When does "It's the thought that counts" replace "If you can't make it properly then don't bother" when baking a birthday cake? When the kids want to surprise you? Of course! At a high end restaurant? No way ! Even if it's free? Still no way!

At Lawry's Prime Rib Saturday night the hostess asked if we had a birthday in the party (just the two of us) so I told her it was mine. Now, I didn't expect balloons and streamers or for her to get up on the table and do the Can-Can while singing "happy happy birthday" but I did think 'a little treat" may be in store for dessert. Thank goodness I was right and it was a "little" treat, in the form of a "little" birthday cake. A pappy strawberry shortcake type thing made with what tasted like packet sponge mix, frozen strawberries and synthetic cream (the shaving foam type you find on Golden Corral desserts)

We left the kids and the sitter watching Dr Who while we headed to Lawry's. Doctor Who is a long-running, award-winning British science fiction television program that depicts the adventures of a mysterious alien time-traveler known as "the Doctor" who travels in his space and time-ship.

I chose Lawry's The Prime Rib in Dallas, partly because the last time I was there the food was good and partly through nostalgia - maybe I was thinking about my culinary tour of London coming up - You can't get more British than "roast beef and Yorkshire pudding" their signature dish. (Actually you can, it would probably be Chicken Tikka Masala - but that's another story for another time) Lawry's, if you haven't eaten there opened its first restaurant in Beverly Hills, California in 1938. Lawrence L. Frank and Walter Van de Kamp co-founded the original Lawry's The Prime Rib and much of the splendor of the meal was in the way each part of the dinner was prepared and presented, like the famous "silver" carts so the prime ribs could be carved tableside.

Silver carts gracefully swanning the dining room were nothing new to me, I spent two years in the kitchens at the Savoy Hotel in London. I remember the days of loading a rib of beef onto the beautiful ornate silver trolley and piling roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding around it as the "trancheur" in his heavily white starched jacket, creased black pants and white apron looked on. However, looking across the dining room at Lawry's made me think about the kids at home watching Dr Who. My gosh ! the Daleks are coming, I thought. As the young chef opened the hatch of his culinary spaceship a bright light shone out revealing not little green Martians but two Texas size hunks of beef.

Wendy had chosen the Filet Mignon wrapped in applewood bacon served with au gratin potatoes so it was delivered to the table plated. The steak was cooked perfect but had no seasoning on it at all; neither did the au gratin potatoes. Bland and boring, maybe that was what the plastic pots of Lawry's seasoning were for on the table- they should pass some through to the kitchen. I had chosen the prime rib, carved table side - from the silver Dalek.

At the Savoy the portion size was usually determined by just how much you tipped the trancheur prior to him slicing the beef. At Lawry's it is far more structured. The California Cut - A smaller cut for lighter appetites, The English Cut - Three thin slices, The Lawry Cut - the traditional and most popular cut, The "Diamond Jim Brady" Cut - An extra thick portion that includes the rib bone and The Dallas Cut - A double-sized cut with the rib bone as served to the Cotton Bowl teams. I went for the Lawry's cut. The beef was OK; it was the end piece of a joint that had probably climbed into the spaceship in planet kitchen some hours before. It came with complimentary mashed potatoes. One of my pet peeves is mashed potatoes under seasoned and just tasteless. Why go to all the hard work of peeling them, cooking and mashing them and then the easy part "seasoning" them is ignored. Mashed taters need butter, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Trust me, I spent almost a year at the Savoy making them three times a day and I near perfected the dish. Side dishes were extra, so I paid for asparagus with hollandaise sauce. Almost raw, not even al dente and the hollandaise had split too. I guess "If you can't make it properly then don't bother" doesn't just apply to the "free" birthday cake.

Needless to say we didn't do dessert, pushed the cake around the plate while we waited for valet parkers to bring the "Tardis" to the front door and then time warped to Loft 610 in Plano for some modern day food.

As sleek as a 1930s ocean liner, yet as relaxed as a dinner on the shore, the Oceanaire provides the perfect setting to enjoy the Ultra-Fresh seafood flown in daily.

The menu changes daily due to market availability and f rom the moment it lands on the fisherman's deck to the time it lands on your plate, each catch is carefully coddled to ensure standards of quality and flavor.

With this in mind I was thrilled to be invited aboard the Oceanaire galley - OK, kitchen - to be the summer guest chef. Starting this month and throughout the summer I will have one of my dishes on the menu daily. Proceeds from every dish sold will benefit the Dallas Childrens Theater

This weeks dish is Chili and Garlic Crusted Shrimp with Lobster Cheese Grits. Princess Diana loved shrimp ( though we call them prawns across the pond) and adored Lobster but she always thought it too expensive to order on the menu because usually someone else was paying the bill. So, she only ate lobster at home. I made this dish with Polenta originally but after moving to Dallas 10 years ago have put a "Texas Twist " on the dish with the grits.

So, stop by Oceanaire Seafood Room at the Dallas Galleria, eat some good fish, help me raise some money for Dallas Childrens Theater and pick up a signed copy of my book Eating Royally- recipes and remembrances of a palace kitchen

I just hope I don't get as seasick in Oceanaire's kitchen as I used to on the Royal Yacht Britannia (pictued above) when traveling around the world cooking for Queen Elizabeth II and her family.

For the steaks:

• 4 beef tenderloin steaks - mid cut (6 oz each)
• 4 ounces boursin cheese
• 2 Tbs toasted pine nuts
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs chopped green onions to garnish

• 1 medium red bell pepper (1/2 cut into 1 inch strips, ½ rough chopped)
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 cups water
• 1 Knoor beef broth cube
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp kitchen bouquet browning
• 3 Tbs flour
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare the sauce first; this can be done ahead of time - up to 24 hours. In a large sauté pan melt the butter and oil and add the peppers cut into strips. Sauté until tender and remove to a small bowl. Add the rough chopped peppers, onions, garlic, rosemary, and a pinch of salt and sauté until they start to soften and brown.
2. Stir in the flour, then the broth cube, browning and water and keep stirring until the sauce forms.
3. Simmer the sauce for at least 20 minutes. Strain off the vegetables and add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste. Keep the sauce warm until the steaks are cooked.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Make a 2 inch slit in the side of the steaks and stuff with the Boursin and pine nuts. Add the olive oil to a large sauté pan and season the steaks with the salt and pepper. When the oil is hot add the steaks and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the heat and put the pan in the oven for about 10 minutes or until required doneness.

Well summer is here already and here in the south that means lazy hazy hot days just grillin and chillin and sippin Margaritas. I am heading off to Jamaica with the family and this time I will get to visit blue mountain and taste some of the best coffee in the world.

Then the wheels touch the ground long enough to repack and head off to the UK with a group of foodies on my Culinary Tour of Royal London While in London I have another major project bubbling away - but I'm not allowed to tell you about that until next months newsletter. Oh and then in between I am popping off to Brazil for a quick Caipirinha and Aspen (where they have just reopened the ski slopes this weekend after 3 foot of snow) for a large Schnapps

Lots to write about next month then, have a great June and don't forget Fathers Day this Sunday!

Until next time...... Darren