Cooking Club

The great thing about having friends who are just as excited about food and wine as we are is being able to gather and enjoy a great dinner together. A group of 8 of us are meeting monthly on a Sunday evening to make a full Sunday night dinner.

Mike and I volunteered to host the first Cooking Club and picked our Italian menu from the Joy of Cooking.

Antipasti

Italian Cheese and Meat Plate

Rosemary and Olive Oil Bread with Dipping Sauces

Primi

Milanese Risotto with Saffron

Secondo

Milk Braised Pork

Contorno

Roasted Squash with Agave and Nutmeg

Brussel Sprouts and Edamame with Bacon

Dolce

Key Lime Pie with Almond Macaroons and Lemon Sorbet

French Silk Pie with Almond Macaroons and Vanilla Ice Cream

I spent a good portion of Sunday in the kitchen prepping for dinner, a long day but worth it for the amazing meal we had with friends.

For the first cooking club everyone needed to bring an Italian Wine and cheese for appetizers while Mike and I finished cooking.

Our antipasti plate had meats and cheeses that everyone brought and our favorite rosemary and olive oil bread from Kowalski’s with Italian seasoning, a bit of freshly grated Parmesan and high end olive oil for dipping.

Our primi course was a beautiful Milanese risotto made with arborio rice, chicken stock, a bit of white wine and a few threads of saffron to give it a vibrant yellow color.

Secondo was a milk braised pork that cooked on the stove top for 3 hours and was so tender it just fell apart. The remaining juices leftover in the dutch oven were turned into a flavorful gravy.

The contorno sides were roasted squash with nutmeg and agave that were sweet and tender and a big bowl of edamame and brussel sprouts cooked with pancetta and onion.

Since I had been so busy cooking everything else we cheated and used store bought dessert. You need to take shortcuts somewhere I am so glad we started this Cooking Club and can not wait until the next one when we can show up with wine and an appetizer! As much as I love to cook sometimes it is even better to just show up and be served an amazing meal.