Month: October 2019

November Supper Club – 16 November, Menu and How to Book

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October’s Supper Club

Well the October Supper Club was a brilliant night (even if I say so myself). We had a lovely range of people from their 20s to their very young at heart 60s. The food was good, the craic was better, and there were a few people feeling a little delicate the next morning.

I’m not a fan of platitudes like strangers are friends you just haven’t met yet. But really, don’t you get fed up meeting the same people! However since it’s Northern Ireland (the largest small village in Europe) we still had two guests who had never met before, but were able to work out that their family members worked together!

Try something different, meet a couple of new people and have a slap up meal.

Amuse bouche at the last supper club.

If you haven’t been to a supper club before, the concept is simple. Everyone eats the same 3 course menu, (plus a couple of treats), at a communal table. We’ll greet you with a welcome drink and a roaring fire, and you’re welcome to bring you’re own beer or wine. (We’re more than happy to look after vegetarians/vegans, or people with food allergies, but please let us know on advance. This way we can make sure we have something delicious for you)

Menu – November Supper Club

Starter

Feta, pecan, and pomegranate salad

Main Course

Porchetta (crispy roast loin of pork, with apple and fennel stuffing ), roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables.

Dessert

Triple chocolate verrine, and shortbread

November Supper Club

Cost per person is £25

£25.00

Come along, kick back, eat some good food and meet some new people.

Ts & Cs Sorry but refunds can’t be made for cancellations made within 24 hours of the event.

Date and Walnut Wheaten Bread

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Tell me whats not to like about bread still warm from the oven, and smeared with butter.

One of my favourite places to visit in Northern Ireland is Newcastle Co. Down. There are lots of things to love, breathtaking scenery, amusement arcades, seaweed baths, a lovely promenade, and the world class Tollymore forest Park. I visited recently and tried to find a little bakery that used to sell the most amazing date and walnut wheaten bread. Sadly the shop is gone but the visit inspired me to come up with a version of it which isn’t half bad.

The perfect mix of sweet and savoury.

This bread is great just sliced and slavered in butter/jam. It’s also savoury enough to taste great when topped with cheese, or along side soup. You can also devide the bread mix into eight to make little wheaten rolls.

Ingredients

275 Grams Plain flour

200 Grams Wholemeal flour

175 Grams Dates (chopped)

75 Grams Walnuts (chopped)

50 Grams Butter (melted)

1 Egg

1 Tsp Baking soda

1/4 Tsp Salt

250ml Buttermilk (I didn’t have buttermilk, so you can improvise as I did. I used normal milk and added 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and left it to sit for 10 minutes)

Simple round loaf with a cross cut across the centre

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees
  2. Add the flours, walnuts, dates, salt and baking soda to a bowl and combine
  3. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add the egg, and melted butter. Add the milk a little at a time until you have quiet a moist dough.I like to use my hands to mix the ingredients, but you can also use a wooden spoon.
  4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, and shape into a circle, around 14-16cm in diameter
  5. Put the loaf onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut a cross across the loaf, about a third of the depth of the loaf
  6. Bake for 45 minutes, check the loaf is ready by tapping the bottom to makes it sounds hollow

October Supper Club

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Having dinner with a bunch of strangers can be a little intimidating. So on a mild October evening, a small group of brave souls took a chance on a night in with the Sunnyside Supper Club.

The fire lit and just waiting for people to arrive.

We had a fantatic mix of people. A couple, a pair or friends who wanted a night out that was a little different and some solo diners who were foodies and wanted to meet new people. In this group we had people who lived a couple of streets away, and two ladies that originally hailed from as far away as Trinidad and New York.

Fantastic beers from NORN IRON Brew Co. in Belfast.

We also had some local flavour with delicious beers that the lovely people at NORN IRON Brew Co. provided. I used their Temple Imperial Porter as the base of my beef dish, and almost had to stop people licking their plates.

A cheeky little amuse bouche of creamy pumpkin soup in espresso cups

I’ll admit I was nervous, would everyone turn up, would they like the food, and would everyone mix OK. I needn’t have worried. Everyone turned up, and they rolled home unable to eat another bite. Wine flowed, stories were shared and I actually laughed until I cried at one point.

The brave souls who decided to try the Sunnyside Supper Club.

A big thank you to all the gorgeous people who helped make it such a brilliant night.

Pear, walnut and blue cheese salad.

We started off with a welcome drink, and I experimented with Negroni’s, some people liked them for others it was a too alcoholic, so they went with prosecco or one of the range of beers that NORN IRON Brew Co. provided. After a little shot of soup served as an amuse bouche to get everyone’s appetite started, we had a light salad with pear, blue cheese and walnuts. The main event was braised beef, cooked long and slow in Porter and topped with cheese scone dumplings. I’ll be posting the recipe soon. I also had a vegetarian version made with mushrooms and walnuts in a red wine sauce. Some meat eaters also tried some this as a second helping and we’re impressed that it was proper veggie comfort food.

Braised Beef with cheese scone topping, creamy potatoes dauphinoise, and buttered kale.

I had planned to make an apple and blackberry galette, but it turns out I missed the local blackberry season by a week or two, so added cinnamon instead. I had both ice cream and custard on offer and most people had both. I’d never had both with a dessert before, but it definitely works.

Apple and cinnamon galette

Potato, Sausage, and Apple Skillet

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I love a quick dinner after a long day when standing cooking holds little appeal. If you can be organised enough to cook extra potatoes for dinner the day or two before this makes this even quicker.

My sort of comfort food

Nothing says comfort food to me like spuds. Crispy fried potatoes, meaty pork sausages and hot sweet apples makes a really dreamy combination. On a chilly Autumn evening this makes a perfect dinner, it’s also really good with fried egg on top.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500 Grams Cooked potatoes cut into chunks (I like to leave the skins on)

8 Pork sausages (cut into chunks)

2 Red onions (thinly sliced)

2 Dessert apples (cut into chunks)

2 Tbsps Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet or heavy frying pan
  2. Add the cut up sausages and onions, and stir occasionally until browned
  3. Remove from the pan and set to one side. Add the other tablespoon of oil to the pan and add the potatoes, cooking until brown
  4. Add the sausages, onions, and apple to the pan, cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and if you’re feeling really fancy you could sprinkle over some chopped herbs like parsley, or sage

Supper Club – Menu, and how to book

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Come and join us for great food, a good night’s craic, and every likelyhood of a slight hangover in the morning.

At the Supper Club you’ll eat at a communal table, and everyone enjoys the same 3 course set menu (we’re happy to cater for vegetarians). The cost is £25 per person, but you can bring your own wine or beer (should save you a fortune compared to restaurants). We’ll have the fire lit and will welcome you with a drink, and a few extra treats on the night.

Seaneen’s Sunnyside Supper Club

Supper Club, 19 October 2019

£25.00

Menu for the night will be as follows

Starter – Pear, Cashel Blue Cheese (we’ll have other cheese available if blue cheese isn’t your thing), and Walnut Salad.

Main Course – Braised Beef cooked in Belfast Stout with Cheddar Cheese Scone Dumplings (vegetarian option available) , Potatoes Dauphinoise, Buttered Greens.

Dessert – Apple and Blackberry Galette, and Custard.

Tea/coffee

The Supper Club will take place in Sunnyside Street, close to the Ormeau Road. We’ll kick things off about 7.30 for 8pm. You’ll be provided with the address when we have your booking.

Ts & Cs

No refund on cancellations made within 48 hours before the event.

Allergies, we cannot guarantee food will be free from nuts, or prepared in a nut free environment.