this weeks post is extremely late, i am very much aware of it’s lateness—and for that, i am truly sorry.
i told myself when i started this substack that i needed to stay on track with the specific day that it goes out (which is meant to be thursday mornings, at 8am sharp). little did i know, that work and life can crop up when you least expect it, and staying on track is way more difficult than it seems. suffice to say, this has been a very busy but exciting week.
regardless, i am so incredibly happy you are here and truly ecstatic that i am still able to to get this week’s post out, albeit a little late.
supper club secrets
i have been wanting to do some kind of british inspired supper club for so long now. not only because i feel that british food sometimes gets a bad wrap, but also because i feel as though my american audience have been asking me to do one for a while now.
one main point though, i wanted it to be inspired but not cheesy. like, i didn’t want the kitchyness of you know—the british flag or something like that. so i opted for vintage british postcards for the place settings.
and of course, i wanted to highlight some traditional british dishes, but you will see when i explain my menu—there are a few dishes in there that i wouldn’t say were specifically british, but were inspired by some of the amazing modern british cooking you can find in a lot of the restaurants in london at the moment.
the menu
at this this point in time, i think it is safe to say my potatoes are pretty famous now. it is my most made recipe from my website, most tagged recipe on instagram and collectively my most liked photo on instagram. i think one of my instagram photos of THE potatoes amassed almost 50k likes, or more! so, they had to be on the menu. no question. i simply served them with crème fraîche, caviar & chives.
next was a scotch egg! traditionally eaten at the pub, with a bit of mustard. perhaps a packet of crisps on the side and most certainly (for me anyway) a jar of pickled cockles too.
my sister and i would go to the pub with dad on a saturday afternoon on the way home from town. dad would always have one pint of cider (usually stowford press or something rough like a scrumpy that the pub had brewed—with no clear alcohol percentage, of course!) and my sister and i would look forward to our soda water with fresh lime, and a scotch egg.
essentially, it is a soft boiled egg wrapped in flavorful sausage, breaded and then shallow fried. the most perfect snack with a little swipe of mustard.
i made a meat version and a veggie version—which everyone seemed to love. especially my friend, ali! both were flavored with some crushed fennel and cumin seed.
next was a little pea & mint crostini—simple but tasty. i got some fresh peas from the farmers market as well as some gorgeous snap peas that are just coming into season. i heated them gently in some butter, a little fresh black pepper, then piled them high on a crostini, over a little swipe of ricotta. finished with sea salt and a few baby mint leaves.
next up, i knew i wanted to do a scallop. scallops are my absolute favorite thing to eat. and you can find some really gorgeous scallops in the uk—they were on a lot of menus when i was back home last year. so here was my thought process. the river cafe makes the most insanely beautiful garlic kale sauce, that is usually paired with their fresh rigatoni and it is one of the most simple, yet incredible bites of food—i think i have ever had. it also represents very much how i like to cook. uncomplicated, paired back—but delicious. i decided to pair the garlic kale sauce with a seared scallop, a little shower of parmesan and a smidge of lemon zest. it was probably my favorite dish of the night. just exquisite!
i then made two cottage pies. one was traditional, with beef. and the other was a morel mushroom and lentil cottage pie. the secret to a good cottage pie a good glug of worcestershire sauce. and of course a lovely, buttery, cheddar-cheesy mash. when heated, the meat sauce bubbles together with the cheesy mash and a charred crust forms around the edges as well as the top. my idea of comfort food heaven!
lastly, it wouldn’t be a ‘very british supper club’ without a sticky toffee pud. it’s the law.
but in all seriousness—STP is such a classic british dish. i would go as far as saying the british staple pudding (dessert). it is on most menus in some way, shape or form and for good reason. it is insatiable and utterly divine.
my husband was (and often is) my sous chef and it’s such a cute little thing we have going on. he genuinely loves to help. i think because he has such a different day job (he works in tech) and sits at a desk all day—he really enjoys helping to cook some of the food and we have so many laughs working together in this capacity. it’s funny—we seem to communicate really well in this kind of setting. you’d think it would be the opposite. he is the best person in the entire world. i am very lucky!
and i have to mention that i could never have pulled of this supper club without the help of my amazing friend kate. when she offered to help with the table setting, i was so appreciative and secretly overjoyed (as i mentioned above, i had been having the craziest, busiest week ever), and i just love having her around in general. to say that she went above and beyond is an understatement. she ended up (amongst many other things) printing all of the menus for me, doing the last bits of grocery shopping, setting the table, making the bud vases, serving all night (!!!) and just overall, being the best support system and friend—that i think a girl could ever have. again, i am very lucky.
all the guests were an absolute dream, and everyone left having exchanged numbers or instagram handles, which always fills me with so much joy. and truly is the purpose of these supper clubs—bringing strangers together over food.
this weeks recipe
this is my recipe for sticky toffee pudding! it’s always a winner—the cake is perfectly moist and bouncy. and the salted caramel sauce is (imo) truly what dreams are made of. i want salty with my sweet, and this is it.
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