Sunday Suppers

As I'm sitting listening to the rain on a very chilly Sunday evening it seems appropriate to share 'Sunday Suppers' with you. The most beautiful of blogs; gorgeous event inspiration and delectable menu ideas. Go on, waste away a minute or two... 

www.sunday-suppers.com

Here is their chocolate lavender tart: I'd tuck in. 

Cheyne Walk Brasserie

Last week, for one evening, we ate like kings.

Just a gentle amble from Chelsea Bridge and tucked behind leafy trees lies Cheyne Walk Brasserie. The building, whose formative years were spent as a Victorian pub, has been transformed into a chic Parisian restaurant marked from the outside by an oh-so-adorable coiffeured poodle swinging above the entrance. 

Cornflower blue banquette seating, a healthy dusting of chandeliers and fresh flowers create a stylish interior and set the tone for a stunning feast. Positioned in the center of the room, an open grill delivers both the sound and smell of your dish being lovingly crafted and creates a real sense of home cooking.

The menu, if rather exuberantly priced, is easy to navigate. Archetypal brasserie dishes range from fabulous cassoulette of snails with cream and garlic sauce to a more simple salad of green beans, pistachios and fresh mint. The provincial edge runs through to the main course where naturally the grill options play a large part of the choice. Carnivores will be satisfied by healthy chunks of meat that arrive at the table complete with charred rosemary burning like incense but the fish does not let the standard drop – whole native lobster with garlic butter sits with absolute grandeur on the plate, surely the king of any menu?

A predominantly French wine list provides fine wines by the glass or bottle and the well-informed staff, mostly French of course, are on hand to offer encouraging advice.

If you have a spare moment wonder upstairs to the Salon complete with sumptuously deep chaise longues, an open fire and a stunning view of the Thames. Feast on tartines, and baguettes during the day or as the light fades, enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail. If there is any room left, put the word to rights over a post-dinner cognac.  

IT's ElDerRfLoWeR SeAsOn!!

 

The last few days have smelled delicious. I'm transported back to life as a 13 year old living in the depths of rural Norfolk by seeing all the ripe elderflower trees; they hang over garden fences and accesorize roadsides without being snobbish about where they've set up home. 

We used to make cordial every year just when the elderflower heads look buttery in colour and smell like Summer weddings. I think the no cooking, little stirring and minimal ingredients all unite to make this a lazy girls favourite activity.

There is one thing. Don’t be put off by the citric acid, it as cheap as sugar and you can buy packs in trusted Boots chemist (or any pharmacy). 

By my calculations there is about four more weekends of possible drink making. Just one tip – pick the elderflower when the sun is shining; you can taste the rays. 

This is my recipe;

1.5 litres of boiling water

1 kilo of white granulated sugar

30 elderflower heads

2 lemons (the zest peeled into stips with a veg peeler and the remaining flesh sliced into rounds)

50g of citric acid

1/In a large vessel (saucepan or mixing bowl) pour the boiling water onto the sugar and stir. Leave to cool, stirring every now and then to dissolve the sugar.

2/When cool add the citric acid, the lemons and the elderflower heads.

3/ Leave become delicious for 48 hours

4/Strain through sterilised muslin or a washed j-cloth and pour into sterilised bottles

 

Sunshine Tomato

My friend Craig took this photograph - he found a romantic looking specimen nestled at the bottom of a Waitrose punet and did something clever with the light.  I like the idea of turning it into table mats or a tee shirt or a tiny baby grow! Watch this space... 

Sushi Etiquette

How times have changed. Egg & cress sandwiches have edged their way off the radar and been replaced by far sexier DIY sushi boxes complete with extending chopsticks and adorable bottles of soy.

Against contrary opinion raw fish served on miniature cold rice loaves have become a staple lunchtime purchase and the British have been educated enough to realise it’s raw for a reason; not because the grill wasn’t turned on. I for one am hooked and this Saturday saw me travelling further than the sad looking Boots Shapers range to the depths of Ealing Common to eat out a hidden sushi gem.

The windows of Atari-Ya were frosted and the sign above the door spoke of a dentist surgery but having trekked an hour there was little option but to walk on in. The welcome was significantly worse than one would expect from a dentist but the ruthless discipline was somehow refreshing in an ‘it must be all about the food kind of outlook’.

Not letting the words nigri, chirashi, and sashimi get the better of me I ordered a selection of their best.  My sister and I waited and watched the chief surgeon attack the fish with seamless efficiency and present meticulously carved sushi looking fit for a still life.

It was indeed good. Chunky and succulent and far meater than I had before but what was also interesting was the conversation we forced the waitress to have. After much nurturing she explained a few ground rules for eating sushi and it is these that I thought I’d pass on for potential date ammunition; perhaps it may allow each one of you to feel smug and frown at  your partner for their ignorable lack of knowledge -

• Ginger is meant to be a palate cleanser – It is not for adding to the sushi
• Eat sushi upside down so that you taste the fish first, the fish is more flavoursome than the rice
• There is no need to cut the sushi in half, the chef should have prepared bite sized chunks and they are meant to be eaten in one gulp. It was originally a street food eaten with fingers.  
• The classic sushi item is arguably the nigiri, which comes from a word meaning to squeeze and is the small squeezed cube of rice that the fish sits atop of. 
•  If you dip sushi in soy sauce, just dip the fish side not the rice thus preventing the rice acting as a sponge and you being faced with a loaf of solid soy. 

A little thought for a grey Wednesday

My maple baked oats with figs

MAPLE BAKED OATS WITH FIGS

Ideally, brunch suggests lazy mornings spent lazing in pyjamas with lazy food that doesn’t require too much tending. Here, you’ll find a cross between a warming porridge and a flapjack with beautiful figs and delicate tart apple running through the oats. Common to most brunches, syrup is an absolute must! A brunch without maple is like a Mountie without his hat.

Serves 6

Prep Time – 10 minutes

Cook Time – 35-40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

500ml semi skimmed milk

2 medium eggs

30g unsalted butter, melted

4 tbsp dark brown sugar

75ml maple syrup

4 -5 ripe figs, each cut into 8

1 large cooking apple, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

200g rolled oats

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 tsp all spice

pinch of salt

50g flaked almonds

DIRECTIONS

1/ Preheat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas 6.

2/ In a small bowl or jug gently whisk the milk, egg, yolk, melted butter, 2 tbsp sugar and maple syrup.

3/ Grease the bottom of a 1 litre dish and tumble half the figs, chunks of apple, oats, baking powder, all spice and salt into the dish. Give everything a good jumble around using your hands or a large spoon.

5/ Gently pour over the milk mixture and allow it to soak in for a few minutes.

6/ Sprinkle the remaining figs, flaked almonds and the remaining sugar onto the mixture.

7/ Bake for 35-40 minutes so the milk has become fully absorbed. Serve whilst still warm with yoghurt for a delicious brunch dish.