The 2nd Egg Supper Menu

The holiday season is over, school has started, time for me to get back down to work. And my first priority was to finalise the menu for the 2nd Egg Supper on the 24th September 2011. With a little less than 3 weeks to go, and with the weather in Bristol turning suitably wild and windy, I have been mulling over my early autumn feast. It is much more subtly 'eggy' than the first feast but be assured they are still in there!

So, for those of you who have booked a table, here is what you are having:

Rabbit & prune pate, sweet pickled cucumber with homemade rye bread

Keen’s cheddar & wholegrain mustard croquetas with autumn leaves 

Pork & pears braised in cider, buttered greens

End-of-the-summer Mojito sorbet

Plum & almond crumble with creme anglaise 

........ and for those of you who haven't booked a table I hope it still makes you salivate.

A quick chicken update: The new chickens, Nellie & Peggy, have settled in well and are laying with the best of them. Poor Doris is still with us but the vet think her days are numbered. She is happy, eating well and not suffering so we have agreed to let nature take its course. 

And in other news there is a new addition to the family, a 12 week old rescue puppy of dubious parentage - a little bit lurcher, a little bit collie, a little bit terrier, a little bit who knows?  He came from Swansea so has been named Dylan after that other Swansea boy, Dylan Thomas. So the menagerie continues to grow, life will never be quiet again. But the kids love him, and a puppy has got to be easier than having another baby...... isn't it?!

Spiced apricot chutney, advanced cooking for the 2nd Egg Supper

With places for the second ‘Egg Supper’ already booked up, it was time to start the preparations. I haven’t finalised the menu yet but do have lots of ideas milling around in the back of my mind. One of which is a deeply savoury pâté, meat yet to be decided, possibly game, accompanied by some sort of pickle or chutney. You simply have to leave chutney to mellow & mature to get the best flavour so I knew I had to get cracking and make something. A quick glance in the fruit bowl revealed a kilo of apricots leftover from a photo shoot last week, slightly past their eating prime. So apricot chutney it is, lightly spiced with ginger, cloves and coriander, and left to mature quietly in the back of the cupboard, whilst I keep on dreaming up more ideas for the early autumnal feast to come.

Spiced Apricot Chutney

makes 5 jars

1kg ripe apricots, stone removed & chopped

400g onion, chopped (about 2 large onions)

300g sultanas

750ml malt vinegar

450g soft brown sugar

60g fresh ginger, grated

1tbsp coriander seeds, crushed

1 heaped tsp black peppercorns, crushed

5 cloves, crushed

1 heaped tsp ground turmeric

1 heaped tsp paprika

1 heaped tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tbsp salt

Tip the apricots, onion and sultanas into a large saucepan. Pour over the vinegar, stir through the sugar and bring up to a gentle simmer. Add the grated ginger, all of the dried spices and the salt. Simmer uncovered for around 2 hours, stirring from time to time, until the chutney is a deep colour and has thickened to a spoonable consistency. For a simple test to see if it has reduced enough, drag a wooden spoon across the surface of the chutney - it should leave in its wake a shallow furrow that holds its shape for a mere second or two.

Whilst the chutney is cooking sterilise the jars - this batch made 5 full-to-the-brim 370g jam jars. Give the jars and lids a really thorough wash in hot soapy water, then rinse with clean water. Allow to drain for a few moments before lining up on a baking tray and drying in a cool oven (100°C) for 30 minutes. Once they are dry they will be sterile so avoid touching the inside of jar or lid.

Carefully fill the hot jars with the hot chutney and seal tightly with the lid. Store in a cool dark cupboard for at least 6 weeks before eating. If your jars are squeaky-clean the chutney should easily keep, unopened, for a year or more.

The next supper: 24th September 2011

Just a quick post to announce the next Egg supper.

After much deliberation it has been decided we will be opening up the house again for another feast on Saturday 24th September.

The menu will be announced a little nearer the time but expect 5 or so courses of seasonal deliciousness and generous helpings, all for a suggested donation of £30 per head. I am feeling that the food may be slightly less egg-centric than last time and, as a nod to the incoming season, there may be some inspiration taken from my STEW! book.

Drop me an email or give me a call if you want to secure your seat - places will be limited to 16 and its first come first serve. We will be operating a waiting list this time in an effort not to be caught out by very last minute cancellations.

Hope to see you then!

x

Monica's review of the evening

I know I said there would be no more about the first supperclub but Monica Shaw, one of the guests & supplier of gorgeous pictures, has just emailed me her review. It was so lovely I had to add a link here just to be sure as many people read it as possible!


