Northumbrian night

I chose Cuddy (which I loved) for our book group's reading this month. I then devised a meal to fit with the book's setting for the five of us who gathered chez hazelh this evening. The menu comprised:

First course: Craster kipper pâté served with toasted stottie cake sourced from Greggs in Newcastle last Thursday (with some chicken liver pâté too because Melissa likes my recipe)
Main course: two versions of panhaggerty - (1) meat version with potatoes, onions, and ham, and (2) veggie version with potatoes, onions, courgettes, leeks, and broccoli, topped with feta and mature cheddar cheese - both served with a Brussels sprout bake
Pudding - chocolate torte made with Flýte whisky cream liqueur from Ad Gefrin in Wooler, served with Lindisfarne Mead (hic!)
Cheese - three Northumbrian cheeses - Cuddy's cave, Elsdon, and Darling blue - served with Cuddy's cave cranberry biscuits bought in Fenwick's food hall in Newcastle last Thursday 
Peppermint tea - from Ringtons of Newcastle, also from Fenwick's food hall in Newcastle last Thursday 

In keeping with all this, I used our Hexham placements at the table, we listened to Northumbrian pipe music all evening, and I presented each of my guests with a wee gold envelope of Holy Island treasure in the form of cuddy beads. I also brought out Mummy hazelh's Northumbrian pipes to show to the others.

All in all, it went well, although we missed the three who couldn't make it: one on holiday in the Far East, one recovering from illness, one away in London with work. I also think that a couple of the larger sprouts could have done with a few more minutes in the oven, and I wish that I had remembered to offer my guests the grapes that I had bought to go with the cheese. 

I am very grateful to my not-so-little sister for (a) her menu suggestions, (b) collecting the cuddy beads for us from the shoreline on Holy Island, (c) sourcing the Lindisfarne Mead from the distillery, (d) supplying me with the CD of Northumbrian pipe music, and (e) telling me that Ringtons is a Newcastle company.

Earlier in the day I returned to the swimming pool. I loved being in the water with perfect vision. What a novelty to see the depth markers on the poolside, the clocks, and the other swimmers! Then I returned home to prepare bedrooms for my two overnight guests LauraMuir and Winsford, and make the final preparations for our meal. 

On LauraMuir's blip for today you can see the toasted stottie cake, the main course, and the pudding. Winsford has also blipped the pudding along with a cuddy bead and the two pâtés. On both their blips are my Northumbrian placemats.

Exercise today: 1 hour on the exercise bike; swim (60 lengths); walking (15,638 steps).