Diablo and Supper Join Us for Supper Club - North Star Deli, Chorlton

Food and wine, wine and food - always a great combination and even better when it's with friends. Last week's Join Us for Supper at the North Star Deli in Chorlton was a a great catch up with chef Deanna Thomas and a lovely bunch of usual blogging faces, plus the added bonus of some new ones thrown in too.

North Star Deli - with thanks to Foodographic.com

The premise of the night is usually; go to North Star and fill up on three courses of local, seasonal, well cooked scoff, have a chat and make some friends. However this was a Join Us for Supper with a difference - having teamed up with Caillero del Diablo wines, we spent the night having wines matched to our foods and being regaled by tall tales and wine facts alike by Hans Jocham Wadsack (or Joe), who is in fact THE nicest chap slash wine buff I have ever met.

Lots of wine!

Things kicked off to a bad start with trams being delayed and our travel plans awry, but upon walking in to North Star we were met with friendly faces and three glasses of wine each - that's a good enough start for any night; plus a rabbit empanada was thrust in each hand by the lovely Adam - which was crispy, salty and hit the spot.

Seared scallops arrived on a bed of puy lentils surrounded by a creamy champagne sauce - all light, bang on and perfectly seasoned and the sauce made a wonderful change from the umpteen usual scallop accompaniments that are turning up on menus everywhere right now ie. the bacons, peas and blackpuddings. We were given a chardonnay and a sauvingon blanc with our starter, both very good wines but the chardonnay (even though it was the cheaper wine) had the slight edge with it's deeper, more savoury flavours.

Scallops and champagne - high style dining

We chatted and drank some more - well I offloaded some wine on to the very pleased boy and the very accommodating Arty Tom and then out marched the mains - ruby red, soft venison sitting atop savoy cabbage and accompanied by a celeriac and venison cottage pie and finished with a red wine sauce. One big, red, meaty hit of pure unctuous meat to chase away the chills outside. This was all washed down with a glass of big, punchy and far too tannic shiraz (apparently it would have been much better with a steak, I might have even liked it then) and a beautiful carmenere; a native French variety with a lot of interesting history and some smooth berry and chocolate flavours, which set off the venison a treat.

Venison - photo makes it look awful, but it was very good

Full of wine I was happily buzzing along and welcomed pudding with that sweet toothed longing you get after more than half a bottle. A silky blood orange tart with Deanna's trademark thin, crispy pastry was a little too sweet for my liking. I'm all about tart fruit flavours and it would have been nice for the orange to shine through a little more, but it was a still a good pudding. Another wine was matched and this time we were given a syrupy pudding wine, just released in the UK and we were the first to try it (get us!) - all floral honeys and orange blossoms, akin to a muscat. Lovely, but drowned out a little by the super pudding.

Join Us for Supper was once again on top form, highlighting North Star's commitment to quality, local produce (Chorlton's Out of the Blue and WH Frosts supplied) and great cooking. Usually PR run nights are frightful shows of posturing and lovies air-kissing, but Casillero del Diablo and their PR company, Cube, seem to have got it right - probably helps with the addition of Joe Wadsack and the fact they piggy backed on one of the best supper clubs in Manchester.

Ps - North Star have now opened a new deli on Dale Street in Manchester, a great place to stop on your way to and from the station or get a decent bite to eat at lunch.

Food - 8/10
Atmosphere - 8/10 (bonus booze points)
Service - 8/10
Value for money - no score as this was a promotional event

Total - 24/30

Go again - yes, they're a friendly bunch at the deli and it's a pleasure to see them - and supper club is always a good place to meet new people.

Join Us for Supper, North Star Deli, 418 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, Manchester M21 0SD - Twitter - Facebook

http://www.northstardeli.com/

Please note - I was invited to this event for free, however all thoughts are my own. The usual price for Join Us for Supper is £25, tickets available from the deli/website.

Clandestine Cake Club @ Bean and Brush Cafe, Sale

Another month, another excuse to meet up with the lovely ladies of Manchester's clandestine cake club and another excuse to eat cake because "it's good to try other people's recipes in the aid of gastronomic research." Yeah...er...

Cakes - before sampling

This time we were hosted by the quirky Bean and Brush Art Cafe, set in the centre of Sale; it's a revelation in do-it-yourself arts and would be a brilliant place to take the kids. If I had any. Never fear as there is plenty of great coffee, food and beer action that also makes this a wonderful place for the adults to hang out too (and you can join in the arts too if you like!). Indeed their coffee is very good and the staff are very friendly. The menu looks good for a light bite or spot of lunch too - it's kid friendly enough without being overly patronising to the little people.

