Saturday night was the third gathering of the T-Town Supper Club. Our hosts for the evening, Jim and Sue, came up with a most excellent theme for this dinner party: each guest would make a dish from The New Spanish Table cookbook by Anya von Bremzen. They purchased several copies of the book, which were passed around between the club members for perusing and dish selection. What we ended up with were six amazing dishes that made for one unforgettable meal. As always the group really got into the spirit of the evening, so we were able to cover lots of styles and ingredients. Here are some photos:
Romesco with Toast, Shrimp and Asparagus
Arugula and Potato Salad with Octopus Confit
Moorish Chicken and Nut Pie
Toasted Pasta Paella
Warm Chocolate Souffle Cake with Vanilla Bean/Thyme Infused Ice Cream
We started with the Romesco with Shrimp, Toast and Asparagus. The Romesco sauce was a great combination of spicy dried chiles, ground nuts, and spices. Second was Fennel, Potato and Mussel soup garnished with fresh Mint and sipped out of hearty mugs. A perfect start on a cold and blustery night. Next up was our Octopus Confit Salad, with saffron infused potatoes and a sofrito vinaigrette, along with Dan’s Moorish Chicken Pie. Dan is known to be a master of crusts and this olive oil saffron empanada crust didn’t disappoint. The big entree of the night was a toasted pasta Paella with Chorizo and Clams. A complex mix of flavors and textures that kept our palates dancing. Though we were full - we all accessed the special dessert stomach to make room for a perfect homemade Vanilla Bean/Thyme infused ice cream atop warm Chocolate Souflee cakes. Every dish turned out beautiful and delicious, and we all learned a thing or two about Spanish cooking and ingredients. Note - if a recipe ever calls for an Italian frying pepper I can tell you it is a poblano. You can never have too much Saffron - thanks to Jim & Sue’s secret source for the goodie bags to take home! We of course had a nice selection of both white and red Spanish wines to complement each course, as well as a bottomless pitcher of fresh and fruity Sangria. Lucky us, and thanks to the members who weren’t able to attend, we got to keep a copy of the cookbook - we can’t wait to try more recipes!
A couple of weeks ago, we had the inaugural dinner of the T-Town Supper Club. The T-Town Supper Club consists of 15 people sharing a common bond: the bond of the unpretentious foodie. Our first dinner of course had a theme, and since my lady T and I hosted, what better than a nod to T’s heritage: A Night In Sicily. For the uninitiated, Sicilian cuisine is a wild mix of cultures: Italian, North African, Greek, Norman, and Arabian. All of these different civilizations invaded and occupied the island of Sicily at one time or another (sometimes simultaneously!). And the traditional foods of Sicily combine the best of all of these cultures into one big, bold pot of sauce. Our mission: to provide a list of key ingredients that each guest would volunteer to incorporate in a traditional Sicilian dish. The list was as follows: almond, anchovy, artichoke, capers, cinnamon, clove, eggplant, fennel, fig, lemon, mussels, olive, blood orange, orange blossom, pecorino, pine nut, pistachio, raisin, saffron, squash, squid, swordfish, tomato, tuna and of course the unanimous group favorite garlic! Each guest committed to using three or more of the key ingredients in a dish that they in turn brought to the dinner party. The night’s menu was as follows:
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Apertivo: Prosecco, Blood Orange Margaritas with Fresh Basil
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Antipasti: Bruschetta with Anchovy-Fennel Butter & Roasted Peppers
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Antipasti: Citrus-marinated Shrimp with Capers & Olives, Herbed Flatbread
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Primi: Mussels in Tomato-wine Sauce
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Primi: Pasta with Artichokes, Raisins and Cauliflower, Saffron Sauce
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Primi: Calamari with Garlic, Herbs and Preserved Lemon
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Secondo: Bracciole of Beef
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Contorno: Eggplant with Capers and Mint
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Dolce: Cassata (Cake that takes 3 days to make)
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Digestivo: Moscato di Asti, Rosolio di Pistachio
Citrus Marinated Shrimp
Pasta with Saffron
Mussels Roberto
Bracciole
Cassata
The entire experience took about 4 hours. Everyone arrived on time (we have a very responsible bunch here) and we were off to a nice start with our Apertivo of Prosecco and Rob’s Blood Orange/Basil Margaritas. Antipasto was sampled casually; the remainder of the courses were served formally at the dinner tables. Additionally, most people brought at least one bottle of wine, so we had an amazing variety of wines, most of them of Sicilian origin. All of the courses were very big on flavors, which of course is the Sicilian tradition! The real standout of the evening though was the mussels - they were absolutely fantastic. Every last drop of sauce was sopped up with warm bread. All in all it was a most excellent dinner party, with the grand finale of Sara’s Cassata cake. Yes, this cake took 3 days to make - a most involved process - but the effort was well worth it. Bellissima! As they say in Italy, “Abbiamo mangiato molto bene!” - we have eaten very well!
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