“I Don’t Cook, But I Know Where to Buy”

When talking about Supper Clubs with people one of the first things I hear is: “I don’t cook but I love to socialize over a meal”. There is a chapter in the book outlining a type of club that is a perfect solution. This type of club is for people that either don’t like to cook, can’t cook, don’t have the time or are simply not good cooks. In today’s “foodie” world, there are all kinds of options to bring people together over a great meal without cooking.

This club is patterned after my daughter’s mother in law. Helene is a foodie and a great hostess, but she doesn’t cook. She and her husband, Rick, bring together great meals by shopping from local markets and restaurants. One of the best things about this type of club is the research. Think of all the fun you can have trying different foods from all kinds of markets and restaurants with the objective of hosting a supper club meal.

While there are some great restaurants in Montauk, getting reservations and fighting crowds can be quite a challenge. The perfect answer is a supper club.

It can be tough to get into the your preferred restaurants on a weekend no matter where you are, whether you are in Montauk or have a lake house in Iuka, Mississippi or live in the city. You can, however, get amazing food from just about any restaurant via takeout. One thing you can count on, there will be plenty of takers when you offer up the opportunity to socialize over a great meal

Mis En Place

The preparation for this type of club is different. It is more about scheduling and coordinating pick up. Helene and Rick out at Montauk will serve a first course and Rick will disappear and run down to Gosman’s (Check out their website) to pick up the lobster. A 15-minute run to a restaurant to pick up hot food is not that big a deal. With conversation, alcohol and hors d’oeuvres, chances are no one will miss a person or two. Again, with coordination and communication you can be prepared without doing the cooking.

The key message is that there can be all types of supper clubs. For me this kind of impromptu, unplanned parties are some of the best.

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.

Was There Pot In Those Brownies?

The standard reaction when you tell someone that you are writing a book about supper clubs is for them to want to tell you about their type of supper club. In writing the book I had to cut the number of types of clubs off at five. It got to the point where if I didn’t limit it I would never finish the book.

The latest type of club we learned about was a “Locavore” club. A Locavore is someone who eats only locally grown or produced foods. So the Locavore club involves menus that include only items that are locally sourced.

Sounds like a fun type of club, especially in the summer. In Memphis we are lucky to have a great farmers market. You can get all kinds of amazing produce. You also will find local beef and pork purveyors. Occasionally, there is a truck that offers gulf shrimp, crayfish, crab and red fish. One of challenges of sourcing locally is you are never quite sure what you will find.

Local is a great concept as we try to eat healthier. I won’t digress along the same lines as I did in a previous post on Healthy Menus: The short story is that local is viewed as good. Processed foods are perceived as bad. The reality is somewhere in the middle.

Reminds me of story of when we visited my cousins who live in Hawaii. They live in the Kipahulu valley near Hana on Maui. It is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. One night we were going to a neighborhood party and my cousin’s husband Rich asked me if my kids smoked marijuana. I told him that they had told me they didn’t but they were in college and…

I had recently been in a car accident while on a business trip using a rental car. Our company policy required that I get tested for drugs. The test involved taking a hair sample. Rich then explained: “Well if they used that test in this valley you might be the only one to pass as drug free. And, by the way you might want to skip the brownies tonight”.

If you want an awesome brownie (sans the pot) check out this recipe:

I am sure the brownies were local and maybe there is a hope for a sequel to my book.

Mama Agata’s Fantastic Tomato Sauce

There is nothing better than a simple sauce with great ingredients. Susan and I spent the day on a hillside farm in Ravello Italy with Mama Agata. It was truly a great culinary experience. One of our many takeaways was a great tomato sauce that will be the foundation for many supper club menus.

Mama Agata is the former chef at the summer villa of a wealthy American woman on Italy’s Amalfi coast. She has cooked for many celebrities from Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, Jackie Kennedy to Woody Harrelson. Her daughter Chiara Lima now shares her Mama via what she calls cooking classes, but are more of Amalfi Coast culinary experience.

Check out the Mama Agata website:

The beauty of the Tomato sauce recipe is its simplicity and great ingredients. Mama Agata uses tomatoes she cans herself using tomatoes grown on her hillside farm. Between courses/classes you can walk around their farm and understand why everything tastes so good.

Check out the recipe:

The good news is that this recipe translates using ingredients sourced locally in the United States and elsewhere. I have added the extra step of pureeing canned whole Roma tomatoes in a food processor.

This sauce is simple and versatile. It works well by itself as well as in a myriad of dishes. It doesn’t call for added salt, but I like to add a pinch or two and just don’t tell my wife.

We had a great day with Mama. Towards the end of the day Chiara was telling stories of some the celebrities that Mama has cooked for and Mama interjected that she loved them all Except WOODY HARRELSON. It turns out that Woody is food purist and wouldn’t let his little girls eat Mama’s special lemon cake. I told Mama that her instincts on Woody might not be all bad.

Woody is a good friend of my cousins that live on Maui and a great guy. One day while we were visiting my cousin Virginia on Maui she got a call from Woody’s wife. We were preparing for a celebration of a friends passing. The plan was to take an armada of kayaks and surf boards out into the Pacific and spread the friend’s ashes. Woody’s wife called to ask if Woody could bring his fathers ashes to spread as well.

My cousin got off the phone with a funny look on her face as she told us about Woody’s request. Virginia’s husband Rich asked if we knew about Woody’s dad. It turns out that his dad was arrested for murder while Woody was younger. He got out of prison and was later convicted of murdering a federal judge. Rich then laid a bombshell. “Woody’s dad was also arrested on the grassy knoll the day that Kennedy was shot. You can Google it”. Rich closed with the warning: “You might not want to mention the story to Woody tonight at the party”.

Great story and an even better tomato sauce. Try it at your next supper club party.