Tuesday with Dorie: Buttermilk Crumb Muffins + FAKESGIVING

I decided to sneak these muffins into our Supper Club menu.  They were really easy to whip up and could easily pass for breakfast or dessert.  And even among some really superb desserts, one friend deemed this the best one.

Abi and Phil hosted this month's Supper Club, and I'd say it was the best yet.  Our theme this time was Fakesgiving - a practice round for the upcoming big day.  It was also nice to share such an important meal with friends, both old and new.

Phil cutting the turkey

Finally got a picture of Abi (the photographer) and I

Menu: 

Acorn Candies

Brie Bites - Sticks of puff pastry, stuffed with brie
cheese and fig blackberry jam, these were named
"the grown-up Pop Tarts". 

Grilled Turkey

Sausage, Apple and Walnut Stuffing

District 11 Bread 

Cranberry Salad

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Classic Green Bean Salad

Roasted Veggies - I added brussel sprouts

Abi's beautiful table setting complete with terra cotta bread  dishes and flower pots stuffed with treats. 

With our RSVPs, we each gave Abi something for which we are thankful.  She transcribed these little notes onto parchment paper and rolled them up inside the dinner rolls.  Then we read them out loud to each other. 

Mike and I

Mike and Bayly

Empty plates all around

Arpita shared her recipe for her family's Cha (chai) recipe - and gave us the ingredients all tucked away inside these adorable little containers. 

Desserts:

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Hershey's Dark Chocolate Cake

Apple Sour Cream Crumb Pie

Buttermilk Crumb Muffins

Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow - Subbed in Biscoff Spread instead of peanut butter

Dessert Table

And then because we didn't have enough to eat, the boys decided to roast chestnuts - Mike's speciality he learned to make in the field while in the Marines, go figure. 

The recipe for the Buttermilk Crumb Muffins can be found on Lisa's blog Easier than Pie, who also happens to participate in the Foodie Pen Pals.  Next up? Best Ever Brownies.

September End-of-Summer Supper Club

Late in September we finally had a legit Supper Club.  It's been awhile so I decided to make it a good one.  We also invited a new couple in, Mike and Bayly and I had a college friend, Kacie, visiting from Las Vegas.  Inspired by my new riverfront digs, we did a nautical theme.  I collected driftwood, grasses and cattails via a kayak paddle trip and added life (saver) preservers to the printed menus.

On the menu was:

• Apps: Shrimp cocktail, Individual Crudités, http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/227134/individual-crudites & Charcuterie

• Soup: Chicken Corn Chowder (A Cook's Country recipe which can be found at http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-and-corn- chowder-with-sweet-potatoes-285482

• Lemon Plum Sorbet (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Lemon-Plum-Sorbet)

• Sailor Know Dinner Rolls

• Fried Green Tomato Salad - I attempted to recreate a salad I had at Owen's Fish Camp in Sarasota, FL  http://thewateringmouth.com/owens-fish-camp-sarasota-fl-restaurant-review/

• Crab Cakes http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/baltimore-style-crab-cakes

• Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake - an insane Martha Stewart cake.  http://www.marthastewart.com/857647/salted-caramel-six-layer-chocolate-cake

• Sparkling Apple Drink and Wine

So we forgot to take pictures of the food, because we were too busy eating it.  Everything was delicious.

But we got pictures of the cake.  Here's what it was supposed to look like:

And here's our version:

I assure you it tasted the same.  But what we think happened is that the layers weren't completely level and with the weight of all 6 layers the cake just kinda collapsed on itself.  And that's how it become a Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Trifle. 

The theme for the next Supper Club will be Fakesgiving :)

First Supper Club = Success

Nothing angers me more than going out to eat, expecting the food to be good, it turns out to be awful and then you have to still pay for it!  This has happened to us more often than not, and we always leave asking ourselves, "why didn't we just cook at home?"  I had an idea there were people feeling the same way so I rounded up a couple of fellow foodies and we started a good ol' fashioned supper club.

The idea is simple:  Gather some willing friends who love to cook/eat and pick a host. The host chooses a theme and menu, makes the entree, and the others make the remaining dishes.  It's pretty much a guaranteed success, especially with my friends - we are all pretty passionate about food.

                                                                              

 

We made the pasta. From stratch.  By hand.

The Cacio e Pepe was amazing-so amazing that we forgot to photograph it.  

Oh, Arancini

I sent everyone home with homemade lemon gelato in chinese takeout containers (nice touch, right?)  Our first Supper Club was a huge success.  We couldn't have done it without each other - big thanks to everyone, you know who you are :)

We all look forward to many more shared meals together and new friendships along the way!