So here's the link....
Monica Shaw supperclub review




Next week I shall be posting about the Egg book that was commissioned yesterday - a diary of egg recipes from the garden.......

Monica Shaw captures the evening beautifully

This, I promise will be my last post on the first Egg a Day supper, but with photos as gorgeous as these by  Monica Shaw it would be impossible not to share.....

Monica arrived early, armed with her camera, and as I faffed & fiddled & fretted over organising the tables she quietly set too and documented the evening - the prep, the eating, the laughter, the wine...... and here is her story:

More supperclub pictures

I woke this morning to gorgeous crisp sunshine, blue cloudless skies and another lovely set of supperclub photos waiting in my inbox. A good start to the day. This time the pictures are courtesy of Monica Shaw another lovely supperclub attendee. Monica has captured some gorgeous shots, particularly of my garden. So forgive this slightly self indulgent presentation of one of the most treasured spaces in my life......

A more sensible post with Monica's pictures of the evening itself will follow.......

The first Egg a Day supper

After weeks of planning, days of cleaning and organizing, and many, many many hours of cooking, the first Egg a Day supper is over. Done and dusted. How do I feel? Exhausted, relieved we pulled it off, and overall, really rather happy that it was deemed to be a marvellous success. 

Over the years I have catered for many events and for large numbers of people, the largest being a wedding with 150 guests, but I can honestly say that cooking supper for less than 20 people in my own home was just as stressful. Post-supper I have been trying to work out why. By inviting people into your home you are opening up your most personal space, where you kick back after a hard days work, the place normally littered with the detritus and junk of family life. And I guess that leaves you feeling a little vulnerable and exposed. But I have to say, the garden looked resplendent scattered with tea lights and the kids, little treasures, behaved themselves. 

I need to offer a huge thanks to my lovely friend and co-chef for the evening, Jo Ingleby of Demuth’s Vegetarian cookery school. She remained utterly calm and focussed on the all important food while I fiddled, fretted and flapped over the minutiae of the table settings and whether we could really eat outside as I had always planned. Eventually after much to’ing and fro’ing I finally decided we should be inside but with the French doors thrown open to the evening air. But what a lot of time I wasted whilst I made up my mind. So thanks Jo, for getting on with the food and making it all come together at the right time. And thanks too should go to my lovely husband Rob who did a great job of putting the guests at ease, not to mention his splendid clearing up during most of Sunday when all I could muster the energy to do was lay on the lawn with the newspaper eating leftovers. 

The menu followed a loosely Moorish theme, a nod to my favourite foods of the southern Med and North Africa. And people seemed to love it. I am well known amongst friends for over catering, I can’t help myself, nothing would fill me with more dread than people going home hungry. Despite the fact that 3 people cancelled, 2 at the very last minute, there were not excessive leftovers. And what there was very gratefully consumed by me the following day. I woke up on Sunday morning ravenously hungry, realizing that I had existed on mostly fresh air and a few bites of this and that all day Saturday. 

So, will I run another supperclub? Yes, I most defiantly I will, but not for a while, maybe at the end of the summer. And maybe it won’t be supper this time. Maybe it’ll be an afternoon tea with a table groaning under the weight of a bounty of cakes, or perhaps a brunchclub with eggs in a multitude of ways, piles of syrupy pancakes and smoky bacon. And much coffee. 

Now I’m feeling hungry again, any more leftovers lurking in the fridge…….?

The photos below were taken by a talented supperclub diner, @througheye. With his kind permission I use his photos here - I think they do the food huge justice - to see more of his work go to   www.througheye.co.uk

More photos to come soon from another diner, @monicashaw.

Flatbread with caraway & nigella

Chargrilled English asparagus - the last this year!

Labneh with sumac & lemon thyme

Chargrilled English asparagus & saffron alioli  

Tortilla & empanadas 

Beetroot & walnut dip with coriander, parsley & mint

Palestinian couscous with broad beans, peas, mint & lemon

Moorish pork skewers

Pasteis de Nata, served with fresh mint tea

Pistachio meringues, rosewater strawberries & classic vanilla ice cream

Fiona Beckett - supperclub review & pictures

.....and another supperclub update: a lovely review by the lovely Fiona Beckett.

http://bit.ly/lPI1V5

More soon.

x

Supperclub - a few pictures

Wow, supperclub, after all that planning and prep, is over, done & dusted. A roaring success. I'll be posting about the evening in the next day or so, but in the meantime, just to whet your appetite, here are the links to some fab photos taken by @througheye and @monicashaw - thanks guys!!

http://bit.ly/ldeuR7 

http://bit.ly/mFsRHD

http://bit.ly/kT7yyp 

The menu - Mostly Moorish Supper - 25th June 2011

Supper club on the 25th June is fast approaching. We are virtually fully booked and planning furiously. Recipes have been tested, seating plans & crockery sorted and the chickens have been given an egg-boosting pep talk. So we feel ready to release the menu for our 'Mostly Moorish Supper'. Hope it makes you hungry. Perhaps hungry enough to book the last 2 tickets......?

