CULINARY CLUB

 

OUR CULINARY DINNER CLUB

Together with a group of my talented friends I have put together a NYC Dinner Club.  We meet often to collaborate on a culturally inspired dinner.  Over the years we have hosted many dinner parties together, and we decided to make it a regular event as a way to share with others our recipes plus broaden our culinary skills.  We usually shop the surrounding appropriate neighborhood for fresh indigenous ingredients, then collaborate on a menu.  The Dinner Club has evolved with each of us stretching our culinary tastes and exploring new dishes.  The last year I have been documenting our dinners and posting recipes, table setting ideas and photographs to inspire others.  Take a look at the past posts I have written here on the blog about these wonderful evenings we have shared.  German kitchen cabinet maker, Poggenpohl generously hosted our spring French Country dinner last year in their newly designed kitchen by celebrity chef, Eric Ripert.  We had a fabulous experience. Stop back in March to see how my upcoming  Japanese inspired dinner turns out.  I am very grateful to my wonderful friends in this group, and it has been a fun journey to embark upon these experiences with them.  I hope you will be inspired to create your own dinner club, or simply pick up some recipes that are tried and true for your next gathering.

Happy Nesting XO 

watching our hostess Diana make 

traditional chile relleno gave me a deeper appreciation for Mexican fare. 
From the fresh quacemole to the beautiful Mexican wedding plates, this dinner was
about the finer details of a meal, festivities and a learning experience.  
The recipes are amazing! Thank you Enrique and Diana.
A delicious, authentic Mexican Dinner Party

Melissa and Barry's beautiful blue jewel box living room is the perfect backdrop for fresh, delicious Greek dinner. Greek fare is one of my favorite cuisines and its dishes rely on in- season produce.  We nibbled on a cornucopia of Greek dips, olives and meats, then enjoyed many dishes from Chicken Souvlaki to Gail's delicious Greek Salad.  The table was set to perfection with gorgeous white and green flowers and blue candles.  

A Greek dinner in a blue lacquered jewel box

I think our group laughed the most at this party, and we all became casts in the characters of this television series.  Since I had not watched Madmen before, I brushed up on the history with Gail and Brian giving us the back story over Beef Wellington, Sidecars and topped off with Baked Alaska - yes, Baked Alaska!  

A Mad Men-inspired evening with views of the Empire State Building

 

My Italian Holiday dinner party
began with a visit to Arthur Avenue to curate the most 
authentic Italian ingredients.  We literally ate our way through this "Little Italy" and
learned some great sources along the way.  Read about

Our visit to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx
A few days later we put together a lovely dinner inspired by the festivities of the Holiday Season

Our French Country dinner inspired 
by Alexandra Leaf's cookbook Van Gogh's Table
and all set in a state of the art brand new Poggenpohl kitchen 
designed by celebrity chef Eric Ripert. The Poggenpohl team was very gracious and 
worked hard to help give us a memorable experience.

Spanish fare can be small nibbles of delicious food and tastes of wine.  We decided to explore the many traditions of tapas.  Melissa and Barry made a delicious pan of paella, and we all convened in the kitchen to pull the last details of our dishes together.  After many small courses of tapas, and a varied wine tasting we sat down to enjoy the paella and a delicious selection of other side dishes, then finished with Ed's traditional spanish cheesecake from his favorite restaurant in Spain.

Spanish Dinner: Tapas and Paella

Irene and Rob (and their daughter Libby) went all out for this traditional Indian evening, complete with

saris, flower petals and delicious food.  Indian food was not my forte before,
but through this experience I am very comfortable working with all these delicious spices and ingredients.  Ed's Mulligatawny soup was a medley of perfectly blended ingredients and set the tone for a delicious dinner.  Did I mention our host Rob is a master chef?
Sublime Indian dinner in Connecticut

The evening became a little fuzzy after shots of vodka between courses (traditional I have been told) and since our host (Irene) is a born Russian we had an authentic experience, complete with stories about the homeland.  The Borscht was a great way to begin the evening.  Come take a look

Vodka, Pierogy and Lamb: A Russian dinner