Cooking Club Reunion: The Indy Reunion

Okay, okay, okay...I finally blogged. You're probably wondering, "has Cooking Club been dead for eight years?" Well, the answer is hell no. It's been alive and well. So many good recipes flawlessly executed with a casual towel-over-the-shoulder. So many good stories, fire alarms, global cuisines, babies, dogs, travels, learnings...

The sad news is that I just haven't been blogging about them. Blame it on the kids, or the start-up, or the a-a-a-a-alcohol. I'm tired of the side comments. And it's time to restart this thing. Here goes. 

Date: November 24, 2018 Location: MK's new house in Indy

Theme: Ginger
The set-up: MK moved back to MK. She had completed a kitchen audit and successfully hosted a Thanksgiving. Erin and Sean were nominated, un-nominated, then re-nominated. With ME, Ben and R. J. all within 8-10 blocks of the new house, we had to make MK Cooking Club happen. We did. 
Attendees: 

• Founding Members: Mary Kay, Martha Ellen, R. J., Ben
• Founding-by-Marriage Members: Allyson, Katie
• Founding-by-Birth Member: Caleb
• Sponsored Guests: Erin, Sean
• Sponsored Guest (no show due to illness, but dropped wine by anyway): Jim

The Menu

Signature Drink: Moscow Mule (on theme with the Ginger Beer. On point with MK's mugs)

Tasting Notes: yum. 

Appetizer:  Ginger Miso Sweet Pea Spread

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/ginger-miso-sweet-pea-spread

Tasting Notes: lots of audible "mmmmms" and promises of "I'll make this again..." 

Main

Chilean Sea Bass with Peanuts & Herbs

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/chilean-sea-bass-with-peanuts-and-herbs

Tasting Notes: buttery, great topping

*Unanimously voted "best dish of the night." 

**The Chilean sea bass was sourced via Kona Jack's, and worth the $$$. 

Salad (not pictured, but served with the sea bass) 

Collard Salad with Ginger & Spicy Seed Brittle

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/collard-greens-salad-with-ginger-and-spicy-seed-brittle

Tasting note: the heat from the salad + the fish was a perfect combo. 

*The Chilean sea bass was sourced via Kona Jack's, and worth the $$$. 

Soy Sauce Marinated Short Ribs 

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/soy-sauce-marinated-short-ribs-with-ginger

*Served at 11:39 pm. 

Tasting Notes: so, so, so salty, but delicious. We'd recommend marinating for eight hours,  then serving with the recommended two (2) tablespoons of sauce instead of the "soup" that R. J. made. 

Ginger Lime Baby Carrots

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/ginger-lime-baby-carrots

Tasting Notes: pretty good, actually

**note: these were almost NOT made at all. But MK/ME had gone to Saraga to get the special Japanese spice and weren't going to let that go to waste. 

***also: has anyone seen the lid to the aforementioned Japanese spice? MK thinks Sean put it somewhere. 

Dessert

Molasses Gingerbread Cake with Marscapone Cream 

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/molasses-gingerbread-cake-with-mascarpone-cream#spotim-comments

Tasting Notes: the edges were too hard/crispy (according to our British guests), and the cream had no sign of a stiff peak. Despite those two notes, it was a pretty good end to Cooking Club. 

**Served at midnight

Consensus was that the Chilean Sea Bass stole the night, especially with the complementary salad (Ben/Katie replaced the collards with turnip greens--a worthy substitute!). Plus, MK added a subtle Pinot that was perfectly paired. 

Post-Dinner Games: "Categories" was back. The women won handily, while the men spent most of the night saying the word "GALAXY" and explaining who Damian Lewis was over and over. 


The Official Report Card: Drunk R. J. decided to rate each member's performance for the night. There's some continued debate about the actual rankings, but here's where things stood at midnight...

Next Up: Rumor has it that Italian Night is coming back in January 2019. Stay tuned. 

Cooking Club 15.0: Osso Buco

Date: December 27, 2010
Location: R. J. & Allyson's House
Theme: Giada comes to dinner.

