Dinner at the Manor- A Leeds Supper Club 2: Nigel Slater and Leeds Brewery Event

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One of the (many) reasons I love love LOVE Twitter is that I can sneak into events on last minute cancellations. That's how I managed to be back at the Manor on Saturday night. I'd like to take a moment to thank whoever it was that gave up their almost-as-hard-to-get-as-a-pink-diamond place. Me and my tummy thank you muchly.

As ever, Dan and Susie were excellent hosts, and their concept of menus derived from popular cookbooks then matched with drinks continues to be a winning formula. This time it was Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries with the food being matched to beers from Leeds Brewery, who produce some delightful brews, even enjoyed by just-occasional beer drinkers like me.

Our aperitif was a pint of Leeds' Best, although in my case it was a measly quarter-pint, because of my resentment at spending money on a taxi when I have a perfectly delightful Volvo C30 R-Design (AKA Jini's pride and joy that she is loathe to part from) to whizz around town in. The Leeds' Best is a smooth, well-balanced bitter, that went very well with the canapes which were served in the Library.

The canapes were a really good mix and so flavourful. There were homemade flatbreads with a rich taramasalata and a light baba ganoush decorated with pomegranate seeds. There were also teeny-tiny little pork and lemon polpettini- meatballs- that were really zingy. My favourite, however, was the risotto cakes with Yorkshire Blue Cheese. They were creamy, cheesy, unctuous and so totally moreish that I very nearly turned into a three-year-old to have a temper tantrum when the last one got eaten!

We were soon invited down to the table. I love Susie and Dan's style- vibrant, quirky and patriotic! We were welcomed with an amuse-bouche of spiced pumpkin soup with bacon, which was served in a little espresso cup. I almost stuck my tongue into the empty cup to lick it clean, and then remembered that I'm supposed to be respectable...

Our starters followed. There was a choice of baked onion with parmesan and cream or smoked mackerel on toast. I went with the latter and was not disappointed! The starter was served with a half-pint of Midnight Bell. I'd heard great things about this ale and I absolutely adored it! Dark, caramel, chocolate, coffee, toffee and liquorice combined into one amazing mild brew. It went so well with the starters. The toast was made from homemade bread rolls, which were made with Midnight Bell, and it held the smoked mackerel well. I especially loved the fresh salad made of rocket, parsley and fennel, which was dressed with lemon and rapeseed oil. It was so simple, but it cut through the richness of the mackerel perfectly.

There was a brief interlude before the main course came round, which was to be served with a bottle of Hellfire- Leeds Brewery's IPA (That's Indian Pale Ale, FYI). Dan and Susie kindly brought them round unopened so those of us driving/refusing to be parted from our own vehicles could take them home. Unfortunately I managed to leave mine behind at the end of the evening so I can't comment on Hellfire's apparent refreshing fruity tastes with a lasting pleasant bitterness, but I will next time I'm out for a drink!

The main course was either a chickpea and sweet potato curry or a spiced leg of lamb with chickpea mash. As delicious as the curry sounded, if lamb's on the menu, 9 times out of 10 some of it will get eaten by me. I wasn't disappointed by The Manor's offering. The lamb had been marinated in garlic, paprika, cumin and thyme, and then slow-roasted, leaving a lovely savoury coating, It was also beautifully tender, but the slices held together well. The chickpea mash was a revelation- so many times when I've had it in restaurants or tried to make it, it's ended up too claggy or too bitty. Susie told me that she and Dan cut some sweet potato into their chickpea mash, and mixed it with a little paprika= perfect! Definitely something I'm going to be trying! The dish was rounded off with some simple green beans tossed in cumin. Lovely.

A tangy and fresh clementine sorbet palate cleanser then came forth, after which I ended up sucking the spoon (it was that good!).

By this time I was feeling just a little full, but happily so, and when I saw that dessert was a chocolate pudding served with a 'Midnight Manor' cocktail (Midnight Bell, creme de cacao and Kahlua) I actually was more excited about the drink. Although it was yummy, I was WRONG. I should have known that it wouldn't just be a chocolate pudding, but a chocolate pudding of the highest order. The David Beckham/Lewis Hamilton/Insert-top-scrumptious sportsman-of-your-choice-here of chocolate puddings.

Hot dark chocolate untainted by flour, beautifully puffy and risen, yet melty, gooey and sticky inside. At the bottom, just when I thought the chocolate was going to overcome me, were tart raspberries, which cut through the chocolate and helped me finish the whole thing. At the same time was served a homemade vanilla ice-cream that wasn't too sweet either- the perfect foil for the chocolate pudding. I'm actually just getting tingles down my spine thinking of it!

See what I mean?

The meal was rounded off by Susie's beautiful mini-cupcakes, this time chocolate-orange, and coffees with their very cute mini milk bottles.

My return to The Manor was as fantastic as first time round. Suzie and Dan just go from strength to strength, and I cannot wait for visit number 3, whenever that may be. Thanks so much guys!

