Matt & Gaz finally get it together in March

_What should have been the last gathering for 2008 finally happened in early March this year,  in Penylan. I'm happy to shoulder the blame for this one, if it hadn't been for my own detainment and the NHS's pleasure around Christmas and then other family health issues we would have been done and dusted ages ago! 

Anyway, we finally did get on top of things and decided to push it a little harder. Italy was the influence this time, a lot of research and ideas from the likes of Mr Locatelli, Silver Spoon etc. and we rustled up a four courser that we think tickled everyone's taste buds. We started with a small, fresh, delicious plate of pasta - hand made of course, infused with garlic and topped with mint, capers, cherry toms and beans, just enough to get the buds going for a second starter. Matthew Fort influenced this one with a rustic recipe he had presented in The Guardian a few years back - chicken and pistachio wrapped in prociutto and then baked in the oven as a sausage. We added to this a pistachio pesto, a thyme infused creme fraiche and a grilled shard of  prociutto for some crunch. Mains was monkfish, simply pan fried and served up on braised swiss chard with an agrodolce sauce, caper berries and a rocket salad. Nice. Desert was probably the most challenging, on paper it all sounded very unappealing but to eat, wow! Basil sorbet was served up on a salted shortbread biscuit held in place by caramel cream. All this sat in a pool of clear, sweet tomato soup with diced balsamic jelly and garnished with deep fried and sugared basil leaves. I have to admit to completely overdoing the basil in the sorbet which gave it a bit more of a kick than intended but what the hell!

We pushed the boat out this time again and loved every minuet of it, it's always a pleasure cooking with the very talented and very knowledgeable Mr Lawton.  The 2009 season is ready to kick off next with Mr Johnson and Mr Duffy. Can't wait. Watch this space...

June club night at Mr Johnson's in Canton

_What with summer holidays and all it's unusual for us all to be able to get together around the same table at this time of year, but we managed it and what a splendid time we had. Steve and Nick were in charge again producing four dishes that gave them the chance to experiment and try new things and the remaining four of us to joyfully act as guinea pigs.

Our starter was a delightful Broad Bean, Sage and Pancetta Risotto, creamy and flavoursome and just enough to tickle the taste buds before a second dish consisting of perfectly seared Salmon with Blanched Ginger, Rhubarb Wafers and a subtle Vermouth Velouté. The main course was something of a revelation, Mr Johnson served up a Celeriac Lasagne with Braised Shin Beef and Snails. Having sourced the snails from L'Escargot Anglais in Herefordshire he braised them for hours with liquorish root to produce these fantastic little meaty mouthfulls. All of this held together with Wild Garlic and a Roasted Garlic Foam. Desert was an amazing Pistachio and Olive Oil Cake with Roasted Strawberries and a Cottage Cheese Mousse. Well done chaps, another fine example of how these evenings are pushing us all a little harder to try new things – not only to cook but to eat as well.

What a bunch of ponces we are!

Club night chez Gaz in Penylan, May '08

_After a glitch or two (namely my crumbling old back!), we finally got together at Gaz's on the 19th May, myself and the talented Mr Lawton putting together four courses with a Welsh theme. About time, given that we are three years into these gatherings and with the exception of Nick are all Taffs!

We started by challenging a couple of palates with a Tartar of Black Mountain fillet with a Rocket Pesto, Horseradish Cream and a Melba Toast for a little bit of crunch. It was melt in the mouth stuff to say the least and introduced two of the boys to something that they had never contemplated. The second course consisted of a Pembrokeshire Crab Salad with a Coriander and Lime sauce topped with an ice disk again containing  coriander and lime, a great palate cleanser! The main event was altogether more rustic. A rack of Salt Marsh Lamb with a Lamb and Potato 'Boulangere', Seasonal Veg and a Caper Jus. Gaz cooked the lamb to absolute perfection, delicious! A quick lemon and lime Colonel cleared the way for pudding which continued the theme for the night – a Welsh Whisky Mac Baba with Yoghurt and Honey Ice Cream, toasted Bara Brith and Fudge. Not bad for a Monday night!

It goes without saying that everything was prepared from scratch. Not a jar of Hellman's or a stock cube in sight...

Club night at Neils in Newport, March '08

_The lovely Neil and Chris kicked off March in Newport with a stunning three courser. We started with scallops served on black pudding a l'orange with a tarragon butter sauce. The main course consisted of the most amazing slow cooked fillet of Welsh beef (it melted on the tongue like butter!) served with seasonal vegetables in a horseradish emulsion, rounding the dish off with chicken and shallot tortellini, onion ice cream and a shallot purée. Desert was a maple syrup and pecan rice pudding with salted caramalised pecans, lime ice cream with a lime tuile.

Highlights from 2006_07

_One of the great highlights for 2007 was a visit by Massimo Bishop-Scotti, award winning Italian Pâtissier. Massimo has worked in Michelin starred restaurants and five star hotels including the Savoy Group, The Intercontinental and famously under a certain Mr Ramsey at The Aubergine. He now runs his own business near Newport where he produces beautiful contemporary patisserie but also designs deserts and cakes for M&S. We were well chuffed when he joined us in April 2007 for dinner. In exchange for consommé, jambon persillé and rabbit with pappardelle, Massimo demonstrated how to spin sugar, produced a fantastic tarte tatin (on the spot of course!) and left us with a very fine selection of his deserts. Not a bad swap me thinks! Go and take a look at his web site listed above for further inspiration...