Sign up for Indian Cuisine Dinner Meet!

Yes, signups are open starting today for our Dinner Meet next week! Head Chef Bhumi will be leading Dinner Meeters through the intricacies of Indian cooking. This one's vegetarian friendly, so do sign up if you like your veggies! (And, of course, if you like Indian food!)

Here's the menu:

Appetizer:
Chaat (Indian street food - similar to tapas, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaat)

Main Course:
Palak Paneer (Spinach and Cheese Curry)
Channa Masala (Chick Pea Stew)
Roti and/or Naan
Daal and Rice

Dessert:
Saffron Pistachio Kulfi Ice Cream (homemade!)

I'll have sign-ups open through Saturday, 4pm. I'll be confirming spots by Saturday night/Sunday morning. Hope to see you in the kitchen. (Bhumi's kitchen, that is!)

Sweet Corn and Rice Pudding

Growing up, I had a good mix of Vietnamese and Chinese food cooked at home since most of my ethnically Chinese family were born and raised in Vietnam. One of our favorite ways to end meals was to have che, Vietnamese dessert that usually consisted of some type of sweet soup. This is one of the less soup-like che, and it tends to fill me up way too much since it's just rice, corn, and rich coconut sauce. A little here goes a loooong way. Trang's recipe below.

Ingredients:
8 cups water
2 cups sticky rice
2 cups sweet corn
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 pinch salt

Coconut Sauce Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk
2 TBSP flour
2 TBSP granulated sugar
1 pinch salt

Instructions:

1. Add water and sticky rice to non-stick pot, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until sticky rice expands.

2. Add corn and continue cooking until thick. Add additional water as needed, to ensure that mixture does not get too thick before rice becomes soft.

3. Add sugar and salt and cook until porridge consistency. Serve with coconut sauce.

Instructions for coconut sauce:

1. Bring coconut milk to a scald, quickly whisk in flour, sugar, and salt so that flour does not clump. Turn off heat.

Peanut Sauce

No picture here, though you can see a smudge of the sauce in my picture for the Roasted Fish Wrapped in Spring Rolls post. This recipe will come in handy for almost anything you can think to dip in peanut sauce, so check it out! Trang's recipe below.

Ingredients:

3 TBSP peanut butter
4 TBSP hoisin sauce
5 TBSP sweetened vinegar*

* Sweetened Vinegar Recipe:
16 parts water
8 parts granulated sugar
5 part vinegar

These ingredients should be brought to a boil, so that the sugar dissolves. Also, this sweetened vinegar can be made in a large batch ahead of time, and stored in the pantry, as it comes in handy for several different recipes.

Instructions:
In a blender, combine peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and sweetened vinegar. Blend until smooth.
Your sauce is ready to serve! You can optionally top the sauce with some ground roasted peanuts if desired.

Roasted Fish Wrapped in Spring Rolls

Why did this dish seem like it took forever to prepare? I think it's because we were working on all the other dishes as well. I mean, what's so hard about washing some lettuce and mint leaves and buying some fried fish from Ranch 99? :P I guess there's also a technique to rolling up the spring rolls as well that might be better learned in person rather than through a carefully worded blog post, so just let me know if you need a lesson! Trang's recipe for our main course below.

Roasted Fish Ingredients:
1 whole cat fish, cleaned
1 bunch green onion, chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Spring Rolls Ingredients:
Rice or tapioca paper
Green leaf lettuce
Mint
Rice noodles (vermicelli)

Instructions:
1. Brush the fish with olive oil and roast over high heat either on a barbeque or in the over. An easy alternative is to ask your asian grocery store to fry the fish for you.

2. In a bowl, combine green onions and olive oil, seal with cling wrap, and microwave on high for 90 to 120 seconds, until green onion is wilted. When fish is cooked through, smear the green onion mixture over the outside of the fish. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

3. Serve fish whole with spring roll ingredients and dipping sauce, and allow guests to wrap their own spring rolls.

**Traditional dipping sauces for this dish: Nuoc Mam/Nuoc Cham (Fish sauce vinaigrette) or Mam Nem (Fermented Anchovy Sauce), but for the uninitiated, peanut sauce is usually a crowd pleaser.

