Holiday Tapas ~ December 2014

With just 2 weeks until Christmas we met at The Roman Table here in town to cook up some holiday tapas.  A fun and easy way to enjoy the holiday together.  The start of the evening consisted of baguette toasts with a pomegranate goat cheese spread served along with with marinated olives and artichokes... we had a nice selection of Prosecco!

Cynthia ran through the menu for the evening and explained we could be as involved in preparing as we like... or simply just enjoy what was served.  It's hard to say but I do believe most of us 'enjoyed' more than 'doing'.... but hey - Merry Christmas to us!

Our chefs helping prepare the smokey chicken wrapped in bacon.  I found a similar recipe that refers to the chicken as Sweet & Spicy...

We enjoyed asparagus wrapped with red pepper strips and green onions, leek with new potato salad, coconut lime shrimp.  The shrimp was flavored with coconut balsamic vinegar and lime EVOO - a quick easy appetizer.  The potatoes were fabulous as well... tiny potatoes sautéed with leeks and finished off with a kiss of truffle oil.

I'm not generally a fan of seasoned salt but this Seasonello was fabulous... we had it on potatoes and it was delish.

We had the whole gang together plus Angi's daughter Katie joined us for an evening of some yummy food and good cheer with friends.  Merry Christmas cooking club friends!

Rita, Katie, Jen, Betty, Jeanne, Denise, Cindy, Angi, Nina & Jen

All that Cheese ~ November 2014

Its been so long!  I missed my cooking club gals.  September was a busy "gettin' back to routine" month  - so we postponed.  In October, our friend Betty had a bad accident making piccalilli.  It was a scary incident but Betty healed nicely and joined us for our November Grilled Cheese night.

Everyone brought something yummy... so many types of cheeses, breads, spreads and tapenades.

To kick things off we dug into a yummy warm gooey artichoke dip that Denise made....

Then we got busy slicing bread, grating cheese, chopping fruit.  It was fun preparing our meal together.

We made all different types of grilled cheese... from your basic Ham & Cheese, to Manchego cheese with Fig and Olive salad and my favorite one was brie with pears and salted caramel!

Check out that stack of bread and cheese! Heaven on a plate....

Jeanne brought a fantastic caesar salad.  I need this recipe!  It had great garlic flavor... not too overpowering and it was an oil based  - not creamy.  Delish!

I brought a tomato soup... fresh garden tomatoes.  No cream - just chicken stock so I guess its fairly low calorie.

Nina made a yummy Pumpkin Spice Cake with a cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Cooking club girls.... missing Cindy and Jen.  Hopefully we'll all be together in December!

Jen, Denise, Betty, Rita, Jeanne, Angi and Nina

Summer Picnic ~ August 2014

August was our meeting to celebrate... each time we get together there is something more I learn about my fellow cooking club ladies.  We all have our challenging moments and tough times - however some of my girl friends have survived some pretty tough losses and challenges.  Our August cooking club was a celebration for Nina's latest success story of having a brain tumor removed - a meningioma.   The cooking club brought the picnic to Nina's home to share some laughs and friendship and enjoy a meal together.  It was a great evening!

Calabrian Pitta

Betty brought a 'stuffed sandwich'... hollowed out bread with plenty of meat and cheese topped with an olive tapenade type relish made with - artichokes, fennel and olives.  The recipe for the Calabrian Pitta is from Mary Ann Esposito ~ Ciao Italia.

 Angi brought pulled beef and served on mini rolls with spicy Wickle chips.  The pickles went great with the beef!  They added a hint of heat and a tang that complimented the beef and BBQ sauce.

Pulled beef

Denise brought an orzo salad - fresh and light with fun color of vegetables - carrots, peas, beans.   A versatile dish that can be served using early summer vegetables... asparagus and peas.

Orzo Salad

Jeanne's mixed grilled vegetables were so flavorful and simply yummy.  Eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and onion grilled with garlic, oregano and basil.  Delish!

Grilled vegetables

Cindy's dish looks like a pasta dish  - but there was none!  We were curious as to how she made the "noodles".  Someone suggested that she used a vaginator to make the noodles....  oops sorry -  maybe it was the vagomatic...  I'm not quite sure.  There was a lot of discussion and laughter over the topic.

For the sake of the blog lets assume that Cindy used a spiral slicer tool to make zucchini pasta!  She served it with pesto and pine nuts and parmesan cheese shavings - it was yummy.  More importantly I'm hoping I can pass this off as a new 'pasta' dish at home... wink wink.