The meal will be served in an informal & relaxed mezze-style in my gorgeous leafy courtyard, surrounded by the herbs, peas, broad beans, zucchini plants that will be contributing to your supper.  We will have a few cozy blankets to ward off the chills and the brazier will be warm & glowing but we suggest you bring woolly jumper too. You can, of course, meet the chickens who will have made it all possible. We sincerely hope it won't be raining but we'll transfer inside if it does.

An Egg a Day Mostly Moorish Supper 

Sat 25th June 2011

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Flatbread with caraway, nigella & black sesame seeds  

Beetroot & walnut pate with coriander, parsley & mint

Labneh with garlic & sumac

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Chargrilled English asparagus with saffron alioli 

------------------

Chakchouka -  gently spiced tomatoes, peppers, onions with baked eggs

Merguez sausages & Moorish pork skewers - lightly spiced & straight from the BBQ

Empanadillas - exquisite sweet pepper, tuna & egg pastries

Classic Spanish tortilla, with smoked paprika ketchup

Warm zucchini & carrot salad, cumin & garlic dressing 

Mograbiah couscous with broad beans, peas, mint & lemon 

------------------------

Pistachio meringues

Rosewater syrup strawberries

Classic vanilla ice cream

------------------------

Mint tea & pasteis de nata 

--------------------------

All for a suggested £25 per head donation

BYO, bring plenty, local off licenses a little limited

Address & time will be emailed to those booked a little nearer the date. Central location, about a mile from Temple Meads. 

Supper Club - book your place now!

Firstly a confession of the guilt I feel about the lack of blog posts in the last few weeks. The problem is I've been asked to write 2 more books very quickly to turn my first, STEW!,  into a series, and I've been trying to get another book commissioned as well. So wonderful news for me and not really a problem at all but there are only so many hours in the day. However, I can happily report that the chickens are well, the egg laying continues at a pace, and I am still testing and writing recipes for the blog. Just not finding time to write them. Sorry!

But, its just over a month to go until the first Egg a Day supper club, so consider this to be the official invite....... Saturday 25th June.

Menus are being planned as I type, but won't be finalised until a little nearer the time, as I'm hoping some veg will be ready from the garden. So far yellow zucchini, peas and broad beans are looking hopeful. What I can promise you is a seasonal eggs-travagansa on a vaguely Moorish theme.  I truly, truly hope it will be a balmy midsummers evening and you can dine in the courtyard under the stars. Bring a woolly jumper. If it rains my romantic notions will be dashed and I'll transfer proceedings indoors.

Places are limited, and on a first come first served basis, so send me an email (gen@genevievetaylor.co.uk) to book your slot, giving me a phone number to contact you on. To those of you who were very lovely and said you wanted to come when I first suggested the idea - can you also send me a quick message to let me know you haven't changed your mind!

Thank you, and I look forward to meeting loads of you on the 25th June!

Genevieve

x

Sat 25th June: An Egg a Day Supper Club

Yesterday I decided to go public with an idea that has been brewing in my mind for some time. I am going to hold a special midsummer night one-off Egg a Day supper club. Expecting one or two positive responses I posted on Twitter that I was thinking about it and was overwhelmed by the almost instant response. 10 people have demanded places already and the event is not for months.

So its now official - SATURDAY 25th JUNE - the first, and possibly only, Egg a Day supper.

I am so excited and spent half of last night awake and planning the menu in my mind. The supper will be held in my courtyard, within view of the chickens themselves, lit only with candles and moonlight, the brazier will be glowing to keep the chills away, the air will be heady with the scent of rose petals and incense. The food and atmosphere will be loosely north african. And eggs, there will be many eggs. I am thinking of crab ravioli with coriander & tomato dressing, shakshouka with merguez & baked eggs, flat bread with garlic & seeds, with cinnamon meringue & hazelnut ice cream, bitter chocolate & cardamon ice cream, orange flower water upside down cake.

There will be gorgeous food, delicious people and wine flowing freely. The rain will stay away. Definitely. I promise.

Do come.