Lemon Chicken Skewers

This was one tasty appetizer, though we almost messed it up by putting in two tbsp of salt instead of sugar into the marinade. Oops. We tried to fix it by putting in FOUR tbsp of sugar, but I think it still came out a bit over-salted. Ah well. Now we know - don't replace sugar with salt! ;) Trang's recipe for the skewers as follows... We used a George Foreman grill, and the skewers came out great! (5 min. on one side, flip to other side for 3 min.)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb chicken (thinly sliced)
2 TBSP oyster sauce
1 ½ TBSP granulated sugar
1 TBSP soy sauce
3 TBSP lemon juice
½T

BSP garlic (minced)
¼ tsp five spice
2 TBSP olive oil

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients for marinade, then thoroughly mix in the chicken. Let sit for approximately 15 minutes before grilling. DO NOT marinate over night as the meat will lose its sweetness and flavor.

2. String marinated meat onto bamboo skewers and grill over high heat until cooked.
Top chicken with fried shallots and/or ground peanuts and lemon slices. Serve with rice or noodles, or by itself as an appetizer.

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

As Albert says, "What's there to explain? It's chicken noodle soup, but Vietnamese." Indeed! Vietnamese-style usually means fresh veggies and a nice tangy taste to it, which is what you'll find with this delicious soup. It's tasty and easy to prepare; the laborious part is the chopping of the veggies. Below is Trang's recipe for the soup.

Ingredients:
8 cups chicken stock
1 large chicken breast, sliced thinly
1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly

2 cups cellophane noodles, soaked in water until soft

0.5 cups green onions, chopped

4 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste

2 tbsp rock sugar

Ground pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Add chicken stock and rock sugar to a pot. Bring chicken stock to a boil. Season to taste with fish sauce. Over season ever so slightly, because the seasoning will be diluted after the other ingredients are added.

2. Add chicken breasts and cook until almost done. Add Shitake mushrooms and green onions. Re-season with granulated sugar and fish sauce if needed. Cook for approximately 30 seconds and turn off heat.

3. Stir in cellophane noodles and cilantro at the very end. Sprinkle in ground black pepper if desired. Serve while hot.

Taste of Vietnam

Yum, yum, yum! We had a delicious meal the other night at our place - what a feast! Trang led our merry group of Dinner Meeters in creating an elaborate Vietnamese feast, consisting of the following dishes:

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup
Lemon Chicken Skewers
Roasted Fish Wrapped in Spring Rolls, with Peanut Sauce
Sweet Corn and Rice Pudding

We all stuffed ourselves silly - I, for one, had a difficult time falling asleep that night since I was so full! Out of the dishes we created, I would say that the soup and chicken skewers are easiest to reproduce in a novice kitchen. (Though we almost made an unforgivable error on the skewers when salt was mistaken for sugar!) The fish takes a bit more work, though we definitely took the shortcut and brought home fried fish from Ranch 99 (or 99 Ranch, as some prefer to call it). Anyway, let me know if you try any of these recipes. I'd love to hear how it goes. :)

Thanks, Trang, for hosting a wonderful Dinner Meet!

Signups open for Monday's Dinner Meet!

Head Chef Trang will be guiding us through the following menu for Monday, so email me if you are interested in coming!

Appetizer: Lemon Chicken Skewers

Entree: Oven Roasted Fish Wrapped in Spring Rolls

Dessert: either Bananas Foster or Sweet Corn & Rice Pudding

RSVPs due by Saturday, 4pm. I'll send out confirmations by Saturday evening. Priority will be given to those who've yet to attend a Dinner Meet. Come join us!

Almond Rochers

I need to go to Tartine to see if the bakery actually makes them better than these homemade ones. I find that hard to believe since the ones that we made at Walter's were incredible! Walter's friend Emory joined us this Wednesday to show us his technique to making the almond rochers. He used an adapted recipe from the Tartine recipe book.

Ingredients:

1 cup (4oz) sliced almonds

1 cup (4oz) confectioner's (powdered) sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large egg whites, at room temperature

Salt

Directions:

* Pre-heat oven to 350

* In oven, toast almonds on baking sheet. Let cool to room temperature. Crush with hands.

