Book Club Dining

Every month, a group of awesome girls get together for book wine club. We take turns to host; we get to gossip, sip lots of vino, eat good food and just generally catch up. It’s something that we so look forward to each month, and this past one we had the pleasure of being hosted by Sam at her gorgeous home.

At first, we thought about Sam writing up a post on her evening, and her delicious recipe – but knowing Sam, I thought it better to write it from my perspective because she might not end up speaking about half the amazing things that we experienced that night!

Firstly, Sam has the most gorgeous home; she really spends time and effort into making her space serene, calm and elegant. As we walked in, we were greeted with subtle background music, and the scent of the most stunning lemongrass and citrus candles; the smells oozing from the kitchen seemed to complement these so well too.  

The meal for the evening was Thai Chicken Laksa, out of Jamie Olivers’ 15 Minute Meals cookbook.

IT. WAS. AMAZING. A stunning mix of fragrant Thai noodles with subtle hints of chilli, lemongrass and lime, paired with the tenderest chicken thighs drizzled with honey and sesame seeds.

I arrived a little early so I could snap a few photos of the different steps that Sam took in the cooking process. A glass of Haute Cabriere in hand, I happily observed the chef.

First, Sam tossed the chicken thighs in salt pepper and Chinese Five spice – she then folded the chicken into wax paper and proceeded to flatten the chicken with a beater.

The chicken was then placed on a hot griddle pan, turning after 3-4 minutes until it was nicely charred and cooked through.

While this was on the grill, Sam poured 800ml of water and veggie stock into her brand new beautiful Le Creuset pot. She roughly grated some butternut, and added both this and the laksa paste to the boiling stock and finally added the rice noodles.

She then trimmed some green beans (her own substitute for asparagus) and added this to the mix. She poured in some coconut milk and once it was brought to the boil – she turned off the heat. She then seasoned the noodles with lime juice and soy sauce for taste.

Sam chatted about her pot in our recent favourite five; about the fact that it looks as good on the stove as it does as a serving dish on the table. It did exactly that – Sam’s presentation skills were outstanding!

She placed both the noodles and the chicken on the table; the chicken served on a long, slim wooden board (obvs Sam has the perfectly shaped serving board) drizzled with honey, squeezed fresh lime and sesame seeds.

Small bowls of sliced chilli and coriander were also placed on the beautifully set table.

As if this amazing meal, some divine wine and great company wasn’t enough – Sam served a huge bowel of decadent sweets and choccies (that we DEVOURED in no time)

All in all, it was such a great evening and an excellent mid-week night out. Thanks to my bru, Samantha, for being an ah-mazing host. I’m sure I can speak for everyone that attended, you outdid yourself 🙂

Recipe

Skinless, boneless chicken thighs

1 Heaped teaspoon of Chinese five spice

1 Teaspoon runny honey

1 Teaspoon sesame seeds

1 fresh red chilli

Laksa:

Vegetable stock

Butternut squash (grated)

Laksa paste – original recipe requires making your own paste: Sam did not have a food processor so she opted for a store-bought laksa paste (Thrupps stock this)

Rice noodles

2 Bunches of asparagas / fine green beans

1 Tin of coconut milk (lite)

3 Limes

Low sodium salt soy sauce