starting a new supper club...how?

[feleciac]

I am looking to start a supper club with some friends, but am not quite sure how to start and run it. I have heard several different ways, one of which is to have the hostess decide on the main dish and assign other guests to make certain types of dishes (ie, dessert, appetizer, etc) ...only problem with that is, what if you make paella and someone who is assigned a side dish makes mashed potaotes, just want to see how you can make everything mesh together. Any suggestions as to how to go about this?

[AmyL]

We live in a relatively new neighborhood, so as a way to get to know some folks, we started a supper club. This was almost two years ago and it's still going strong!
This is how we got started:
1. The Group (size and participants)
First we decided we needed at least 4 couples, but we ended up starting with 5 couples, and now we have 7. At the time some of us barely knew each other, but my next door neighbor and I thought they would "fit in." Now we have many other friends who would like to participate but we want to keep the numbers manageable.
2. When
We decided on the third Saturday of the month. Having a fixed date helps those of us who need babysitters.
3. Rotation
The first year we only planned a few months at a time. The second year we decided that we needed to go ahead and assign months to each couple which we kind of did on a first come first serve basis one afternoon after a baby shower. We'll do it this year in November or December for the 2001 year. We decided that if someone's plans change then it will be their responsibility to find someone to trade months with.
4. Menu
The hosting couple picks the theme and provides the main course and drinks. Each other couple is assigned one or two other things to bring. Sometimes the assignment is nonspecific ("bread") and other times a recipe or internet site suggested. It is just an understood rule that if a couple can't come then the hosts must fill in with their food.
5. Other ideas
I'm going to write another post about some of our themes. But we keep in mind that some dinners will be significantly more themed than others. That's OK since our main objective is to have an evening without the kids and with our friends.