Ottawa-Gatineau Bilingual Supper Club

[KirstenL]

Notre club est actif dans la région de Gatineau-Ottawa, avec les réunions une fois par mois. (Lors de chaque rencontre, la date de la prochaine réunion est choisie par l’équipe.) La groupe est bilingue--francophones et anglophones sont bienvenus! Il reste encore au moins une place de disponible. Si ça vous tente, vous pouvez répondre ici sur ce babillard ou m'envoyer un message privé.

Our club is now active in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, with meetings once a month. (The schedule varies. During each dinner, the group chooses the date for the following meeting.) The group is bilingual--French and English speakers are welcome! We still have room for at least one more member. If you are interested in joining us, please reply here to this posting or send me a private message.

[donnam]

We've now had 4 meetings/dinners and the fifth is this weekend. Just to give anyone out there who might be interested an idea of what we've made, below are the menus.

Meeting one:
CL's "On the Edge Menu" from Sept. 2001:
Spice-Crusted Shrimp with Rémoulade Sauce
Citrus Chicken Tagine
Thai Bell Pepper, Cucumber, and Peanut Salad
Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter
Green-Onion Pancakes
Star Anise Bread Pudding
(everything was really good)

Meeting two:
CL's "Come on over and Cook Menu
White-Bean Hummus Dip (we all found this dip a bit dry)
Shrimp with Roasted Pepper-Horseradish Dip (this dip seemed very tasteless - not a repeat)
Peanutty Noodles
Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Dressing and Crispy Won Ton "Croutons"
Apricot-Stuffed Spice-Rubbed Pork Loin
White Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecake

Meeting three:
Thai theme
Thai Eggplant Dip
Thai Steak Salad with Basil and Mint (Minus the steak)
Chapchae (Noodles with Beef and Mixed Vegetables) (This is actually Korean!, and wasn't a bit hit)
Spicy Thai Coconut Shrimp
Broiled Tilapia with Thai Coconut-Curry Sauce
Date-Nut Pudding Cake with Vanilla Sauce

Meeting four:
-Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
-Garden Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
-Tuscan Chickpea Soup
-Moroccan Chicken with Almond Couscous
-North African-Grilled Corn on the Cob
-Lemon Pound Cake with Mixed Berries (May 2004 issue)
Everything was amazing except for the corn, which would have been just as good plain as it was with the spice rub.

Meeting five:
Tapas theme.
(this one is this Sunday at my place - this will be the first time cooking in a smaller space.)
· Sangria
· Valencia Artichokes
· Pinchos Morunos
· Garlic-Sizzled Mushrooms
· Chunky Gazpacho
· Traditional Spanish Paella
· Citrus Granita

Will respond with a report.

[hjacks]

I am interested in joining the Ottawa/Gatineau supper club. I am new to Ottawa, I love to cook, and I am primarily vegetarian. (Je suis anglophone, mais je voudrais pratique mon francais).

[KirstenL]

To hjacks: Welcome to Ottawa! I'd love to exchange more information with you about the group. Is there some way we can contact you? Unfortunately, neither the e-mail nor the private messaging functions appear to be enabled in your profile. If you'll let us know how to reach you, we'd love to talk to you!

[KirstenL]

Interested in joining us? Our supper club is going smoothly, and we've had quite a great response to our postings. If you're curious, here's how we work.

Our club is bilingual, with French- and English-speakers welcome. We like to limit the size to no more than eight members, to keep it manageable. When we meet, it's just us members; our spouses, families, and SO's are on their own for supper. This is our brand of girls' night out. :D

We try to have meetings about once a month, usually on a Sunday evening. Each month, a different member is responsible for hosting the event. This means she plans the menu (using Cooking Light recipes) and sends it out two weeks ahead of time. She buys the groceries, and maybe a bottle or two of moderately priced wine. Then we all meet at her place at the designated time and cook a fabulous meal together--and then we eat it, of course! Sometimes not all the members can make it, but there is the potential to have as many as eight people together at once, so it really helps to have a place to hold that many people.

Our members are scattered throughout the greater Ottawa/Outaouais region, living everywhere from Stittsville to Orleans on the Ontario side of the river, and in Hull and Aylmer on the Quebec side. Thus, it really helps to have access to transportation or to live near another member where you can work out carpooling arrangements easily.

We have a great group of members, and we all really enjoy the experience of getting together each month. If you're interested in joining us, post a reply here or send me a private message. We'd love to hear from you!

Bon appetit!
Kirsten

[KirstenL]

If you speak French or English, and you're interested in joining our club, please send me a PM or post a reply here. We'd love to hear from you!

In the meantime, it's been a while since we've posted our menus, and since the September "entertaining" issue of CL is due out any day, now seems like a great time to update the posting. Here are some more of the menus we have prepared. As you can see, we've been enjoying some wonderful food together!


Santa Fe Menu, September, 2004
• Farmers’ Market Quesadillas
• Red Cabbage and Spinach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Fiery Turkey Fillets with Mango Salsa
• Lemon Southwest Rice
• Flan De Queso
Everything was awesome--especially the quesadillas!

Harvest Menu, October 2004
• Harvest Squash and Pear Soup (Chatelaine)
• Pork Medallions with Cranberries and Apples (CL Nov. 2002)
• Squash-Rice Casserole (CL Oct. 2002)
• Roasted Cauliflower (CL Nov. 2002)
• Apple-Oat Upside-Down Cake (CL June 2000)
Again, a hugely successful menu!

