I've been pretty relaxed over the last couple of posts- a soup here, a muffin there, all lots of fun but sometimes you just want to push the boat out. Last week the urge to really get stuck into my kitchen just took me over, twinned with a peek at the most gorgeous loin of Gloucester Old Spot pork in Source. Rare breed a day off coming up could only mean one thing: friends for dinner.
A lot of people I know remember 'dinner parties' as the sort of thing their parents used to face with traditional British phlegm, sipping their beaujolais nouveau through gritted teeth, wondering if these social animals at their table were worth tomorrow's washing up. I was lucky, living in student houses with the likes of La Journalista, a true food nut who just wanted to sit friends down at her table and give them something nice to eat while they kept her glass topped up. I loved those evenings, so much so that I never minded the mountain of dishes, pots and pans I tried to sidestep for the next morning's coffee.
It can be a bit of an art, having people over. My only rule is, they must be people you like. You know, the funny ones, better still the ones who find you funny, who talk, listen and keep pouring. For this evening Card House Theatre and Pretty Little Miss were the guests of myself and The Blonde, though not after the former had mussed up his shirt helping to carry a writing desk up three flights of stairs. Kudos.
It was yet another cold, January day, so there was no better way to spend my precious friday off than huddled over a stove. Dinner was set for 7.30-8.00, I had set my menu but not picked up any ingredients or done any cooking when I woke up in Cotham. Here's the timeline of a very informal dinner party, if not incident free then surprisingly relaxed.
Starter/ nibbles: home baked focaccia with oil and vinegar and a little mortadella.
10:00 am: finally leave the flat and head to Source to pick up the pre-ordered pork (okay I did order that in advance, on Twitter as it happens) and the butcher Joe and I discussed what to do with how much of it. Well he suggested things and I decided to agree with the pro. That was the right decision- he did a beutiful french trim on the ribs and showed me how to slice off the bone at the base of the cut. Headed home via picking up ingredients for cauliflower cheese and madeleines. It wasn't till later in the afternoon I realised I forgot cabbage. Never fear, roommate supreme turned up with one after work.
12:00 Arrive home, prep pork and leave in the fridge, covered. Had a quick lunch. Well I couldn't see a way to eating before dinner. Anyway it's my day off, I'll do as I please.
12:30 made the focaccia dough and set it aside to double in size while I made the madeleines. They went so well I made another batch today, and I still love them as much as last week.
14:00 stretched the dough to a roasting tin, left to prove for another 20 or so minutes to rise slightly. Washed up the madeleine debris, then baked the bread, 30 minutes in a medium warm oven. I realised I had also forgotten any herbs for the bread, which might have made it a little prettier, so I decided that if anyone asked I would bluff its Italian authenticity.
14:30 while the bread was baking I made the cauliflower cheese. Unlike the recipe I made a roux, then added the milk slowly, the way everyone does. The cheese was Keens cheddar, from Trethowans Dairy. I let both the cauliflower and the sauce cool separately, then poured both into an oven dish, covered with foil and put in the fridge until ready to bake.
15:00- 17:00 shower, tidy, dress, change mind, change clothes, sit down (very important day off activity, sitting down) until The Blonde shows up with cabbage and news of her day. Shred cabbage, set aside for sauteeing later. Pre heat the oven for the Pork.
17:30 put pork in the oven with cider and shallots using Mike Robinson's recipe. This turns out to be a bit early but not the end of the world. Make the base for the sauce in the recipe, then leave to one side when sufficiently reduced.
18:15 turn up oven, put on make up. Have first glass of wine and put out bread and mortadella.
19:00 out comes pork. Shallots are charcoal but meat is perfection itself, with gorgeous crackling. Leave it to rest, covered.
19:30 take cauliflower cheese from fridge, sprinkle with extra Keens and breadcrumbs, put in the oven.
19:45 arrival of guests. Finish the cider sauce with meat juices. Carve meat and saute cabbage, adding oyster sauce to finish, while writing desk is admired, somewhat breathlessly.
8:00 out comes cauliflower cheese, table is laid and dinner commences.
9:00 (I think) the lovely Green&Blacks chocolate brought by the even lovelier Pretty Little Miss melted in the microwave and served with the madeleines and mint tea.
Looking at the timeline it seems like I did a lot but really there were lots of pauses, mainly in order to do important things like sitting down, checking Twitter and drinking wine. The point is, it is possible to bake three times (if you count cauliflower cheese) and roast once in one day.
Main: roast pork loin on the bone, with cauliflower cheese and white cabbage sauteed in oyster sauce.
Dessert: madeleines dipped in melted chocolate served with mint tea.
10:00 am: finally leave the flat and head to Source to pick up the pre-ordered pork (okay I did order that in advance, on Twitter as it happens) and the butcher Joe and I discussed what to do with how much of it. Well he suggested things and I decided to agree with the pro. That was the right decision- he did a beutiful french trim on the ribs and showed me how to slice off the bone at the base of the cut. Headed home via picking up ingredients for cauliflower cheese and madeleines. It wasn't till later in the afternoon I realised I forgot cabbage. Never fear, roommate supreme turned up with one after work.
12:00 Arrive home, prep pork and leave in the fridge, covered. Had a quick lunch. Well I couldn't see a way to eating before dinner. Anyway it's my day off, I'll do as I please.
12:30 made the focaccia dough and set it aside to double in size while I made the madeleines. They went so well I made another batch today, and I still love them as much as last week.
14:00 stretched the dough to a roasting tin, left to prove for another 20 or so minutes to rise slightly. Washed up the madeleine debris, then baked the bread, 30 minutes in a medium warm oven. I realised I had also forgotten any herbs for the bread, which might have made it a little prettier, so I decided that if anyone asked I would bluff its Italian authenticity.
14:30 while the bread was baking I made the cauliflower cheese. Unlike the recipe I made a roux, then added the milk slowly, the way everyone does. The cheese was Keens cheddar, from Trethowans Dairy. I let both the cauliflower and the sauce cool separately, then poured both into an oven dish, covered with foil and put in the fridge until ready to bake.
15:00- 17:00 shower, tidy, dress, change mind, change clothes, sit down (very important day off activity, sitting down) until The Blonde shows up with cabbage and news of her day. Shred cabbage, set aside for sauteeing later. Pre heat the oven for the Pork.
17:30 put pork in the oven with cider and shallots using Mike Robinson's recipe. This turns out to be a bit early but not the end of the world. Make the base for the sauce in the recipe, then leave to one side when sufficiently reduced.
18:15 turn up oven, put on make up. Have first glass of wine and put out bread and mortadella.
19:00 out comes pork. Shallots are charcoal but meat is perfection itself, with gorgeous crackling. Leave it to rest, covered.
19:30 take cauliflower cheese from fridge, sprinkle with extra Keens and breadcrumbs, put in the oven.
19:45 arrival of guests. Finish the cider sauce with meat juices. Carve meat and saute cabbage, adding oyster sauce to finish, while writing desk is admired, somewhat breathlessly.
8:00 out comes cauliflower cheese, table is laid and dinner commences.
9:00 (I think) the lovely Green&Blacks chocolate brought by the even lovelier Pretty Little Miss melted in the microwave and served with the madeleines and mint tea.
Looking at the timeline it seems like I did a lot but really there were lots of pauses, mainly in order to do important things like sitting down, checking Twitter and drinking wine. The point is, it is possible to bake three times (if you count cauliflower cheese) and roast once in one day.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but then again I would, and my glass just kept filling up with wine after my guests arrive. They were my kind of guests. They are more than welcome to feed me whenever they like.
