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Archive for the ‘Cooking Club’ Category

Cooking Club – Indian

25 Jun

I’m constantly surprised at the versatility of our intrepid gang of culinary adventurers. We’ve embraced the idea that spices aren’t a thing to be feared, but respected; we were able to put that theory to the test with Paul’s thematic choice of “Indian Food”. To clarify, for those wondering “Does that mean Native American?” or actual “Citizens of the country named India” I’ll use Jason’s simple and clear explanatory statement of, “dots, not feathers..”

John – Sweet Corn Subji With Paneer and Cashew Nuts
Jeanette - Indian Carrots, Peas and Potatoes
Greg – Sallee Style Curry
Jessica – Naan
Paul – Sali Boti
Desiree – Indian Wines and Mango Yogurt Beverage (Need name and recipe!)
Jason – Besan Ke Ladoo

The food was absolutely delicious, and although I don’t think Jason was happy with how his dessert turned out, I actually enjoyed the taste of his Besan Ke Ladoo. The curries, although being relatively tame on the heat schedule (or as I like to call it, “Minnesota Spicy”) were excellent, and Desiree definitely redeemed the reputation of yogurt drinks with her tasty concoction, possibly made more delicious by the variety of Indian wines she sprung on us. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try out the “Bulls Blood”, but the whites were great. Jeanette’s dish was perfectly spiced, and I was pretty surprised with how much I liked my own dish. It’s definitely one I want to add to my “whip up at the drop of a hat” recipe bandoleers.

Special thanks to the Brazelton girls for entertaining Evan so thoroughly, not to mention us adults, as we were treated to a few amazing interpretations of their singing in Rock Band. Pure awesomesauce..

 
 

Cooking Club – Chicago Speakeasy Murder Mystery

03 Jun

Hal Coppone was found gunned down locked in his secret secured vault. Who was the perpetrator? We found out in our latest Cooking Club gathering, “Chicago Speakeasy Murder Mystery”

First, I just wanted to thank everyone who came for getting into the thick of things by being in costume. Everyone did an excellent job looking like their character, and it was great! (Don’t look now, but you’re role-playing!)  Also to note, it was Evan’s first night away from home, meaning that us ”Clubbers” could be as raucous as we’re naturally drawn to be.

Everyone arrived in style, and after a CD intro to the game we dove straight in to introducing some facts about our characters, as well as getting drinks and appetizers out.

The food was delicious, and the drinks flowed in our newly converted home-to-speakeasy.

Greg (Ernie “Bet a Million” G. Ambler)- Antipasti
Desiree (“Silky” M. Adam)- Crab Stuffed Mushrooms with Parmesan
Jason (Billy “The Kid” Thrower)- Crusty French Bread
Paul (Eddie “Socks”)- Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes and Fried Shallots
Jeanette (Molly M. Awbsterr)- Chicken Scallopini
Jessica (Malissa F. Orrthot “Scoop”) - Warm Apple Cake with Caramel Pecan Sauce
John (S. Treighton Harrow) – Bathtub Gin Bar Drinks
Rebecca (Anna Maria Carlotta Sassine “Torchy”) - A variety of delicious wines, thanks Becca!

After a long night of throwing out juicy clues about one another, we had to make our accusations. Interestingly enough, none of us guessed right!  I guess it was easy getting distracted by the corrupt DA (me!) and his hired assasins, Billy and Torchy, or by the backstabbing “Socks”, or the conniving mastermind G. Ambler and his expert bootlegger driver (Molly) or even the career minded intrepid reporter, “Scoop.

We should have known that “Silky” M. Adam (Desiree) was the perpetrator. Smuggling herself into Hal’s vault with Coppone himself, then gunning down the mobster and secreting out his loot through underground tunnels using her standard bootleg liquor shipment. She woulda gotten away too if it weren’t for those crazy kids.. *fist shake*

 

Cooking Club – Creole

30 Apr

I think I’m still a bit stuffed from all the good food we had on Sunday night, my belt definitely got a workout. The Millers hosted up another successful cooking club, this time, centered around Jason’s choice of delicious, spicy and hot Creole cuisine.

We were welcomed by Jesscica with a perfectly mixed Hurricane, garnished with a surprisingly well soused maraschino cherry. For being a mixed drink with no fillers, it tasted perfectly smooth and refreshing!

Greg brought a delicious corn and tomato based side dish called Maque Choux, I brought Jambalaya, Paul kicked it up a notch with a version of mashed potatoes that included black truffle oil. Desiree, who unfortunately was not able to make it (hope you’re feeling better!) sent along an excellent Jalapeno Cornbread. For the piece de resistance, Jason bestowed a rare treat on us in the form of a massive Crawfish boil. Bam!

He had a large box of live crawdads shipped to him from the Louisiana Crawfish Company, and boiled them up not twenty feet from the dinner table. After a little “how to eat your crawdad” lesson, everyone plunged in and ate with abandon. Many thanks for the rare and awesome treat, Jason!

Once our stomachs settled from the crawdad apocalypse, Jeanette produced a festive King Cake. Because Jessica found the “baby” (er.. pecan) in the cake, she’s on tap for the next cake, and she also won the privilege of picking her “role” in next month’s cooking club. We’re looking forward to that upcoming dessert!

Topping off the evening Jessica brought out a Cafe Du Monde Cafe Au Lait for everyone, helping us settle our overfilled bellies. Much fun was had, many hurricanes were drunk, whole mess o’ mudbugs were sacrificed allowing Cooking Club Creole to enter the history books as a resounding success.

 
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Posted in Creole