We don’t goof up very often in this group, and I’m told Saturday night’s cheese menu was no exception to that! Again, I couldn’t be there myself, but I’m relying on friends we’ve been doing this with for years to fill me (and you) in on what worked and what didn’t. I’m told there wasn’t much in the “didn’t” category!
This month’s host and hostess were kind enough to lay out some appetizers for the crowd to snack on as they arrived, including an asiago cheese sausage that was a terrific bite with a cocktail before everyone was present. Our group typically sets Dinner Club start time at six-thirty, with the understanding that we’ll all trickle in between then and about seven. That leaves time for mingling and cocktailing before we usually sit down to our first course around eight o’clock.
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| Tomato & Smoked Gouda Soup |
The most-raved-about item seems to have been the starter of baked brie with caramelized onions. A fantastic combination of flavors if you’ve never had the opportunity to try it before! I’m told it was buttery, rich and addictive. (More on our "best dish of the night" in my next blog entry!) In speaking to one of the attendees today, she mentioned that there was quite a lot left over of it. Here’s a great tip from one cook to another: Any kind of cheese dip or spread as an appetizer typically makes a fantastic filling for chicken breast as a “recycled” meal.
Simply take the leftover brie with caramelized onions, pound out and season some chicken breast (don’t forget the garlic!) and place a scoop of the cheese and onion mixture in the center of each breast; roll up and place in a baking dish and bake them for about thirty minutes at 350 degrees, et voila! A savory caramelized onion and brie stuffed chicken breast! Pair it with some salad or a vegetable for a fantastic and well-rounded meal. Plus, your terrific appetizer leftover didn’t go to waste. You could even fill and roll them, then freeze just like that to pull them out and bake some evening when you don’t feel like making dinner!
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| Farmers Market Salad |
According to another attendee the salad was, “beautiful, with perfect cherry tomatoes, fingerling potatoes and a subtle dressing that tied it all together. It was topped with goat cheese crumbles that were mixed with cumin.” He also commented to me that the broccoli gratin side dish, “went well with the pork” and that it “had plenty of cheese, but it did not overpower the taste of the vegetables.”
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| Berry Napoleon Dessert |
As far as the entrée and the dessert, he said that, “the combination of butternut squash and blue cheese made for a unique taste of its own (a good one). The blue cheese did not overpower the dish.” Also, “everyone raved about the dessert. It was just what we needed after such a great meal. Something heavy, like cheesecake, would’ve been too much, but the stacked puff pastry desserts were light and delicious, not to mention beautifully presented with fruit poured over the top. All in all it was a great night, with each dish complementing the other.”
