Upcoming Dinner: February
Hostess: Saucy
Friday, January 13, 2012
January "Coconut" Dinner
Well, it's 2012 and we are off to a great start! Paprika hosted the January Dinner Club and picked Coconut as her ingredient of choice! Kudos to both Paprika and Saucy for using Coconuts from scratch!! After struggling with knives, hammers, ice picks and screwdrivers they soon discovered the need for the quintessential kitchen tool: The Machete!
Paprika started us off with "shots" of Coconut water and a slice (hack) of coconut meat.
We forgot to come armed with our Coconut Dinner Facts, so Paprika and
Couscous improvised from their trip to Punta Cana last year. Coconut
water is a natural replacement of electrolytes! Better than Gatorade
because it doesn't contain all the artificial sugar and calories!
Saucy made a tantalizing appetizer of toasted coconut slices (hacks), accompanied by coconut cheese balls. The scrumptious cheese balls were comprised of cream cheese, macadamia nuts, coconut flakes and cinnamon rolled in coconut flakes. We truly couldn't stop eating this!
Saucy's wine accompaniment was Vego Murilla red varietal. As it's impossible to find coconut wine!
This wine fit the theme because the little swirls look like coconuts (squint a bit, you'll see it).
Paprika's entree was chicken tenders and tofu
(yes, she has mastered the art of tofu - firm; Extra Extra Extra firm!),
with a garlic, coconut, and panko coating.
She paired it with basmati rice and a warm coconut milk and mayo sauce.
Weird combo for the sauce you say? But it was oh so yummy!
Couscous brought another varietal wine which fit the coconut theme because this is what you would see if a coconut hit you on the head! (Hard to see in this picture, but the label is a crazy swirl!)
True fact: Coconuts have killed more people in the Dominican Republic than Malaria!
Couscous' side dish was a Thai Coconut Rice:
Jasmine rice made with coconut milk and flaked coconut topped with toasted coconut.
Finally, Grapes rounded out the evening with a delectable dessert:
Crescent rolls filled with Nutella, banana and coconut and baked. Oooey, gooey goodness!
We had a ball at our first dinner club of the year and are planning a field trip to
Cabela's Hunting Store for Machetes.
Wonder what other "kitchen" tools we will need for upcoming dinners! Stay tuned!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
December Dinner Outing
Well, we've had another entertaining year of dinner club, with trying new dishes and pushing the culinary boundaries! So, in December we reward ourselves by putting away the spatulas, hanging up the aprons, turning off the stoves and treating ourselves to a dinner out.
Our first choice, The Naked Grape, was closed
so we chose Havana instead (Couscous had a Groupon, of course!)
It was small and we had the place to ourselves, but it was festive!!
We started with some drinks including some fun sangrias!
Enjoyed chips and three kinds of salsas (mango corn was awesome!)
We also had red pepper hummus and brie stuffed mushrooms!
Then Papa Rellenas and Havana Shrimp
If it wasn't a school night we would have stayed
for the RuPaul Drag show (apparently Tuesdays are "open nights")!!
So now onto 2012, with new tastes, flavors and fun!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
December Dinner Club
After a year of hostessing and planning and taste testing we treat ourselves to a dinner out on the town!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Oh no Oh no
I forgot my deep fried CHICKpeas! Salted and peppered!! (word to the wise... be very very careful when deep frying chick peas.. although they are DELISH!! they POP! in the hot oil. I was sure my kitchen was going to burn down in flames from these little buggers. IF you have the nerve to make them... they are fantastic and SOOOO addictive!!)
November Dinner Club
OH Yes It's Ladies night!
And I'm feeling right...
Oh yes it's Ladies Night
Oh whatta night!
Our November Dinner group was a Wine Tasting and the theme of the evening was Ladies! You could use your imagination on how to interupt Ladies into wine and food. I think we did a darn good job!!
What a night it was... ok, ok, I'm a little late in getting this posted. My apologies. It's just such a crazy time of year.. and then I lost my camera cord and couldnt download the pictures... blah blah blah. Oh well. Here we go!!
We started with a beautiful blend from Fetish Wine. I just wish they would have asked my permission before using my sihlouette on the bottle...soo embarassing!
And in no particular order, because I'm having brain freeze and cant get the pictures to move properly in order... Here's my (GRAPES) Dessert. Little Debbie Swiss Miss Kebabs! Swiss Miss cakes skewered with fresh strawberries, kiwi and raspberries.The fruit makes it healthy right??
