While looking for recipes, Kim stumbled upon a Cooking Light Supper Club Challenge. Well, we heard the word “challenge” and we were ready. The dinner menu consisted for six different courses and this past week was perfect. Not only was Monika in town, Jesse decided that she wanted to participate so all courses were covered. And everything turned out FANTASTIC!
Appetizer: Marinated Spanish Olives We nominated Bob to create this dish because he loves olives (we were going to leave this dish out if there were less people coming over). For not being an olive lover, it didn’t taste that bad. It really didn’t taste too much like an olive. Monika and Bob were addicted to these things. The next time, though, we’ll buy pitted olives (even though the recipe states “unpitted”).
Salad: Watercress-Bibb Salad with Apples and Blue Cheese Excellent salad. The dressing that Jesse made brought together the blue cheese and apples well. Very light. And extra diced apples were the way to go. Who would have thought bibb salad heads would be so tiny? Monika and Jesse didn’t like blue cheese and said that the salad was good even without it, so don’t be turned away from this recipe if you hate blue cheese.
Rolls: Cloverleaf Honey-Wheat Rolls Our resident baker, Katie, tackled this recipe (I don’t do well with rising dough). She actually baked them earlier in the day and we warmed them up in the oven right before dinner. They just had a hint of sweetness and very yummy. It was perfect for sopping up the sauce from the entree.
Side Dish: Baked Rice with Butternut Squash This was a very good side dish. Now I know what I can do with butternut squash. And of course, we put more parmesan cheese on the top of it than stated because there are quite a few cheese lovers in this crowd and that made the dish even better. This could have been the entree and I would have been perfectly happy with that .
Entree: Gruyere, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce Everyone raved about this dish. Kim was quite careful in the assembling of the chicken breasts and we were even able to reduce the sauce. Now, some of the chicken didn’t fold over very well but toothpicks solved that problem. You have to make sure you pound the chicken breasts fairly thin, that’s the key. Such a good recipe.
Dessert: Harvest Pear Crisp If you love apple crisp, you’ll love the pear crisp. Cinnamon-infused pears, baked golden. What a perfect way to end a perfect meal. Vanilla ice cream is a must for this dessert and a suggestion was made to peel the pears the next time. Oh, and maybe even double the crunchy topping, I think that’s everyone’s favorite part.
This was a really fun menu to make. It was awesome having that many people there, each making their own dish, contributing to this gigantic feast. Throw in a few bottles of wine and some Wii action, what more could you ask for? I even brought out my wine glasses I received from my wedding for the first time ever! It was a great way to break in our formal china with a dinner party. Next week, we are going to stray from the usual and throw a wine and cheese/tapas dinner. So, if anyone else is interested, come on over Wednesday night, bring a couple of appetizers/finger foods/cheese and a bottle of wine and let’s eat!
