Sculptor's supper club

It's been a while since I last blogged about my supper club and I've been a little naughty in neglecting to write about the last one I had. So here it is. Better late than never.

The last club I hosted was an age ago on the 15th December. It was slightly different to normal in that I was hosting a Christmas get together for a lovely bunch of people who are in a sculpture group together. This was the first night I'd hosted where everyone at the table knew each other and also the first where I didn't really know any of them. It was interesting to see the different effect this had on the whole dynamic of the evening. It was a slightly older group than I was used to and I was unsure how they would be with the whole 'paying to eat dinner in a stranger's house' scenario. Turns out they were totally great about it. They all arrived together and as they were all so comfortable with each other they settled right into my living room as if it was their own. I served them a nice warm glass of mulled wine and some canapes of crackers with olive tapenade, beetroot hummous  and goat's cheese to whet their appetites. This all seemed to go down well and I was able to leave them get on with their Christmas good cheer while I got the starters ready. 

For starter they had a beetroot and goat's cheese salad with honey and walnuts. Yes, more beetroot. I do like continuity. The main was a Nigel Slater recipe for braised lamb with leeks and haricot beans, which was very hearty and very tasty and I was delighted to dole out seconds. To finish off they had an apple and plum crumble followed by tea, coffee and biscotti.

I don't know if it was because the group were so at ease with each other and seemed instantly at ease with the whole evening, or if the menu lended itself to a laid back atmosphere but the evening was very relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable. I was pretty much able to leave them to it and sit back and enjoy the nice atmosphere they created. For their part I think they enjoyed the intimacy of the evening, the relaxed environment and hopefully some nice food.

I would definitely host a group in the future. So if anyone out there's interested please get in touch!