Suzanne Shaw blog: Dancing On Ice frustrations & my son's mussels obsession

Sunday night was the first time I’ve watched ‘Dancing On Ice’ since leaving the show. Of course it’s sad to think what could have been, but at the same time I feel relieved to be away from the unnecessary pressure.

I’m gutted that Kyran left the show this week, but he went out on a great performance. I personally don’t think either Sam or Kyran should’ve been in the skate-off.

Having watched the show as the audience, it certainly seems a little misleading. In my view, the strongest skaters left in the competition are Sam and Ray, yet they are both portrayed in very different lights (Ray the unbeatable one and Sam underdog who may or not make it to the final). Sam even ended up in the skate-off! Although Ray appears to be the favourite, I don’t think it’s as clear-cut as that and Sam is right up there with him in terms of talent.

I’m sure the public will make up their own minds about it, but Sam’s performance on Sunday tells you it’s closer than many think… Let’s hope the deserving people make it to the final – and not in the skate-off.

[Suzanne Shaw blog: Fun with Matt's parents and a new dance partner... despite my little fall]
[Suzanne Shaw blog: An emotional Dancing on Ice, a day in A&E and a Hear’say reunion]

It’s been hard to walk away from ‘Dancing On Ice’, however, it feels great to get my family life back before going on tour with the show (March to April). I can’t begin to tell you how good it’s been being able to spend time with Corey this week, absolutely priceless!

After having sandwiches for lunches and dinners these past couple of months, it was great to cook again! I asked Corey what he’d like me to make him for dinner and he wanted mussels and chips! Yes, MUSSELS and chips.

Before I talk about the culinary disaster I had making the sauce for the mussels, let me talk about my 9-year-old’s wide-ranging pallet!

When Corey was 2 years old, I took him on a trip to Marbella for a photoshoot. It was a long day and by the time we sat for dinner, Corey was completely starving.

We had a wonderful chef at the restaurant who insisted in preparing our dinner without us choosing from the menu. I thought I was going to have a strop on my hands. To my surprise when RAW FISH arrived, Corey absolutely loved it! He cleaned up the whole plate and ended up eating more than me. After that, I realised that introducing him to exotic food at an early age has made restaurant choices with the family super easy!

[Suzanne Shaw blog: I’m really gutted to leave DOI]
[Suzanne Shaw blog: A disappointing week on DOI]

So back to the mussels cooking error… I ran out of coarse salt in the salt grinder so replaced it with a huge container of table salt. I must’ve used a little too much force and ended up throwing half the container full into the special sauce. As you can imagine, this caused significant damage. Thankfully the dilemma was resolved after removing a LOT of salt. Whoops!

My brilliant (if I may say so myself) sauce consisted of chopped tomatoes, tomato juice, a chopped onion, garlic, chopped mushrooms, two large tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, salt (not TOO much!) and pepper, a dash of red wine and sprinkled with coriander.

I did an OK! photoshoot and interview this week. I can’t talk too much about it but it’s out in a couple of weeks and I’ll give you all the goss - even Dudley makes a cameo appearance!

Corey’s spent a couple of days with Darren (his dad) and Darren’s family this week. I’ve missed him so much but it’s reassuring to know that he loves his trips to his dad’s.

Darren’s wife, Steph, sent a great picture of Corey having a suit fitted (for a wedding he’s going to with them) – he looked so grown up and it made me cry! Where have the years gone?!

Here’s to another week of indulging in family time –I can’t wait!

Suzanne x