Attendees included:
Founding Members: Mary Kay, Martha Ellen, R. J.
Founding-by-Marriage Members: Allyson, Bingley
Sponsored Guests: Catherine, Tim
Unsponsored Guest/Designated Driver: Joe

The Menu:
Antipasto platter: prosciutto, salami, brie, goat, etc, olives, cantaloupe, fig jam Wine. Italian.
Osso Buco
Creamy Orzo
Tiramisu

The set-up: Mary Kay was in town from London. Ben “booked the wrong flight.” Bridget “moved to Denver.” One Founding Member and one key Associate Member missing, Cooking Club was shy on some of its star talent, but ready to go nevertheless. Martha Ellen ensured that everyone had their own towel to sling over their shoulder, and we had plenty of wine to make it a good night.

The planning: Mary Kay was having nothing to do with the chili cookoff. R. J. and Martha Ellen attempted to simplify things, but MK had osso buco on the brain, and wasn’t going to let the Talyors have their way. Good thing, because Cooking Club 15.0 was a hit. After a failed planning meeting at Cornerstone Coffee, MK dominated the entire planning process—from idea conception through spreadsheet creation (her first!) through grocery purchasing and delivery. When R. J. got home from work at 5:22 pm, MK was sitting/stalking outside his house, ready to go 38 minutes early.

The antipasto: Was really good. Quite the selection of cheeses, meats and the chianti jam I picked up from the Goose was a hit. Woot. It did a great job of whetting our appetites while not serving its secondary purpose: keeping everyone sober.

The drinks: I think the highlight of the evening was the light-bodied red wine that “really grew on me.” Everyone made this comment at some point through the night. It’s also important to note that Cooking Club went through more than 8 bottles of wine that night. I’m guessing Martha Ellen drank two bottles by herself.



The pasta: Although it took 40 minutes for the water to boil(Guest Chef Catherine made a rookie CC mistake here), the wait was worth it! Peas, tomatoes and cream made the orzo a GREAT dish that anyone could make. No really, anyone.



























The secondi: Osso buco was a hands-on dish, with everyone sticking a fork or tong in the pot to really sear the shanks. As long as the liquid was three-fourths up the shank, we were in good shape. The sauce/liquid made for great dipping, and though Mary Kay seemed slightly upset with the final result, I think she should really be happy with it, because the alternative was a big pot of R. J.’s chili.

The dessert: With the memory of tiramisu haunting everyone—including Kathleen—we knew that we had to get this one right. R. J. had suggested “mini-tiramisus” as a way to avoid a repeat disaster, but MK prevailed once again and made the executive decision that we’re sticking with a 13x9. And she was right! Other than some comments/debate regarding the upper ladyfingers not absorbing the flavors appropriately, Cooking Club really pulled this one off. Hats off to Allyson and Catherine for rocking it. Michael & I better watch out as we evaluate the “Best Desserts Ever” designation.















The Traveling Box: Cheesecloth was added to the box for future bouquet garnis, etc. Too bad Ben & Mrs. Pipp weren’t in attendance. Tim did us proud in their absence.

Post-Dinner Games: Though “Shut the Box” has potential to gain traction at Cooking Club, we reverted to our favorite: Categories. It would be a stretch to say that Martha Ellen actually participated in this game, as she mostly just laughed her way through. Per tradition, our guests each gave a speech to the Founding Members—this time, their speech was to include a metaphor that related their experience to a dish we cooked that night. Kudos goes to Joe who not only served as DD, but participated in Categories.

Next up: If Ben can arrange his flights correctly—and we can convince Bridget to stick around—we might be doing that Chili Cookoff afterall. Look for more in mid-January. Until then!

Cooking Club 14.0: British Invasion

Date: February 11, 2010
Location: A Progressive Dinner
Theme: British Invasion

Attendees included:
The CC Crew: Ben, Bridget, Mary Kay, Martha Ellen, R. J.
Sponsored Guests: ETUK Team: Nigel, Eddy, Emma & Nicky

The Menu: Recess cooked, and I forget what we ate. But it was good, and there are pictures.

The Night: Mary Kay wanted to expose the ETUK team to what’s become an American institution: Cooking Club. Because a large work event was taking place at the same time, we opted for a gourmet night out instead of going down a traditional route of making our own food.

