Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Amendment

Unfortunately due to work commitments (yes I am a loser) I have had to cancel my dinner club date :-(

However, it's not all over yet, we are going to reschedule for Thursday 30th September and the menu will be up soon, I promise!

In the meantime, check out this band for some sexyfuck rock - http://www.myecho2.moonfruit.com/


Caz
xxx

Friday, August 20, 2010

Menu Pending...

Caroline has informed the group that the menu for the next dinner club will be posted on 26th August, one week prior to her cooking extravaganza.


Here is a funny video to keep you entertained, it's funny because it's to the song Barbie Girl which Lucy actually provides the male vocals for. Rene Dif the dutch man you all probably think as the co-lead singer is actually a talented mime artist and Lucy has been providing his vocals for the past 10 years.



Enjoy!
Love Hellie
xxx

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A whole new world... of lentils.

Puy lentils. What on earth are puy lentils?! I’ve yet to find out, since they were frustratingly elusive and replaced with green lentils in the final recipe, so if anyone can enlighten me to the difference, please do.

So, the menu:

Starters: Smashed spiced chickpeas on tortilla crisps; and Cherry tomato and basil on garlic ciabatta
Main: Lentils (green not puy) on baby salad leaves with red peppers, feta and salsa verde
Dessert: Sponge cake with whipped cream and raspberries, drizzled with WHITE CHOCOLATE (not anything else)

I spent most of the start of the evening in the kitchen - which was all Jamie Oliver’s fault and not at all mine. Mr. Oliver your smashed chickpeas are NOT quick and easy to make and you clearly used a food processer! Stop saving obese northerners and write some decent recipes again please!

I eventually managed to serve up some yummy food judging by the oohs and aahs and empty plates (even the lentils!) and totally redeemed any lateness or oddness of dishes by bringing in the yummiest sponge cake with cream and raspberries and WHITE CHOCOLATE. Just wanted to make that clear...

And then just when people thought that they’d had enough food, out came Helen’s cheese board and the gooiest camembert ever, which went perfectly with the 5th bottle of wine we were on... Probably for the best, we managed to forget about the huge selection of sweets that Lucy brought, but they made an excellent breakfast on Friday...

Valuable lessons learned from the first Dinner Club:

1. I’m not the only one who still knows the words to A Whole New World.
2. Red wine, orange and grapefruit juice is drinkable. Although not by me…
3. A little bit of garlic makes a lot of difference
4. Always end with cake. Always.

To use someone else’s analogy, this whole experience has been a bit like baking a cake. When we first had the idea, I looked in my cupboard and realised I had some good ingredients already, but that I needed a few more. So 6 bottles of wine, 1 packet of lentils, hours of laughter and a bit of a restructure later, the Dinner Club was born. And I think a lot more successful than some other metaphorical cakes...

Maria
xx

Friday, August 13, 2010

Maria, you gotta see her....

Maria can you PLEASE write the entry from Tuesday evening..... PLEASE.

Here is a picture to keep you tantalising over the saga to come.


No before you ask, it's not ...... all over the top!
Love Hellie
xxxx

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Introducing....

Introducing The Dinner Club, where 5 intrepid co-workers bravely took the step out of the office (and the pub) and decided to try each others food. Each taking it in turn to cook for one and another once a month and display their culinary skills, show off their entertainment skills all whilst not trying to piss off their housemates!


The club is currently 5 members strong, although there are a couple of possibilities we might let in along the way. Founding members are:



Maria Mills
Caroline Hicks

Louise Forder
Lucy Tarbard
(she touches Tigers!)

Helen Gibbons
These are the tales of our wild nights in…..