OCTOBER 2014 SUPPER CLUB AT WENDY AND SCOTT'S!

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Well, we've left the dog days of summer and are headed into fall quickly.  Looking forward to a hearty delicious meal at our friends' (Wendy and Scott's) home with our supper club group.  One couple can't make it, so this evening's dinner will be with 10 friends instead of 12.

Our hosts for the October Supper Club, Wendy and Scott:

MENU:

APPETIZERS:

WARM JALAPENO-CRAB DIP

&

CHICKEN POPPERS WITH HONEY MUSTARD

MAIN:

BEEF FILET

WILD RICE

CAPE COD CHOPPED SALAD 
GREAT BREAD

DESSERT:
PUMPKIN ROLL 

DRINK:
VAMPIRE KISS (POMEGRANATE MARGARITA)
AND
CRAFT BEERS FROM BUFFALO, NY 

WARM JALAPENO-CRAB DIP

(Adapted from Recipe.com)

Photo Credit: Recipe.com

6 TBSP  unsalted butter
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups milk
1 8 ounce container fresh lump crab meat, picked over, cartilage discarded
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
1 tsp  fresh lemon juice
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 jalapeños, seeds removed, finely chopped

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat and add garlic. Cook, stirring, until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Stir in flour and slowly whisk in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Remove from heat. Stir in crab, 3/4 cup cheese and the juice.

Reserve 2 tablespoons scallion and 1 tablespoon jalapeno; stir remaining scallion and jalapeno into crab mixture. Transfer to a 1-quart baking dish and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

***At this point the dip can be refrigerated.  Simply remove from the fridge, and then follow the rest of the instructions.
Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes. Broil 6 inches from heat until golden and bubbly, 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved scallion and jalapeno. Serve warm. Makes 2-1/4 cups.

CHICKEN POPPERS

(Adapted from Jo Cooks)

Photo Credit: Jo Cooks

Sauce
½ cup mayo
2 TBSP mustard (prepared yellow mustard)
½ tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP vinegar
2 TBSP honey
Salt and pepper, to taste
Chicken
6 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2½ cups flour
¼ cup powdered sugar
4 tsp salt
3 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
Peanut oil or canola oil for frying (I used canola)

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Add all the sauce ingredients to a small bowl, whisk well and refrigerate until ready for serving.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Cut up the chicken breasts into small bite sizes. Heat up oil in a large pot, over medium heat till the temperature reaches 375 F degrees.
In a large ziploc bag add the flour, sugar, salt, paprika and pepper. Close the bag and shake it so that all ingredients are mixed well.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Add the chicken pieces to the ziploc bag, close it and shake it until each piece is fully coated in the flour mixture. Remove the chicken pieces from the ziploc bag, shake all the excess flour from them and place them in a bowl, until ready for frying.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Fry the poppers, in 3 batches. Fry them for 5 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces, the bigger they are the longer they require.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

After frying, place them on a plate with paper towels to soak up the extra oil.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Serve hot or cold with the mayo/mustard sauce or with hot sauce. These were gone in a flash!
Plated and ready to transport to my Supper Club get-together:

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

WILD RICE


VIGO

It’s super simple and really tasty! Just boil water and butter and dump in the packet! Wendy made 3 pkgs for our group, and we had a lot leftover!

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

CAPE COD CHOPPED SALAD
(Adapted from Ina Garten)

Photo Credit: House Beautiful

8 ounces thick-cut bacon, such as Niman Ranch
8 ounces baby arugula  (Denise used romaine)
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled
For the dressing:
3 tablespoons good apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup good olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the bacon slices on the rack. Roast the bacon for about 20 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, apple, walnuts, cranberries, and blue cheese.
For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
Chop the bacon in large pieces and add it to the salad. Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and toss well. Serve immediately.

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

PUMPKIN ROLL
Sheila enhanced her pumpkin roll with chocolate covered walnuts and pecans - delish!

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

Here's the recipe for Trisha Yearwood's version:

3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for sprinkling
Two 3-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 17 1/2- by 12 1/2-inch jellyroll pan.

With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, pumpkin and lemon juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, ginger, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the sifted ingredients to the egg mixture and blend until fully combined. Spread the batter in the jellyroll pan. Sprinkle the dough with the chopped pecans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 14 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a wire rack. Sprinkle some of the confectioner' sugar on a large tea towel and carefully transfer the warm cake to the towel, folding the sides of the towel over the cake. Roll the cake up in the towel and cool in the refrigerator thoroughly for about 45 minutes.

With an electric mixer, combine the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla and beat until smooth. Carefully unroll the cooled cake and spread the mixture on top of the cake. Gently re-roll the cake up and refrigerate it until you're ready to slice and serve. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Pomegranate “Vampires Kiss” Margarita

Photo Credit: Cate Bogue

This drink was so good - not too sweet!  Perfect for the evening!
For a large pitcher:
1800 Silver Tequila – 16oz.
Triple Sec- 8oz.
POM pomegranate juice- 2.5 - 3 cups (adjust according to taste)
Lime juice- 8oz.
Lime wedges
Club Soda – splash
Salt (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large pitcher. Serve over ice and add a splash of club soda and a lime wedge per cocktail.

Gorgeous fall decor at Scott and Wendy's:

 Denise, who had just "fixed" my iPhone camera!  "CHEESE!"

 The girls:

Not sure how none of the guys made the pics, but they were outside enjoying the weather (oh and maybe some of Scott's beer samples and chicken poppers) most of the evening!

HAPPY OCTOBER TO ALL!

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Hard to believe, but our next supper club get-together will be a Christmas bash, at our house!  See you all in 2 months!