* Mix egg whites and sugar. Add vanilla extract and pinch of salt.

* Over double boiler, stir mixture until warm.

* In mixer, beat until mixture has stiff peaks. When you lift the mixer, it should be viscous and stick to the mixer blades, not dripping off.

* Stir in almonds. Put it in a pastry bag. Or go ghetto and use a big ziplock bag, snipping one of the corners.

* Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

* To create each rocher, place opening of pastry bag close to sheet and squeeze. Do not lift immediately as merinque oozes out. Instead let it build a foundation, about 2-3 inches in diameter. Continue squeezing as you lift, so that the rocher is shaped like a cone about as tall as it is wide.

* Bake until outside looks dry and starts to crack.

* Let cool before serving.

Napa Cabbage with Sichuan Peppercorn

This was perhaps the easiest dish to prepare since it was just a quick stir-fry of Napa cabbage and some peppers. Beware of the amount of peppercorns you put in - I didn't really count out the number of pepper corns I threw into the pan, and that made the whole kitchen crew start to sneeze from the peppery-ness. :-D This was a nice side dish to contrast with the beef short ribs and the salmon. Walter's recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 Napa cabbage (chopped into roughly 2 inch squares)

8 Sichuan peppercorns

1-2 dried red pepper

Directions:

* Heat pan or wok to high. Add oil. Stir-fry sichuan peppercorns and dried red pepper.

* Stir-fry cabbage for a minute or so. You may need to do this in batches. It's important the wok stay hot.

* Salt to taste.

Pan-seared Salmon Fillets with Garlic and Basil

I really enjoyed the crispy skin on the salmon once you take it off the stove. Walter says that you need to really pat down the salmon with paper towel and make sure that the fish is nice and dry before you start to pan-sear it. It doesn't look like much in this picture (due to our poor presentation skills), but it's a dish with a nice flavor without requiring too many ingredients. Check out Walter's recipe below.

Ingredients:

1/2 - 1 lb. Salmon fillet (try to find with even thickness

Garlic (minced)

Basil leafs (cleaned and dried)

Salt (preferably kosher)

Directions:

* Scale the skin and clean. Briefly (1-2 seconds) soak it in rice wine or white wine.

* Pat salmon dry. Then wrap fillet in paper towel skin-side up for several minutes.

* Cut into 1.5 inch slices (perpendicular to the direction of the spine)

* Sprinkle salt and wrap in paper towel again. It's important the skin be dry.

* Heat pan to medium high. When hot, add oil, garlic, and basil. After about 30 seconds, add salmon skin side up. After a few minutes, when the bottom is golden brown, turn over so skin is on bottom for a few more minutes.

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Baby Carrots

This was a delicious meal in itself. I love that it's a one-pot recipe; all you need to do is pop the ingredients into the Dutch oven (or a regular pot would do), let it simmer away on the stove for a couple of hours, and you're set. I'll be trying this recipe sometime soon - pure comfort food! Recipe below is from our Head Chef Walter.

Ingredients:

6-8 beef short ribs (cut as ribs, not flanken style)

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 red onion

1 garlic bulb

soy sauce

black pepper

1 lb. baby carrots

Directions:

* Dry rub ribs with black pepper

* Put ribs bone-side up in a pot large enough so that each rib is on the bottom of the pot.

* Add sugar on top of ribs.

* Cut onion into big chunks about an inch on each side and throw in pot.

* Smash garlic cloves with flat side of cleaver and throw in pot

* Add soy sauce so that there's a thin layer of liquid. About 1/4 inch. Add a splash of water.

* Heat to a simmer. Liquid should rise from juice of onion.

* After about an hour, turn ribs so that all sides get an even coat. Check liquid level. Add a splash of soy sauce.

* After about another half hour to hour, add carrots. Then, continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

* Enjoy!

