• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Hello Upstairs!

December 14, 2009 9 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized

Sherry night at The Underground Restaurant.
I devised the menu around the sherries, starting from dry, moving gradually sweeter. I used only to like sweet sherries like Pedro Ximenez (PX if you want to sound knowledgeable) but working with them so intensively the last couple of weeks, I’ve become a fan of dry sherry too.
The Menu:
Rebujito
Tio Pepe fino sherry with 7up, ice and a wedge of lime (refreshing especially with salty tapas).
Boquerones
Olives stuffed with anchovies
Fried padron peppers with Malden salt
Pan con tomate y ajo (toasted bread rubbed with garlic, topped with chopped tomato, olive oil)
A shot glass of gazpacho soup (cold tomato, bread and sherry vinegar soup)
Apostoles
Roasted sardines with fresh mint and lemon
Red onion confit, fennel confit
Game chips or fresh made chips.
Orange and black olive salad
Matusalem
A Spanish cheese board:
Tetilla ( a breast shaped milk cheese); a rosemary hard goat cheese; Manchego; Cabrales (a piquante blue cheese)
Quince
Kilburn honeycomb
Almonds
Olive oil and aniseed biscuits, oatcakes
Pedro Ximenez
Two turron icecream
Liquorice and chocolate jelly
Blueberries
Coffee
Andrew Sinclair from Gonzales Byass seemed a little shocked to be bossed around so much by MsMarmite, but hopefully he enjoyed the experience (next time bring a gimp mask). Certainly the guests appreciated his explanations of how to enjoy sherry…from the kitchen I could hear laughter. He did seem unprepared by the quirks of a home restaurant

“Where are the sherry glasses?”

he said looking askance at the collection of mismatched glasses of varying sizes (hell I’ve used candle holders in the past when pushed). Continuing with the theme of organised chaos, one set of larger blokes could not fit on a bench meant for three, meaning a garden chair was brought in and, lacking a cushion, a resourceful waitress (Bziffa!) used my pillow so that the guest did not literally freeze his arse off. I only discovered this when I went to bed and went looking for my missing pillow, finding it on the chair, bum-shaped dent still intact.

The ironing board was also brought into play when plating up space ran out. You have to be inventive in this game.

Your hostess threw on a little something she found in the closet…a flamenco dress matched with a Cath Kidston apron and an enormous red flower for my hair; I was a domestic vision in polka dots.
A guest came to visit me in the kitchen and confessed she was a friend of my upstairs neighbour. Who I have never met or seen. My other neighbours are very supportive of The Underground Restaurant and I always check if it’s too noisy or difficult in any way. This last neighbour is new and I was a little worried.
Turns out she reads my blog! She thoroughly enjoyed the firework display in my back garden on Guy Fawkes night(1). It’s all rather Lives of Others or Rear Window isn’t it? How very modern and alienated!
I confessed to her friend that I stole the neighbour’s copy of Vogue. It comes in the same wrapper as Vanity Fair, which I subscribe to, and one morning, no doubt bleary-eyed, I must have opened it by mistake.
I was disappointed, thinking that they’d sent me the wrong magazine but later saw a card from Vogue sent to the new and mysterious upstairs neighbour. Anyway, dear neighbour, I still have your copy of Vogue, albeit with slightly sticky pages, you can come down and get it any time… it would be lovely to finally meet you!
Recipes:

