We took it easy on ourselves with theme for this first
Dinner Club of the season; Jeans, sneakers and team jerseys were the look, and
a casual “serve yourself” style that is rarely the case for our typically more
formal get-togethers. We went “all out” on one thing, however. We always do;
it’s the food!
Our first Dinner Club was a tailgating theme, and as I
mentioned in my last blog, it’s a theme we’ve hit upon before. This time we
really stretched in new directions and managed to come up with some seriously
interesting (and delicious) offerings as well as some “keeper” recipes that
could be served for so many other occasions.
We did it as you would any actual tailgate. Rather than
“serving” courses at the table for a sit-down meal, we prepared everything and
set it out as a buffet to choose from – and return to repeatedly! There were
the things you would find at any “football focused” feeding:
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| Jon's version of "Oklahoma Joe's Ribs" |
Ribs; but they were special – one gentleman’s successful attempt at replicating those of his favorite Kansas City Barbecue eatery, “Oklahoma Joe’s”.
Potato Skins; but kicked up a notch! These were Buffalo
Chicken Potato Skins with Blue Cheese and Cheddar. The sauce was spicy-hot and
tangy and the blue cheese added the perfect “cut-the-heat” saltiness. Awesome!
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| Fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls |
Sliders; but not your basic ground-beef hum drum. Our host
offered a buffet of options including his terrific pulled pork and two types of
sausage that he smoked himself.
Salad; however no boring prepackaged pasta salad here. This
was a homemade Grilled Bread Salad with garden fresh tomatoes, olive oil and
balsamic vinegar! Many in our group had never tasted a bread salad before and
they were in for a treat. One of my summer-into-fall favorite uses of garden
tomatoes is panzanella! What made this one super-special was that the bread was
grilled. That lightly charred flavor added so very much to an already flavorful
offering. I’ll incorporate that element into my own future bread salad
preparations.
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| Grilled Tomato and Bread Salad! |
Finally, the one thing no tailgate could go without –
dessert; Move over cookies and brownies and bars! We enjoyed Chocolate Covered
Bacon – which also happens to be my “Best Dish of the Night” for this Dinner
Club!
This is what it’s all about folks. Trying new things and new
flavor combinations. Sounds weird, right? And to some, maybe not even
appetizing… Well, for me it did, but the taste was surprisingly amazing!
Salty-sweet in every way that makes it the best! Try it out for yourself. I’ve
provided a link below to a recipe. Seriously; don’t knock it until you’ve
tried. Bacon really is delicious in every application!
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| Chocolate Covered Bacon for Dessert! |
I’ll see you next time to announce our menu for November.
We’ll be back at the table in our more usual sit-down format, but the menu is
anything but ordinary! Thanks again for reading.
Here’s that link to one Chocolate Covered Bacon Recipe:
http://www.yumsugar.com/Homemade-Chocolate-Covered-Bacon-1813878
You could also try a Chocolate Bacon Bark (a little
different, but same flavors):
http://candy.about.com/od/otherchocolaterecipes/r/choc_bacon_bark.htm
