Mi Casa Su Casa "Supper Club", Woollahra

Forget Woollahra's fancy Chiswick, Bistro Moncur and Claude's. I think the best meal you're going to get in this suburb is at fellow food blogger SarahKate's in-home Supper Club. SarahKate writes the blog Mi Casa Su Casa and is an ex-pat "Southern Belle" who lives in Sydney with her husband Andy (he's a southern belle too). Twice a month they open their home to anyone who's interested in an amazing feast of good old home-style Southern American cooking.

Let me just start telling y'all that the meal was AMAZING - totally fabulously delicious! I don't have enough adjectives in my vocabulary to express what a fantastic time The Boy + I had last night. This girl knows how to cook, and I mean REALLY cook! We also received such great, warm hospitality and felt so welcome in SarahKate and Andy's home. I'm already booked in to go back for another Supper Club meal in a few weeks.

The night starts off with some nibbles. There is a HUGE plate of very tempting old-fashioned Deviled Eggs - a nice throwback to my childhood in the 70s. These were delicious, the yolk was so flavoursome + creamy. I confess to eating 2 eggs all to myself.  We were also treated to some homemade dill pickled carrots (YUM - I'd like the recipe for these...oh, and the deviled eggs too while we're at it) and some naughty but nice spiked sweet tea with mint and rum (may as well ask for the recipe for that whilst I am it).

I LOVED the entree - Jethel's baked trout with fennel seed and bacon potato salad. Jethel is Andy's late grandmother and as SarahKate explains the dish you can see how much of an impact Jethel has had on her approach to home cooking. Andy tells us that as a child he used to catch trout in the creek behind Jethel's house and his grandmother would then cook this dish for them. This is more than just a plate of food - it's a wonderful dish that has a history and a story, and it feels really special to be able to eat it. I felt quite touched...and perhaps a little teary (or perhaps that is the effects of too much spice tea)?

I confess to being more than a little excited about the side dishes accompanying the main course. Mention biscuits and gravy to this food lover and you have me clapping my hands and squealing with delight! It is my humble opinion that biscuits (like a savoury scone) and gravy is one of the best things to come out of the USA (almost better than Sex and the City)!  Other sides for the night included (the new to me) "chow chow" which is a colourful, slightly spicy relish and also some super fresh braised asparagus.

The main dish is something I've always been curious about - Chicken fried steak. Turns out it is not chicken fried like a steak (not sure how that would actually work, but go with it OK) but a thin piece of steak that is crumbed in the same manner that American fried chicken is crumbed - lots of coatings of egg wash + breadcrumbs. It reminds a little of the a veal schnitzel my Hungarian mother used to make - a really thick, crumbly crumb that encases a tender piece of beef.

Ah dessert! Who can resist the sweetly named Strawberry shortcake? Not me that's for sure.  This dessert was INCREDIBLE - a cream cheese pound cake with strawberries roasted with black pepper and balsamic. All topped with a very generous dollop of vanilla whipped cream. The cake was both light and dense at the same time if that is even possible - I've not had anything like it before...but I sure hope I get to have it again.

There's no cost to attend a Mi Casa-Su Casa dinner, however donations are welcome as they help cover the cost of the food.  As a guide the suggested donation for this dinner was $30 (I know, right!)...but we chipped in a bit more as we thought the experience was worth more than $30.

SarahKate and Andy run the Mi Casa Su Casa Supper Club twice a month and 10 seats available at each dinner. Check the Mi Casa Su Casa blog for upcoming dates (the next dinner is 3rd November) and to book email SarahKate on sarahkate@micasa-sucasa.com.au.

Go...and eat!