THE ADVENTURES OF A SUPPER CLUB...: June 2018

LET'S GO BOATING!!!

My husband and I bought a new boat a while back, so we've decided we're hosting our Supper Club dinner on board! We moved it from our regular August date to July since we have a wedding in August.

AHOY!!!

Here's what we're going to enjoy:

MENU:

APPETIZERS:
PINEAPPLE SALSA AND CHIPS
MEXICAN LAYERED DIP

MAIN COURSE:

PULLED PORK AND BBQ CHICKEN SLIDERS

SIDES:

MARINATED CUCUMBERS, ONIONS and TOMATOES
JALEPENO POPPER POTATO SALAD

DESSERT:

KEY LIME BARS

DRINK:

A PITCHER OF - SEABREEZE PUNCH

Here's what our group will probably look like:

The day ended up being absolutely fabulous - 4 couples, a boat, delicious food and drinks. What more could you ask for?

PINEAPPLE SALSA

4 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced (or 2 jalapeno peppers, depending on whether you want it spicy or not)
2 1/2 cups pineapple, diced (about 1/4 pineapple)
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
salt, to taste

Add all ingredients to large mixing bowl. Toss to combine. Season with more salt, if necessary.

PULLED PORK SANDWICHES

For the Pork Sandwiches:
Potato Rolls
1 jar Pickles
BBQ Sauce to serve
Honey Mustard to serve
1 4-5 lb. Pork Shoulder (I ended up buying a 9 lb. pork butt)
Salt
freshly ground Pepper
2 Onions (sliced)
4 cloves Garlic (smashed)
1 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 TBSP Chili Powder
1 TBSP Cumin
2 bottles Beer

For the Cole Slaw:
1 head Green Cabbage (sliced or shredded thinly)
1 large Carrot (finely shredded)
3/4 cup Mayonnaise
3 TBSP Apple Cider or Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tsp Celery Seed
2 TBSP Sugar

STEP 1:
For the Pork Sandwiches: In the slow cooker, create a bed of onions and garlic.

Season the pork shoulder generously with salt and pepper. In a large cast iron pan, sear the pork on all sides.

Then transfer to slow cooker.

Deglaze the pan with some beer, scraping up brown bits. Pour contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Add the sugar, spices and remaining beer and cover. Cook the pork on low for 4 to 6 hours. Shred the pork, and transfer to container with some of the cooking liquid.

STEP 2:
For the Cole Slaw:

In another small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, celery seed, sugar, and season with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, and mix to thoroughly.

Add the dressing to the cabbage, and toss to coat.

STEP 3:
Potato or Hawaiian soft Rolls
BBQ Sauce to serve
Honey Mustard to serve
1 jar Pickles
Slice bread and lightly toast, if desired. Assemble open faced sandwiches with pork, cole slaw, bbq sauce, honey mustard, and pickles.

(NOTE: You only need to pour the beer up to the bottom of the pork, because the onions will release water.)

BBQ PULLED CHICKEN
(Adapted from southern plate.com)

5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 TBSP salt
1 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP hot sauce (I use tabasco)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour cider vinegar over and add salt and pepper.
Cook on high, 4-5 hours or low, 8-9 hours. Use tongs to remove chicken from slow cooker - note that chicken will fall apart as you do this.
Take out 2 cups of liquid from the slow cooker and discard rest. To that two cups, add brown sugar, hot sauce, and pepper flakes. Stir. Put chicken back in slow cooker, pour sauce over, stir, and enjoy!

MARINATED CUCUMBERS, TOMATOES AND ONIONS
(recipe to follow) JALEPENO POPPER POTATO SALAD

6 – 8, potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces
8 slices cooked bacon
3 jalapeno peppers, diced and deseeded
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mayonnaise

Place the potato pieces in a large pot, cover with water and cook over a medium high flame until it reaches a boil. Turn flame down and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Once the potatoes are done cooking, place them in a colander and rinse them under cold water. Let drain.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook your bacon according to package directions. Remove cooked bacon from the pan and crumble into small pieces.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, the shredded cheeses, the diced jalapeno peppers, onions, and crumbled bacon. Stir to thoroughly combine.

Add the cooked potatoes to the jalapeno popper mixture. Toss well to coat the potatoes.

Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator. Chill for at least 2 hours.

KEY LIME BARS
(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

These little gems are a perfect ending to a summer meal. They need to be kept refrigerated, as they will get too soft fairly quickly, and this recipe made 8 perfect pieces for my supper club. It's cold, tangy and sweet - delicious!

marthastewart

5 3/4 oz graham crackers (about one-third of a 1-pound box), ground to fine crumbs in a food processor (1 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup sugar
5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest (about 2 limes)
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh Key-lime juice (about 20 Key limes)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass pan. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Leave oven on.

Place egg yolks and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on high speed until mixture is very thick, about 5 minutes.

On medium speed, pour in condensed milk in a steady stream, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat on high speed until thick, about 3 minutes.

On low speed, add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Pour filling over crust; spread evenly.

Bake until just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

Cut dessert into 1 1/2-by-2-inch rectangles. Garnish each with whipped cream and enjoy!!!

SEABREEZE PUNCH

In a pitcher combine:

6 cups grapefruit juice, cold
1 1/2 cups vodka
4 cups cranberry juice, cold
1 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup of simple syrup (or more if you need it to be a bit sweeter)

Optional: add club soda to make more per serving
Lime slices and cherries, for garnish

Our boat!