"New Asian" Cuisine

This week, we were at Walter's to cook some of his favorite dishes. He had already made a batch of the Braised Beef Short Ribs with Baby Carrots ahead of time since that dish required a few more hours on the stove than the others, but some of us did get to start up another batch just to try out the "recipe". (I put that in quotes since Walter actually didn't have recipes on hand at the time, and we were really just asking him for instructions with each step. He gave them to me post dinner though, so I'll be posting those shortly!) The Pan-Seared Salmon Fillets with Garlic and Basil were surprisingly easy to prepare, and we may have put a bit more peppercorn than was necessary into the Napa Cabbage with Sichuan Peppercorn dish - as it was being stir-fried, most of us started sneezing! :-) For dessert, we made Almond Rochers from the Tartine recipe book - they were delicious!

Thanks for coming, everyone. It was great meeting up with some people I hadn't seen in more than 5 years, people I hadn't met before, and people I've seen more regularly. What an awesome mix of people for the Dinner Meet! Hope everyone had a great time, and I'll look forward to seeing you at the next one! Also, a big thank you to Walter for hosting!

Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

This dessert is a lot simpler to make than I thought. Who knew that there were specific rice grains meant to be sticky? (I didn't.) I think next time I make this, I'd want to add some toasted sesame seeds to the top as a garnish. That would give it a little extra something. As for the measurements in this recipe, the salt and sugar portions are guestimations. When I was making this, I kept adding pinches of salt/sugar and tasting the concoction til I got a good blend of salty/sweet. Keep in mind that you'll be pouring that coconut milk over the rice, so having a stronger flavor prior to the pour is good since the flavor will diminish slightly once the coconut milk is poured over the rice.

Ingredients:

1 mango, sliced

1 cup of sticky rice

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tsp of salt, to taste

2 tbsp of sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Soak the sticky rice in water for at least an hour. (My mom says this isn't really necessary, but we did it anyway since we were busy preparing the other dishes.)

2. Steam* the sticky rice for about 20-30 minutes until cooked. Water should just cover the sticky rice. When the rice is done, it should taste soft, and there shouldn't be any hard bits.

3. When the rice is almost done, prepare the coconut milk. In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and let the coconut milk simmer, BUT NOT BOIL. Hard-boiled coconut milk will curdle. Add sugar and salt. Remove from the heat. Take the cooked sticky rice out of the steaming apparatus. Pour 3/4 of the hot coconut milk over the hot sticky rice. Let it sit for 5 min. (The sticky rice will absorb all of the coconut milk; it should be slightly mushy. Spoon the rest of the coconut milk on top of the rice at serving time.

4. Serve with sliced mango.

*Steaming: For me, I used a large wok, put a dim sum steamer at the bottom, and filled it with water til the water rose to seven-tenths the height of the steamer. If you don't have a steamer, you can use an overturned china bowl. I placed my bowl of rice on top of the steamer, and put a lid on the wok. You could also steam using the built-in steamer in most rice cookers or pasta pots.

Green Curry Chicken

For this one, you can add as many/few veggies as you want to it, but it still turns out great. Beware the type of green curry paste you buy; some brands are super spicy! My recommendation would be to taste a little pinch of it before you add any to the curry to determine how spicy it is, and then add the amount you're comfortable with to the pot. Unfortunately, I didn't take a look at the brand we used at our Dinner Meet, so I can't offer any specific brand recommendations there. However, if it does end up being too spicy, you can always add more coconut milk and sugar.

Ingredients:

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tbsp dark soy sauce (1 tbsp for the chicken at the beginning, the other for the curry)

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cooking oil

2-3 tbsp green curry paste

2 green onions with tops, chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 can of sliced bamboo shoots (make sure to rinse them once you take them out of the can)

1 can of baby corn spears, cut in halves (make sure to rinse them once you take them out of the can)

1 can of pineapple chunks (we couldn't find any at the store, but I'm sure they'd be good in the curry)

1 bell pepper (ideally, half green, half red, but you can just use one whole one of any color)

2.5 cups coconut milk (have extra in hand in case you need to add more)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1-2 tbsp white sugar, to taste

Instructions:

1. Toss chicken first in 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, then in the flour, coating pieces evenly. Heat the oil in a large non-stick pot over medium high heat. Place chicken in the pot, cook and stir chicken until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken.

2. Reduce heat to medium and stir in curry paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in green onions, garlic, and ginger; cook an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to the pot, stirring to coat with the curry mixture. Stir the coconut milk, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and sugar into the chicken-curry mixture. Add the vegetables (bamboo shoots, bell pepper, baby corn). Allow to simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Add pineapple chunks and let the pineapple heat up. Serve.

