*Jane Warren* and friends are a harmonious bunch – after years of playing baroque and renaissance music together, they now have an annual bring-a-dish feast
*What was the occasion?*
My friends Nicky, Cath, Rita, Jo and I have played music together – mostly renaissance and baroque – for years, and since about 1990 we've had a big meal around Christmas. We always invite our partners and ex-band members, too – it's a great way of keeping in touch. Our original band played renaissance music composed for recorders; it was called the Frescobaldi Consort. I played recorder, as did Nicky. Cath played violin. Our current band is called Quattrio, in which I play recorder, Cath plays violin, Rita plays harpsichord and Jo played cello, but had to leave the group last year.
*What was on the menu?*
Traditionally everyone brings a dish based on a theme. We've tried to do a variety of cuisines, such as African, Japanese and Moroccan, as well as themes such as "local" and "seasonal", but this year we thought it would be fun to cook our signature dishes.
Nicky kicked things off with seasonal nibbles and a cocktail made with champagne and a homemade ginger syrup. I really like making starters, so I prepared three different pâtés; mushroom, smoked mackerel and blue cheese; and baked a loaf of focaccia. Cath cooked a lovely risotto, which was followed by a goat's cheese flan and a salad made by Jo. Then Nicky served a spectacular red wine jelly with orange segments set into it. Rita, our harpsichordist, made a gorgeous chocolate mousse and a dessert called grape cream. We had five courses in total – over the years we've got more carried away, but we seem to have our portions under control now!
*What did you talk about?*
We discussed some of the concerts we'd been to and the performances we'd done this year. We haven't played much since late spring, so we want to make sure we play more next year.
Nicky's husband Chris is making a spinet at the moment, which is a little like a harpsichord, so we talked about how that was going. It occurred to me that it's our 30-year anniversary next year, and we were talking about doing a special performance with past and present members from both groups. Music has been a constant in our lives, but we get on so well as friends, too. Life moves on in many ways, but our relationships still stay the same.
*Jane's trio of vegetarian pates*
I served these in quenelles with a little green salad and some grape focaccia.
Serves 6-8
For the mushroom pâté
*125g butter*
*1 small onion, finely chopped*
*225g mushrooms, fairly finely chopped*
*25g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs*
*100g soft cheese; full or reduced fat*
*Squeeze of lemon juice*
*Salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste*
For the port and stilton pâté
*50g butter*
*1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped*
*60ml port*
*Zest of ½ lemon*
*125g stilton, crumbled*
*1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped*
*Black pepper*
* *For the smoked mackerel pate
*2 smoked mackerel fillets*
*100g soft cheese*
*Juice and zest of 1 lemon*
*Black pepper*
*1 heaped tsp horseradish sauce*
*Chopped parsley to taste*
*1* To make the mushroom pâté, melt the butter in large pan. Add the onion and soften over a low heat, then add the mushrooms and sweat until soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, soft cheese and lemon juice. Combine well and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then transfer to a bowl and chill to set.
*2* * *To make the stilton pâté, melt the butter in a saucepan and gently sweat the spring onions until soft. Add the port and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer to a blender and process until the mixture has bound. Check the seasoning. Transfer to a bowl or individual dishes and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
*3 *For the mackerel pâté, flake the fish finely with two forks, stir in the other ingredients, combine well and chill in the fridge.
*Jo's leek and goat's cheese tart*
You can also used soft goat's cheese for this, but the gooiness will mean it doesn't cut into picture-perfect slices.
*375g shortcrust pastry*
*1 tbsp butter *
*340g trimmed leeks cut into thin slices*
*170g hard goat's cheese, finely crumbled *
*3 eggs, beaten*
*200ml low-fat creme fraiche*
*4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced*
*Salt and pepper*
*1* Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Roll the pastry thinly and press it into a 20cm loose-bottomed tin, leaving a 2cm overhang of pastry around the edge. Brush the base and sides with a little of the beaten egg, then bake for 20-25 minutes.
*2* While the pastry is cooking, melt the butter over a gentle heat and soften the leeks. After 10-15 minutes squeeze them against the side of the pan to drain the juice off.
*3 *Crumble the goat's cheese into the leeks, then mix the eggs and creme fraiche together in a jug and season well.
*4* When the pastry case is ready, spoon the leeks and cheese in and sprinkle spring onions over the top, then pour the creme fraiche over the top.
