Supper Clubs?

[Cottage Foods]

We at Cottage Living would like to know how our readers enjoy coming together with friends over food. Are you involved in some type of a supper club? If so, tell us about your group and of what you enjoy doing.

[pacificstar]

Hi Cottage Foods,
There is a thread like this one already. I know I posted on it a few times. Check it out and if you can't find it I'll share with you my stories again.

[pacificstar]

Well, I have been apart of a number of different Supper Clubs. The first one I'll tell you about is our Tuesday night Beach nights. Every Tuesday night for about 25 years a group of us got to San Onofre Surfing Beach during the summer months. Some years we just meet there and barbeque our own food and share a salad or desert with the group. But other years we plan things out. One year we did a different country each week. We did Italian with 3 different kinds of pasta and 3 different sauces. Our big salad and crusty bread and played Opera and Puccini. The best one that year was Greek night! It was years after the Saturday Night Live bit about the Greek thing with John Belushi talking about "the juice". We got the lamb strips and cooked them up at the beach and put them in pita bread, had feta salad and cucumber salad. We played some Greek music like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Dinner was great and while we were all sitting around the campfire enjoying the sunset a group of people from the campfire next to us come over. Well, they went to the rest rooms and got toilet paper, they encircled our group and danced around us waving the toilet paper behind them in the breeze. When they were finished they returned to their campsite and we were just blown away. not to be outdone by them we got up and did the same thing around them, it was a hoot! A good time was had by all and not to mention the wonderful food and lifelong friends.

[CarolM]

Hi:
When we camp during the summer months with friends (sometimes up to 8 or 9 families) we have sort of a 'supper club'. We meet prior to the camping trip and each family, or sometimes two families, chose a meal they would like to prepare; breakfast, lunch, or dinner and which day of the week. It is up to that family, or families, to chose the theme of their meal, purchase the ingredients, prepare and serve the meal to the rest of the families. The meal can be as elaborate or simple as you choose. We have had stir-fry night, catch of the day on the open fire, italian night, mexican night, burger and brat night, etc. Breakfasts can be a full course with eggs, belgium waffles, sausage, bacon, breakfast casseroles, fruit, breakfast burritoes with salsa and sour cream, juices & bloody marys. The sky is the limit. We have fed up to 40 people for a meal. The great part of this 'camping supper club' is that you only have to prepare one meal for the group over the course of 3, 4, 5 days and the rest of the time the meals are prepared for you and your family. Prior to each day we set the time of the meals and if you choose not to attend, that is just fine. Sometimes you get busy with activities and it's nice to know that a meal is all ready for you when you get back to the campground. We enjoy decorating our trailers and wear themed clothing to double our fun to go with the theme of the meal. Many good times have been shared during these meals. It brings us all together and keeps us close.
Carol

[Jilliebean]

In June 2004, I started a monthly supper club. It was made up of moms who needed a night out. It was always potluck with a theme of some kind and it was the job of the hostess to provide a cocktail that suited the theme. Each guest brought $10 for the pot. At the end of the night, the pot was raffled off and the winner was to spend the money on herself in some frivolous way. She also had to host the next supper. There were so many people interested coming to these dinners that a wait list was started. It was decided that if you missed 3, you'd be out of the group and back on the bottom of the wait list. Well, life for me got busy and next thing I knew, I was out of the group I started!...no hard feelings, though. As far as I know, this group still meets on a monthly basis.

[pacificstar]

My daughter in law is in a similar group as Jill. Its only the women in her Cul-de-sac though and they call it Bingo night. They meet once a month on a Wednesday night. They bring a $5 gift and $5 to play bingo. They do a pot luck dinner that is decided by the host. They eat, play Bingo and do the gift exchange. They buy gift's that are appropriate for that month. Maybe a Christmas ornament, a candle, or something to do with Valentine's day or Easter. It makes the neighborhood Mom's and working women bond. They have put together a roster of everyone in their street with the names and ages of kids and they plan fun holiday things those nights. They have a Pot Luck dinner before the kids go Trick or Treating, they have a bike parade on 4th of July, they do the Secret Santa before Christmas and have an Easter egg hunt. Its really the most desirable neighborhood to live in their area.

[Ballewnotes]

About 2 years ago 6 couples of our immediate neighborhood organized for a monthly dinner or our "Supper Club." Our neighborhood is in an older neighborhood in town made up of a mixture (side by side) of historic grand old homes and cottages dating from 1920's (actually not far from Sara Foster's - Foster's Market). Our monthly gatherings range from a Christmas Progressive Cocktail Party, Outdoor Fireside & Chili Cook-Off, Tex-Mex BBQ VS NC BBQ, to gathering a table/s and attend a local black tie charity fundraising event. These Supper Club dinner parties make our "neighborhood" a special place to live.

OH YES - The food is really excellent! - Our Supper Club is usually potluck with "Direction." By that I mean the hostess sets the menu and asks others what she would like brought for the evening menu. We have GREAT cooks and real FOODIES in this group husbands and wives alike. Home baked desserts, new margarita flavor for the summer, gourmet chili with homemade cornbread, homemade secret recipe tex-mex salsas, family recipes are shared etc.

PSS - I have also used Foster's Market catering at a couple of events - really great!!!