In my neck of the woods, when I hear the term, “I’m blessed” (and yes, I am, many times over and more than I deserve) it brings to mind how fortunate I am to have lovely friends who enjoy getting together, sitting down and breaking bread. We share our week, our joys and voice those “gentle” irritations that just need to be aired to non-criticizing allies.
I had the distinct pleasure of hosting our supper club recently, and true to form, everyone participated or brought some fabulous gift or happy.
The Cooking Lady found Caramel Cake in Ruleville, Mississippi
A beautiful caramel iced yellow cake, a lovely bottle of Chardonnay, real Mexican hot sauce, hush puppies. Our husbands fried beautiful bream and speckled trout and the puppies. Meanwhile, the wives baked up some of those most pedestrian tater tots – baked in the oven. All of it served alongside lots of ketchup, cocktail sauce, lemon, and adult beverages.
The food was especially wonderful because it had memories associated with it—fish caught while at house party in Louisiana, good ole Mississippi Delta caramel cake, fresh from Ruleville, and again, just the good intentions and friendship we associate with really good times.
Does this need an explanation?
I had made cole slaw, and it froze in the outside fridge!!! It was horrible—no hope of salvation, too icy/crispy for words, so I just made a gorgeous green salad with Romaine lettuce, lots of additions like olives, marinated artichoke hearts, boiled eggs finely chopped, peppers, anchovies, whatever else you have hanging around, and it was eaten up!! It was dressed with my producer’s homemade lemon vinaigrette—sent from heaven.
I hated for the evening to end, but end it did, it had to, everyone back to work the next morning. It’s so much fun to have your dining room filled with laughter, to hug all the wives, kiss the cheeks of all the husbands, to put a cloth napkin in your lap and use Pier One big buffet plates and placemats your grandmother hand stitched. I fixed a few to-go plates, packed everyone off to their respective homes, and –turned to my husband and said, “God, I just love all of them!”
As we cleaned up, my husband explained why one batch of hushpuppies burned so badly. It seems as though we really should have TWO cookers, I just loved that. Oil disposal is a real concern, and no, I did NOT throw away that plastic jug! I did some cleanup on the cooker with SOS (never use Brillo, it lasts about one swipe at my house, and if the grocery is out, which it has been on occasion, I have been known to have a little hissy fit). With the big stuff done, I pulled on pj’s and hit the sack. Slept like a top, full, sated, dreaming of caramel cake.
You don’t have a supper club? Start one, join one, have dear friends, those you can say anything around, most of us are grandparents, or surrogate parents or grandparents, we have adorable nieces and nephews, and we need adult time. I had my adult time with this lovely circle of friends, left me so refreshed and rejuvenated.
I’m looking forward to more supper club dates, maybe Bubba will bake us some kibbe, or Harvey cook us a fabulous pork chop on that grill of his, it will all be good, all be fabulous, tender on the tongue, delicious to the senses, …………………..hope your week is grand!
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