Menu for that Friday feeling

Summer days, Glasgow 2014, happy times and reason enough to celebrate and #eatscottish. That's what our guests will be doing on Friday. We're serving:

To start
Hot smoked salmon and spring onion tart

To follow
Venison with tomato, parsley and olive salad

To finish
Summer fruits, mascarpone and white chocolate ice cream, petite chocolate brownies.

For the first day of Christmas and friends, in pictures.

True to form, I had massively underestimated how exhausted we might be after an incredibly busy and wonderful Winter supper club season. How in need of sleep we were and quite what a relief it would be to allow the house to get steadily messier as the week passed by, and not to have to worry about how it would ever be ready for guests arriving at the weekend. But, already, just one week has passed and I am sitting here, feeling rather glum that tonight E and I will be home alone while C is at his work Christmas party. I think this is a sign that we really love our little club and that I'm incredibly pleased that we can make it happen, here in our home, working with my husband with E in training in the kitchen and another tiny apprentice, growing steadily under my apron!

Anyway, it was unbelievably good to finish up for Christmas surrounded some of our dear friends and loyal fans and to serve up the last of our Winter menus...until the Christmas party that is...

The 1st of December 2012.

Delicate while petals.

To welcome A taste of grouse, horseradish cream, buttery oat biscuits.

and gruyere gougeres.

The Table.

To start Pan fried scallops, crab, apple and celeriac salad.

Griddled aubergines, ready for Wellingtons.

To follow Venison wellingtons, braised red cabbage, sprouts.

or Monkfish Wellingtons.

To finish Sticky gingerbread, orange and vanilla ice cream.

With coffee Tiny vanilla macarons.

Sainsbury's Magazine.

Proudly presenting our feature, home, menu, recipes and a very rare public picture of our sweet baby girl.

Menu for the first day of Christmas and friends.

It's fair to say that this supper club, the last planned in our Winter season, is one of mixed emotion. We are thrilled to be welcoming a small group of dear friends alongside loyal fans and some new ones too. And, we are excited and even a little relieved at the thought of having a weekend to ourselves to prepare for and rediscover the magic of Christmas with the help of a joyful, wide-eyed, sparkle-loving E. We can't wait to deck the halls and celebrate with our families and friends but we are sure to miss creating menus, the mad dash of preparation before guests arrive, the nervous anticipation when the buzzer sounds downstairs, sharing our home and mostly meeting new faces and making new friends. (For the record I will not miss ironing the tablecloth one bit.) So here it is Merry Christmas and our bittersweet advent menu!

To start
Apple and celeriac salad with pan-fried scallops or chicken.

To follow
Venison {or monkfish} Wellington, braised red cabbage, almond toasted brussel sprouts.

To finish
Sticky gingerbread, orange and vanilla ice cream.

For a birthday boy, in pictures.

The atmosphere on Saturday was happy and relaxed as a group of friends gathered to celebrate a laid back birthday boy's special day with our special meal and a beer or two. It was our pleasure to play hosts.

To amuse Spicy parsnip, apple and pear soup.

To start Venison carpaccio, mozzarella {and for those who like them} mushrooms and hazelnuts.

To follow Asian braised beef, hot and sour salad.

To finish Rum and raisin chocolate brownies and ice cream or 

 for our wheat intolerant, dairy free guest, rum and raisin Winter fruits with her own brownie.

Time for tea.

For Thanksgiving, in pictures.

A merry crowd of guests gathered at our Table last night and we were especially thankful for the left over banoffee pie! It was great to welcome friends and their friends, several guests for the second time and others including two future supper club hosts and our first truly international guests from Holland and Germany, starting their stay in Scotland with our dining experience. And if we ever get chance to pay a visit to them in Utrecht, she works in this amazing ice cream shop. I want to go there. Now.

 Sweet potato crisps, a preview.

The Wintery Table.

 All set.

To welcome Avocado mousse, hot smoked salmon.

 Seared beef, horseradish cream.

 To start Scallops celeriac puree and truffle vinaigrette.

or seabass, celeriac puree and truffle vinaigrette.

To follow Venison with mushroom risotto, root vegetable crisps

or chicken with mushroom risotto and root vegetable crisps.

To finish Banoffee pie, cinnamon ice cream.

With coffee Petite chocolate and hazelnut macarons.

Menu for a birthday boy.

On Saturday, we prepare to welcome veteran supper clubbers back to our Table. This time, they have chosen to book all of the seats for n exclusive and unique birthday celebration with friends. The birthday boy is especially laid back, he's an Aussie you see, but a look through past menus managed to tempt him towards a meaty main and a chocolatey pud. We can certainly manage that. And, as it's a special occasion, a special starter too.

To start
Venison carpaccio, mozzarella {and for those who like them} mushrooms and hazelnuts.

To follow 
{Making a reappearance} Asian braised beef, hot and sour salad.

To finish
Rum and raisin brownies and ice cream or for our wheat intolerant, dairy free guest, rum and raisin Winter fruits.

Menu for Thanksgiving

I know we don't technically celebrate Thanksgiving or benefit from a late November national holiday but most of the food blogs I read are talking about it and I do love any excuse for a gathering of friends or family and a feast. Although we won't get to eat this menu, we with serve it with grateful hearts, thanks for the support of our diners and three years of success with our wee at home supper club, from our first supper to now.

And so, the menu (don't fear there's plenty of time for turkey elsewhere)...

To start
Scallops {seabass} or apple with blue cheese {v} , celeriac puree and truffle vinaigrette.

To follow
Venison {chicken fillet} with mushroom risotto, root vegetable crisps or for our vegetarian guests, mushroom medley with mushroom risotto, root vegetable crisps.

To finish
Banoffee pie, cinnamon ice cream.

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 Team GB, in pictures.

Rather unusually, we began the evening huddled and cheering around the TV. Watching Mo Farah become a great, great Olympic champion with his win in the 5000m. And, then the excitement continued with introductions for a group entirely made up of supper club first timers and the going for gold menu we'd created...

Red, white and blue roses set the patriotic scene.

  To welcome: cucumber, crab and radish bites.

 Tandoori stuffed button mushrooms.

To amuse: rocket, courgette soup with goat's cheese.

To start: wild salmon, shaved fennel.

To follow: poppy seed venison, wild mushroom risotto, watercress, jus.

To finish: melon soup, strawberries.

With coffee: honeycomb truffles.