Book Club and stuffed dates

 
This inviting table welcomed us this month at book club.  My friends have the most lovely homes.  We're reading and cooking our way through Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.

 
This month's menu consisted of bacon wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates,  Mexican grilled corn, dark chocolate sea sated toffee, enchiladas and a delicious guacamole.  Those are my dates below.  They were pretty yum.  I ate a lot of them and also did some damage on the toffee.

The food is always great, and I love learning new cooking techniques, but the company is tremendous and the conversation is delightful.  These gals are wise and funny and a breath of fresh air amidst a busy week.  

Last month we ditched cooking together and ended up out to eat at a downtown sushi spot.  The service was less than great and we ended up with discounted meal.  We decided we are better cooks.

Here's how those yummy stuffed dates are made:  I'll be making them again!

2 packages of dates (found in the produce section)
1 pack of bacon
8 oz. goat cheese (found in the specialty cheese case)

Slice the dates open, but not in half.  Pull out the pit.  It sort of looks like a pecan.  Spoon in a little dip of the goat cheese.  Wrap each in a half a strip of bacon.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  We flipped them at about 15 minutes. They can be served warm or room temperature, or as I discovered the next morning, cold from the fridge.  I actually thought they were even better the next day. 

Next month, we are cooking, eating and exchanging Christmas goodies.

book club- kitchen 2

We met again, my 6 new mama friends, to cook and eat and talk and avoid homework with the kids and bedtime drama and just be grown ups together.

We met at a different home and made dishes from the next section of our book, Bread and Wine. Section one post here.

We take a lot of photos of our treats!  We met in a different friend's home, a farm house that has been in her husbands family for three generations, that she and her husband recently restored.  It's gorgeous and homey and a great place to gather.

The other mama's have kids who are a little bit older and I'm learning a lot about parenting teens.  As we've had a little interaction with their kids passing through the house and those I see at school occasionally, or work with for the middle school musicals, I'm impressed. They have respectful, mannerly teens.  I want that and I'm tucking all this good info away for later! 

We cooked and then devoured together watermelon feta salad, mango chicken curry, breakfast cookies, sweet potato fries with sriracha dipping sauce, and an Italian sausage cassoulet.  We had to take home our breakfast cookie because there was so much food going on. 

I was in charge of the chicken curry and it turned out pretty decent.  I guess I just don't really love the curry flavor, but it was fine.  Better than my biscuit flop from last month.  I thought it would be super spicy but it was not at all.

The watermelon feta salad was amazing! It contained watermelon, feta, mint, arugula, and a balsamic dressing.   It had lime as well which gave it a fun flavor.  It tasted like a special summer drink.  I always think arugula is bitter, but spinach might be a tastier base to the salad next time. 

I so enjoy meeting with these ladies.  I'm going to have to get better at time management though.  I can hardly stay out until 10 and miss an entire evening at home without getting behind a little in every area of life!  The papers that needed graded are still not caught up and today I'm the laundry queen!  I say that as I take an hour our of my Sunday to post this.  Guess a time management class may be needed. 

Books and friends= mom fun

One of my dear student's parents has been so sweet to me.  I had her oldest last year, have her middle child this year and with any luck, will have her youngest next year.  She invited me to join a book club she was starting with some of her favorite ladies.  I knew a few of them from school and church and was intrigued by the book. 

 

Green Well Salad

 

It's called Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  It's about food, but also community.  It's a Christian book, but not devotional.  It's recipes and the stories that go with them.  The book has been super enjoyable, the recipes have been good, and joining friends, new and old, around the table, is pretty great.

 

 

We get together at one of our homes (insert footnote!) and cook the recipes from the section of the book we read that month.  Then we feast and discussed the chapters.   (footnote- We will not be meeting at my house- they all have lovely, lovely homes with huge kitchens and plenty of room for entertaining.  My house can have one cook in the kitchen, two if you are close!)

 

Me and my mama friend

 

Last week we made (and devoured and enjoyed) steak au poivre with cognac pan sauce, green well salad with cherries and walnuts,  risotto, goat cheese biscuits (insert footnote!) and flourless chocolate brownies.  (footnote- I was in charge of the goat cheese biscuits.  No problem.  I bake.  I make biscuits.  I even tested out the recipe the week before at home since I'm not usually cooking with goat cheese and fresh shredded parmesan cheese.  They were great.  So, I measured out all my ingredients and brought them to cook at book club.  When I pulled them out of the oven, there was clearly an issue.  I had forgotten the baking powder.  They were little dough balls.  Chewy little unleavened bread clumps.  They were slightly embarrassing.  Add that to the fact that I showed up in a crazy tiny little rental car and I was pretty impressive that evening.  -We had someone bump our mini van in July and the new tailgate was finally in.  I had a little rental for three days.  Three long and cramped days.  I'm not used to driving a teeny tiny car and was pretty sure I'd be run over on the road.)

 

 

I learned some new cooking skills. I met some new friends. We talked about our kids, our jobs, and our moms.  We stayed out past 10pm on a school night!  I learned to make risotto.  The green bowl was from book club, the orange bowl was my recreation later that week with bacon, mushroom, and shrimp. 

 

 

Next month has some promising recipes and another lovely home to gather in.