The Elms, Suffolk

Appetiser: Braised Fennel, Cod and Dill Oil Lunch: Roast Leg of Lamb, Hasselback Potatoes, Cavallo Nero, Pan-Fried Garlic Brussel Sprouts Dessert: Apple, Ginger Pudding with Caramel Sauce, Stem & Crystalised Ginger Ice Cream Sunday Lunch with a nice visit from Alan & Sue.  We have been working on some of these dishes and so you will see that with different guests,  we serve the same or similar menu Leg of Lamb was from Swiss Farm, great value at £18 for a good sized leg.  Roasted in the Monolith, basted with Rosemary & Garlic Oil.  Served pink. Hasselback went perfectly again. I should thank Wendy & Chris for my 'Hasselback Cutter' which was my Christmas gift from 2019 Whilst there are other ways of cutting Hasselback this does make it very easy.  And you can Hasselback away Here is a link to the cutter.  but it is available on other sites It has taken quite a while to work out the best way to cook Hasselback potatoes... Add small slivers of...

 We are on the verge of another National Lockdown.  This will mean no entertaining indoors, all non-essential retail including restaurants and bars will be closed. A little dinner party for 6 on a Friday evening feels very grown-up. What an eventful evening.  Georgina & Ron  with their new puppy Max along with Carol & Simon without Rigsby their Schnauser who is a regular guest for Maggie.  What an eventful evening Appetiser: Cod with Dill Oil, Roasted Fennel The Appetiser was served without a problem.  This is a dish taken from Stephen Terry.  Fennel gently fried until browned and then oven roasted for 30 minutes, chopped dill added to good olive oil, and cod baked in the oven with just a little aromatics.  Our little twist is we season the cod with one of our flavoured salts Dinner: Reverse Sear Slow Roasted Rib of Beef, Hasselback Potatoes, Cavallo Nero, Cauliflower Cheese, Carrots Braised in Butter  Just as we were plating the main...

We had planned a larger (Covid-max) type celebration for and with Alan Hill for his 70th Birthday this weekend, with family and friends, but were restricted to the Rule of 6.  So this meant a Lunch party on Saturday, with Damien, Karen, ourselves and Sue We find that this type of menu is easier to serve during and socially distance.  It also means that the main ingredients can be cooked outside on the Monolith, even though there was a heavy downpour as I started to sear the Squid & Scallops.  Not an easy task whilst holding an umbrella!   This menu also allows for servings per couples, with vegetables in sets of serving bowls which reduces the amount of passing around the table as much as possible.  We are fortunate that we can fully extend our dining table for 6 people to be at a comfortable distance     Appetiser: Squid & Scallops, with 3 Salts (Chilli & Garlic, Citrus, Squid Ink), Baby Leaves Lunch: Slow Roasted Rib of Beef, Pomme D...

 Today was probably our last chance of a summer lunch in the garden.  The weather has now turned a lot wetter and cooler, and is forecast like this for the coming days. Apologies for posting this a little after the event, especially to our guests Andrew & Alison, Steve & Marion.   Appetiser: Seared Scallops and Squid, Chilli & Garlic Salt, Citrus Salt, Squid Ink Salt, Baby Leaves and Watermelon Radish We repeated the dish served the previous week previously as it seemed to go down so well. See here for the details of the salt . We found the watermelon radish in Waitrose, an interesting peppery taste and an addition of colour Amuse Bouche: Horseradish Beetroot, Porcini Duxelle and Fried 'Caviar' Maggie took me to Norwich for my birthday and we had dinner at Benedict's . The chef abd owner here is Richard Bainbridge and this dish is an attempted copy of his serving.  He served his with Exmoor Caviar, so we tried to achieve the saltiness that added with Deep...

The weather was perfect, 24c and a gentle breeze.  We can often have good weather in September, maybe because it is my birthday, and you know what they say about the righteous!  We were lucky to have Carol, Lynn, Sue & Paul for lunch today.  Whilst we always comply, as infection rates are increasing, we now have to live under the Rule of Six and any thoughts of larger gatherings are shelved, for now Nibbles: BBQ'd Squid with 3 salts (Steve & Marion Page 93!!) (see below for the full recipe) Appetiser: Seared Scallops, Lemon Mayo To make these salts (or variations of each) Citrus: Grated zest of half lemon, half grapefruit or lime or both mixed with 2 tablespoons of Maldon Sea Salt Chilli & Garlic: Finely chopped chilli pepper (seeds discarded and 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped Salt with squid ink : Shop bought! Other ideas are szechuan pepper, coriander seed, mustard seed etc etc Add each version to a pestle and mortar, or grind until fine, spread thinly on...

