Easter holiday dinner party - suckling pig & assiette of mini cheese courses and desserts including banoffee eclairs

"This is like your second home in the Cotswolds!" I quipped. We have cooked for the same family 2 or 3 times a year ever since Wellacres opened in 2007 - it's so good why go elsewhere? They are also the parties we look forward to - always a fun evening!

This time round they really went the whole hog. Well, suckling pig anyway - as one pig will suit a smaller party. 

Scallops, tiger prawns and salmon with vegetable noodles, ginger, herbs & whisky -  you open at the table so you get all the aromas - see more here. 

As I was making these there was a heated rummy then blackjack game going on between mother and daughter, everyone gathered round the kitchen table.

Ballotine of suckling pig with chestnut stuffing

The previous suckling pig roast we had served had been supplied by the farmer who reared them in his spare time. He had suggested subbing the scored skin with vinegar as well as salt overnight to make the best crispy crackling. So I tried this this time - certainly looked good, but so busy never got round to trying it. 

After slicing I served it on a large platter at the table. The accompanying vegetables - sautéed savoy cabbage & caraway seeds, rosti potato and french beans wrapped in pancetta were plated. 

The night before de-boned, the leg, belly and shoulder meat reserved for stuffing the next day and the skin scored , dried and seasoned with salt and vinegar. 

Looks kind of cute in the tray. There is no place for being squeamish in the kitchen - you forget this isn't a normal sight for everyone however.......

Only after bit of persuasion from the male guests to the rest of the party was the pig allowed to be served at the table - it all adds to the theatre of the meal!

Can't decide between cheese and dessert?  Why not have both. On the same plate! They liked it so much last time around they asked for the same thing for this meal. 

• Blacksticks Blue cheese and mulled wine jelly - this was so popular last time we did the same thing again (just with double the amount of gelatine in the jelly which makes it easy to cut).  
• Goats cheese souffle with mustard white wine sauce
• Bakewell tart
• Shotglass of black forest trifle (I loved these - see recipe here)
• Banoffee eclairs (just had this idea they would be nice - couldn't find a recipe so made my own - pureed fresh banana and a little lemon with whipped double cream piped in the middle of the eclair and then the banoffee toffee recipe from banoff pie)

Everyone was choosing their favourite dessert - as we hear so often, well at every assiette of dessert we serve. I think each of the items got at least one vote! 

Just can't wait till the next one now. What's that to be? I was trying to suggest the idea of the cookery events we do - see how its done. Wellacres is the prefect venue for that. Now that would be an evening to remember too.


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Assiette of mini cheese courses and desserts

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Suckling pig ballotine with chestnut stuffing

WARNING - CONTAINS IMAGES OF A CARNIVOROUS NATURE!

"Lastly my brother has a small farm of pigs, and would like to provide a suckling pig to be cooked for Saturday night, can we provide this?" said the email. You know me - how could I say no?

This little piggy didn't go to market

This was for a significant birthday for the host's mother and family - all 3 generations at Pedington Manor (quickly becoming my new favourite house) near Stone, Gloucestershire.

After preparing so many duck and chicken ballottines over the years, removing the bones from a suckling pig is no different really - slightly larger, but not enormously so. Big enough that you have to saw through the neck though (tmi?). 

After also deboning the trotters I roasted all the bones to make the accompanying sauce with some stock left for the following day for their Sunday lunch which we also served. 

Then the meat from the legs & shoulders & belly I combined with sausagemeat, chestnuts, sage, onion, mixed spice, five spice and orange zest to stuff it. Then rolled up and scored the skin with a stanley knife to get the crackling going, before tying with string.

Then just singe a few hairs with the blow torch. I rest it on a potato trivet to stop it sticking to the bottom of the roasting tin - and this keeps the pig away from the fat. Also makes the most amazing potatoes in the process.

Wilbur is off to the venue! The resting time makes for much more succulent meat.  

A slice of the resulting suckling pig ballottine. We served it plated as a  main course with dauphinoise potato, red wine braised cabbage and chantenay carrots. 

Platter of seconds. In the end we decided not to serve the head on there as well - might be a bit off putting on the middle of the table, so we left it for them to have later.

So what was the verdict of the family? "Perfect!" said the guest who had supplied the suckling pig. Their mother whose birthday it was was intrigued when she walked through the kitchen, how to de-bone it, as she was wanted to try it too. Maybe I'll have to give lessons.......

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