Houston: August Supper Club menu

[doggerham]

August Supper Club menu

Our dinner was last night and YUM!

Mini Spanakopitas: Our group, "get the men involved" dish. Easy, tasty, but maybe needed to brush the exterior of the pastry with olive oil to facilitate browning.

2 Kabob recipies (forgive me if I don't get the names right)

chicken with mango and pineapple and rum glaze
Yummy, tho the meat didn't really take on much flavor from the glazing. Someone on the boards suggested marinating the meat, and that might work. We just boiled it down and used it as a sauce.

The Pork kabobs with a ton of spices. I like these, spicy! Both kabobs were very pretty and colorful

Crunchy Bok-Choy salad -- yummy dressing -- the ramen noodles were a bit TOO crunchy for me, but I know they will soften given time.

Black Eyed Pea salad with sour cream -- sounded a little odd, but was very tasty, with lots of cukes and red onion.

July's Peach Cobbler and vanilla frozen yogurt.

There you have it. September's meeting is at our house, so I'm looking forward to the next issue and figuring out another great menu.

Amy

[sharron]

I would love to join a supper club here in Houston, could you send me the info??? Thanks!:)

[kirbytigger]

My husband and I would love to join a Houston area supper club. Can you please email info on this?

Thanks

[maryhelenroy]

I'm interested too! Please send me some info!

mary_helen_roy@hotmail.com

[doggerham]

It looks like you've got the start of a new Houston supper club! Please let me know if you get together -- I see a big ol party in the future. Our group has 2 couples in the Heights, 2 couples in Copperfield and one in Meyerland.

Amy (doggerham@aol.com)

For Mary Helen, here's the email I sent to the first two folks here:

"I saw your response to my post on our August supper club menu.

We already have a group of 10, and that's about all any of us can handle, to be honest. I believe that kwormann, who posts a lot, is also in Houston and has a club too. We've talked about getting the 2 groups together sometime, but have never gelled -- maybe sometime!

In the meantime, why don't you post on the general board and see if you get any responses to join an existing group or start another one. Our group is over 2 years old now, and I started it via this bb. One of the issues earlier in 2001 was a supper club specific one, and gave lots of great ideas for starting one. Also there are tons of people who have them who would be happy to give you some advice.

I'm sorry that we are full up at this time. I think you should pursue it tho, it has been one of the best things I have ever done to make some good friends. Good luck and let me know how it goes!"

[kirbytigger]

Well so far I have received emails from 3 different people interested in starting a houston II (or III ) that is not including possible spouses, significant others etc who are also interested.
We're not quite sure how to start , but so far so good!
If you have any ideas or helpful hints please let me know.

~Gretchen
gretchenjohnson@hotmail.com

[doggerham]

Congrats -- it sounds like you're well on your way to a new supper club!

Most people suggest getting together for lunch or coffee -- somewhere public -- see if you like each other. In our case, it was just the first two women who got together -- we had coffee and then went to a ritzy kitchen store to shop. Later, we went to dinner together as 2 couples, so the guys could check each other out. As it happened, I then got another response, and I only talked to her on the phone before the first dinner. Then, a bit later, I got an email from one more couple, (who oddly enough live about a mile from us). They met one of the other couples first at a wine tasting, and then came to the next dinner. That all happened between September and March of 1999-2000. We've been going strong, meeting about every 6 weeeks or so. One couple has had to drop out, but we picked up 2 more, so are now 10. We had our first dinner in December 99, and our next one is this weekend!

How we work it:

There are lots of variations, but this is what has evolved with us. We get together on Sunday, around 4, and are usually home around 9 or so. The host/hostess plans the menu, which is usually 2 appetizers, entree, 1-2 sides and dessert. It is then emailed around and people pick what they want to make. We try and have one appetizer that's ready to go immediately -- a dip or spread, and then make one appetizer together. The entree is usually done by the hostess, and at least partially in advance, depending on the recipe. The other folks prep as needed ahead of time, or just bring the ingredients -- it all depends on what the recipe is, obviously. We like to grill, because it encourages the men to participate.

We have tried to stretch everyone a little and learn some new things. For example, once we had a knife sharpening seminar with one of the men who was good at that. We've handmade tamales, pressed tortillas, rolled baklava, learned to section citrus and done spice rubbed beer can chickens. The women are all pretty enthusiastic chefs. The men have varying levels of experience ranging from very good to "what the heck is couscous?" The running joke is that each menu has at least one item that 2-3 of the men don't know what it is. We cook together, usually with the hostess delegating duties. Hosts usually provide soft drinks and some wine. Usually people bring wine or beer if they're in the mood. We rotate from home to home, so the cost averages out.

If you go to http://www.picturetrail.com/doggerham you can check out the CL album of pictures. I'm the one in the purple tank top.

Let me know how it goes!

Amy

[kirbytigger]

Thank you so much for the great ideas!
It does look like we are well on our way to another club in Houston (amazing what a bulletin board can do huh?) and we will definitely incorporate your ideas into our plans-- as well as have new ones--- maybe one day we can gel together and have a big get together!

In the meantime-- feel free to contact me @ the email listed in the previous posts... or I'll catch you around the bulletin boards! ;-)

~Gretchen

[kwormann]

Kirbytigger,

Glad you are getting a Houston III group together. Yes, we have a houston group for just over a year now. The three groups should try to get together once a year in the summer for a picnic!

Doggerham, we did lose touch, but if you see this, lets try something for this summer!

[Beth]

Kim and Doggerham, I was going to suggest a picnic outing with grills for May -- before it gets too warm and before folks head out on summer vacations. We should start some emails to put it together, rather than here.

[cucinaitaliana]

I'm organizing Italian cooking classes in February. The chef, Giuseppina Pizzolato, has run a successful catering business in Tuscany for 8 years and began teaching locals and tourists 3 years ago. The weekend classes (Feb. 9, 10, 16 & 17) will be at Fratelli's Restaurant at Hwy. 290 and 34th St. The weekday classes (Feb. 12, 13 & 14) will be at LePanier, near the Texas Medical Center.

I have brochures with the menus, costs and other information in .pdf format. Send all requests to:

cucinaitaliana2002@yahoo.com

Janice