Pad See Ew

This is one of my favorite dishes to order whenever I go out to a Thai restaurant. Who knew it were so easy to prepare at home? I think the key to this one is a stove/wok that can get super hot so that you can get a nice charring on the noodles. The rest of the preparation is pretty easy; it's just a bunch of chopping, really. This serves 3-4 people.

Main ingredients:

1 lb. fresh flat rice noodles

2 eggs

9 oz. of Chinese broccoli (or as much as you want to have in the dish)

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp of thick soy sauce (or light if you have that; thick's for color)

1 tbsp of fish sauce (add more to taste if you wish)

1 tbsp of rice vinegar

Meat marinade ingredients:

0.75 lb of meat (chicken, pork, etc. - we used beef flap meat)

1/2 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp dark sesame oil

Instuctions:

1. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Combine in a bowl with marinade ingredients. Set aside.

2. Wash and chop up the Chinese broccoli. Separate the stem parts from the leafy portions as they’ll require different cooking times. The leafs can be cut into big pieces as they’ll cook down quite a bit.

3. Heat the wok on the highest heat setting. When the pan is hot, add the cooking oil. Throw in the broccoli stems and toss quickly in the hot pan for a few seconds. Add the leafy parts and the fish sauce. Toss again quickly until the leafy parts are wilted. Transfer the broccoli onto a plate and set aside.

4. Set the wok back on the burner and let it heat up. Add more cooking oil, making sure to coat the wok bottom completely (to avoid burning the noodles). Throw in the noodles; stir to ensure the noodles are coated with oil. Add the thick soy sauce and a few splashes of fish sauce. Continue stirring to distribute the sauce. Add more oil if the noodles get stuck to the pan. Spread the noodles around the wok to maximize contact with the heat and to get some charring on the noodles. When the noodles are done, transfer them to a plate and set aside. Scrape the wok to get all the burnt bits out.

5. Set the wok back on the burner and heat it up. Add some more cooking oil followed by the garlic. Stir it around for a few seconds before adding the marinated meat. Stir it around to distribute the heat, and when the meat is done cooking, push the meat to a side of the wok and crack the egg in the cleared space. Let the egg set for a few seconds and then stir everything together quickly. (You could also scramble the egg separately before adding everything back in for the next step.)

6. Toss the broccoli back into the wok. Stir quickly to mix, then throw in the cooked noodles. Mix well. Add fish sauce and/or soy sauce to taste. Add the tablespoon of rice vinegar and some pepper. Stir well. Serve.

Laab with Ground Pork

This dish was amazing! The tanginess of the lime juice, the fresh crunch of the shallots/herbs, and the slight sweetness from the fish sauce all combined perfectly into this simple recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of toasted rice

1-2 shallots, thinly sliced (to taste)

1-2 limes, to taste

½ pound of ground pork (we used closer to 1 lb. of ground pork)

¼ tsp of ground dried chili pepper (we used red pepper flakes)

1 tbsp fish sauce

5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped

3 sprigs of mint (optional – we omitted this)

1 green onion, chopped/minced (optional – we added this)

Salt and pepper, to taste (we didn’t add pepper, but Trang thinks pepper would be a nice add)

Lettuce leaves, to eat with the laab

Instructions (for close to a pound of ground pork):

1. Squeeze lime juice onto the ground pork. Mix well and let it marinade for a few minutes until you are ready to cook it. For ½ pound of meat, you can probably do with the juice you get from moderate squeezing of one lime, but for a pound of meat, you probably want to squeeze the life out of it.

