Being young and single is an interesting time for a
motivated chef. As much as I love and want to cook, I don’t always have people
to cook for, and I can’t afford to constantly entertain larger groups. I also certainly don’t always have the time
or energy. I often have weeknight obligations, and if I get home from work
late, pouring a bowl of cereal becomes an effort.
I began formulating an idea to form a “Supper Club” in the
summer. My initial ideas were ambitious, developing theme menus, formal dining
set-ups, coordinating every dish, but eventually I settled that I would just
throw the idea out to my girlfriends by inviting a bunch of them over for
dinner. We picked a date the majority of
us could meet, invited a few extra friends from our respective networks, I
swiffered my apt floors, lit some candles, put out some cheese and crackers,
crudités and dip, and we gathered.
I made a big pot of chicken and dumplings from a recipe I
found on williamssonoma.com, one of my favorite resources for shopping and meal
planning. It was late September and beginning to feel like fall, so I chose
something with apples and apple cider vinegar. This recipe also caught my eye because it had
dill, and I love dill, especially dill pickles.
I used boneless thighs and breast because I knew we wouldn’t be sitting
at a table and it would be difficult to cut meat off the bone balancing plates
while sitting on the couch. The night before I had done a Passover dinner with
my sister, C and brother in law, T, so I was able to repurpose a pumpkin dessert
I had made for that.
The real star of the show, however, was a Pinterest dessert
a friend of friend brought. B wrapped
chocolate chips in crescent roll dough and baked them off---divine.
At the end of the dinner we all agreed to keep our “Supper
Club” up, and a few weeks later gathered at the home of a few of the girl’s in
our group for a lemony shrimp pasta. We
celebrated a second Thanksgiving together in November, and in January gathered
twice, once for another delicious shrimp dish with feta, and a second time, a
smaller group of us met for some of the best pizza in Philadelphia,
Tacconelli’s.
Second Thanksgiving Plate!
We are meeting tonight for fajitas. E, the hostess, is a
vegetarian, so while she will prepare a vegetarian fajita option, K volunteered
to take care of chicken for meat eaters. I am bringing a dessert, M is bringing
an avocado salad, and others will be providing plenty of wine and maybe a few
other treats.
I am sure plenty of groups of women do this all over the
country, at all different ages, and in all sorts of cities and suburbs. I like
to think, however, that our group is special, and I’m sure if you have a
“Supper Club”, you feel the same about yours. I encourage everyone to try to do
this, whether it is with a few friends, a lot of friends, coworkers, or family
members.
The important thing is that is a chance to share embarrassing
stories, drink a lot of wine on a weeknight, and eat some really tasty
food. I don’t think anyone can say no to
that.
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