Bean and Brush Art Cafe - with thanks to Gumtree

This month's Clandestine Cake Club theme was Fruit and Veg and this gave me the opportunity to, not only stuff my face with some very unusual cakes (courgette, sweet potato, avocado and pumpkin all made an appearance); but to bake my very favourite cake; my fall guy, my stand in, my back up, the cake I know works every time and always tastes fab.

Courgette, Cinnamon and Walnut Cake

As I was once again accompanying the talented, but dietary restricted, Pin Ups in Pinnies; I was inspired to create another gluten and dairy free cake. Instead of inventing my own this time (see my last CCC post for an invented recipe); I stuck to something tried and tested and just tweaked it to suit my, or rather Alex's, requirements.

Alex of Pin Ups in Pinnies and my 'muse' for the cake

The cake in question is Nigel Slater's Beetroot Seed Cake, which runs along the traditional type lines of a carrot cake but so much lighter, fragrant and full of an earthy sweetness from the beetroots. It's never let me down and do you know what? Even with the gluten free tweaks the cake shone through and I felt it was generally appreciated by all who tasted it; plus the gluten free flour retained the brilliant, vivid purple of the beetroot that is usually lost when combined with 'normal' flour.

Wheat and dairy free Beetroot Seed Cake

Don't wait to have a glut of beetroots for this one, it's too good not to be baked straight away!

Beetroot Seed Cake - gluten and dairy free
Feeds: 8-10 slices
Prep: 20 min Bake: 55 min

225g gluten free self raising flour - I use Dove Farm's blend
1/2 tsp cinnamon
180ml light olive oil
225g light muscavado sugar/soft light brown sugar
3 eggs - separated
200g raw beetroot - grated coarsely
Juice of half a lemon (a big one)
100g mixed seeds (I used pumpkin and sunflower)

For the icing:
8 tbsp icing sugar
lemon juice or orange blossom water
poppy seeds

1. Set the oven to 180c/gas mark 4 and grease and line a 2ld loaf tin.

2. Beat the egg whites; be sure there's no oil/fat in the bowl or on the mixer. The idea with the gluten free cake is to get as much air in as possible, so start off on the lowest setting and work up. Beat to soft peaks. Set to one side.

3. I another bowl beat the sugar and the oil together.  Then introduce one lightly beaten egg yolk at a time. With both the sugar/oil and the eggs, work through your mixer speeds to combine as much air as possible. You need to spend a good five minutes working on this stage.

4. In a food processor coarsely grate the beetroot (or use the coarse side of a box grater), then add to the mixture with the lemon juice and the seeds. Fold in carefully, trying not to knock the air out. Don't worry, it will look mostly like beetroot and not much else right now.

5. Fold in the flour and cinnamon, again being careful.

6. Fold in the beaten whites with a metal spoon (so not to knock the air out) and the pour your quite wet and very pink mixture into the lined tin.

7. Pop in the oven for about 50-55 mins. After about 35 mins pop a tin foil cap on the cake so the top doesn't burn. It's ready when it springs back on being touched and a skewer comes out clean. As gluten free flour is slightly thirsty, be careful not to overcook.

8. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool in the tin.

9. When cool, make the icing; you'll need about 3tsp lemon juice/blossom water, but just add as you go, then add about 30g poppy seeds. You want the icing to be wet enough to drip down the sides of the cake.

Enjoy!

Ps You can add raisins as well if you like. Only use 50g of seeds and add in 50g of raisins.

Bean and Brush Art Cafe, The Old Sorting Office, 12 Hayfield Street, Sale, M33 7XW - 0161 973 2140 - michelle@beanandbrush.co.uk - Twitter

http://beanandbrush.co.uk/

Clandestine Cake Club - North Star Deli, Chorlton

Cake, cake, cake. What's better than cake? How about 22 cakes? How about 22 cakes and 25 people talking about cake. How about 22 cakes and 25 people talking about cakes AND you get to eat the cakes for FREE and take the leftover cake home with you?

Cakes galore!

Welcome to the world of the Clandestine Cake Club, a group of like-minded individuals that meets up at secret locations and chats cakes once a month.

As I'm a cake club newbie and consider myself an amateur cake baker at most, I roped in both Pin Ups in Pinnies founder Fanny Divine, and the ever delectable Welsh Wonder to accompany me to North Star Deli in Chorlton; the venue for this month's meeting of the Manchester branch of this erstwhile gathering.

