For an Autumn state of mind, in pictures.

This menu is definitely up there with one I'd most like to eat myself featuring several of my favourite things. We welcomed guests, some new to the supper club experience, a couple of fellow supper club hosts and some experienced supper clubbers too. There was fun, laughter and lots of "mmms" at the Table and a guest appearance from E, who did not hear my plea on Friday and was simply desperate to meet the guests (and then feign shyness). It's a good job she's cute!

To welcome Homemade buttery oat biscuits with stilton mousse and apple.

To amuse Butternut squash, ginger and chilli soup.

To start Venison carpaccio, parsnip puree, parsnip crisps, Parmesan and rocket.

To follow Armstrong's Hake, creamed cabbage and bacon, crisp potatoes.

To finish Rum and raisin ice cream, pear crumble, brandy snaps.

To warm hearts, in pictures.

The beautiful flowers and the roaring fire set the scene tonight; the guests were such a warm hearted group that they didn't really need the help of our menu. Nevertheless, we welcomed them whole heartedly (as promised) and continued to enjoy watching new faces relax in our home and dine at our table.

Here are the photos:

What kind of flowers are the orange ones? Does anyone know?

To welcome Beef, horseradish cream toasts

and stilton mousse, homemade buttery oat biscuits.

To start Salmon rillettes, walnut and honey soda bread.

or spinach and ricotta pate, walnut and honey soda bread.

To follow Loin of venison with Szechuan hotpot 

  or fillet of beef with Szechuan hotpot

or Szechuan aubergine with paneer and rice.

To finish Chocolate pecan tart, maple creme fraiche.

And, to avoid one guest's chocolate and nut nemesis, spiced red wine poached pear, blackberry ripple ice cream.

Behind the scenes, we renamed this supper "For Peppa Pig" simply because,  thanks to Peppa, we managed to distract our wide awake little girl while we welcomed guests! E, I know you can't read yet, but please pick up the vibes, a return to your sleeping through supper clubs form tomorrow would be appreciated.

Menu for an Autumn state of mind.

I am in a very Autumn state of mind these days and I can't seem to tire of Autumn colours and flavours, this menu has pretty much all of my favourite things (and continues the slight venison obsession)...

To start
Venison carpaccio, parsnip crisps, parsnip puree.

To follow
Hake, creamed savoy cabbage, Bowers' home-cured bacon, crisp potatoes.

To finish
Pear crumble, rum and raisin ice cream, brandy snaps.

Menu to warm hearts

We always cook our food with love and make sure that it not only tastes good, but we hope that the whole "eat out in" dining experience is heart-warming. This warmth is especially important when the weather turns colder (like right now) and when welcoming a table of guests, all friends of a friend, who have never dined with us before but have been invited along perhaps excitedly, perhaps a little suspiciously (as is the case on Friday). We hope this menu makes them all feel at home:


To start
Salmon rillettes or for our vegetarian guest spinach pate, homemade honey and walnut soda bread.

To follow
Loin of venison or fillet of beef with Szechuan hotpot or for our vegetarian guest, Szechuan aubergine with rice.

To finish
Chocolate pecan pie, maple creme fraiche.

For a birthday girl, in pictures.

Last night, one special birthday girl was well and truly celebrated. There was even a quiz about her and a spectacular Queen of Sheba Cake (which we cannot take credit for). Always intrigued by new cake ideas, a quick search reveals via The Sweetest Kitchen "that the recipe originally appeared in Julia Child's first book, The French Chef. She says it was the first French cake she had ever eaten... and she had never forgotten it. " We hope our guests had an unforgettable cake and an unforgettable time!

Here is the feast:

To welcome Quails' eggs, Serrano ham.

 

To amuse Spicy parsnip, apple and pear soup, apple crisps.

To start Roasted beef or sweet potato, pear, chicory salad with homemade honey and walnut soda bread.

To follow Tandoori spiced lythe {or chicken}, cucumber raita, basmati rice, flat bread.

 

To finish Chocolate and lemongrass mousse with lime shortbread.

For harvest, in pictures.

Great fun was had at our Table last night. As well as the feast, guests treated themselves to a game of after dinner charades and treated us to a recital of the tale they had composed in the guest book, each guest being limited to just three words! Here's how it looked (sadly no videos of the charades):

The Harvest Table.

 

To welcome Buttery oat biscuits, chicken liver pate, sun dried tomatoes.

 To amuse Pea, Pecorino, Parmesan.

To start  Baked butternut squash and taleggio risotto.

To follow Beef, mushroom gratin, pumpkin puree, sauteed potatoes.

 To finish Chocolate "tart", blackberry ripple ice cream.

Menu for a birthday girl.

We managed to stretch out our own birthday celebrations for almost three months, so it's great to continue the celebrations with a gathering for another birthday girl and her friends on Saturday. We hope this is a suitably celebratory supper.

To start
Beef {or sweet potato}, pear, chicory, homemade honey and walnut soda bread.

To follow 
Tandoori spiced monkfish {or chicken}, cucumber raita, basmati rice, flat bread.

To finish
Chocolate, lemongrass mousse, Holly's finest shortbread.

Menu for harvest

Given the last couple of day's Autumnal splendour in Edinburgh, we're going to dedicate the first of this weekend's suppers to the glorious season and harvest time (with the sweet hymns from schooldays ringing in our minds: "Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green..."and "Autumn days when the grass is jewelled..." Hands up if you remember these or maybe it's just me?)

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday!

To start
Baked butternut squash and taleggio risotto.

To follow
Beef, mushroom gratin, pumpkin puree, sauteed potatoes.

To finish
Chocolate "tart", blackberry ripple ice cream.

For our faraway friends, in words and pictures.

We absolutely love living Edinburgh. In fact, the only thing we would change is to have all of our wonderful friends and family live here too. We often hanker for a long walk, a cup of tea, familiar laughter, sharing ordinary everyday moments with those we love. 

With the happy excuse (we're sticking to it) of more birthday celebrations, we got to do just that and welcome some of our dearest friends (and others in spirit) to do all of the things we miss, together, and to indulge in a Charlie and Evelyn's style dinner. The menu was, like the company, sunny, warm, comforting and a rare treat created by Mark Sargeant for friends, cooked by us and possibly recognised by avid readers of Waitrose Kitchen (September 2012).

Hot smoked salmon mousse, buttery homemade oat biscuits, served on a fabulous shoal of fish charger (a well chosen birthday gift, thanks to The Riachs...expect to see more of that here).

Stilton gougeres (also served on an excellent birthday present, this time a piece of Edinburgh Skyline Highland Stoneware, thanks to The Reids).

To start Smoked duck, fig and orange salad.

To follow Rock turbot (rather than monkfish) with sweetcorn succotash.

To finish Peach, nectarine and apricot crumble, blackberry ripple ice cream, brandy snaps (next time we'll try Mark's suggested maple mascarpone).

Happy days.