Suffolk Foodie Pop Up Supper

Saturday Jan 11th from 7pm

One Great Price - One Great Menu

£20.00 per person

Vegetable Minestrone with Pesto Focaccia

----------*----------

Braised Brisket of Beef in Red Wine
with Horseradish Dumplings

or

Celeriac, Leek & Lentil Hot Pot

Potatoes and Winter Root vegetables

----------*----------

Home made Bramley Apple Crumble with Custard & Cream

----------*----------

Limited number of tables so please book via

01638 551511  email or use the form below

suffolk foodie are food fanatics - suffolkfoodie.co.uk for more info

 Following the success of the pop up at the weekend we are pleased to say that we have been invited back by Pat and Paula at The Chequers to cook another supper on January 11th.  The same format; £20 per head. One great price. One great menu!

Now you would have thought that between a blogger, a photographer and several helpers on the night that we would have managed a gallery of pictures for you to see. But we didn't manage any photographs and the pub looked great.  The best we could do is a slice of lemon meringue pie, so here it is. It went down very well with even a request to wrap some up to eat later!

 Online booking via The Chequers website

Suffolk Foodie Popup Supper

 Saturday Dec 14th from 7pm

 One Great Price - One Great Menu

 £20.00 per person

 Roasted Parsnip and Red Pepper Soup

with Cheddar Muffins

----------*----------

 Slow cooked leg of Gressingham duck with sausage & haricot bean cassoulet

 or

 Herb stuffed portabello mushrooms with butternut & haricot bean cassoulet

 mash & savoy cabbage

----------*----------

 Home made Lemon Meringue Pie with fresh cream

----------*----------

The Gazeley Chequers is near Newmarket, just a short drive from the A14. It is a 400 year old public house in Gazeley that is being refurbished by the owners Pat and Paula.  It is a real ale pub, but also serves lager, wines, spirits and soft drinks.

 There are a limited number of tables for the pop up supper so booking is essential. All ingredients will be sourced locally and everything is homemade! The booking form is available on The Chequers website

This multi function and award winning community building has a cafe, with enthusiastic staff and lots of homemade cakes. They tried to persuade me to have a full English breakfast, but for the sake of my arteries I settled for a capuccino.

Go upstairs to find out about the Pulham Pigs.

Why have we been eating so many burgers? Suddenly everyone in Bury St Edmunds has burgers on the menu so we have been out to try some.

Benson Blakes were the first on the scene and are the established burger and cocktail bar in the town. They have won many awards ( deservedly so) for their offerings and we tried the Caprese (£7.85) a dirty great burger with sweet potato fries. Cocktails are damn good too.  Staff are very friendly and the atmosphere lively and fun, especially when a band is playing.

More sedate is Graze Kitchen and Bar, known for their small plate, informal dining and established in the town for high quality, mix and match plates. But now big plates have arrived and include a Graze burger, pickles and chips. (£9.) We drank a bottle of Chenin Blanc from South Africa which was very good and added some small plates to our late evening meal.  Service was slick, but annoyingly we were reminded throughout the meal that the kitchen closed at 10pm. 

Third up is The Picturehouse cinema in Hatter Street. They serve a build your own burger.  Choose a bun, a burger, a side and salad.(£8.80).  Note pads and pens are placed on the table for you to write, then place your order at the bar and the burger is delivered to the table. Service is cheerful but it gets a bit busy when a film is about to start, so allow plenty of time to eat first. 

• Benson Blakes
• Graze
• Picturehouse
•  

We like Bungay.  This pretty little town has some great independent shops and a market every Thursday.

It also has The Earsham Street Cafe.  We were too late for lunch, but liked the idea of the savoury afternoon tea with local Shipcord cheese and homemade carrot chutney.

• Bungay Florist
• The Earsham Street Cafe
•  

These savoury muffins are an all year round favourite. We like to experiment with different fillings and toppings, these are topped with pesto. Here is the link for our Feta and Peppadew Muffins. Have fun adapting the recipe!

A sliceable quince treat to serve with cheese.

I made this vat of chutney from the very last of my greenhouse green tomatoes and some delicious Bramley apples from my Dad's garden. I had no small jars so I'll leave it in this enormous jar to mature. This is my mother's recipe.