There's no restriction to the type of cake you can bake, apart from that it has to be 'big' (no cupcakes, cookies etc) and that it adheres to the club's theme - this month's being British Summer. After deciding that a drizzle cake would only serve to remind people of yet another wash out, the inspiration for the bake was that other bastion of summer time; afternoon tea.

In preparation for the club, countless books were consulted but no recipes jumped out. As well as representing the British Summer theme the idea that the cake should be inclusive to people like Fanny Divine who is wheat and dairy intolerant, appealed. From this idea it was decided to create my own recipe. Dairy free was not the issue as I commonly replace butter with light olive oil when baking - however wheat free was a new horizon.

Much testing ensued to ensure the cake would taste of tea and rise; wheat free flour doesn’t rise as well and is sweeter, until the boy held up his hands and bid me never to bake another wheat free earl grey cake for him. EVER. Or face the consequences.

The day of Clandestine Cake Club arrived; the recipe was watertight, but disaster struck. After rigorous cake testing, the filling was just to be a simple layer of soya sour cream, therefore untested - don't buy this product, in sight and taste it is akin to white acrylic paint. After grating in some lemon to mask the cloying chemical taste, the natural oils ceased the sour cream to set and it melted out of the cake. On trying to remove the top to take out the filling, it cracked. Disaster.

If this doesn't scream summer then I don't know what does

However the lovely people of Clandestine Cake Club invited my cake with open arms and devoured it (or took it home). There was no snobbery, people seemed genuinely happy to see my slightly deformed cake and chatted away to me regarding the recipe and the inspiration to create something wheat and dairy free.

So whilst news that London was burning and the yobs of Manchester geared themselves for a night of looting; we sipped drinks and discussed the mojito cake, the fab lolly cake, a New Zealand yellow cake, someone’s courgette and chamomile creation and the amount of cakes with berries on. Sometimes all it takes is a bake to bring you together and remember to take time out of the day for others and yourselves.

Yum! (ps this was seconds!)

If you want to get in on some lovely cake action with some great people; please refer to the Clandestine Cake Club website, email Gwyneth or check out the VintageTs or ClandestineCake twitter. Don't despair if you don't live in Manchester; there's many a Clandestine Cake clubs across the UK - it's a cake baking phenomenon.

Ps - thanks to Danielle Ferguson Bespoke and Design Dressmaking for saving the day and giving me some white ribbon (for FREE) to hide the cake disaster that was the melting filling.


Earl Grey Cake (wheat and dairy free)
Makes 1 x 21 cm cake - I made two cakes and sandwiched them together

Ingredients
4 x earl grey teabags (you need quality, I used Twinings)
80ml boiling water
80ml light olive oil
3 large free range eggs
160g unrefined caster sugar
190g Doves Farm wheat free self raising flour
Pinch of salt

Six lemons
250g icing sugar
Soya margarine

1. Preheat the oven to 180c (fan) and grease (with oil) a 21cm springform cake tin

2. Separate the yolks and the white, placing in them in separate large bowls

3. Boil the kettle, add 80ml and one teabag to small bowl/mug and put to one side

4. Empty the contents of the other three teabags into a pestle and mortar, add a pinch of salt and grind to as small as possible

5. Whisk the whites until just before stiff peaks and put aside

6. Beat the eggs with a fork until just combined (literally a minute), then beat in the sugar in four separate amounts. Start with the motor running slow and as you add more sugar, work up the settings until on high (this incorporates as much as possible and air is integral to this cake). Should go pale and sticky.

7. Drizzle in the oil using the same technique as step 6.

8. Take out the teabag and squeeze as much out as you can. Add the ground up tea to the tea/water and mix in together. Beat into the eggs/sugar/oil using technique in step 6. Make sure all the tea leaves in the small bowl/mug end up in the big bowl.

9. Keep whisking for a few mins, you need as much air as possible in this cake.

10. Sieve in the flour and fold in carefully with a wooden spoon until incorporated.

11. Add 1/3 of the eggs and fold in with a metal spoon or spatula (wooden spoons knock out the air) until mixed in - repeat two more times until all mixed in carefully (don't leave massive bits of egg white as they look/taste weird in your cake)

12. Pour in to tin; the mixture will be a little more liquid than a usual cake batter, but not uber runny. Knock gently to release and big air bubbles and then pop in to oven.

13. Bake for roughly 30-35 mins until the top is golden, the cake springs back and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

Repeat all the steps above to make the second layer of the cake. Whilst they are cooling beat two big spoons of soya margarine with half of the icing sugar. Grate in the peel of three lemons and mix together until the right consistency (adding more icing sugar/marg as needed) and spread between the two layers. (This isn't what I put in my cake, but what I should have).