2. Make toasted rice! Here’s how: Heat up a pan/wok and add 2 tbsp of uncooked rice. Lower the heat and keep stirring to prevent burning. Some of the rice will pop, so don’t be surprised/alarmed. The rice is done when the grains turn a golden brown color. Remove the toasted rice from the pan, and pour it into a mortar. Twist the pestle against the rice to crush the grains into smaller pieces. Alternatively, you can do what Trang did and Magic Bullet it. :-)

3. Wash some lettuce leaves, and use either a salad spinner or some paper towels to dry the leaves. Set aside til you’re ready to serve the laab. (You can spoon the laab into the lettuce to munch together. Delish! But I’m getting ahead of myself…)

4. Heat up a pan on high heat until it is very hot. (The primary recipe that I am adapting this recipe from suggests using cast iron pans because they can heat up super hot, retain heat well, and heat evenly.) Add four tablespoons (or splashes, really) of water, and immediately add the marinated pork. Stir the pork around, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Keep stirring until the pork is well done.

5. Transfer the ground pork to a large mixing bowl. Add the fish sauce, green onion, shallot, cilantro, the rest of the lime juice, red pepper flakes and almost all of the toasted rice into the bowl. (Save the rest of the toasted rice for garnish.) Mix well and taste. This is where you can adjust ingredient quantities if it’s not to your liking. You should be able to taste the tartness from the lime juice and the fish sauce. You can add a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

6. Put the mixed ingredients in a serving bowl, garnish with the optional ingredients and the rest of the toasted rice. Serve with the lettuce.

Thai Night - success!

Our first Dinner Meet took place last night, and it was a success! Yummy food, great company - I hate to be cliché, but what more can you ask for?

On the menu was Thai food, featuring

- Green chicken curry

- Pork laab

- Pad see ew

- Mango with coconut sticky rice

I'll update the blog in the next day or two with individual blog posts of the recipes. We made a few modifications to the recipes since we were cooking for eight, so I'll need to update the recipes to include those. Also, what I love about Thai recipes is that they are very forgiving in terms of actual ingredient amounts that you include; really, it's all about adjusting the taste to suit your preferences by putting more (or less) of preferred flavors into the dish. Hopefully, the recipes I'm including here will give you a great starting foundation for creating these dishes in your home. :)

The evening started off a bit hectic, especially since I got home barely ten minutes before my first guest arrived. (Work's been super crazy this week!) As people arrived, I pointed them to the recipes, and off they went - chopping, stirring, tasting, until we finally had ourselves a nice mid-week feast to consume at the dinner table. Everything tasted great, but I think the most enjoyable part was, of course, the company.

Thanks for coming out, everyone, and I hope to see you for dinner again soon!

How to sign up

For those who've been asking, I'll have sign-ups open starting at 10am on the Friday prior to the week that the Dinner Meet will be held. By that time, I'll also have posted the menu the Head Chef is planning for that week so that you'll know what you're signing up for. :) Just e-mail me your interest when sign-ups open, and I'll send a confirmation before the weekend's out if you get a spot for that week's Dinner Meet.

I hope all of you give it a try at some point - it's going to be super fun.

See you in the kitchen!

Welcome!

A new venture to keep me entertained in my less busy hours... I'm looking forward to good times each week as we give Dinner Meet a try! Our first Dinner Meet will be next Wednesday, August 12th. Thai food will be on the menu, and I'm excited to have people over to try out some of my favorite recipes. I'll definitely be posting the recipes and pictures from the event here, so stay tuned!

More info excerpted from my initial feeler email to some friends below. The first week's participants have filled up, but let me know if you'd like to join for future Meets!

Basically, once a week, a group of us meet up to cook and consume dinner together (usually a 2-course meal). One person is responsible per week for being the Head Chef, bringing the recipe(s), purchasing the ingredients, and bringing them over to the dinner site. The rest of the group will help with food preparations – washing veggies, chopping, cooking, dish washing, etc. Everyone that comes brings $10 for dinner costs, except for the Head Chef. The money will be used to pay back the Head Chef for food costs and any leftover money will be kept in the treasury for future meals. (That way, we might be able to squeeze in fancier meals for future Dinner Meets.)

I’d like to limit participation to a maximum of 8 people per dinner to make it easier for the Head Chef, so spots will be first come first served. (At least for this first one. I’m thinking for future weeks, preference might be given to those who haven’t been to one and/or have attended fewer dinners than others.)

Cooking will start at 7pm, and we’ll aim to eat by 8:30pm (at the latest!). I’ll also set up a blog that will highlight the recipes we use that week along with pictures of our efforts so that those who couldn’t join for the week can still try out the recipes on their own.