Look at this for a bonfire!  We cooked curry in our potjie pots, enough to feed 30 people

• Alice lights the fire
• Mulled wine and sparklers
• Curry cooking
•  

Goodbye cupcakes, biscuits are back.  The cupcake is on the decline and we think the next baking trend will be biscuits, not cookies, but good old butter based, crisp biscuits.  Bring on the bourbons!

Icecream is also on the up and together with the biscuit we guess the ice-cream sandwich could be the new dessert craze.

Tea will be trending, not just the current resurgence of the vintage cuppa but in cocktails and as iced teas.  Think rooibos, jasmine, hibiscus and green tea in your cocktails.  This is our Fresh Red with Mint.  Rooibis espresso, apple juice, mint and squeeze of lemon.

Vermouth has been neglected despite being an essential component of the current trend of cocktail making. It is a great aperitif in its own right and you will see the real vermouth action in Spain where it is poured straight from the barrel to the glass.  Look out for this Italian vermouth bianco made by chemist Mauro Vergano.  It is made from a base of Cortese and Moscato grapes, steeped in citrus and herbs.  Subtle aromas of orange blossom over a base of herbs. Delicious! Justin and Jurga Sharpe have it on the menu at Pea Porridge restaurant in Bury St Edmundsl

If 2013 was the year of Quinoa then 2014 will be the year of Buckwheat. Usually referred to as a cereal grain, buckwheat is a superfood and actually a type of fruit. A relative of the rhubarb plant, buckwheat has a mild nutty flavour and a slightly softer texture than other grains. Well known uses for buckwheat are the flour (great for pancakes), soba noodles and kasha. Kasha are the whole buckwheat kernel; you can find them roasted or unroasted at most health food stores. The buckwheat plant's flowers are also used to make a dark, rich honey. Originally from China, the main producer today is Japan, where people eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve as a symbol of longevity. Buckwheat is high in magnesium, good for healthy muscles. One cup of soba noodles has about half the calories of a cup of regular pasta. Buckwheat also contains the antioxidant rutin, known to help lower cholesterol and strengthen small blood vessels. Buckwheat is also a gluten-free food, which makes it a perfect substitute for those who have trouble digesting wheat. The fascination with Asian food will also continue into 2014 with rice playing a big part in the return of the carbs.

 Will goat be the new kid in town? We think so.  With the increase in goat dairy produce it only makes sense to eat the goat meat itself. A staple in the Caribbean with curried goat being a Suffolkfoodie favourite, we always have some goat meat in the deep freeze. Kid goat is actually very versatile and has a great subtle flavour. Slow roast shoulder or leg grilled over a charcoal fire served Greek style with lemon and herbs, yum

Home brewing could prove to be popular next year  How about a Great British Brew Off?  Not beer or wine, but VINEGAR.  Yes, you heard it. Vinegar is easy to make and we will be starting a brew soon here at Suffolkfoodie HQ.  Many years ago a friend with a wine shop kept a barrel for the bottle ends and left overs and brewed wonderful vinegar.  We fancy this hand thrown vinaigrier. Drinking vinegars, or shrubs as they were known in the 17th Century are becoming trendy and light vinegar chasers ( yuk?) and savoury cocktails are going to trend soon.  Chicken Tikka Martini anyone?

Clucking good chicken restaurants have been appearing throughout 2013 and they will continue to develop out of London. Chicken is still an economical meat and we have also been predicting eggs as a trend for the past year. Scotch eggs are back on the bars in many guises.  How about devilled and curried eggs next? New cuts of meat will appear. In 2013 we saw a move towards the American cuts such as the flat iron steak (shoulder blade, known as Butler's Steak in good old Blighty.)  Expect the Pork Porterhouse and Ribeye Chops.  Out with the lamb shank and in with the lamb short ribs and lamb brisket. Pictured is The Tramshed chicken. 

Finally, the last prediction is Wine Bars...  Wine bars that really know about the wine and are happy to share their knowledge. Wine bars that are cosy and unpretenious and don't make you feel that you need to swirl, sniff and spit to enjoy a good glass of wine.  Our favourite in London is Sager and Wilde.  Looking for one in East Anglia please?

It's fish pie weather. Cod, salmon and smoked haddock yum!