Padron peppers:
  • fry in a little olive oil till lightly browned then sprinkle with salt. One in ten is very hot…
Pan con tomate y ajo: the Spanish equivalent of bruschetta,
  • you toast the bread,
  • rub it with a clove of garlic then
  • add some chopped ripe tomatoes
  • with a little coriander, salt and lemon.
  • I also add a dribble of olive oil.
Gazpacho: not very seasonal but still yummy.
  • Mash up a couple of cloves of garlic, two red onions, a bunch of tomatoes, a green pepper finely in the food processor
  • Add a slice or two of stale white bread.
  • Season with a good sherry vinegar, salt and olive oil.
  • Strain through a sieve.
  • Chill
  • Check seasoning before serving.
  • Served on this occasion in shot glasses.
Sardines and confit:
  • Clean sardines, sprinkle with torn up fresh mint and good salt.
  • Cook in roasting oven of Aga or if you have a grill, put them under until skin looks crackly
  • Red onion confit: julienne(slice finely in strips) red onion finely
  • Season with garlic, lemon juice, salt, balsamic vinegar, butter AND olive oil
  • You can also add pink peppercorns or pickled peppercorns
  • Cook slowly on a low heat for several hours making sure they don’t dry out. In the Aga you can leave them in the simmering oven covered with tin foil for 4-5 hours.
  • Fennel confit: julienne finely enough fennel bulbs for your guests (one between 3?)
  • Chop off the ends of several lemons, add them and squeeze on the juice
  • Add large chunks of butter (half a pack) and cover with oil
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Cook very slowly for several hours, covering with tin foil if it looks like it might dry out
Game Chips or crisps:
  • Slice potatoes very thinly (easier in a food processor)
  • I fried them in a deep fryer till white in colour
  • Take them out, rest on kitchen paper, sprinkle with good salt
  • After they have rested at least 15 minutes, fry them again till golden
  • I can think of lots of different seasonings…but salt and pepper is always a winner
This dish reminds me of the best crisps I ever had…from a street stall in Madrid…
Turron Icecream:
  • I used two types of ‘turron’ or ‘nougat’ (which you can pronounce as ‘nougah’ or like my dad ‘nugget’ depending on how classy you want to appear). Turron from Jijona is soft and fudgy; turron from Alicante is covered in rice paper (still get a childish thrill from the idea of paper you can eat), hard and full of nuts.
  • Melt the packet of Jijona turron in some sherry (I used PX). Chop the Alicante turron into small squares.
  • Make a thin syrup by melting 250 grams of sugar with 50ml of water. Let it cool once melted.
  • Take 6 eggs. Separate the yolks from the whites.
  • Mix the syrup into the yolks, stirring.
  • Whip up the whites till stiff
  • Take 300ml of double cream and whip until it forms soft peaks.
  • Prepare a loaf tin by buttering it (or you can use ramekins as I did but I prefer the idea of slices)
  • Sprinkle some of the Alicante turron onto the bottom of the tin or ramekins.
  • Gradually mix all the ingredients together, folding softly.
  • But leave out half of the egg whites. Throw them away or make them into meringues or something. Oh allright you only need 3 egg whites for this recipe.
  • Pour the mix into your container(s).
  • Sprinkle with some more Alicante turron.
  • Put it in the freezer to harden up.
  • Take out of the freezer half an hour before serving so you can extract it from the mould.
  • Serve drizzled with Pedro Ximenez sherry.
(1)On Guy Fawkes night, I hosted a private party for a film effects company. They mentioned they might bring a few fireworks. I was stunned when they set up a professional standard display at the end of my garden. One of them, looking like David Essex, all blue eyes and swarthy sexy gypsy roughness, had a professional arsonist’s license or something. The flats next door were hanging out of their balconies cheering “more more”… Who needs Parliament Hill?
Again severe lack of pix due to blogging/mac/picasa problems… my computer is full. I can’t fit anything more on it.

Recent posts

Queens of Kelp, from the Outer Hebrides

June 4, 2023

midsummer supper club June 17th 2023 Msmarmitelover

My next supper club: midsummer June 17th

May 28, 2023

I organised a street party for the Coronation

May 10, 2023

Previous Post: « Fermenting change
Next Post: Food at the flicks: Mid-August Lunch »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. postJazz

    December 14, 2009 at 8:48 pm

    Please don't take this the wrong way but…you're barmy. And I love what you're doing. And I will find my way to Kilburn more or less as soon as I can find someone to come with, because I'm a weed like that.

    Reply
  2. James

    December 14, 2009 at 9:04 pm

    There's some lucky diners around London. Gonzalez Byass – big fan.

    Is this the modern way of communication – you talk through the blog rather than through the floor?

    The ironing board! Great. Would have been good to know that before Saturday tho.

    Nugget ice cream sounds lush.

    Reply
  3. Justin Roberts

    December 14, 2009 at 9:07 pm

    Brilliant! Would loved to have been there…

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    December 14, 2009 at 9:11 pm

    Wow… wish I could have made it. That sounds like your best menu yet.

