Book review: Friends at my table by Alice Hart

Friends at my table caught my attention as a cookery book with a difference, offering not only a variety of delicious recipes but a whole host of ‘whimsical’ ideas for entertaining groups of family and friends. With summer approaching, this seemed like the ideal book to give me some inspiration for friendly gatherings.

The recipe pages are lovely and follow the standard cookery book format: recipe and bold accompanying photograph of the dish. The recipes themselves are tempting and relatively fuss-free. One particular favourite was the Lemon and Rosemary tart – two flavours I would never have imagined putting together – but complimented each other perfectly. Her menu suggestions are thoughtful and creative and she bravely breaks with tradition: a beach picnic menu without any mention of sausage rolls was truly refreshing.  

The book is spilt into themed sections and each is interspersed with, what the author describes as, ‘whimsical’ ideas for entertaining: games, activities and ideas for themed events. This was a lovely touch and I particularly liked the cloud spotting feature and accompanying watercolour illustrations. 

My one gripe with the book is the images. Although the photography was beautiful, for a book with entertaining loved ones at its core some of the pictures often lacked atmosphere. In fact, in many of the sections dedicated to entertaining large groups there were no people in the photographs at all.

The book starts well with a beautiful ‘Vietnamese Bridal shower for 8’, which Hart states is merely a suggested theme for any kind of spring supper. The menu plan is creative and achievable and the accompanying photographs feature a group of young women eating together and enjoying themselves. It was all rather lovely and without doubt helped me easily imagine how I might organise something similar. 

However, as the book progresses there is a distinct lack of people in any of the pictures. One particular section titled ‘Beach Cricket Barbeque for 6’ had the potential to be really inspiring. All the recipes and games had been designed, as you would expect, for 6 people and the section provided guidance for how the whole family – even the dog - could get involved in beach cricket. Brilliant. However, the photographs in that section either featured the same two women on a deserted stony beach or a no people at all. It just felt a bit cold and lonely and was crying out for some beautiful shots of people having fun to really stimulate the imagination of the reader.  

Overall, I did enjoy Friends at my Table and there were many recipes that I will definitely return to. Hart has a warm and confident writing style and throughout the book reassures readers that cooking for large numbers of people is just a matter of keeping the menu simple, planning in advance and above all, having fun.

Oyster mushroom, dill and walnut tart

All photographs copyright © Heather Wilkinson 2012

I first discovered the Espresso Mushroom Company (EMC) via Twitter, and my interest was sparked when I heard they were growing mushrooms on used coffee grounds from local Brighton coffee shops. When I found out they were attending the Big Sussex Market I was keen to meet them and, of course, try some of their mushrooms.

I think it’s important to point out at this stage that this isn’t a sponsored post, and I bought the mushrooms myself. I see blogging as an opportunity to give a little helping hand to local independent producers whose business ethics I support and whose products I would naturally want to buy. After all, the more we can support local, the more access we’ll have to better choice of quality food.

So, on with the mushrooms. I’ve always been quite disappointed by oyster mushrooms; if they aren’t super-fresh they can either be a bit rubbery, or just limp and pathetic. Not so the ones from EMC! These were delicate little beauties and they actually smelt like mushrooms. That might be like stating the obvious, but supermarket produce is often devoid of any natural smell, and sadly, taste too.

This tart is really simple to make and is ideal served cold for lunch if you want a change from sandwiches. It’s also rather delicious fresh from the oven and served with lightly steamed seasonal vegetables. I decided to keep my ingredient list simple so as not to overwhelm the delicate flavour of the mushrooms, and I added walnuts to give the tart a bit more substance and variety of texture. Read on for the recipe.

Oyster mushroom, dill and walnut tart

For the pastry
250g plain flour
a pinch of salt
125g chilled unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
75ml cold milk

For the filling
2 large eggs, plus 2 extra egg yolks
200 ml double cream
200ml whole milk
sea and black pepper to season
125g oyster mushrooms roughly chopped
Handful of fresh dill, finely chopped
50g walnuts roughly chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
a knob of butter

This is a basic tart recipe that I’ve adapted from a recipe in the River Cottage Veg book, using a 25cm tart tin. Hugh’s tart recipes are always so deliciously creamy – the perfect way to compliment the mushrooms. You can find a recipe for the pastry here  and once you've made your pastry, simply add to the tart tin, blind bake and set aside while you make the filling. Here's how:

1.) For the filling, warm the butter in a frying pan and then add the mushrooms and crushed garlic. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the mushrooms have softened and darkened in colour.
2.) Add the dill and walnuts and continue to cook for another minute. Season well with salt and pepper.
3.) Pre-heat your oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4. Lightly beat the eggs, yolks, cream and milk.
4.) Spread your mushroom mixture evenly in the tart case and then pour the beaten egg and milk mixture over the tart filling.
5.) Bake the tart for about 35 minutes until golden all over.

While the city sleeps

In the centre of Brighton the streets are pretty much heaving all year round, particularly at this time of year when large groups of international students descend upon the city. Sometimes it's worth getting up really early for a peaceful stroll and a coffee before everyone else wakes up. Of course, it's also the best time for snapping up fresh local produce. This particular coffee stop was in the Pavilion Gardens, which is a popular lunch spot with tourists and people working in offices nearby - and you can't beat it for the view of the Royal Pavilion too.

Brighton Food Festival: Big Sussex Market

All photographs copyright © Heather Wilkinson 2012

April has been foodie heaven here in Brighton with loads to see, do, and more importantly, eat, all forming the twice-yearly Brighton Food Festival. Part of the festival was The Big Sussex Market: a two-day event held over the Easter weekend. I couldn't resist popping along to take a few photos and meet some of the local producers. I had intended just to buy some cheese but temptation (and my greedy tum) got the better of me, and I came away with several different types of cheese, Sussex hop and beer sausages (from Rushfields Farm Shop), beautiful oyster mushrooms (Espresso Mushroom Company) and some Cider to wash it all down with (Wobblegate Farm). And it's happening all over again in September - bring it on! 

1.) The most beautifully decorated cupcakes I've ever seen from Rachael's Kitchen, a mail order cupcake service from Worthing, West Sussex
2.) Award-Winning sausages and other goodies from Rushfields farm shop, Poynings, Brighton
3.) Scrummy cider and apple juice from Wobblegate, Bolney, West Sussex
4.) Cutress family cakes and bakes from Forfars bakery, Sussex
5.) Red Roaster, one of Brighton's independent coffee shops
6.) Sussex Charmer cheese from Bookham Fine Foods, Arlington, Sussex
7.) CanTina Brighton: local catering, events and supper club
8.) Oyster mushrooms grown on used coffee grounds from The Espresso Mushroom Company, Sussex