Dinner Club

I made mention of Dinner Club in my original post. This entry explains it all. Dinner Club started a few years ago. The idea was to get six friends together...cook, eat, drink, relax and appreciate the company...all at someone's home. Below are some things that seem to work for our group. In case anyone has ever wanted to set one up, let me share with you some of the things I love about our Dinner Club...

1. Dinner Club meets one time a month (on an agreed upon Saturday night).

2. Six people is a perfect number (couples tend to work best). Four is too few and eight is too many. It's a totally different ballgame when you cook for eight people as opposed to six. In short, it becomes a lot of work. That defeats the purpose. Six is a perfect fit at the table as well.

3. Each couple plays a part. The meal breaks out like this: The hosting couple cooks the appetizers, entree and sides. The second couple is responsible for all beverages (wine/mixed drinks). The third couple is responsible for dessert. Each month the responsibilities rotate.

4. We have W. Every club needs a president...Dinner Club is no different. The leader is responsible for sending reminder emails about the date/time and who is bringing what. Warren is currently our president, but we just call him W.

5. We pick a theme. I know...this sounds stupid. The theme just makes it a little more fun. We don't take ourselves too serious with this. Example of a theme: "Olympics"....you get the point...food has to have some tie-in with the theme.

6. Try things out. In Dinner Club, we all try our best to cook new things. That's the fun of it. Cook something you've never cooked before. If it sucks, that's what the wine is for.

7. We've learned to cook in stages. Molly and Keith opened my eyes a few months back. Don't have anything ready when people come over. Start out with a drink. The host couple prepares the apps. Eat slowly, in stages, and enjoy the company with the food being part of the social experience. Sara and I would rush to get things done by the time people came over...not any more.

8. We always plan the next dinner club before going home. This is important. It's much easier to pick a date when everyone is right there. Emailing back and forth becomes a real mess.

9. All of us enjoy cooking and trying new things. Notice I didn't say everyone must be a great cook. We're fortunate...everyone can cook in our group. But we're all novice cooks having a great time. If someone isn't into cooking, don't force the idea of Dinner Club on them. It will last about two months and then you'll start getting the cancellation excuses..."Can't make it this month...got a lot going on."

Ok...there you have it. You'll get to follow our Dinner Club on this blog. You'll see the dishes we cook, posted recipes, and whatever else that may come up. You'll see me write about Molly, Keith, Sara, Carrie, and W (Warren) El Presidente.