Late-summer birthday dinner

We've got a special birthday coming up in the family. I'm going to make a celebratory birthday dinner: one that needs to be appropriately uncommon, luxurious, fresh and summery, feeds six, is relatively painless to prepare and contains some of the birthday boy's favourite foods.
Here's the plan so far: channel a Italian-fusion, Meditterranean-summer theme, with a lick each of Provence and traditional British home-counties.

• Nibbles of olives and grissini
• Broad-bean and/or green bean salad with mint, basil and lemon
• Roast shoulder (or leg) of lamb, studded with anchovies, garlic and rosemary
• Crispy roast potatoes
• Hot apple pie with hokey-pokey or vanilla icecream (and candles, of course!)

Must get organised, especially about the apple pie. I need a good and idiot-proof recipe... I bet Margaret Fulton's got one. I'll probably buy the plain icecream and stir through some smashed honeycomb.

***update***

I found a recipe for apple tart in Donna's Cooking book. You, know, back in her Marie Claire days. Looks very easy: spread an apple mush over puff pastry, layer sliced apples over, brush with whatever and bake. I'll be doing that.

Having trouble finding honeycomb pieces: seems to be only chocolate-coated ones around. Might have to make a trip to Tom's Confectionary Warehouse (Nudgee Rd, not far from the Nudgee police station). I know he has pretty much everything in the universe over there. Am thinking about mixing the honeycomb into the icecream, then scooping out pre-made icecream balls which I will freeze on a tray. At serving time I'll tip all the balls into a frozen bowl. Should look cute. Alternatively I'll just freeze the mix in a nice serving bowl.

So the dinner is on Friday night. I'll do the shop on Thursday. Going to go to the butcher at Morningside for the lamb, and Feast on Fruit next door for the fruit and veg.

On Friday, I'll do the icecream first, then make the apple mush, then spike my lamb with its flavouring items. About 2pm, I'll bake the apple tart, then a bit later, the roast will go in on a nice slow oven. Have decided on Nigella's perfect roast potatoes, from Feast. Peel, cut up and parboil them, then prepare a tray full of searingly hot oil (probably olive with a little butter) in the oven (she is all on about goose fat but I think my arteries would prefer that I live), coat the potatoes in semolina and roast away. I can do that.

Meanwhile I'll make the salad.

***update***

Success! The only issue was timimg the oven properly. This is what I ended up doing:

3pm: Stud the lamb with flavourings and store in fridge

3.30pm: Parboil potatoes and coat with semolina

4.15pm: Lamb in oven at approx 200 C

5.30pm: Turn oven down slightly

6pm: Prepare tart for baking

6.30pm: Take lamb out and cover with foil. Crank oven up to maximum to prepare for potatoes.

6.40pm: Insert potatoes and turn after half an hour.

7.45pm: Add lamb to oven to reheat slightly. Cook beans.

8pm: Everything out, eat dinner. Place tart in oven to cook while we have dinner.

The lamb was still quite rare in the centre, but very very tender and juicy. The recipe was from Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken and Other Stories: a book I am getting so much use out of. The actual cut of lamb was a boned leg loin from the butcher at Morningside. Was my first go at cooking something boneless, and I liked it. Seemed to be a much simpler affair.

So I was very pleased with everything in general. Our guests brought me some flowers that are just stunningly gorgeous, and I'm very happy to have beautiful blooms in the house. Good for the soul...!