Just got back from another great night of Supper Club, and, as usual, I am stuffed. With five, count ’em FIVE, desserts tonight, my teeth even hurt!
The theme this month was Mexican, with each Supper Club member contributing at least one dish to the theme, and we definitely did it justice. The menu was:
Summer Steak Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing
Black Bean Cakes with Salsa
Salsamole
Raspberry Lemonade Coolers
Double-Crust Bean Pie
Spinach Pear Salad with Warm Vinaigrette
Dark-Chocolate Bark with Walnuts and Dried Cherries
Drunken Beans
Carnitas
Baked Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapenos
Spicy Pumpkin Enchiladas
Avocado and Mango Salad with Passion Fruit Vinaigrette
Caramel Rice Pudding
Fresh Fig Salad with Creme Fraiche, Mint and Prosciutto
Grilled Blue Chicken Salad
Frosted Banana Bars
Open Face Artichoke Melt
Irish Monkeys
Chocolate Scream! Cake with Caramel Sauce
Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette
Spicy Tortilla Strips
Everything was very, very good, and we all came home with containers full of goodies for The Husbands.
For my contributions, I would absolutely positively make the Chocolate Scream! Cake again. When you need an over-the-top, ultra-rich dessert, this is it. Next time, I would skip the caramel sauce though — no lily gilding necessary. Instead, dust the top with confectioner’s sugar.
The Spicy Tortilla Strips were very easy to make and are real addicting. Nicholas was trying to grab as many as he could before I left tonight. Another hit with Nicholas was the Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette. He had two small bowlfuls, in addition to the Chinese take-out that he and The Husband got. Full of healthy stuff, it will be a repeater in our house.
For everyone elses contributions, I think my favorites were the Black Bean Cakes (excellent!), the Grilled Blue Chicken Salad and the Baked Cheddar-Stuffed Jalapenos.
I ended up not making the Beer Margaritas, and instead made Irish Monkey shots. I thought they were yummy and they definitely slid down easily. Maybe too easily. I have a shot recipe book (Sharp Shooters by David Biggs) that has great shot recipes, with a picture of every drink. It took me five shot glasses to perfect the technique, but by the sixth one, I figured out how to get the layers of alcohol to be separate (as you can tell in the below picture).
OK, all for now … I’m beyond tired and so glad it’s Friday tomorrow. A busy weekend lies ahead. Tune in tomorrow to find out what foodie adventure I’ll be attending Saturday. Until then, if you want any recipes from Supper Club, holla back…
Black Bean Cakes with Salsa
Irish Monkey
Pumpkin Enchiladas
Spicy Tortilla Strips
Shredded Pork for the Carnitas
Drunken Beans
Matt’s going to love this. I’ll have him take a look, and then I’ll let you know what he wants!
Being one of the ones who attended supper club, the description and pictures do it all justice!! Great night!
Wow, how many people are in your supper club? that is a lot of food! And what is an Irish Monkey? And can you point me in the direction of the Spicy Tortilla Strips?
(so demanding, aren’t I?)
Linda – only seven people, actually. Everyone brings a few dishes each, and we all divvy up the leftovers to bring home. That’s the fun part!! Irish Monkeys are the alcoholic drink I made — half banana liquor and half irish cream. Delish! The Spicy Tortilla Strips recipe was in the blog entry the day before. Go here: http://sweetnicks.blogspot.com/2005/05/costco-restaurant.html
Thank you!
I tried the chopped salad tonight and I loved it. The dressing was great! I was wondering where you found the recipe? Do you think the dressing would keep for a few days — or would the cilantro go bad? Would love to have on regular salads.
Thanks again!
Betsy
Glad you liked the recipe, Betsy. We really liked the dressing too. If I remember correctly, that one comes from Epicurious. The dressing, kept separately from the salad should be fine for a few days. I’d keep the cilantro separate though, and add it right before serving. Hope this helps!