Saucy brought grilled lettuce wraps with feta cheese, oranges and nuts ( we girls are ALL nuts) but i think she was going for HONEY and balsamic dressing as the link to the theme! Maybe not.. maybe she is just thinking this hostess is NUTS!!!
Paprika brought the Fetish (again Grapes' sihlouette!!) wine and Margherita Pizza. DELICIOUS! Made with fresh tomatoes and mozzerella cheese. yum!!
Oh and completely out of order.. here's the tablescape! lol!
Saucy is never outdone... She might have been few minutes late but she brought 2 dishes so we let her slide this time!! Here is Pumpkin Crackers with Brie and McGinnis Sisters Fig Sauce.
Couscous brought Pumpkin (her childhood nickname) Dip and Apple ( Gwenyth's daughters name!)slices. (her childhood nickname is Pumpkin NOT Dip!!!)
We enjoyed 7 DAUGHTERS wine (no no none of us have 7 daughters, could you imagine 7 daughters! Woo- my mom stopped at 2. She thought that was enough!! ) Couscous brought the 7 Daughters!
(and that's my one and only Turkey decoration.. isnt SHE pretty! Her name is Tallulah Turkey!
Grapes loved the look of the lady artist on the Le Village wine bottle... (she bought the wine and planned the theme around it... Hey it could have been worse.. The theme could have been "artist' or "pencil drawing" or 'small town'!!
In addition to Saucy's 2 delectible dishes.. she brought her LITTLE BLACK DRESS for us all to try!
And soo concludes my rendition of Wine Tasting! I hope you have enjoyed... I'm sure I missed something and will be corrected soon by the rest of my girls! I apologize in advance for missing anything. :)
And I'm feeling right...
Oh yes it's Ladies Night
Oh whatta night!
Our November Dinner group was a Wine Tasting and the theme of the evening was Ladies! You could use your imagination on how to interupt Ladies into wine and food. I think we did a darn good job!!
What a night it was... ok, ok, I'm a little late in getting this posted. My apologies. It's just such a crazy time of year.. and then I lost my camera cord and couldnt download the pictures... blah blah blah. Oh well. Here we go!!
We started with a beautiful blend from Fetish Wine. I just wish they would have asked my permission before using my sihlouette on the bottle...soo embarassing!
And in no particular order, because I'm having brain freeze and cant get the pictures to move properly in order... Here's my (GRAPES) Dessert. Little Debbie Swiss Miss Kebabs! Swiss Miss cakes skewered with fresh strawberries, kiwi and raspberries.The fruit makes it healthy right??
Saucy brought grilled lettuce wraps with feta cheese, oranges and nuts ( we girls are ALL nuts) but i think she was going for HONEY and balsamic dressing as the link to the theme! Maybe not.. maybe she is just thinking this hostess is NUTS!!!
Paprika brought the Fetish (again Grapes' sihlouette!!) wine and Margherita Pizza. DELICIOUS! Made with fresh tomatoes and mozzerella cheese. yum!!
Oh and completely out of order.. here's the tablescape! lol!
Saucy is never outdone... She might have been few minutes late but she brought 2 dishes so we let her slide this time!! Here is Pumpkin Crackers with Brie and McGinnis Sisters Fig Sauce.
Couscous brought Pumpkin (her childhood nickname) Dip and Apple ( Gwenyth's daughters name!)slices. (her childhood nickname is Pumpkin NOT Dip!!!)
We enjoyed 7 DAUGHTERS wine (no no none of us have 7 daughters, could you imagine 7 daughters! Woo- my mom stopped at 2. She thought that was enough!! ) Couscous brought the 7 Daughters!
(and that's my one and only Turkey decoration.. isnt SHE pretty! Her name is Tallulah Turkey!
Grapes loved the look of the lady artist on the Le Village wine bottle... (she bought the wine and planned the theme around it... Hey it could have been worse.. The theme could have been "artist' or "pencil drawing" or 'small town'!!
In addition to Saucy's 2 delectible dishes.. she brought her LITTLE BLACK DRESS for us all to try!
And soo concludes my rendition of Wine Tasting! I hope you have enjoyed... I'm sure I missed something and will be corrected soon by the rest of my girls! I apologize in advance for missing anything. :)Thank you for strolling down memory lane with me. Hail to the LADIES!
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