Make the icing by combing icing sugar and the juice of one lemon - make up the right consistency and then pour over the cake and leave to set.

Enjoy with a cup of Earl Grey with a slice of lemon in the dappled light of a tree, feeling the light summer breeze on your face. Or, more usual for Britain, in a warm kitchen imaging summer.

Wheat and dairy free Earl Grey Cake - with thanks to VintageTs for the photo



VintgeTs

Wednesday Night Supper Club - secret location, Manchester

On a designated Wednesday night once a month, a secretive group of gastronomes comes together at undisclosed destinations across Manchester city centre to cook for each other and score each other against strict criteria.

It was with great honour that I was asked to judge the annual WNC competition last week, where the three highest scoring members presented me with a course each; the menu kept under wraps up until I was seated at table and the dishes placed in front of me.

With trepidation I sat down to eat, marking each dish on taste, texture, presentation and overall composition. I can't say I relished the job surrounded by those who do this regularly. I was a tough job, but someone has to do it!

To start I was presented with dainty pancetta parcels on a bed of bitter leaves and balsamic syrup; one filled with a Parmesan, egg and asparagus mixture; the other with goats cheese and caramelised onions. Each filling was light and soft, almost souffle like - a great texture contrast with the crispy pancetta on the outside. The Parmesan parcel was richly flavoured, but not overpowering thanks to the lightness of the egg mixture. My only criticism would be the caramelised onions were lost under the goats cheese. However the dish was a well thought through bringing together of contrasting flavours and textures.

Starter - cheese and pancetta parcels

Mains followed a little while later - I was banned from the kitchen and the whole enterprise was shrouded in secrecy: a little hard when the bathroom was accessed through the kitchen!

What was served next was an homage to a wonderful cut of meat, especially ordered for the evening from Manchester Market. A succulent fillet, cooked to pink perfection, wrapped in crispy pastry - that classic dish of beef wellington. Whereas starters had been dainty I was now treated to a large slice, accompanied by al dente veg and garlic and chive mash (of which the garlic was slightly burnt unfortunately). This was a filling and satisfying dish, that smelt and tasted gorgeous.

WNC beef wellington

Though I was struggling to find room the pudding that followed was such a delight upon all senses that I was instantly hungry and had to slow myself to appreciate what I was desperatly hurrying into my mouth!

Pudding was a trio of summer berries; comprising a mini strawberry cheesecake, homemade raspberry ripple ice cream and warm berry compote - all garnished with the cook's homegrown strawberries; small, sweet and succulent.

Berry compote was multi-layered in flavour, a delish shot of soothing sugeriness. The cheesecake, which was slightly unset, allowed the fruit flavour to shine through and wasn't masked by an overpowering sweetness that can be found in many cheesecakes. By far the most amazing part of the dish was the homemade ice-cream. This was a cream based, rather than a custard based ice-cream, with a very sharp berry ripple, cutting the sweet fatty sugar like a lightening dash across the tongue.

WNC Trio of berry puddings

Supper clubs are springing up across the city and it is amazing the level of care, quality and attention to detail present in all of them. As Wednesday Night Supper Club is only made up of amateur cooks, I was surprised by the high level of cooking skill on display and found it hard to distinguish between the many merits of each dish. However, I'm a girl after Greg Wallace's heart, and in the end my vote fell on pudding - every aspect of the dish was well thought through, well presented and well executed.

After such an enjoyable evening of great company and great food, I'd like to point you in the direction of the Wednesday Night Supper Club; but I fear that disclosing this sensitive information may result in my imminent downfall. You'll just have to hope that one day their invite drops on to your doormat...

Join Us 4 Supper - North Star Deli, Chorlton

Last weekend I lost my virginity, that of the supper clubs that is and was lucky enough that my first one was a launch event for JoinUs4Supper at the North Star Deli in Chorlton.

North Star Deli - with thanks to the wonderful Christelle Vaillant, ace photographer and foodophile

The theme of the night was local food - as anyone will know I'm an avid supporter of local produce, local suppliers and few food miles, so this was right up my street. And the fact that I had won a ticket to attend was an added bonus (I never win anything so it really was an added bonus - tho somehow I ended up paying half for the the boy's ticket as well...not sure this is how winning usually works).

Arriving early we were greeted in the warmest manner by staff and other diners who had just arrived. The delightful aspect of a supper club is that once you're all in the door's closed, you're sat with people you may not know and you're all there for one thing - good food. I suppose the atmosphere is the same as in a liferaft, you talk to those you are unfamiliar with and weather the good times and the storms together. Thankfully there were no storms at North Star, unless you count the tsunamis of taste that assaulted by taste buds at every step!