    And the fireworks display sounds like it was incredible too!

    Reply
  5. Luschka

    December 14, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    wow! what a magnificent menu!

    Reply
  6. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 14, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    PJ: come on your own! I go pretty much everywhere on my own…
    James: why are you saying that you still talk to people directly outside of London? How very last century!
    Why the ironing board before Saturday?
    Justin: thank you
    F&T:especially as a certain handsome fruit n veg man was there eh?
    Luschka: thanks love…

    Reply
  7. James

    December 15, 2009 at 11:26 am

    They were mixing sherry into the mulled cider on Woman's Hour this morning. Sounded good.

    Re ironing board – cooking for 20 in a closet kitchen last Sat.

    Reply
  8. theundergroundrestaurant

    December 15, 2009 at 11:29 am

    Ironing boards are wasted on mere ironing…

    Reply
  9. The Curious Cat

    December 15, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    I'd love to be a fly on the wall on your restaurant nights -lots of exciting things go on each week! I must come again because I am finding myself getting jealous with regards to menus I have missed out on! xxx

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 My next supper club 17th June london tickets £50 BYO book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th #london #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer
For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries For tonight’s event I had to push the boundaries. Here is how to prepare goose neck barnacles or percebes which are a very expensive and rare delicacy, hunted down from cliffs. It’s quite dangerous to forage them. #canapes #eventcatering #satanicfood #percebes #grossfood #seafood #devilsfood
Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here h Midsummer supperclub 17th June book tickets here https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsummer-supper-club-tickets-june-17th at London’s pioneering supper club. Tickets £50 BYO. Scandinavian inspired summery food. #supperclub #msmarmitelover #midsummer #northwestlondon #londonevents #popups
Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy cir Tina sweating through a gig at Brixton academy circa 1987 pic: kerstin Rodgers #rip #tinaturner #rockphotographer #kerstinrodgers #teenagephotographer
Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on Attended an incredible talk with @frenchpete_1 on war photography in the Ukraine . Go to the exhibition @thebppa @thebargehouse in SE1 last few days 
Had to stop filming cos I was told off. The photographers would be less forthcoming if they were filmed I was told. 
Anyway @frenchpete_1 should be followed by a camera crew cos he’s a star.
For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pas For yesterdays lunch I made a blue cheese puff pastry quiche and a little one with less blue cheese & no salt for my 7 month old granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. I’m enjoying seeing her experience and explore new foods with baby led weaning. Avocado, strawberries, kiwi & buttered crumpets are a hit. Pasta less so. Who is this child? Are we even related? #babyledweaning #quiche #homemadepuffpastry
Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The natio Nice to be featured as The Great Read in The national newspaper again. These are the stories I love to do: I go off on an adventure, take my time, interview people (especially women), photograph them in their environment and create recipes on site. This story cost me a lot more than I made as I had an accident and lost my excess. My own damn fault though! Loved loved loved having a campervan. Thanks for lending me it @camperdays.international and sorry about the hole in the side.  https://www.thenational.scot/news/23505593.foraging-seaweed-western-isles/
My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @l My terrace on a sunny May morning. The builders @lk.general.building left yesterday. They’ve been working since January. I had the awning installed, the encaustic Minton tiles removed and put back with green grout. The terrace was causing damp so this had to be done. My calamondin plant is looking lovely. The benches which I repaired with hard wood & I repainted using a mix of 2 colours. The marble table I bought in Suffolk at a car boot. Everything is still dusty & I’m waiting for the window cleaner to arrive.
Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine f Last but very heartfelt thankyou to @cideriswine for their contribution of these beautiful dry ciders for the coronation street lunch. Gorgeously illustrated labels. #stcuthbertsrd #kilburn #london #cider #artisanaldrinks
