firmermml
06-14-2004, 08:33 AM
For the Pittsburgh Area Cooking Light Supper Club group meeting in June, we had perfect weather for our riverside picnic. The gathering started with a short boat ride while we waited for a few folks who got caught in construction traffic.
Our appetizer was the Feta-Chili Spread from the March '04 CL issue. This dish was very easy to prepare; the most difficult part was identifying the poblano peppers in the produce section. When the dish was first prepared, Kathy was a little worried that it was too runny, but it set up in the fridge to a perfect consistency. The dip tasted great!
Next we had the Chilled Melon Soup, from Cl May 1995; prepared by Jen. This soup was very easy, and had a beautiful presentation, and was tasty, tasty, tasty!
For our main course we had planned to make the Alder-Planked Salmon in an Aisan-style marinade. I couldn't find alder planks, so we were going to substitute cedar. Unfortunately, we had trouble with the planks on the grill, so we ended up just grilling the salmon directly on the grill. The salmon was excellent, and easy to prepare, as it simply soaks in the marinade before cooking. Nancy did a great job of grilling it in the dark!
With the main course, we had the Brown Soda Bread from the March '04 issue. This was Alison's first foray into bread-making, and the loaf turned out beautifully. We also had a Gazpacho Aspic from Southern Living '96. This was very tasty, with lots of great crunch from the veggies that are added in the last step. Most of us had never tasted aspic before, and Patty did a great job in the preparation.
Our salad consisted of greens with a citrus dressing. Vicci invented this yummy salad dressing, and Jenni dressed up the greens with a mixture of nuts.
The other side dish on the menu was Onion Gorgonzola Pie, prepared by Christine. This recipe was created by a fellow Pittsburgher and earned second place in the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest a few years ago. Everyone enjoyed the dish.
We had 2 desserts; a delicious Cherry Cobbler from the June '04 issue, made by Vicci. Note: when making this recipe, be sure to measure your pan before you make the lattice, so it will easily fit on top after it is baked.
The second dessert consisted of fresh locally-grown strawberries with chocolate fondue. The fondue recipe is from Bob Blumer, and was obtained from the Food Network website. We had fun dipping into the fondue, and diving for the occasional loose strawberry!
During the meal we enjoyed two different Australian Chardonnays, and the meal was topped off with some special Belgian dessert beers; Lindemanns Peach and Raspberry Lambics.
This was the last Pittsburgh meeting for Christine, who will be moving to Baltimore in a few weeks. We presented her with a Mollie Katzen cookbook, a Penzey's gift set, and some flowers. Best of luck Christine, we'll miss you!
Our appetizer was the Feta-Chili Spread from the March '04 CL issue. This dish was very easy to prepare; the most difficult part was identifying the poblano peppers in the produce section. When the dish was first prepared, Kathy was a little worried that it was too runny, but it set up in the fridge to a perfect consistency. The dip tasted great!
Next we had the Chilled Melon Soup, from Cl May 1995; prepared by Jen. This soup was very easy, and had a beautiful presentation, and was tasty, tasty, tasty!
For our main course we had planned to make the Alder-Planked Salmon in an Aisan-style marinade. I couldn't find alder planks, so we were going to substitute cedar. Unfortunately, we had trouble with the planks on the grill, so we ended up just grilling the salmon directly on the grill. The salmon was excellent, and easy to prepare, as it simply soaks in the marinade before cooking. Nancy did a great job of grilling it in the dark!
With the main course, we had the Brown Soda Bread from the March '04 issue. This was Alison's first foray into bread-making, and the loaf turned out beautifully. We also had a Gazpacho Aspic from Southern Living '96. This was very tasty, with lots of great crunch from the veggies that are added in the last step. Most of us had never tasted aspic before, and Patty did a great job in the preparation.
Our salad consisted of greens with a citrus dressing. Vicci invented this yummy salad dressing, and Jenni dressed up the greens with a mixture of nuts.
The other side dish on the menu was Onion Gorgonzola Pie, prepared by Christine. This recipe was created by a fellow Pittsburgher and earned second place in the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest a few years ago. Everyone enjoyed the dish.
We had 2 desserts; a delicious Cherry Cobbler from the June '04 issue, made by Vicci. Note: when making this recipe, be sure to measure your pan before you make the lattice, so it will easily fit on top after it is baked.
The second dessert consisted of fresh locally-grown strawberries with chocolate fondue. The fondue recipe is from Bob Blumer, and was obtained from the Food Network website. We had fun dipping into the fondue, and diving for the occasional loose strawberry!
During the meal we enjoyed two different Australian Chardonnays, and the meal was topped off with some special Belgian dessert beers; Lindemanns Peach and Raspberry Lambics.
This was the last Pittsburgh meeting for Christine, who will be moving to Baltimore in a few weeks. We presented her with a Mollie Katzen cookbook, a Penzey's gift set, and some flowers. Best of luck Christine, we'll miss you!