Blogging is harder than eating...

Here we are, 5 months after my last post, where I vowed to keep up to date on Supperclub and other food-related happenings in my life. Well, I guess I've been busy and probably a little lazy, because although I've been cooking and eating well, no blog posts.

So - let's work backwards. Today I want to tell you all (ummm - I think that's just you, Tete), about the last couple Supperclub dinners, because they were memorable. First, let's talk about last night.

Tuesday, August 18th Menu:

• Maui potato chips with beer (love it when someone else brings snacks!) - we had a Banana Bread Ale from England that was surprisingly good... not sweet, good flavor - check it out.



• Grilled corn on the cob with butter and salt (husk the corn, let the kernels caramelize but be careful not to burn them!)



• Grilled bring-your-own steaks (just salt and pepper and olive oil-seasoned)



• Black Kale Salad (a Supperclub favorite)



• Roasted new(ish) potatoes with rosemary and garlic



• Grilled peaches with salted caramel ice cream
  

It was such a simple and delicious summer menu - the corn and potatoes and peaches were all bought in Eastern Washington on a weekend impromptu road trip, and were exceptionally sweet and fresh. The kale came from my garden. The Salted Caramel Ice Cream was some of the best I've ever had (better than Molly Moon's, I have to say, which is highly addictive but too rich). I thought the recipe was a little too fussy, and fudged some of the steps (you can skip heating the milk in a separate pot, and just pour it all on the caramel, dissolve the caramel, and then slowly incorporate with the eggs. Back on the heat to thicken slightly (coats the back of your spoon) and then strain it before chilling to get any caramel chunks or milk/cream skin out. And the company was lovely, as usual!

Last week, we had a special Sunday Supperclub, in honor of Laurie and Phred from Elemental (one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle). Because of the weekend timing, we had a huge crowd (22 people!). The weather was perfect for cooking - not too hot - but lovely and sunny and let us all sit outside and enjoy summer without freezing after the sun went down (well, as long as you were dressed for a Seattle summer evening!).

Sunday, August 9th Menu:

• Curried Pistachios



• Port Madison Goat Cheese with crackers



• Grilled butterflied leg of lamb rubbed with fresh herbs and garlic (thanks Laurie!)



• Green peach chutney (labor of love peeling all those green peaches - thanks Heidi! - recipe based on Green Mango Chutney by Julie Sanhi)



• Tabbouleh with tomatoes, parsley, red onion and pomegranate molasses



• Lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette



• 3 pies: peach with honey caramel, sour cherry, and huckleberry apricot (see photo)



• Lavender lemon ice cream

I went a little nuts with dessert - but the only thing left of the pies were a few cherries that I ate on my yogurt the next morning! The farmer's market this time of year is so amazing - fruit this year in particular is stunning - very ripe and sweet and flavorful. So when I found myself with peaches and apricots and sour cherries and huckleberries, the only thing to do was bake! The peach is on top in the photo, sour cherry has the lattice top, and the leaf-top is huckleberry apricot (which was my personal favorite - just made up the recipe - it had a little cinnamon in it). I also wanted to experiment with lavender, so made a mostly lemon-y, somewhat ethereally lavender-y ice cream (just used 1 lavender flower head's worth of blossoms and zest from 1 lemon). Much better to be restrained - I've had seriously soap-y lavender ice cream in the past!

I wish I had photos of this event, and the food - I know others took some, so if you're reading this and have some, please post or send them my way!