Thai Theme Night at The Nook On The Square

Following the great success of our Italian Theme Night last month we decided to hold a Thai evening this month as our 2nd supper club.
It takes so much planning and preparation for evenings like this and, if you are ever a diner at this type of event, spare a thought for exactly how much time and effort the staff put in to ensure the best evening possible for you.  
We planned a menu with 3 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts.
Lovely Buddha's were purchased from The Range and suited our fireplaces brilliantly. 

The back room always looks fantastic but especially tonight with the big table laid,

Back room at The Nook On The Square

I found some brilliant designs for napkin folding on Pinterest, that suited the occasion perfectly.
You can find a tutorial for this particular design through this link

Napkin Folding

They looked great on the table.

 

 

 

Prior to the event I did a lot of YouTube watching to learn how to carve vegetables. On the table we put a kilner jar with some rice in the base, a tealight and a carved radish and carrot leaves. A very effective center piece.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the tealights I got carried away with the carving!!                    I made a large center piece for our large table and 1 for the bar.



 

 

Vegetable Carving Centrepiece

I'm not sure whether I would call it therapeutic but definitely addictive and I was proud of what I achieved.
Head to YouTube if you fancy trying the art.
    

Vegetable Carving Centrepiece

Lots of food preparation just before we opened. Beansprouts, snakebeans, pak choi , coriander and limes to name but a few of the items in bowls.

 

 

 

All tables booked we eventually opened the doors at 7pm and the customers arrived table by table.

It was a successful evening, with lots of food and drink consumed, and we all gushed with pride at the compliments we received at the end of the evening.

Below is a selection of food photos that was served throughout the evening.

 

Chicken Satay Skewers

 

 

 

Chicken Satay Skewers

Tom Yum Soup,
a clear broth made with fish stock, vegetables and King Prawns. 

Thai Fishcakes with Sweet Chilli Dip -
Finely chopped white fish and prawns mixed with lime, coriander and fish paste created a gorgeous flavoured starter. Google Rick Stein's recipe to give these a try.

 

 

 

Thai Red King Prawn Curry was a popular dish in the evening, served with thai jasmine rice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Also popular was the Tamarind Duck, a sweet and sour sauce served on perfectly cooked duck. 

 

 

 

 

 

And for dessert my best Panna Cotta yet. Normally an Italian dessert I know but I adapted the recipe and swapped the milk for coconut milk.

Cardamom & Coconut Panna Cotta and Mango Coulis. 

 

 

 

The other dessert was also a big success.

Kaffir Lime cheesecake, adapted from Gordon Ramsey recipe I came across a long time ago.

 

 

Brilliant night was had by all and I finally climbed into bed shattered after a 15 hour shift!!
Planning now starts for Tapas Night!

Linking up this week with:
Tasty Tuesdays
Simple and Sweet Fridays
Foodie Friday and Everything Else

An Italian Evening At The Nook On The Square

After several weeks of careful planning, purchasing and preparation, The Nook On The Square finally hosted its Italian Evening on September 5th.

Back of house was a little chaotic prior to opening the doors that evening. Kitchen panic with final last minute preparations, tables moved and laid at last minute and wines hurriedly discussed so staff knew what they were serving.

At 6.50pm our first customers were already waiting at the door!!
We opened finally at 7, our tables filled one by one and everything went quite smoothly.
The whole evening was such a success that some customers booked again for our next theme night.


Below is a selection of photos from the evening.

The back room ready to host the evenings event.

Sunflowers gave out warmth and sunshine on the bar in the corridor.



Pasta and plants for decoration

On each table we put a kilner jar filled with dry pasta and a tea light.

More decorations.

 

 

THE MENU!

 

 

Breadsticks in glass vases. 

 

 

Each table was given olive oil with balsamic, olives, breadsticks, dough balls and focaccia.

 

 

 

Caprese stack starter 

 

 

 

Meatballs, tomato sauce and parmesan on rocket starter. 

 

 

Chicken in Marsala Wine with linguine 

 

 

Mushroom & Spinach lasagne, our vegetarian main course option.

 

 

Beef Ragu with Gnocchi

 

 

 Tiramisu

 

Lemon & lime panna cotta with raspberry coulis

 



The evening was such a success that Thai Night is now happening November 7th. Hopefully it will all go as well.

How To Plan An Italian Theme Night - Part 2 Preparation

 A little later than planned here is part 2 of the build up to Italian Night at The Nook On The Square - night before preparation.
Just a short post with a few photos of the food being prepared


Here's the Lemon & Lime Panna Cotta going into the fridge to set overnight.

Panna Cotta setting in the fridge

 

 Tiramisu - on the right the coffee soaked sponge, on the left the mascarpone topping. 

Prepping the tiramisu

 

Tiramisu going into the fridge to set. 

 

Tiramisu

 

 Biscotti dough going into the oven for it's first bake 

Biscotti heading into the oven for its first bake

Biscotti dough now cooked, sliced and ready for it's second bake.

Lemon & Almond Biscotti

 

 

Lasagne straight from the oven. This one needs re heating in a microwave on the night. 

 

Mushroom & Spinach Lasagne

Meatballs rolled ready to cook in the oven with a tomato sauce an hour before we open the doors.

Meatballs

Doughballs rolled and baked.

Doughballs

Everything else will be prepared and cooked just before our guests arrive.