00:01Hi, I'm Clodagh McKenna and this is How I Host. Come on in.
00:15The first thing I think of when I'm doing my tablescape is what food I'm going to serve and
00:22also what the weather is like outside, the seasons. I love these colours of autumn, the browns
00:31and this beautiful kind of honey cream. With the flowers I like to pick up all the gorgeous tones.
00:37Look at these delicious chocolate cosmos.
00:43So on the menu today is a delicious roast cauliflower cashew and garlic soup and then
00:51we're going to move on to a slow cooked delicious buff bourguignon and then we're going to finish
00:57it off with a parsnip cake that is going to have a gorgeous maple frosting on top,
01:03topped with hazelnuts, orange zest and a drizzle of the honey from Moira Farm.
01:09I'm in the middle of making the roast cauliflower cashew and garlic soup and they're all tossed with
01:15cumin and turmeric and olive oil. They've been roasting for 10 minutes. Now I'm going to add
01:20in cashews and gorgeous sage and also some lovely garlic. We have so much cauliflower growing at
01:29the moment in our farm. Last year we had so much I had to come up with like a million
01:37ways on how to
01:38use up cauliflower. This was one of the recipes. I'm going to put on another big glug of olive oil
01:46and then
01:47clean hands toss them all together. This goes back into the oven for another 15 minutes.
01:55These are really beautiful plates. They're from Nam Living. I love the ceramics of them. I love the
02:02the texture that's in them. When my guests come over I really hope that they feel like they're at home
02:08and that they are excited about food. We love having people around in Ireland. I mean we're kind of
02:16renowned for it. I grew up around the table with my aunties and cousins and people just dropping in.
02:23There was always a pot in the oven. My berf bourguignon which smells so good already and I haven't even
02:33opened the pot. I made this yesterday. The beef is seared alongside seared and browned shallots,
02:43autumn mushrooms. I always put my best wine in there. Garlic, bay leaf, some herbs and it's slow
02:49cooked. It's always better the next day. I'm going to pop in delicious good quality dark chocolate. It
02:57doesn't bring sweetness. It brings smokiness and a beautiful velvet texture.
03:08I do individual little salt pinch bowls for everybody because I think that it adds just a real
03:17feeling of luxury. Then the next thing I have are these gorgeous fresh figs which I have slit at the
03:25top. So in a little bit I'll go upstairs to my study and write up everybody's names in place cards
03:32and
03:32then they just get popped in here. But I've been doing this for years and it's so funny I'll go
03:38to
03:38all the trouble of doing amazing tablescapes and what people will really remember are things like
03:43the figs for the place settings. It's the small detail I think that really stays with people's memories.
03:50Then a little butters, a little sprig of rosemary and a little sprinkle of sea salt over it.
03:59I love these glasses. They are from Zara. They're beautiful amber which I think really matches my new linen.
04:09These are the new napkins from my Honey by Clodagh range. I love the colours.
04:14I am going to wrap these up in a lovely chocolate ribbon bow for every setting.
04:23I started laying tables probably when I was about 10. My mom would let me do all the tables because
04:30I
04:30loved it so much. The cauliflower soup is nearly ready. Everything is roasted, pureed. See how creamy
04:38it is from the cashew? Really good. The last thing I put in is a lemon. Any creamy sauces are
04:47always
04:47elevated by a squeeze of lemon. And look, look at these beautiful, usually forgotten cauliflower leaves.
04:56I'm going to put one there and maybe another smaller one kind of hanging over it there. And then we've
05:02got
05:02some croutons. And the last thing is a drizzle of really good quality olive oil.
05:10Parsnip cake at this time of the year during the autumn is my favourite cake. I love a savoury cake.
05:17I don't like things too sweet. And this is a very simple cream cheese maple frosting. I use a maple
05:25syrup
05:26syrup instead of icing sugar. It really makes that wonderful balance between the more savouriness and
05:33that lovely sweet creaminess on top. Going right to the edges.
05:42Oh my god, that's so good. And then for texture. These are chopped roasted hazelnuts.
05:50And then some orange zest. And that's it. I love doing handwritten menus for all of my suppers. It's just
06:04a lovely
06:05little memory of the evening. And the final touches to my dinner table. I love that gorgeous
06:14feeling of surprise when my guests come and they get excited about what they're going to eat.
06:25I probably entertain at least once a week. I've been a chef now for 26 years. And definitely the reason
06:33why I love being a chef is I love feeding my friends and family. I just love it.
06:42Oh, the lighting of the candle. That's my first guess. I better go get them. Thank you for joining me.
06:51Off I go to have a gorgeous supper.
06:53Mwah!
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