The First Rule of Dinner Club

Next up? Morocco!

2008-04-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Next dinner club meeting will be at Nicky and Paul's house (thanks for volunteering us Paul) and will have a Moroccan theme. We're thinking May 31st... any opinions? Paul and I will take care of the main part of the meal but we still need loads-o-help. We're looking for...

- appetizers
- salads (hot or cold)
- desserts

Please let us know what you'd like to bring so that we we don't end up with loads of salads. If we end up with loads of desserts I don't see that as being such a big problem :)

Also, as for the drinky-poos, Paul has suggested just bringing something that you think would go well with Moroccan cuisine as it may be a bit hard to find something authentic in the good old LCBO.

UPDATE: Okay, so that date sort of stinks for most people... but I do realize that not everyone will be able to make every dinner. Would June 7th work any better?

Tapas Night Recipes

2008-04-19T12:52:00.001-07:00

Just saving this space for recipes and the wine list from tapas night...

Drinks
Sangria Blanco
Red Wine Sangria
Sparkler (Spain)- Segura Viudas, NV Brut (LCBO 158493)
Red (Spain)-- Bodegas Montecillo, Montecillo Crianza (LCBO 144493

Recipes
Tortilla Espanola
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates With Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Minted Eggplant
Crab Tartlets
Cheese and Serrano Ham Filled Mushroom Caps
Gambas al Ajillo
Piquillo Peppers Filled with Shrimp in Sherry Vinaigrette
Spareribs Coated in Paprika Sauce
Stuffed Eggs with Anchovies & Cheese
White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit Gelee

More From Liz:
Here's another two recipes that didn't make it out. They would have been a bit much, considering that M&S also prepared dates. These two versions are different from theirs, and unlike theirs, did not come with a dipping sauce. I think all three versions are wonderful. We have frozen our extra stuffed dates and I'll let you know, eventually, if that's a good idea or not! The Medjool dates can be found at Fortino's.

Chorizo-filled Dates
Dates with Goat Cheese Wrapped in Prosciutto

This is one of the items that didn't get served. They were very yummy, and quick to put together. It makes more than necessary for the 40 canapes, and Alison used the rest up on toasted bagels!

Spanish Olive and Cream Cheese Canapes

Book Links:

http://www.amazon.com/New-Spanish-Table-

http://www.amazon.com/Tapas-Revised-Little-Dishes-Spain/dp/0307265528/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208654212&sr=1-1

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Passion-for-Tapas/Parragon/e/9781405494472/

So, we've started a dinner club.

2008-04-18T07:46:00.001-07:00

Our first meeting, hosted by Ron and Liz, had a tapas theme, and was stuffed to the gills yummy. I'll post the recipes as I get them... *hint *hint *hint...

As soon as we learned the theme we went out in search of a cookbook. Bloody hell they're pricey buggers! We settled on a lovely one with nice glossy pages, and beautious photos, that will surely get grubby as it is put to good use. Our contribution was a wee puffed pastry filled with pine nuts, raisins and spinach, as well as Banderillas.

Banderillas are little nibbles made up of skewered pearl onions, pickles, olives and anchovies rolled around a caper. We made a trip to one of our favourite shops to pick up the goods we needed and I noticed that they had tins of anchovies that were already rolled around capers! What luck! That was sure to shave a good ten minutes off of my busy day. I picked up a few tins and off I went to prepare my goodies.

Here's the thing. The photograph on the packaging doesn't always match what is inside. Example:

Notice the nicely rolled anchovy with nothing in the middle? Yeah, I didn't save 10 minutes. Lesson learned.

Anyway, everything was delish... take a look at the goodness below. Christ, Ron and Liz didn't even put all the food they prepared out!