*5* Bake at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 for 35 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch in the centre. Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.
*What was the occasion?*
My friends Nicky, Cath, Rita, Jo and I have played music together – mostly renaissance and baroque – for years, and since about 1990 we've had a big meal around Christmas. We always invite our partners and ex-band members, too – it's a great way of keeping in touch. Our original band played renaissance music composed for recorders; it was called the Frescobaldi Consort. I played recorder, as did Nicky. Cath played violin. Our current band is called Quattrio, in which I play recorder, Cath plays violin, Rita plays harpsichord and Jo played cello, but had to leave the group last year.
*What was on the menu?*
Traditionally everyone brings a dish based on a theme. We've tried to do a variety of cuisines, such as African, Japanese and Moroccan, as well as themes such as "local" and "seasonal", but this year we thought it would be fun to cook our signature dishes.
Nicky kicked things off with seasonal nibbles and a cocktail made with champagne and a homemade ginger syrup. I really like making starters, so I prepared three different pâtés; mushroom, smoked mackerel and blue cheese; and baked a loaf of focaccia. Cath cooked a lovely risotto, which was followed by a goat's cheese flan and a salad made by Jo. Then Nicky served a spectacular red wine jelly with orange segments set into it. Rita, our harpsichordist, made a gorgeous chocolate mousse and a dessert called grape cream. We had five courses in total – over the years we've got more carried away, but we seem to have our portions under control now!
*What did you talk about?*
We discussed some of the concerts we'd been to and the performances we'd done this year. We haven't played much since late spring, so we want to make sure we play more next year.
Nicky's husband Chris is making a spinet at the moment, which is a little like a harpsichord, so we talked about how that was going. It occurred to me that it's our 30-year anniversary next year, and we were talking about doing a special performance with past and present members from both groups. Music has been a constant in our lives, but we get on so well as friends, too. Life moves on in many ways, but our relationships still stay the same.
*Jane's trio of vegetarian pates*
I served these in quenelles with a little green salad and some grape focaccia.
Serves 6-8
For the mushroom pâté
*125g butter*
*1 small onion, finely chopped*
*225g mushrooms, fairly finely chopped*
*25g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs*
*100g soft cheese; full or reduced fat*
*Squeeze of lemon juice*
*Salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste*
For the port and stilton pâté
*50g butter*
*1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped*
*60ml port*
*Zest of ½ lemon*
*125g stilton, crumbled*
*1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped*
*Black pepper*
* *For the smoked mackerel pate
*2 smoked mackerel fillets*
*100g soft cheese*
*Juice and zest of 1 lemon*
*Black pepper*
*1 heaped tsp horseradish sauce*
*Chopped parsley to taste*
*1* To make the mushroom pâté, melt the butter in large pan. Add the onion and soften over a low heat, then add the mushrooms and sweat until soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs, soft cheese and lemon juice. Combine well and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then transfer to a bowl and chill to set.
*2* * *To make the stilton pâté, melt the butter in a saucepan and gently sweat the spring onions until soft. Add the port and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Transfer to a blender and process until the mixture has bound. Check the seasoning. Transfer to a bowl or individual dishes and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
*3 *For the mackerel pâté, flake the fish finely with two forks, stir in the other ingredients, combine well and chill in the fridge.
*Jo's leek and goat's cheese tart*
You can also used soft goat's cheese for this, but the gooiness will mean it doesn't cut into picture-perfect slices.
*375g shortcrust pastry*
*1 tbsp butter *
*340g trimmed leeks cut into thin slices*
*170g hard goat's cheese, finely crumbled *
*3 eggs, beaten*
*200ml low-fat creme fraiche*
*4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced*
*Salt and pepper*
*1* Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Roll the pastry thinly and press it into a 20cm loose-bottomed tin, leaving a 2cm overhang of pastry around the edge. Brush the base and sides with a little of the beaten egg, then bake for 20-25 minutes.
*2* While the pastry is cooking, melt the butter over a gentle heat and soften the leeks. After 10-15 minutes squeeze them against the side of the pan to drain the juice off.
*3 *Crumble the goat's cheese into the leeks, then mix the eggs and creme fraiche together in a jug and season well.
*4* When the pastry case is ready, spoon the leeks and cheese in and sprinkle spring onions over the top, then pour the creme fraiche over the top.
*5* Bake at 190C/375F/gas mark 5 for 35 minutes until golden brown and firm to touch in the centre. Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.