Sunday Night Football club

I have a thing for guys who know their way around the kitchen, and definitely swoon when a guy knows his food and can cook.  I refer to these men as my food porn stars!  I recently was lucky enough to get an invited to a coveted Sunday Night Football dinner club where not only one man was cooking but there is a rotating roaster of at least 3 men and this particular evening, it was a collaborated effort of two men who had worked tirelessly crafting their gourmet delights for us to enjoy.

This Sunday night supper club formulated months ago almost accidentally when the boys would get together and start throwing things on the BBQ and making dinners for all.  Dinners were elaborate, well thought out and impressive and they would aim every week to outdo one another as the host of the dinner would rotate.  I heard tales of slow cooked chilli, roasted whole chicken with herbs, open faced steak sandwiches and tonight were we in for a treat - irish stew pot pie.  These boys got the idea while drinking at their local Irish pub so they bought their ingredients and set out to slow cook their stew in the afternoon using Guinness as a base.  They also decided to make their own Irish creme which was a lovely treat.  It was very smooth and rich served with ice which was a perfect way to start off.

The boys went as far as to serve home made dips with veggies, roasted garlic and camembert.  The garlic actually came from the host's Che garden.  It was a source of pride as these garlic stocks were unusually huge and had an uneven base resulting in huge cloves for us to enjoy.
This was a long affair as the stew needed at least 8 hours to cook - the aromas wafting through the air were enough to make us salivate but hence patience was tried as the boys wanted to be authentic and make their own pastry dough.  They kneaded and rolled them out into little pot pie plates and baked the pies for another hour.  At around 10pm - dinner was finally served pipping hot out of the oven.

The verdict - it was worth the wait just to see the final product.  They looked delicious and it was a gallant first attempt at this.  There were a couple notes shared about the stew and pastry but overall it was hearty, thick and awesome.  The juice was certainly worth the squeeze and I truly look forward to the next time I get to see these food porn stars in action!