Join Us 4 Supper Menu

North Star Deli is bright and fresh; white walls with clever signage, products on display and spaced apart tables. The feeling is welcoming and fresh; would sooth a hangover or perk you up on your commute to work (conveniently they are right next to the shiny new metro stop).

First course was a Mediterranean fish soup with rouille - the fish was supplied by local monger 'Out of the Blue' who are all about sustainability (soup included hake, pollock, clams and mussels) and spanking fresh, good quality produce. Support local and pay them a visit!

Soup-erb!

The fish soup was thick and tomatoey, really reduced and full of flavour. Thankfully sweet and not at all tinny (as some over reduced tomatoes can become). Packed with large lumps of fish this was as much as I'd usually eat for my dinner and it was only the first course. We were warned by chef Deanna that the rouille that accompanied the soup would blow us away (one chef wouldn't taste it as he had a date later!) and she sure was right. However the rouille was sweet and mellow without the harsh, metallic garlic twang that is characteristic of something under prepared.

Mains followed shortly with an introduction by local butcher Lee Frost; the boy was over the moon as not only was he sitting next to him (Northern men bonding over meat talk=good), but the lamb on the table had been slaughtered in Oldham. Lee knows his stuff and was really engaging, he explained the cuts of lamb being served, provenance (Cheshire) and other meaty facts. It was great to be able to meet the producer and heartwarming that North Star invite the suppliers and make them a central part of the evening.

Local butcher Lee Frost - man of meat

The lamb itself was cooked amazingly - well rested, meltingly tender, beautifully seasoned Dijonnaise crust and the quality of the meat shone through. The garlic and broad bean puree served alongside complimented expertly, singing with the sweet notes of the lamb.

Super succulent lamb

What was pudding? Well what else could it have been on a local food night? We were served magnificent slices of Manchester Tart with vimto sauce. The team had the foresight to lighten the serving and used an almost liquid creme anglaise rather than a set custard. This was cut through with the addition of the new season's sharp raspberries - yum!

All this was followed up by some of North Star Deli's famous coffee (rich and fruity) and THE best salted caramel macaroons - so squidgy and delicious! Luckily the boy didn't like his so I got two, bliss.

Maccaroons of doom - get some today!

North Star doesn't only do wonderful supper clubs featuring the best local produce and suppliers, they're also open from 8am everyday to sell you coffee, cake, teas, lovely food, smashing products and wonderful teapots. They're also right next to the new Chorlton metrolink, so all you townies can easily sample the delights.

I managed to grab a quick word with chef Deanna Thomas (who owns North Star with her brothers):

How come you set up the supper club?

We’ve become fascinated with social media and how the food world has embraced it. It’s been a perfect platform for the supper club movement based primarily in London but filtering outwards. Despite Manchester being the second city in terms of social media, we’ve been relatively slow on the uptake in this area. The Spice Club has been doing a wonderful one for a while now and there are monthly gourmet events such as Gastroclub, Guestrant at Elektrik and Gourmet night at the Mark Addy. Our deli can seat 30 people comfortably and is available for events in the evening so we thought we’d start a supper club with a different theme every month.

How did the supper club start?

I did a tester on St Patrick’s day in March and it worked really well. Lots of different people including food bloggers came to meet and chat and there was a really unique atmosphere you don’t get in restaurants.

Why did you choose local food as your first theme?

We feel very privileged in Chorlton, people here are really supportive of local independent businesses and smaller events. We love the way we were so welcomed back in 2003 by other local businesses and we wanted our first event to recognise this.

As well as coming from a long line of butchers, Frost is an expert in his field and a very funny man which made for a great evening. Sustainable fish is a hot issue at the moment and we wanted Dave from Out of the blue to come along and champion some of the lesser known fish and give us some advice on buying and cooking seasonally. Unfortunately he couldn't make it, but we're sure he'll be at one in the future!

And finally why is supper club important and what does it offer that other restaurants don't?

Supper club is one thing that can be done by independents rather than the big bully supermarkets.

North Star Deli's supper club runs every month so follow their blog/site/twitter/facebook to find out more.

Supper club tickets are priced at £25pp for three courses - if you book early you get petis fours and coffee thrown in too - bargain!

Food - 8/10
Atmosphere - 10/10
Service - 8/10
Value for money - 9/10

Total - 37/40

North Star Deli, 418 Wilbraham Road, Manchester M21 0SD - 0161 862 0133 - @JoinUs4Supper