May Supper Club – The Recap

It wasn’t until I started looking for recipes for our June Supper Club that I realized I hadn’t done a recap of our May Supper Club gathering – oops.  The theme was “Think Spring,” and we managed to get eight of our nine members there.  The table was laden with a wide assortments of dishes, running the gamut from appetizers to dessert and everything in between. 

I made a new recipe from Rachael Ray’s talk show, Asian Cucumber Cups, and an old favorite from Michael Chiarello, Strawberries Pazzo.  The Strawberries Pazzo has the unusual pairing of balsamic vinegar with the strawberries, one of those matches that just works, just because.  The Asian Cucumber Cups were good and a snap to pull together.  The only tricky part is making the cups thick enough to be able to hold the contents, but being careful when scooping out the middle so you don’t go straight through to the bottom.  Instead of using a melon baller, as she suggested, I used a teaspoon.  I found it easier to control that way.

What else hit the table?

Strawberry Daiquiris
Cranberry Bourbon Slushes
Bacon Tomato Cheese Cups
Crab Dip with Wonton Chips
Chicken Patties with Avocado Salsa
Spinach Salad
Pasta with Green Beans
Shrimp Salad on Biscuits
Coconut Cream Black Bottom Pie
Black Mousse Parfaits
Irish Cream Parfaits

I think, for me, the standouts were the Bacon Cheese Cups (so cheesy, I think I had more than my fair share), the Strawberry Daiquiris, the Wonton Chips and the Chicken Patties.  Delicious stuff, not a dud in the bunch and I can’t wait to see what the next Supper Club brings, which happens to be tonight.  With an Appetizers theme, it’s bound to be a fun table.

Asian Cucumber Cups
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 inch ginger, grated
1 garlic clove
1 5-ounce can of water chestnuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup purple cabbage, shredded thin
2 teaspoon garlic-chili paste
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 cups leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
2 English cucumbers, seedless
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Heat the EVOO in a small skillet over medium-high heat, then add in the whites of the scallions, ginger, and garlic. Sauté until soft and fragrant. Meanwhile, mix together the green parts of the scallion, water chestnuts, cabbage, chili paste, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil and shredded chicken in a large bowl and reserve.
Peel the cucumbers partially, so it has 4 stripes of skin going down the entire length of the cucumber. Trim the ends of the cucumbers and cut each cucumber into slices 3/4 of an inch thick — you should have about 20 pieces. Scoop out the center of each slice with a melon baler, leaving a shell of flesh. Scoop about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the Asian chicken salad into the cucumber cups and garnish the tops with the toasted sesame seeds.

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