When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. When it comes to vodka I much prefer potato vodka. It’s smoother. Artisanal distillery @devoncovevodka contributed some bottles to my coronation lunch which gave everyone a feeling of being at a classy party. Thanks so much. And also @rawfoodanddrink for arranging. If you want to read my blog post about how and why I organised this event, copy and paste this link: https://t.co/GWNNW2XKba #coronationstreetparty #biglunch #community #kilburn #london #forthepeoplebythepeople
I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now I’ve been a fan of @luscombedrinks for years now. They sent a selection: elderflower bubbly, st. Clements orange 🍊 Sicilian lemonade, @belvoirfarm_uk lemonade, which were all delicious and just the tickets for the fortuitous mini-heatwave that occurred on the Sunday coronation lunch. #thankyou #community #coronation #streetparty #biglunch
Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! T Our street party. Double page spread in The Sun! Tiny bit in the guardian. Decent pic in the Mail and The Star credit @asproider #coronationlunch #kilburn #stcuthbertsrd #kingscroftrd #fordwychrd #templarhouse
My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, s My coronation quiche with Broad beans, tarragon, spinach, cheddar. I used crème fraiche and blind baked puff pastry shells. I was up at 11 last night making these for todays street party, which featured in the mail, telegraph, mirror, metro courtesy of photographer Gavin Rodgers @asproider
Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebr Seaweed foraging at Spring tides in the Outer Hebrides with @outerhebrideanforager Fi bird. She’s cutting sea spaghetti. I drove my campervan @camperdays.international from london to the Hebrides- using my gas stove to cook foraged and local ingredients. A real food safari. With the sea spaghetti I made a sea spag vongole with giant parlourdes picked up from the sand at the same time. Great fun, beautiful weather and, the day of the full moon, a wonderfully low tide. This was on south Uist.
More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-ba More flavours, the flavour thesaurus is a plant-based version of the original. Beautifully constructed, designed and written by @nikisegnit it’s vegetarian rather than vegan but recommended for both. She widens the sensory vocabulary around plant flavours in this book- encouraging new delicious sounding combinations. Now she includes new categories such as flower & meadow, caramel roasted, zesty roost- just the words make me salivate. #foodbooks #bookstagram #newbooks
Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainman Yesterday I attended @marmaladeawards @dalemainmansion I found out so much about marmalade. I’m going to make it this winter. I found out the worlds best maker is Japanese, in fact I was most impressed by the Japanese marmalades in general. Everyone wore orange. I must have tasted 50 marmalades. I met Paddington’s sister, karen jankel who is michael bond’s daughter, born in the same year as Paddington. She gave a charming talk on Paddington, mentioning how the queen insisted on having real marmalade sandwiches in her @launerlondonofficial handbag during the shoot. The house itself is Tudor and Georgian. I stayed in my campervan from @camperdays.international in the car park, cosy in the rain. Another freewheeling adventure. #yorkshire #marmalade #travel #food #ontheroad #campervan
I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a I had a piece in @thetimes on Sunday about being a vegetarian rather than a vegan. How I still need butter. And how restaurants & plane meals are now vegan rather than vegetarian. But, there are still more the double amount of vegetarians as vegans in the UK. I’ve written a vegan cookbook V is for vegan (link in bio) and am a big fan of vegan foods. I’ve not eaten meat for over 40 years. This is a sustainable diet, in terms of longevity. Vegans that I knew from the early noughties have reverted to meat eating. #newpuritanism? #vegetarian #vegan #foodwriter
Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a Scrambled croft eggs (bright yellow yolks) with a seaweed that tastes just like truffle. Just done a little kelp foraging at low tide with @thetempleharris’ Amanda Saurin. Isle of Harris. Turquoise sea, white sand, cloud hovering just above. @camperdays.international @roosterpr
I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to I went to Wembley in north west london to talk to Sophie of @tobia.teff she uses the iron-rich, gluten free teff grain from her homeland Ethiopia. She showed me how to make injera, the Ethiopian flatbread which is fermented. She also talked about the coffee ceremony, 3 cups, which they pair with toasted barley or, currently, popcorn! I’d love to visit Ethiopia and find out more about their ancient food culture, history, 3.5k year old monarchy and religions.
Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @bre Doing a spring budget recipe cooking demo for @brentcouncil Willesden library. I’ve been doing this a few times a year for the last few years. Wouldn’t it be great if they had a kitchen set up permanently. Libraries are community centres and could be used to teach how to cook from scratch.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover