Peggy
01-03-2002, 10:25 PM
I finally have a minute to post the reviews of our CL Supper Club Dinner for December. I have been a little hesitate to do all of this typing because the BB has been having posting problems, but I'll just cross my fingers and hope that my efforts will not be in vain.
Our December Dinner was hosted by Laurie in her beautiful new home! We have been hearing about the building of this house for the last 1 1/2 years, so it was very exciting to actually step inside the finished project. What a wonderful and spacious kitchen she has! Plenty of room for all of us to cook in.
Here is our menu and the group review of the recipes:
lindrusso's Famous Spinach Balls - I have been watching the rave reviews of this recipe on the BB for a long time, so I finally thought it was time to give them a try. We all loved them (guess that won't be a surprise!). They were very easy to make and they were delicious. Even the dogs enjoyed this treat! Why did I wait so long??? We serve them with two different flavored mustards and they were a big hit!
Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese (Dec '01) - I made the mixture ahead of time and just baked them at Laurie's to save time. This may have been a mistake. They never puffed up much and I wonder if this was because I had prepared them in advance. The flavor was very good and these were the first appetizer to disappear. I had just thought they would fluff up more and they were kind of flat looking. The majority thought they were great, but one member stated (I won't mention names) that they tasted like "mold". ??? Different tastes, I suppose...
Golden Oyster Bisque (Dec '01) - Overall, this soup received very positive reviews. We had cut the oysters in half and several people said they would have liked the pieces a little smaller. The seasoning of this soup was very simple, which allowed the oyster flavor to come through. We decided to replace 1 cup of the milk with white wine, which we felt was a good decision. If you like oysters, you will definately like this soup.
Winter Salad (Dec '99) This is a green salad which is tossed with grapefruit sections, red onion and walnuts. The vinaigrette contains raspberry vinegar, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce and Dijon Mustard. A little of everything... but the salad really worked. The raspberry vinegar flavor really came through. Some thought it could have used more dressing but we were tossing the salad in a bowl that was too small, so perhaps the dressing would have been better distributed in a larger bowl. Most thought it would have been better with a sweeter onion such as Maui or vidalia or with carmelized onions. Overall, a thumbs up!
Standing Rib Roast with Madeira Sauce and Herbed Yorkshire Pudding (Dec '01) - OMG!!! Absolutely outstanding! We had a slight miscalculation in cooking time and dinner was a bit later than we expected, but this turned out wonderful! "Outstanding" was the word going around the table. The Yorkshire Puddings were good also, especially with the Madeira sauce. I salivate just thinking about our entree....:p
Portobello-Layered Mashed Potatoes (Oct '99) - We classified this as a "transitional" food. It fit well with the rest of the meal. Many used the term "earthy" to describe the combination of potatoes and portobello mushrooms...some said they were too earthy. IMHO they were great! This recipe will definately be served in my house in the future.
Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Souffle (Aug '00) - We were short on oven space, so we initiated Laurie's new convection oven with this souffle. It was a beautiful sight...several of us watched it through the glass oven door going around and around... It was golden, light and fluffy, just like a souffle should be. And the flavor... Outstanding! This is a recipe that I had wanted to try when it was first published in CL, but I was at a loss as to what to serve it with. This was the meal! A terrific compliment to all the other dishes, and it held up well after leaving the oven. It didn't fall like most souffles. We used fresh rosemary (3 times the amount of the dried called for in the recipe) and I can't imagine using dried. The fresh was great! NOTE: Of course it came off of my daughter's rosemary trees!:D I gave each of my CL Supper Club members a rosemary tree and cookbook for Christmas! Wish I had put this recipe in the cookbook before I finished it!
Glazed Carrots with Candied Chestnuts (Dec '01) - The carrots themselves, were very good, however we all could have lived without the chestnuts. The chef responsible for this dish had a terrible time locating them and ended up roasting fresh chestnuts in the oven. We felt for all of the extra work, the chestnuts didn't add much to the dish. It was agreed that pecans, macademia nuts or almonds would have been much better. NOTE: I personally made this recipe for Christmas with pecans and it was excellent!
Light 'n' Creamy Chocolate Cake Roll (Dec '01) - Very good and nice presentation! The person in charge of the recipe made it ahead of time so I can't comment on the amount of work involved, but it was very impressive looking. We served it with fresh raspberries. Very generous serving size for Cooking Light!
Peppermint Ice Cream (Dec '01) - After reading all of the reviews on this recipe, I waited to add half of the peppermint candies until I put it in the freezer. They still melted!! The flavor was good...not too sweet considering it was peppermint ice cream, but I wish there would have been some candies to crunch!
I believe that wraps up the reviews of our dinner. The truly amazing thing about these dinners is the low cost for the participants. This "gourmet" meal came in at about $11.00 per person (wine cost not included). That is unbelievable when you consider what you would pay for this meal at a fine restaurant. I am always amazed at how economical the meals are (and so are our husbands!)
Hopefully, this will post OK and hopefully someone will take the time to read it! It takes a long time to post these reviews and I hope they are helpful to others!
Peggy
Our December Dinner was hosted by Laurie in her beautiful new home! We have been hearing about the building of this house for the last 1 1/2 years, so it was very exciting to actually step inside the finished project. What a wonderful and spacious kitchen she has! Plenty of room for all of us to cook in.
Here is our menu and the group review of the recipes:
lindrusso's Famous Spinach Balls - I have been watching the rave reviews of this recipe on the BB for a long time, so I finally thought it was time to give them a try. We all loved them (guess that won't be a surprise!). They were very easy to make and they were delicious. Even the dogs enjoyed this treat! Why did I wait so long??? We serve them with two different flavored mustards and they were a big hit!
Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese (Dec '01) - I made the mixture ahead of time and just baked them at Laurie's to save time. This may have been a mistake. They never puffed up much and I wonder if this was because I had prepared them in advance. The flavor was very good and these were the first appetizer to disappear. I had just thought they would fluff up more and they were kind of flat looking. The majority thought they were great, but one member stated (I won't mention names) that they tasted like "mold". ??? Different tastes, I suppose...
Golden Oyster Bisque (Dec '01) - Overall, this soup received very positive reviews. We had cut the oysters in half and several people said they would have liked the pieces a little smaller. The seasoning of this soup was very simple, which allowed the oyster flavor to come through. We decided to replace 1 cup of the milk with white wine, which we felt was a good decision. If you like oysters, you will definately like this soup.
Winter Salad (Dec '99) This is a green salad which is tossed with grapefruit sections, red onion and walnuts. The vinaigrette contains raspberry vinegar, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar, soy sauce and Dijon Mustard. A little of everything... but the salad really worked. The raspberry vinegar flavor really came through. Some thought it could have used more dressing but we were tossing the salad in a bowl that was too small, so perhaps the dressing would have been better distributed in a larger bowl. Most thought it would have been better with a sweeter onion such as Maui or vidalia or with carmelized onions. Overall, a thumbs up!
Standing Rib Roast with Madeira Sauce and Herbed Yorkshire Pudding (Dec '01) - OMG!!! Absolutely outstanding! We had a slight miscalculation in cooking time and dinner was a bit later than we expected, but this turned out wonderful! "Outstanding" was the word going around the table. The Yorkshire Puddings were good also, especially with the Madeira sauce. I salivate just thinking about our entree....:p
Portobello-Layered Mashed Potatoes (Oct '99) - We classified this as a "transitional" food. It fit well with the rest of the meal. Many used the term "earthy" to describe the combination of potatoes and portobello mushrooms...some said they were too earthy. IMHO they were great! This recipe will definately be served in my house in the future.
Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Souffle (Aug '00) - We were short on oven space, so we initiated Laurie's new convection oven with this souffle. It was a beautiful sight...several of us watched it through the glass oven door going around and around... It was golden, light and fluffy, just like a souffle should be. And the flavor... Outstanding! This is a recipe that I had wanted to try when it was first published in CL, but I was at a loss as to what to serve it with. This was the meal! A terrific compliment to all the other dishes, and it held up well after leaving the oven. It didn't fall like most souffles. We used fresh rosemary (3 times the amount of the dried called for in the recipe) and I can't imagine using dried. The fresh was great! NOTE: Of course it came off of my daughter's rosemary trees!:D I gave each of my CL Supper Club members a rosemary tree and cookbook for Christmas! Wish I had put this recipe in the cookbook before I finished it!
Glazed Carrots with Candied Chestnuts (Dec '01) - The carrots themselves, were very good, however we all could have lived without the chestnuts. The chef responsible for this dish had a terrible time locating them and ended up roasting fresh chestnuts in the oven. We felt for all of the extra work, the chestnuts didn't add much to the dish. It was agreed that pecans, macademia nuts or almonds would have been much better. NOTE: I personally made this recipe for Christmas with pecans and it was excellent!
Light 'n' Creamy Chocolate Cake Roll (Dec '01) - Very good and nice presentation! The person in charge of the recipe made it ahead of time so I can't comment on the amount of work involved, but it was very impressive looking. We served it with fresh raspberries. Very generous serving size for Cooking Light!
Peppermint Ice Cream (Dec '01) - After reading all of the reviews on this recipe, I waited to add half of the peppermint candies until I put it in the freezer. They still melted!! The flavor was good...not too sweet considering it was peppermint ice cream, but I wish there would have been some candies to crunch!
I believe that wraps up the reviews of our dinner. The truly amazing thing about these dinners is the low cost for the participants. This "gourmet" meal came in at about $11.00 per person (wine cost not included). That is unbelievable when you consider what you would pay for this meal at a fine restaurant. I am always amazed at how economical the meals are (and so are our husbands!)
Hopefully, this will post OK and hopefully someone will take the time to read it! It takes a long time to post these reviews and I hope they are helpful to others!
Peggy