This week the intrepid canines of No.1 The Strand put their best feet forward.

Going forth boldly, where no pooch has gone before (well, recently anyway) both myself and new little cousin Ady made great strides for dogs. And we are not talking about silly dress up pants.
In the weekend we both achieved great things in our respective fields, diverse as they may be.
Ady stole the show at the weekend's German Shorthaired Pointer competition, winning four ribbons including, 'Best Feet.” Not bad work for the youngster. She celebrated back home by chewing the toes out of the boss's Crocs (so we may better judge his feet), a soap wrapper, and made a good start on 20m of garden hose.
I, on the other hand, had unfinished business. Up near the bush bach there lurks a certain furry tree dweller, residing in said tree on 'tother side of nasty crevice.
Setting forth on my best feet, I again took on The Nasty Crevice which lies between the sanctity of Labrador Homelands and the Great Scary Unknown Places.
And yes, dear readers, your Chocolate Crusader showed true consistency, by again getting stuck fast at bottom of The Nasty Crevice. (Probably the name of a B grade porn flick)
The boss again found me in the wee hours of the morning, (he's getting to know where to look first) and lifted me out with the help of gunsling and cursing. Muttering warnings about staying away from The Nasty Crevice, he gave me a big welcoming hug. Sorry about the mud, boss.
The Tree Dweller, on the other hand, was sounding particularly smug, out of clear shot, high aloft in the safety of his Pohutukawa boughs. He was chuckling that irritating possum chortle that drives the most even tempered canines completely bonkers.
I stuck close by the boss on the trek home, for fear of straying into more mortal dangers. The boss, getting a little tiresome of extracting me from the same old predicament, offered more lectures and tried to make a joke about my life being in a rut.
'Why can't you achieve great things, like winning Best Feet, instead of putting your foot in it?”
I vowed never to go back to The Nasty Crevice. At least, not tonight.
After a cooling rinse off at the outside tap (I love it when the lads shower together, it's just like the rugby) we settled in front of the fire, me on his Best Feet. We celebrated that the evening with a port, a schmacko and an ear rub. Guess who got which?
Meanwhile, wrap your schmackos around these great recipes.

'Marinated sirloin casserole'

Ingredients
2 lbs pre-marinated sirloin steak
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (19 ounce) can tomatoes, undrained

Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Cut steak into strips and place in a large bowl. Pour just enough of the red wine onto meat to moisten, reserve remaining wine. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil and brown sirloin strips. Place browned strips in a large casserole dish and pour any meat juice and remaining red wine onto browned meat. Add remaining ingredients to casserole and stir to combine. Cover tightly and bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until steak is tender. Serve over mashed potatoes.

'Chocolate pudding'

Ingredients
1/3 cup sugar
100g softened butter
200g chopped dark chocolate
3 eggs
¼ cup self-raising flour
2/3 cup castor sugar

Ingredients for chocolate fudge sauce
200g chopped dark chocolate
1/3 cup thickened cream

Method
Preheat oven to 200C. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stir for 5 minutes or until smooth. Remove from heat. Beat eggs and castor sugar until thick. Add the warm chocolate mixture. Sift flour into mixture, and stir gently to combine. Grease four small ovenproof bowls with butter and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon white sugar each, turning to coat. Pour batter evenly into the bowls. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until pudding tops crack. Let stand in bowls for 5 minutes. Carefully loosen and put onto a plate lined with baking paper.

Method for chocolate fudge sauce
Put chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat uncovered on high for 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth, stirring every minute. Pour the warm chocolate fudge sauce over the puddings and serve with ice cream (optional).
Next week: Another episode in The Nasty Crevice series – 'Return to The Scary Unknown Places.”