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.
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.
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.
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.
A big thank you to all the gorgeous people who helped make it such a brilliant night.
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.
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.
Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen 