Autumn Chutney (AM)

Jam!

People have so many questions when you tell them you are in a Chutney Club.
Is it like a book club? They often ask. Do you pick a new chutney every month and then get together and share your interpretations of it? 
No, guys. Come on. That would be really boring. No one wants to hear their friends talk about their feelings for chutney, unless they wanted to feel bored or annoyed.

No, our Chutney Club is about eating chutney, and the things that go with it. We get together each season and exchange jars of chutney we have made. And by chutney, I don't just mean "a condiment used in south asian cuisine that usually contains a combination of spices and vegetables and/or fruits", which is how wikipedia classifies chutney. Wikipedia is obviously a total square. We would never limit ourselves like that.  We interpret chutney to be pretty much any condiment or pickled product, or anything else a member might like to make and put in a small jar and share. Also, jam. Our interpretation of chutney also includes jam. It's a good way of interpreting chutney.

Yesterday, the Chutney Club held its autumn meet. While Chutney Club is principally about making and sharing chutney, Chutney Club meetings are about eating a shitload of delicious things that can showcase chutney.

Typical Chutney Club table spread

Yesterday, the delicious things we ate included (and please note this is not an exhaustive list):
pork sausages and rye bread which we ate with spiced apple chutney that Welly made
corn chips which we ate with tzatziki that Miguel and Legsley made
crackers, a range of cheeses (no longer pictured) and olives (no longer pictured) consumed with all the chutneys and the cumin salt Blizzie made.

Plum Chutney, by J. Tzatziki in rear.

This was phase one of the meeting. Chutney Club meetings usually involve two informal phases. After a period of time grazing on cheeses and the like, phase two begins, during which our minds get blown by a particularly special chutney showcase item. Yesterday,  phase two consisted of no less than thee mind blowers.
First, the scallops with XO sauce served on fried wonton skins that I'm sure no one will be surprised to learn that David made.

Scallop about to get got

This photo can do no justice to the deliciousness of that little baby. And now, we all have home made XO sauce in our fridges! Score.

Then Biggie Little brought out pulled pork sandwiches, to showcase the mustard that he made.

I ate two of these

Pulled pork, people, pulled pork. Some kind of miracle happens when you put a pork shoulder in a dutch oven and cook it super gentle for a long time before pulling it apart then putting it in a bread roll with mustard. Gah, I have to stop thinking about this.

Finally, Biz brought out the finest looking Creme Caramel I've ever seen. It was the colour of autumn, readers, and if only I had the presence of mind to photograph it I could show you how beautiful it looked.  Of course, I was too far gone from the scallops and the pulled pork to do anything much at all by this point, but I'm pretty sure J held herself together a lot better than I did, so look out for that Creme Caramel in the PM.

This was autumn chutney. I'm really not ready for autumn but the chutney does soften the blow.