Uruguay 1 - Ghana 1

For our Friday evening meal, the tall bloke elected to cook from the Uruguayan cuisine. Whilst another penalty shoot out decided the match (4:2) to give Uruguay the win, the tall bloke prepared Chivito al plato, which apparently is an extremely popular and widely eaten dish in the country. It consisted of eggs, bacon, steak, chips, tomatoes, cheese and mayonnaise, amongst other things, so it wasn't the lightest of bites. However! may that not cast dispersions over this dish - I can imagine that it would instantly clear even the heaviest of hang-overs!

Paraguay 0 - Japan 0

Tonight's menu was from the South American state of Paraguay, which we enjoyed as they drew with Japan, but went on to win 5:3 on penalty shoot out. Always a harsh way to leave a competition, but better than the old fashioned way of simply tossing a coin I suppose.

I couldn't believe it when the tall bloke pulled SO'O KU'I - a Paraguayan pie filled with mince - out of the oven. He even made the pie dough himself; he couldn't quite mask his own surprise that the dish turned out so well, on the first try. There is no photograph on the recipe he found on-line, but took a good one before serving me a large slice.

This meal is worthy of special praise and I urge you all to try it. It was seriously impressive and a really delicious, hearty meal - kind of like a South American version of a Cornish Pasty. Top marks tall man.

Tomato sauce from Italy (via London)

This recipe is used by the tall bloke in many Italian dishes. Here you can see it on the cannelloni we had for dinner whilst watching the match against Paraguay. I hope you enjoy it too:

Tomato sauce - Method
In a saucepan, gentle fry some onions and garlic, then when just about turning translucent, add a can of chopped tomatoes. Season and add sage, oregano and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

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.