Chips with Cantaloupe & Red Pepper Salsa

Rita brought a shaved zucchini salad which was light and refreshing.  A great new way to serve squash from the garden.  The colorful salsa was made with cantaloupe and red pepper... sweet with a little heat.  Together they made such colorful side dishes!

Shaved Zucchini & Parsley Salad

Jen brought seared scallops (missed photo op) and watermelon salad with cucumber and lime juice.  Simple and fresh.

Watermelon Salad

Finally for dessert I brought a peach and blueberry crostata.  The pastry in Ina's recipe is what makes it... I bet anything you use as a filling in this dough will be wonderful.  The crostata was served with homemade blueberry ice-cream.  The color was amazing... but will need to try one more time to get a truly creamy dish of purple.

Peach & blueberry Crostata and blueberry ice-cream

Nina and Angi

The ladies in red.... Betty and Jeanne

Cindy, Denise and Rita

Cindy, Denise and Rita having fun with her scarf - trying to find that perfect fit.  Peace, love... and good food!   A wonderful evening, dining in Nina's backyard.





Another fabulous Scituate Cooking Club evening... Everyone pretty in scarves.

Looking fabulous ladies!

Rita, Jen, Cindy, Jen, Nina, Denise, Jeanne, Angi & Betty

Mexican Night ~ July 2014

Another fun night... hanging out in Jeanne's screened in porch with my cc gals.  I just love that everyone makes the effort to meet.  We have one on crutches healing a broken ankle, another who is wiped out from babysitting grandkids a few days in a row... an early riser that made a 4am trip to Brimfield, CT and those of us that work full time and just tackling the normal craziness.  It would be easier to pass and relax at home - I so appreciate the dedication and effort we all put into keeping this club a success.

We kicked off the Mexican fiesta with delicious libations of sangria and tequila shots!  A meal is not complete without a spirit or two that compliments the meal.

Patron tequila, salt and lime

Sangria

Cindy and Denise

Betty finishing with a taste of lime

Nina and Jen

Food you ask?  Yes - of course there was food too!  The usual delicious eats all around.  Cindy brought a corn, bean and shrimp salad.  I should mention that the lettuce came from her garden too!

Shrimp, corn and bean salad

I brought ceviche - made with halibut and shrimp.  I served them in corn tortilla cups that I should have baked a wee longer to make them crisper.  The ceviche was tasty and will definitely try again.

halibut and shrimp ceviche

taco casserole

Jeanne served chicken enchiladas that were warm gooey and yummy.  The southwestern comfort food.  Betty brought a taco casserole and Rita a white bean and chicken chili.

Chicken Enchiladas

White bean and chicken chili

Nina baked spicy chili corn muffins... so delish that Cindy took one home for her breakfast the next morning.

Spicy Chili Corn Muffins

We completed our meal with an orange flavored flan that Denise made.  It was so yummy and perfectly presented.  She served the flan with homemade (but of course) whipped cream and strawberries.  A great cap to the fabulous evening.

Orange flavored flan

whipped cream and strawberries

 A final shot of the Scituate Cooking Club girls.... thank you again for making this a fabulous night and successful monthly event.

Denise, Betty, Nina, Jeanne, Jen, Cindy & Rita

Everything Pizza Oven ~ June 2014

Our June gathering was "all pizza oven" at Betty's.  I just love this setup ~ every home should have one of these!  The menu for the evening was to bring what fit in the oven.  It worked beautifully with a great mixture of food including pizza, ribs, veggies and dessert.  A creative group - another evening filled with delightful conversation, laughs and of course - good wine and fabulous food.  

Starter of pate and cheese from Wilson Farms

There was asparagus wrapped in pastry dough.

Asparagus wraps

There were a few different pizzas.... all yummy!  Buffalo chicken, simple margarita with fresh mozzarella and tomato, sausage, caramelized onion and blue cheese and veggie.  I may have missed one but believe me - these girls know pizza!  They were all so good.

 Jeanne brought Korean short ribs.... delicious!  They were put on a cast iron grill and cooked to perfection in the oven.

Korean Short Ribs

I brought a calzone - super stuffed with salami, roasted peppers, spinach, provolone and mozzarella cheese.







Homegrown asparagus from Cindy's garden.... roasted in the oven. Simple and fabulous!

Cindy also brought a creative dessert... pineapple on a stick - roasted with rum in the fire.  Great presentation and very yummy.

Jen brought a corn bread with a blueberry compote and bacon!

Scituate Cooking club girls.... we were missing Nina who I hope joins us on our next meeting with her ankle all better.  It's not the same when we are not all together!

Jen G, Jen S, Betty, Jeanne, Angi, Rita, Denise and Cindy