The night started at Recess with Emma, Nicky, Ben, Bridget, Martha Ellen, MK and R. J. enjoying a four-course meal. Highlights of the evening included R. J. asking Nicky why she wasn’t drinking, then asking “wait, are you pregnant?” Not cool. But turns out that Nicky WAS pregnant, and by the time this blog is actually posted, she’s six months into her maternity leave already.

After dinner, we headed to a new Indy staple: the Upland Tasting Room where we met up with Nigel and Eddy, and we played games and drank some more. Eddy and Nigel brought cooking-themed gifts to the Cooking Club that we graciously accepted and wore immediately.

From Upland, we went back to Martha Ellen & Bridget’s where we drank more and played more games. I don’t remember the specifics of the evening, but received this picture from Martha Ellen with the caption: “This pretty much sums up the night.” So it must have been fun. Looking forward to a repeat in 2011!

Cooking Club 13.0: Christmas Dinner

Date: December 23rd, 2009
Theme: I don't remember our theme.
Menu: Oysters Rockefellar, Paella and Apple Pie.
Location: Martha Ellen & Bridget's Condo
Attendance: Um, not sure.

To be honest, I don't have more than pictures to represent this evening. Based on our pictures, it looks like we ate well. . .

Key Learning: don't wait a year to blog about Cooking Club nights. Sorry about that, loyal readers.

Cooking Club 12.0: Indian

Date: May 9, 2009
Attendees: Martha Ellen, Mary Kay, Bridget, R. J., Allyson
Theme: Indian Night!

Menu:
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Aloo Gobi
- Fried Paneer & Spinach
- Naan
- Gulab Jamun

It took two trips to the grocery, one trip to Saraga International Market, and Cooking Club’s first grease fire to complete the attempt at Indian food. And the result was well worth the effort.

Memorable Quotes:
“I mean, this is just sugar and water” – Mary Kay

“There are going to be a lot of key learnings tonight’ - Bridget

Asafetita smells like either “sweaty socks and a Christmas tree” (Bridget) or “a belch” (R. J.)

“I thought the spinach recipe was going to be cheese on spinach similar to a caprese salad” – Martha Ellen

Key Learnings:
- It helps to have a chemist to weigh 200 grams
- Seasoned salt is not turmeric
- It’s pronounced “turmeric”
- Mary Kay would rather pick the thyme leaves off rather than peel pearl onions
- Printed recipes make a difference; Bridget needs visuals
- DMB still makes everyone happy when it comes on the radio randomly
- King Fisher tastes really good – especially with Indian food
- Z stores spices in gallon size containers – we should consider this. But…how long before a spice goes bad?
- ‘The Box’ is a felony but it makes a good box
- C.C members don’t like it when the sponsored guest out audits and out pronounces them.

Cooking Club 11.0: Unknown

There were two cooking clubs that I don't remember the details:

- Dinner @ El Sol

- When Mrs. Pipp stopped by a lunch we made at R. J.'s house with max garni.

I'll keep this post as a placeholder for now and call it "11.0." Details to follow.

Cooking Club 10.0: Best Of Cooking Club

Date: March 6, 2009


Attendees: Mary Kay, Ben, Martha Ellen, R. J. and Bridget

Location: Martha Ellen's condo

Menu: The best of Cooking Club.

Cooking Club was founded on the principle of risk taking. Since inception, our philosophy has been to attempt new techniques, receipes and those dishes that might not turn out so well due to our lack of skill, time, or both. But at least once per meeting, we discover that we have a real talent to create delicious dishes. . .or that we have a particularly good receipe. Cooking Club 10.0 was a collection of the best of the best.

Keep in mind that I'm wrtiting this blog post approximately 1 year, 9 months after the "Best of Cooking Club" actually happened. So I have no idea what happened that night, but judging by the pictures, it looks like we made some good grub.

If you remember back a few Cooking Clubs (or just read through the blog), you'll know that one of our favorite desserts a molten chocolate cake that became part of CC lore--not just because of the way the dessert turned out, but because of the recipe itself.

Of course, we finished the meal with a bang. I'm sure Michael & I would be proud of our success (thus far).