Heritage Cooking Club

Last Fall, Maddie hosted cooking club and the theme was one of my faves: cook a dish from your heritage. So I decided to make my Grandma Pete proud and make Swedish meatballs. I used a modified version of this recipe with some lingonberries and it was spot on. I tasted my childhood in these little guys. I even got the stamp of approval from Joe!

We also had a shepherd's pie, Norwegian meatballs, challah bread, bolognese and a potato pancake of sorts (it's hidden by my pasta on my plate!). So, sooo good.

What would you make for a heritage cooking club?

P.S. Here are past cooking clubs.

Bite-Sized Food, Super-Sized Fun

Despite our best intentions, it was hard to get another cooking club night on the books. But finally, finally, we picked a day, a place and a theme. Liz hosted us all last Sunday night (and kicked Barry out for the night!) and since they live in a smaller condo, she chose "Mini foods" as the theme. Brilliant!

One might think that we'd opt for simple recipes like corn dogs or ants on a log. (But I guess we're not 5 years old either?) But no, we got all fancy. On the miniature menu:

• Fried chicken and waffles
• Individual chicken pot pies (that's the roll-looking thing with cheesy goodness on top!)
• Brie and fig wrapped in some sort of croissant dough
• Mini wedge salads (that's what I brought; I figured a veggie option might be refreshing)
• Sweet potato goodness wrapped in some sort of amazing dough
• Two types of stuffed mushrooms
• Apple tarts (dessert seen below)

We clearly ate ourselves silly because in no time, we decided that it was absolutely critical to learn the latest line dance craze: The Wobble. It's like the Wobble said to the Macarena, "I'll see your catchy, rhythmic hand motion and raise you a body roll." Get ready to see Wobbling at a bar near you, friends. It's good.

P.S. Contrary to back-to-back dance-related posts, I actually don't crazy dance every single day. Usually only like 4 days a week :)
P.P.S. Next theme: Family recipes! Mom, Dad, what should I make?!

Sushi Night

We certainly rose to the occasion for our last cooking club - the theme was sushi and our tasty treats could have won over even the most persnickety sushi connoisseur. Spicy tuna rolls, tofu and veggie rolls, yellow tail sashimi, poke, edamame, wontons, sake and more. We topped it all off with some homemade raspberry ice cream and fudge, compliments of Miss Erin Straube. All in all, I think this cooking club raised the bar. How will we be able to top it?! Your ideas are welcome :)

Non-traditional Thanksgiving

For this month's edition of Cooking Club, Stephanie chose the theme of non-traditional Thanksgiving. So we each signed up for something traditional and had the option to spin the recipe. I quickly signed up for potatoes - making twice-baked potatoes instead of standard Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. Paired with glazed turkey breast, stuffing, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, and miniature pumpkin cheesecakes! It made quite the spread. I'm drooling just thinking about the warm and hearty meal. Yet another successful cooking club!

Cooking Club

We've been talking about starting a new tradition (to add to the dozens we have already: Puyallup Fair, Sunriver, Chelanigans, Pumpkin Patch) and we finally made it happen: Cooking Club. Dinner Party? Grub Club? We still haven't settled on a name quite yet, but we would welcome ideas!

Basically, we rotate hosts, who then picks a food theme and we all bring a dish that corresponds. Maddie so graciously offered to host last weekend and picked "brunch for dinner" as her theme. Cha-CHING! I love brunch food. On the mouth-watering menu? Well, prepare yourself to get hungry:

• Pomegranate mimosas, with prosecco, pomegranate seeds and juice - Liz
• Balsamic-marinated strawberries - Liz
• Monkey Bread - Stephanie
• Eggs Benedict - Maddie
• Fruit Salad - Maddie
• Spinach, bacon and more good stuff quiche - Autumn
• Lemon and blueberry coffee cake, topped with ice cream - Erin
• Potato pancakes - Lizzie
• Egg bake with sausage, onions and peppers - Petes (can't find the recipe I adapted!)

I left 9 pounds heavier, but it was totally worth it. Any ideas for the next theme?