| Caramelized Shallot and Gorgonzola Dip | Status |
| Helman’s Mayo (Gluten Free) | GF |
| Sour Cream | |
| Culutured Cream | GF |
| Enzyme | GF |
| Blue Cheese | |
| Cultured Pasteurized milk | GF |
| Enzyme | GF |
| Salt | GF |
| Mold | GF |
| Caramelized shallot | |
| Shallot | GF |
| Oilive oil | GF |
| Sugar | GF |
| Dill | GF |
| Garlic | GF |
| Tabasco | GF |
| Distilled Vinnegar | GF |
| Red pepper | GF |
| Salt | GF |
| Salt | GF |
| Pepper | GF |
When the hostess comes out in a negligee
When is it time to leave? This is one dinner party question that hangs out there. Following are some leading indicators
Dessert has been served
The end of a meal is usually a pretty good indicator. While I am not generally a dessert person, I do believe that if you are writing a menu that you need to have a dessert option. Following is my recipe for Vanilla Ice Cream with Berries and a Grand Marnier Sauce
There is no more wine
Conversation tends to dry up when the wine is gone. We did have one lively party where the host ran out of the wine he had bought for the dinner party and asked if I thought he should open a bottle from other wines he had. Silly question asked of the wrong person.
The host or hostess goes to bed
If either the host or hostess disappears it is probably a good time to leave.
The hostess comes out in a negligee
This has happened and while all were still having a really good time, it wasn’t that type of party
Someone starts washing the dishes
My parents loved to entertain and my father had a rule that you didn’t start cleaning up until guests had left. This led to some late nights, for my poor mother.
It is time to join another party
In our neighborhood supper club where there can be 5 dinner parties going on at once, we have on occasion had everyone head to one home for dessert and an after party. As you might guess the larger numbers have led to larger times.
Someone goes on a political, religious or homophobic rant
There is the old rule that you don’t discuss religion or politics at a dinner party. Some times old rules are good rules…
While there are no set supper club rules for this question, you probably will just know.
If anyone has other good indicators they would like to share, please list them in the comments below
If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs due out from Morgan James Publishing on January 30, 2018.
Food Safety
Have you had your hepatitis shots? This is something you don’t want to hear just as your digging into some sushi in Manila. My friend John Huang dropped this question on me while we were enjoying a sushi lunch one day in Manila. Fortunately. I didn’t have any problems.
The biggest single cause of food poisoning is people touching food ingredients with their hands. Hepatitis is a whole other issue. My friend Johnnie Huang had a battle with Hepatitis after a trip to Papua New Guinea. That is why he asked about my having hepatitis shots. After that I did. If you are traveling to the tropics you should too.
Food poisoning isn’t something you worry too much about at your wine group gathering, but it is a risk whenever and wherever you eat. The old line is if someone asks you how your meal was, you can answer I’ll let you know in 6 hours.
Food born illnesses can take between a few hours and a few weeks to incubate. A common denominator for feeling the effects of food poisoning is the 6 hour time frame. Having worked with many food scientists and microbiologists over my years with Kraft foods I know more than I want to about food poisoning and pathogens.
I ran a Coconut company in the Philippines and traveled there quite a bit over a period of 20 years. On one of my first trips there I traveled with a microbiologist who scared the daylights out of me. Of course hearing about all the possible issues seemed to lead to a case of “Marcos’s revenge”. Getting sick overseas is just no fun.
I do have a supper club story connected to my Philippine travels. I was at a restaurant in Manila and saw someone who looked familiar but couldn’t place where I knew him. Sure enough a few months later I see the same guy at a supper club dinner party. I go up to him and say “Two months ago I saw you in Manila”. He gave me that “Oh shit what was I doing look”. Oops
As far as a real message for someone preparing food for a wine group gathering, make sure you wash your hands, a lot!
If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/wine group/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.