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The Underground Comedy Dinner in pictures

September 9, 2010 1 Comment Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Menu
The day before was a seven hour marathon to crack the green cobnuts, I still only got through half a bag! The soup had a pleasingly fresh and creamy taste but was too mild so a dollop of chimichurri was added for zing.
John the poacher didn’t turn up with the mushrooms, so no Fun Guy!
I had a sleepless night thinking of what dish I could make with banana skins. Of course there is the bbq favourite of a chocolate flake inserted into a banana but I wanted something savoury. Hmmm, a banana curry? And then I had the inspired idea of using a glacé cherry to make a clowns nose with a baked stuffed curry banana as a ‘smile’. When it comes to conceptual cooking, move over Heston!
By this time I was exhausted so I cheated. I bought the gnocci gnocci who’s there? Baked them as a gratin with a tomato sauce and tons of parmesan.
Cheese board: Wallace & Gromit Wensleydale (the factory was going out of business until W&G made Wensleydale popular again); Stinking Bishop (hee hee); and, cheese strings. This was served with home made rhubarb compote, mini cocktail gherkins and crackers (fnar fnar).
Pud: custard pies of course!

pic:Gavin Rodgers

The comedy
Josie Long compered a brilliant mix of comedic styles. I laid a chef’s table in the little dining room next to the kitchen for them to sit, drink, eat and chat between acts “Lovely!” said Chris Neill “a children’s table!”
Josie asked all the guests to write down their worst cooking disasters on a piece of paper. Here’s a few that I remember:
“Once the cat ate my camembert” said one.
“We didn’t have a dishwasher so we decided to put the plates, knives and forks in the washing machine with towels. It didn’t work”
“I was making a meringue and put it in the roasting oven rather than the simmering oven. It was charcoal!” said another.
“You couldn’t get more middle class than that!” said Josie.

Josie Long pic: Gavin Rodgers
Chris Neill  pic: Gavin Rodgers
Claudia Odoherty pic: Gavin Rodgers
Maeve Higgins pic: MsMarmitelover
Tim Key pic:Gavin Rodgers
Josie and the other comedians watching from the doorway. pic:Gavin Rodgers (for more pix see his website)

The setting
The comics performed on the doorsill of the french windows “the stage is only 2.5 inches wide” commented Chris Neill. One of the comedians remarked that normally in nightclubs, the punters faces are in the dark. Here they were candlelit.
Tim Key mentioned how strange it was to perform without a microphone.
An audience of thirty had a whole evening’s entertainment in an intimate setting. It worked so well! Beyond any expectations! Thanks so much to Josie for organising the performance side of it…I think we’ve started a little revolution here.
Maeve Higgin’s sister Lily is a keen cook and is planning to do something similar in Ireland.

pic: Gavin Rodgers

Don’t forget to buy your tickets for The Underground farmers and craft market on September 19th £5 entry only.

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  1. MySecretTeaRoom

    September 12, 2010 at 8:49 pm

    Everyone looks to have enjoyed themselves and had a great deal of fun.

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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.

msmarmitelover

I wrote this long read for @scotnational about the I wrote this long read for @scotnational about the anti G8 camp in Stirling to protest against the G8 in Gleneagles. I partipated in the camp & protest along with my daughter @siennamarla playing in the samba band, part of the Pink Bloc. The camp was an incredible experience- the possibility of a different type of politics, of horizontal democracy. It was also a lot of fun. But our protest was tragically overshadowed by the 7/7 bombings in London. We wanted to create a new world but by the actions of a few disaffected British Muslim terrorists our positive movement for change was drowned out by hideous violence against normal ordinary people. Here is my account. 20 years anniversary #7/7 #londonbombings #scotland #antig8 #protest #gleneagles
Cheap stuff. Since the pandemic money has been tig Cheap stuff. Since the pandemic money has been tight. I shop at Lidl and aldi for food, Vinted, Portobello and Primark for clothes. The first pic is gazpacho with a banderilla from Lidl. They often have Spanish weeks and other nationality foods at a bargain price. I love those huge cartons of gazpacho- I glug it down like juice, especially in the heat. The banderillas are sold by the jar. Second pic is me in a primark vest, cardi, with an Anthropologie sale belt and old denim shorts from 10 years ago. Sorry about the mess behind, I sold a piece of furniture, a desk I found on the street, painted enamel green with ‘bamboo’brass handles which I sold on eBay for £225 #needsmust #thrift
My tea book Msmarmitelover’s secret tea party is My tea book Msmarmitelover’s secret tea party is now out on the cookbook app @ckbk it’s now out of print but you can still buy some print copies via me or Amazon. However you can see all the recipes ( like my sour cherry icecream which I served last week) on this site which is like a Spotify for cooks. Arguably afternoon tea is a meal which the English do better than any other country. #cookbooks #afternoontea #supperclubs
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With my home grown artichokes, grown from seed for With my home grown artichokes, grown from seed for tonight’s supperclub.
Sour cherries from the garden for my midsummer sup Sour cherries from the garden for my midsummer supperclub in the garden this Saturday 21st June. Tickets available, link in bio. Also at this link: https://substack.com/redirect/5a700a44-49c1-4e6d-834f-8d4851f98f45?j=eyJ1IjoiMWUzYm4ifQ.njFJL9K8WpzSqVZ5HFSvq84gnJeUD7reFZV9LrDwYtI #midsummernightsdream #supperclub #og #sourcherry
Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favou Can’t wait to delve into this by one of my favourite food writers @kitchenbee it’s got everything: kitchenalia, divorce and food. Did you know that what we call heartache is actually stomach ache? It’s now recognised that rejection actually causes physical as well as psychological pain. A study shows that pain relief medications such as paracetamol can alleviate heartache. Some of our emotional pain is autonomic: it’s referred to as polyvagal theory. #heartbreak #foodwriting #lovehurts #takotsubo #dopaminewithdrawal
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My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique m My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique meeting of east and west, for @ckbk It's a blend of Ottoman, Eastern and middle European, Austro-Hungarian empire and cowboy food. #food&travel #foodanthropology #hungary
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