Vegetarian Italian, November 2004
• Mediterranean Vegetable Soup (Cooking Light, April 2004)
• Bucatini with Eggplant and Roasted Peppers (Cooking Light, May 2004)
• Roasted Vegetable-Cheese Pie (Cooking Light, January 1998)
• Italian White Bean-and-Artichoke Salad (Cooking Light, July 2000)
• Tiramisu Anacapri (Cooking Light, December 2000)
How many times did we take seconds?

Post-Holiday Menu, January 2005
• Marinated Spanish Olives (CL, September 2002)
• Watercress-Bibb Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese (CL, September 2002)
• Gruyère, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce (CL, September 2002)
• Baked Rice with Butternut Squash (CL, September 2002)
• Cloverleaf Honey-Wheat Rolls (CL, September 2002)
• Harvest Pear Crisp (CL, September 2002)
Another fabulous hit all around!

Mexican Menu, February 2005
• Black Bean Spread with Lime and Cilantro (CL, November 2004)
• Shrimp with Mole Poblano (CL, January 2005)
• Frisée, Baby Spinach, and Golden Beet Salad (CL, January 2005)
• Herbed Chicken Breasts with Tomatillo Salsa and Queso Fresco (CL, January 2005)
• Arroz con Habichuelas Rosadas Guisadas (Rice with Stewed Pink Beans) (CL, September 2004 )
• Fudgy Espresso Soufflé with Raspberry Sauce (CL, January 1999)
Wow, what a wonderful meal. The bean spread, mole, and chicken were huge favorites. (The dessert was less spectacular than we had hoped.)

Indian Menu, April 2005
• Beef Curry with Toasted Spices (CL, September 2003)
• Saffron Basmati Rice (CL, September 2003)
• Curried Cauliflower (CL, September 2003)
• Raita (Indian Yogurt and Cucumber Condiment) (CL, September 2003)
• Tomato, Lime and Onion Salad (CL, September 2003 )
• Mango and Mint Chutney (CL, September 2003
• Stuffed Zucchini with Potatoes and Peas (CL, April 2003)
• Indian Bread Pudding with Cardamom Sauce (CL, November 2002)
Here's how DonnaM described the meal: Everything was quite good - the mango chutney was the star of the show, I think. The tomato, lime, and onion salad played the smallest role.


Summer Grilling Menu, June 2005
• Hummus with raspberry vinegar (CL, April 1999)
• Potato salad with olives, capers and parmesan (CL, June 2003)
• Grilled vegetables with balsamic vinaigrette (CL, June 1998)
• Chicken thighs with thyme and lemon (CL, July 2002)
• Strawberry - Orange mélange (CL, June 1998)
Yummy! The hummus was more subtle than a traditional one, but so lovely! Everything was fabulous.

Vegetarian Country French, July 2005
• Goat Cheese, Roasted Garlic, and Tomato Croutes (Cooking Light, March 2002)
• Spicy Vegetable Ragout Over Polenta (Cooking Light, October 1997)
• Caramelized Onion, Green Bean, and Cherry Tomato Tian (Cooking Light, December 2001)
• Chickpea Salad with Provençal Herbs and Olives (Cooking Light, June 2005)
• Orange Cake with Fresh Berries (Cooking Light, June 2005)
We all agreed, it was impossible to pick a favorite, everything was so good!


That's it for now. We'll try to update the posting more often, as we have meetings. If you're interested in joining us, let us know!
(You can also view more information about how we got started on the initial thread, http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=52371.)

Bon appetit!
Kirsten

[KirstenL]

Hello, everyone! We just held our September/October meeting this weekend, and it was a huge success! All of our members were present, and we cooked the following menu together. It is more or less a "Holiday" theme, and we also enjoyed an apertif of iced cider in proseco, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon with the main course.

Supper Club Menu, September/October 2005
• Individual goat cheese and date tortas (CL, November 2004)
• Carrot-parsnip soup with parsnip chips (CL, December 2004)
• Cornmeal, Fennel, & Golden Raisin Dinner Rolls (CL, June 2005)
• Fig and Stilton-Stuffed Turkey Breast with Port Sauce (CL, December 2004)
• Sauteed Green Beans with Pecans (CL, September 2005)
• Brûléed Mashed Sweet Potatoes (CL, December 2001)
• Kentucky Derby Pie (CL, December 2001)

The appetizers (goat cheese/date tortas) were pretty easy to make, and very tasty. Everyone loved them. We even enjoyed eating just the spinach leaves in vinaigrette--this was definitely a winning recipe! The soup was thick and delicious. (It would be fine as is or even thinned down a bit.) Everything else was delicious, too. The pie was the only thing that we considered to be good, but not outstanding. Overall, it was another successful menu and a fabulous evening in great company!

[KirstenL]

We had our most recent meeting in November, and are taking the holidays off. We'll meet again in mid to late January. November was another huge success! Here's the fabulous menu put together by our hostess for the month:

• Baba Ghanoush with Red Pepper Swirl (CL, November 2005, p. 284)
• Spiked Pumpkin Soup (CL, November 2005, p. 121)
• Apple, Walnut and Mixed Green Salad with Zinfandel Cranberry Vinaigrette (CL, November 2005, p. 124)
• Pork Tenderloin with Dried Apricot and Onion Marmalade (CL, November 2005, p. 139)
• Sautéed Wild Mushrooms with Wilted Spinach (CL, November 2005, p. 148)
• Camembert Mashed Potatoes (CL, November 2005, p. 141)
• Pumpkin pie cake (CL, November 2005, p. 197)

Everything was a hit. We agreed we couldn't really taste the cheese in the mashed potatoes, which was a bit disappointing. But literally everything else was a huge, raving success. Once again, we enjoyed cooking--and eating--an incredible feast.