Tonight was a little different, and perhaps a new way we can socialise during these times. The story is that I heard on the radio, in July, an interview with Jack Savoretti when he announced a 'drive-in' concert in Newmarket.  He is one of Maggie's favourite singers and so I immediately booked tickets, thinking that this was a perfect solution for us.  Two days later the concert was cancelled as the organisers could not guarantee not to be locked down. Late last week I heard Jack Savoretti being interviewed again and heard an announcement that he was performing in Portofino for one night only, and live streaming the concert. I checked to see if our friends Andrew & Alison, Steve & Marion, and at the last minute our granddaughter Grace with Jordan could attend, weather permitting for a bring your own picnic concert in the garden.  The idea was to give a surprise to Maggie after the disappointment of the cancelled drive-in The arrangements were made, invitations sen...

We have been busy and not entertained so much, but also accepting a few invites to lunch and supper. Thank you. We have also taken advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.  Visiting Milsoms in Kesgrave.   Eating outside on the veranda with lovely views over the lawn.  Not being able to book a table I think helped and it was certainly busy each time we visited. But comfortable social distancing We did entertain this Bank Holiday, but not as planned and had to cancel our Fruits de mer because of the weather, but hoping to arrange again in the near future Jules, Nick, Clive & Aileen still visited over the Bank Holiday, although I forgot to take photos of the motley crew.  Mainly because I was enjoying the conversation and catch up after far too long.A Appetiser: Burrata with our own tomatoes Lunch: Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs, Moroccan Potatoes, Caponata, Braised and Grilled Fennel Dessert: Cherry Pavlova   Jules gave us a wonderful gift (along with the fl...

Appetiser: Burrata, Tomatoes, Garlic Bread Lunch: Taigliata di Manzo, Rucola e Parmigiana - Moroccan Potato Cakes, Warm Cauliflower Salad Dessert: Cherry Pavlova A busy week this  and so this is a belated post from last weekend. Apologies to our guests for the late posting Our visitors today were Kelvin & Jo, Terry & Trisha and Alan. A really good mix and a good giggle all afternoon.  On a recent trip to Swiss Farm butchers I saw they had T-Bone steaks at a good price (£15.99per kg).  These were put into a vacuum pack marinade overnight (bay/salt/balsamic) and cooked over white hot coals just before slicing and serving One of the topics of conversation during the afternoon, and I have no idea how we got to it, was the benefits of sunbathing your perineum. You can google that our try butthole sunning. I gave it a try and it just made me dizzy!!!

PUT YOUR POO IN THE POST  &  COP A FEEL What a lovely Sunday afternoon First visit from Damien & Karen since Karen's personal lockdown sometime ago.  And they bought their very cheeky little chappy with them 'Murphy' Before posting this I discussed whether I may add the post that Karen added to her Facebook and she kindly agreed, wanting to spread the message.  Many of our friends and family have gone through or indeed are still dealing with the disease. The message is simple, even now with Covid-19 in our midst, be aware of your body and make sure to take advantage of any health screening you may be offered This is a long post, but please do not skip this part and go straight to the details of lunch at the bottom Karen    -   It’s been a while since I’ve given everyone an update and this is because healing from the lung operation has been complicated due to an infection and also the results weren’t as I had hoped. During the operation the...

Linda has finally moved into her new house in Roydon, near Diss.  Which means visiting is much easier for her and Maggie We had another 'fish supper' in the garden with her and Betty Appetiser: Prawn Cocktail  - We have served this quite a lot recently, and it is amazing how well it goes down and nearly always with a comment 'I haven't had that for years!!!) Dinner: Cod in Beer Batter, Twice Cooked Chips, Mushy Peas

Today we had the pleasure of entertaining really dear friends. Paul, Sue & Carol. We have visited Paul & Sue in Shalford once during the lockdown, and also visited Carol in Aldeburgh.  Both for luncheon We were more than happy to return the favour and although it was a little breezy in the garden we ate on our decking area which is somewhat sheltered Sue, Paul & Carol  Appetiser: We had a little dinner earlier in the week with Simon and Carol, and Rigsby their miniature schnauzer, who is one of Hobo's little playmates.  We kept some of that dinner back to serve as a little hors d'oeuvres Ma'akouda Batata - Moroccan Street Potatoes.  Similar to a rosti or beignet.  Grated cooked potato, seasoned with onion, garlic, coriander, cumin and saffron, then fried till crispy Warm Moroccan Cauliflower with Pomegranate and Pine Nuts Luncheon: Hot Smoked Salmon.  Toasted Scallop, Fennel, Celery Salad with Warm Butter Lemon Dressing wit...

Sad news today, after 5 years of fighting various illnesses and problems, our dear friend Roy Cox passed away Roy was always a welcome guest at our house and our parties.  He even made it to Italy for our wedding Roy, you will be sorely missed Steve & Maggie