Dinner at the Manor

Homage to the Pig at The Crab Apple Tree

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I don't know about you, dear readers, but I bloody hate snow! I'm not the most sure-footed of people and every time it's snowy or icy I fear for my ability to stay upright, so I tend to stay home, eat soup and curse the weather.

So it was testament to how good the Crab Apple Tree supper club is, that I ventured out on Sunday night (albeit not far- it's held 300 yards from my flat) to return to this amazing culinary experience.

The Crab Apple Tree supper club is held around monthly in North Leeds and is run by Dave and Louise out of their bijoux apartment. Dave is a chef/baker at The Sunshine Bakery who make award winning cupcakes and brownies, and a delicious range of breads, pasties, sausage rolls and gourmet sandwiches. Dave also cooks for The Sunshine Bakery's supper club, which is delicious and very reasonably priced. Louise is an extremely talented food photographer (see her work here) and occasional waitress who runs front of house.

Having had such a great time when I went in October (pre-blog so no write-up I'm afraid) I decided to treat one of my best friends for his birthday to the Crab Apple Tree's 'Homage to the Pig' event and in doing so, have definitely created a new supper club fan!

We were greeted by Louise who welcomed us with freshly-made apple juice and an offer to chill our wine (although there was so much snow, we ended up just leaving it outside!). Pretty soon our table filled up with lovely people, some of whom had been to supper clubs before, some who were first-timers like my friend. The table was beautifully set- the decoration of the room having a fresh, natural, simple and homely feel to it. I particularly loved the small jars of bay leaves used as decoration (at least I think they were bay leaves!).

We were provided with these beautiful menus, each hand-made by Louise.

Louise and Dave brought round some canapes to start us off- beautiful sweet-and-salty Jamon Serrano, and Bury black pudding croquettes. The croquettes were wonderful- crispy on the outside but smooth and unctuous on the inside, meaty but not over-powering. They were served with a sort of hollandaise sauce but made with half butter, half chorizo fat instead of just butter. The strength of the flavour of the sauce meant that you only needed a tiny bit, but it was a great complement to the hot croquettes.

(Sorry that's a terrible photo of the croquettes, but the only one I came away with!)

After the delicious canapes came a starter of seabass fillet on green beans, served with a Brittany butter sauce and a king scallop (although mine was sans scallop as they make me hideously unwell). Here was my friend's plate (avec scallop).

Doesn't it look pretty? It tasted even better. The fish was so light, it almost melted in my mouth, and the sauce was beautifully rich and creamy, but offset by diced tomato within it. The beans made for a great texture contrast.

After the fish, our seafood interlude continued with a bit of a challenge. Oysters. It was quickly established that virtually the whole table were 'oyster virgins.' I'm a relatively recent convert to the delights of fish and seafood, and the thought of eating raw oyster hadn't particularly appealed. However one of the great things about supper clubs is trying new things, and after some hesitation, one by one, we tried it.

With a hefty squeeze of lemon, down it went, and actually it wasn't unpleasant. I tried not to chew it, to let it slip down my throat, but ended up having to nosh at it a couple of times. It was salty and slimy, and sea-foody for want of a better phrase. I can see their appeal, and although I won't be rushing out to buy plates of them, if I was in a position where I had to eat them, I now know they're nowt to be afraid of!

Evidence of me trying them- my empty shell!

After the oysters, we returned to porky goodness with Dave's piece de resistance- The Homage to the Pig plate.

And, oh wow, what a plate. There was pulled ham hock with mustard and shallot onion rings, braised pigs' cheeks in crumb with crackling, pork belly on celeriac puree with even more crackling, and  a mini chorizo sausage, served with potato rosti, apples, tenderstem broccoli (not shown) and a cider sauce. I got a bit full just looking at it, although that didn't stop me from nearly licking the plate at the end. I don't think I could pick a favourite bit of the dish- it was all so good!

Eating four different types of piggy really makes one feel like, well, a piggy! Still, when the food's that delectable, we weren't about to say no to more, however full we were feeling, especially when we knew this was coming...

Dessert was an orange and amaretto tartlet with coffee granita. The pastry was paper-thin, the custard of the tart was tangy with a silken texture. It wasn't too sweet, so the amaretti biscuit crumbs on top balanced it out. The coffee granita was also amazing- I could have quite happily had a bowl of that on its own!

Finally there was just a tiny bit of room in our tummies for some tea and Dave's fabulous homemade chocolates with brandy filling.

These too were super-smooth but after five courses of utter deliciousness I couldn't manage any more than two, and felt bad that there were loads left!

Dave and Louise are both incredibly talented people, and so warm and affable. They clearly understand how to marry flavours, textures and colours into stunning menus. The attention to detail is particularly impressive. The Crab Apple Tree is such a well presented and relaxed supper club- I would not be surprised if one day
in the future, Dave and Louise end up running a similarly-presented restaurant.

Sadly for us, but not for them, Dave and Louise are wrapping up their time in Leeds to go on a year-long Australian adventure. I'm sure the rest of the local supper club fans will be crossing their fingers, hoping that when they return to the UK, they come back to Leeds! I feel very lucky that I've been able to experience their skills and hospitality!

Good Luck Dave and Louise!

The Crab Apple Tree