmark 1 - Japan 3

Tonight's menu was chosen from the cuisine of Denmark. Not so good on the pitch this evening (another European team bites the dust) but absolutely delicious on the plate! The tall bloke pulled out another blinding bit of research-sourcing-cooking (wearing his Canderel apron of course, which is now filthy!)

Menu:

Copenhagan potatoes and Chicken Fricassee - Hønsefrikassé

The chicken had a delicious creamy-mushroom gravy and the potatoes were light and fluffy, with an unusual but most pleasant smoked bacon flavour and bits. I have requested that this menu be also added to the usual repertoire of meals served.

COME ON ENGLAND!

A very happy household enjoyed Serbian food whilst Capello's boys turned on the magic and won 1-0, putting us through to the final 16 of the competition. Next match is Germany at 3pm on Sunday, which is right in the middle of the Lavender Festival in Battersea, an event which I am managing.

The photo above is of Cevapcici, a sort of sausage made from lamb and beef mince. The tall bloke couldn't find bell pepper powder (not available in ASDA!) and instead, used chopped up red chillies.

The Serbian salad was absolutely delicious - spot on for a hot summer's evening. It was refreshing on the tongue and accompanied the Cevapcici perfectly. High recommendation points scored for this dish.

Spain 2 - Honduras 0

As the tournament rolls on, it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid repeats. After some feed back about my diner's diary, the tall bloke is determined to keep cooking different meals. So tonight, I returned home from work to find a huge Honduran menu being prepared. He handed me a ripe avocado when I went into the kitchen to see what was happening (every surface covered with bowls of different ingredients) and I knew immediately that a guacamole was required for this meal. Tall bloke said he had expected this cuisine to be similar to Mexico, but there were a few new things to me, including this weird sounding sweet potato salad with buttermilk dressing.

Here are the recipes he used - I had seconds, which says a lot about the delicious rating of this meal:

Baleadas (in Mexico: Burrito)

Sweet potato and cheese salad

San Pedro Sula Simmered Beef

Italy 1 - Paraguay 1

Since I have several good Italian friends and I do enjoy this familiar European cuisine, it seemed most natural to have some kind of pasta effort for tonight's meal. The tall bloke served home made chicken soup with Ditali rigati (pasta shapes), followed by cannelloni filled with spinach and ricotta, baked with tomato sauce and cheese on top. It was a triumph: the meal, not the match; Italy played Paraguay and drew one all (fairly unspectacular, except for the heartening super-man dive and slip, by the Paraguayan goal keeper). The soup and the tomato sauce was made from scratch. I bought the cannelloni, ready stuffed.

Chicken Soup - Method
The tall bloke stripped all the chicken off the carcass from Saturday night's roast dinner for England's match, to make into a stock. To do this, put the carcass in a large pot on the stove, then add a couple of pints of water, salt, pepper, mixed herbs, sliced onion, carrots, celery and reduce until half the amount of liquid remains. Then strain out the liquid and return it to the saucepan (discarding the bits) and add the ready-shredded chicken. Heat on low until the meat is really tender. Separately, boil the Ditali rigati (with a pinch of salt) and when cooked, added this to the chicken soup and top with parsley. Serve with freshly baked bread.

Come on England!

To celebrate England's first match in the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament, the tall bloke will be serving roast chicken. This is my all time favourite meal - I am known amongst my friends and colleagues to have the appetite of a bird, but when roast chicken is offered, I am always back for seconds! Obviously this is another dish we eat fairly often (Sundays usually - I'm quite a traditionalist), so the tall one changes the seasoning of the chicken and the accompanying vegetables. Tonight's version is as follows:

Menu

Roast chicken in lemon and garlic

Roast potatoes in ground nut oil

Roast carrots in honey and cumin (inspired by this story kindly supplied by The Nashman)

Tender stem broccoli

Sauteed courgette

Home made gravy (using juices of chicken)