As if to start the new year off right, the Millers’ hosted this month’s Cooking Club with Jason choosing th excellent theme of tapas. Big things come in small packages, especially well seasoned small packages it seems; this entire theme would be better labeled as “TAPAS!” as every dish was an explosion of tasty Spanish flavors.
Here’s the rundown on the delightful dishes sent from the gods to destroy any remaining diet-based new years resolutions.
Whoever came up with the original/ancient idea behind “Dates Wrapped in Bacon with Marcona Almonds” must have made some form of culinary Faustian Pact. Personally, I consider it a soul extremely well spent.
Thanks to Greg for hosting yet another great Cooking Club with the theme Cherries and Cranberries. Unfortunately, we went on vacation right after we went to this event, so I don’t have a massive writeup to go with it, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, I figure this qualifies as a small novel. Tasty and sweet things abound!
While driving through the oppressive pitch black of an early autumn evening, our vehicle began to sputter to tune of an empty gas tank. Using the last of our momentum, we were able to pull to the side of the road in front of a quaint looking farmhouse (or so we presumed, due to the chicken clucks emanating from the backyard.) Walking to the door, we could see shapes flashing by the windows, surely nothing human could move that fast! Knocking on the door we were immediately welcomed by three squealing blurs that could only be identified as a type of pixie or fairy. Spiders were quickly thrust into our hands and the smells of something delicious came wafting out of the kitchen. As I had suspected, we stumbled across a nest of ravenous foodies!
Thankfully, in preparation for our long journey north, we had laid in a stock of tasty goodies stashed in our vehicle. Scraping off some form of white furry four legged beast I could only assume was part sasquatch, I ran to the car and produced our stash of cupcakes and an improbably spider-shaped yet tasty loaf of pumpkin bread. As is their custom the foodies effortlessly conjured up delicious morsels of tasty yet ghoulish looking food and wicked looking drinks that seemed spawned from the imaginations of a mad scientist or murderously creative bartender. Serving dishes hovered back and forth across the table, veering wildly to bypass the massive black-taper filled candelabra. Their contents disappearing rapidly to the sounds of lips smacking and ominous “Mmm Mmm MMMM’s”
Thus satiated (and therefore rendered safe), we were able to make polite conversation with the foodies before retreating to our vehicle and the relative safety of the Southern Lands. It could be my imagination, but I swear we just had a Cooking Club Event!
We had an excellent time earlier this month with the Morrisons and Christensons celebrating my birthday. After a tasty breakfast, my mother had the excellent idea of going to the Edina Realty fall festival near 50th and France. Aside from the biting cold wind, the kids had a great time with free horseback riding, face painting, balloons, hot cider and free pumpkins!.
Ole! Sunday saw our Cooking Club really enjoying the “low-hanging-fruit-I-can’t-believe-hasn’t-been-picked” theme of “Mexican Food”. The day was nice enough that we were able to enjoy all the delicious food out on the deck with the ambient sounds of mariachi music while sipping delicious (and potent!) margaritas, both compliments of the lovely Jeanette Morrison.
Jason – Homemade Chips – Jason lovingly handcrafted created each of the chips by hand, coupling that with the excellent guacamole that Paul brought, made this normally forgettable side an irresistible “can’t stop my hand from snaking back to it” dish.
Jeanette – Genuine Margaritas - These things were tasty, but being the “genuine” version, they’re mostly alcohol, and they’re not meant to be drunk as if they were a typical margarita (that’s primarily sugar and water with a splash of tequila).
John – Chicken with Molé Sauce – I’ve never made a Molé sauce before, and I think mine turned out ok, although next time, I’ll try harder to get fresh guajilo chilies, the only one’s that I could find were dried and came across a little tough and underwhelming in the flavor department. Also, being that the sauce has around 8 steps to it, uses multiple pans, bowls, prep containers and uses a food processor, the mess left behind in creating the dish was truly epic in scale.
Paul – Guacamole and Spanish Rice – Pulling double duty, Paul brought both of these excellent dishes to the table. I really liked the Spanish (mexican!) rice, going back for seconds. The Guac was perfect, the perfect smooth, almost fatty mouthfeel contrasted perfectly paired with Jason’s homemade chips.
Jessica – Corn Cherry and Tomato Salsa – Fresh, light and refreshing, this was an excellent compatriot to the warmer and heavier dishes.
Greg – Empanadas - I’d never had these before and enjoyed them quite a bit, according to everyone else, they were exponentially enhanced through the addition of a little ice cream. Good call Amelie!
There was also a tasty appetizer that was passed around at the beginning of the night, that I’m assuming was Greg’s, but I’m not quite sure what it was. I’ll assign credit and get recipes up once I hear who should get the kudos!
Unfortunately, Penelope was sick, so Des, Penelope and Madeline couldn’t be here for dinner and the subsequent Beatles Rock Band goodness that followed; Here’s hoping the ick’s all gone and that we’ll be seeing you at the next cooking club! (Which I assume is inevitable, as you’re hosting!) Side note for Greg, the rest of Abbey Road and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are going to be released as downloadable content, so those songs that you were looking forward to are just around the corner!
