SJS Dinner Club Opening Dinner

St John Stone Dinner Club
Venue: The Clubroom, St John Stone House
Date: 24th October 2004, Sunday
Time: 7.30pm
Number of guests: 8
Chef de Cuisine: Alex Yam

Wine:
Bourgone Pinot Noir Louis Josse 2002
Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Le Tour du Breil 2002
Spirits:
Pimm’s No. 1
First Estate Reserve Port Taylor’s Quinta & Vineyard

The opening dinner of the academic year for the SJS Dinner Club saw regulars and new members gathering for a private candlelit meal in the clubroom of St John Stone House.

Seated at table were: Reverend Peter Geldard, Mrs Judith Geldard, Mr Harry Ching, Mr Alex Yam, Ms Natalie Mitchell, Mr Andrew Capone, Ms Luisa Decuir-Viruez, Ms Pamela Ann See, Ms Sarah Nogaro

Entrée
Yum Woon Sen – Thai Style Glass Noodle Salad
Chef’s notes: A wonderfully refreshing salad to start of the meal. The delicate hint of lime with crunchy, rather than sloppy or chewy, glass noodles helps clears the palate for a heavier meal and preps the appetite.

Ingredients:
5 oz mung bean noodles
50 cooked medium prawns – deshelled and halved
10 large fresh closed cap mushrooms
4 stalks fresh celery
6 stalks fresh spring onion
2 oz fresh coriander
1 head Lollo rosso lettuce
Mixed rocket, watercress and spinach
7½ tbsp fresh lime juice
6¼ tbsp nam pla – Thai fish sauce
1½ tsp fine sugar
Pepper to taste
Water

Instructions:
1. Soak mung bean noodles for an hour in cold water. Blanch quickly in boiling water for 1 second and return to cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Slice mushrooms, celery and spring onions thinly.
3. Wash lettuce thoroughly to remove soil and lay leaves on bottom of individual salad servers. Serve small portions of mixed rocket, watercress and spinach on lettuce.
4. Place prawns in salad mixing bowl with lime juice and let stand for 1 minute. Add mung bean noodles, mushrooms, celery and spring onion. Add nam pla, sugar and pepper to taste. Mix and let stand in fridge for 2 minutes.
5. Serve on lettuce.

Potage
Tuscan Bean and Rosemary Soup with Red Pepper Relish
Chef’s notes: Have previously made Tuscan Bean Soup with fresh cannellini and butter beans. Use of canned beans saved 12 hours of cooking time. Made a variation with a red pepper relish to bring a light summer touch to a cold autumn night.

Ingredients:
5 cans Cannellini beans
8 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 medium carrots
2 large onions
3½ cloves of garlic
2 liters vegetable stock
Parma ham
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Relish:
2 large red peppers

Instructions:
1. Finely grate carrots. Chop onions and crush garlic. Finely chop rosemary.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan and add carrots, onions, garlic and rosemary. Let soften on medium heat for 4 mins.
3. Add cannellini beans and stock. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Remove ¾ and blend till smooth in food processor. Return to saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste.
5. Grill peppers till charred, then put in plastic bag until cool. When peppers are cool enough to handle, peel and de-seed. Put peppers in liquidizer with pinch of salt and 2½ tbsp of water and puree. Season and reserve.
6. Serve soup with red pepper puree swirled on top. Grill parma ham till crisp and garnish on soup before serving.

Le Plat Principal
Toeji Pok-kum – Korean Pork Pot Stew (Chef’s variation)
Chef’s notes: Originally Tahk Pok-kum or Chicken Pot Stew, decided to vary the meat to bring into use the wonderful pork shoulder joints that are so widely available at this time of the year. Roasted pork first to remove excess oil and bring additional flavour to dish.

Ingredients:
2 lbs pork shoulder joint
5 cloves garlic
4 oz pine nuts
3 red peppers
10 medium onions
1 can bamboo shoots
5 tsp roasted sesame seeds
5 tbsp dark soya sauce
1½ tbsp sugar
2 tsp ginger powder
2tsp corn starch
Water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Roast pork on Gas Mark 4 for 1½ hours plus 20 minutes for every pound.
2. Remove park from pan and reserve under foil. Spoon 2 tbps of dripping.
3. Chop garlic and red peppers. De-skin onions and leave whole. Fry garlic, red peppers and onions in dripping on medium heat for 5 minutes in large saucepan. Add bamboo shoots.
4. Place whole roast joint into pan and add 1½ pint of water. Add dark soya sauce, sugar and ginger powder. Cover and simmer on low heat for 1 hour.
5. Add starch and pine nuts and simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
6. Remove roast joint and slice thinly. Serve with whole onion, peppers and sauce. Garnish with sesame seed. Steamed white basmati rice on side.

Douceur
Poires Bourguinonne – Cooked Pears in Burgundy with Orange and Peach
Chef’s Notes: A delightful autumnal dessert. Using conference pears rather than the usual dessert pears as they are plentiful during this season and have a delicate taste that goes well with burgundy. It is also usually seedless which is a wonderful advantage.

Ingredients:
10 unripe conference pears
1 pint red burgundy wine
½ pint water
10 oz sugar
5 tbsp red currant jelly
Pinch of nutmeg powder
Fresh cream

Sauce:
5 fresh Clementine orange
1 can peach
1 tbsp red currant jelly
25 ml single malt whiskey
25 ml sweet port

Instructions:
1. Peel pears while retaining stalk. Segment the oranges.
2. Put water, wine, nutmeg, jelly and sugar into pan. Stir over a low heat till all sugar and jelly have dissolved.
3. Put in pears. Simmer gently for 30 minutes until pears are a rich red hue. Spoon syrup over pears while cooking.
4. Remove pan from heat and cool in fridge for 1 hour. Ensure pears are not exposed to air.
5. Heat peaches in own syrup in small saucepan. Add orange segments, jelly, whiskey and port. Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes till oranges have paled slightly.
6. Gently slice off small portion of bottom of cooled pears to allow flat base to stand pears. Serve pears in center of small plate and spoon orange and peaches around. Drizzle fresh cream.

After desserts, port was served and the Chef de Cuisine proposed a toast to the health of all guests.