The Foods You Grew Up With

There is something special about the foods you grew up with. They are special to you, not necessarily “special” to everyone. When writing menus for supper clubs it is only natural for most people to gravitate to their comfort zone. You do need to be careful not to assume everyone will like what you like.

A great example of this hit me when my buddy John from New York visited me in Memphis. John and I grew up going to a great Italian restaurant and pizzeria. Cassarella’s became our “Gold Standard” for the best pizza. John came to visit and my wife and daughter were away for the weekend. John was thinking about opening a pizzeria in Memphis so John, my son Brian (age 10) and I went on a survey of pizzerias in Memphis. We went to at least 10 over 3 days.

The pizza was mostly bad by our standards. Memphians like their pizza half cooked. It is usually doughy and soft. They even put BBQ pork on it. But, that is what the market likes. Being New Yorker’s we just assumed everyone would like what we like. To this day my son talks about our pizza research fondly. He got to eat pizza for 9 straight meals. It was heaven for him, but his mother is still mad at me.

I was once was waiting on line on a Friday night at a chain pizza place in Memphis. Out of the blue the guy in front of me who I didn’t know, turned and asked me: “Can you believe we are waiting on line for this crap?” I agreed and said “East Coast?” he responded “Boston”.

I believe that people like the pizza (and most foods) that they grew with. People from New York like New York pizza. People from Chicago like Chicago pizza. And, people from Memphis like their pizza half cooked. I once was talking to the owner of a pizzeria in Memphis. He was from Italy, had lived in New Jersey and been in business in Memphis for 10 years. He told me Memphians like their pizza “white”. If I made pizza the way I like it, I would be out of business in a month.

The lesson I have learned is try to match your supper club menu to your audience and don’t let your wife know that your son ate nothing but pizza for three days.

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.

Where To Get Menu Ideas

One of the biggest challenges of supper clubs is coming up with fresh menu ideas. Here is a list of the top ten best sources:

Restaurants

They say that imitation is the biggest form of flattery. There is probably no greater praise than saying you are trying to reproduce a restaurants cuisine.

Travels

Many of us have been on a trip that has inspired us. When you think of travels to France and Italy how can you not come back with great menu ideas.

Television

The myriad of food shows on television today there are all kinds of ideas being generated. We all have our favorites and if you miss the episode you catch it on demand.

The Internet

There are so many sites out there that provide a constant feed of ideas. Then there are the resource sites that are awaiting your click through research.

Family

One of the most popular menus I have ever written was based on a friend’s memory of his Midwestern culinary roots. Who would have thought of cream corn as a sauce?

Books

Many of us have our favorite authors and books. Cookbooks are a wonderful resource.

Magazines

While print readership is down there are still some great periodicals.

Newspapers

Our local newspaper has weekly articles. I read the New York Times religiously as a kid and got great ideas. Today even my Wall Street Journal has periodic articles that can inspire.

Friends

One of my favorite questions is what was your favorite meal. That question has led to all kinds of great menus

Other Supper Clubbers

It is always fun to solicit menu ideas at a supper club dinner party.

Hope this list helps.

Kosher Can Be Fun.

Dealing with religious requirements can add a different dimension to preparing for a supper club dinner party. Whether it is meeting the catholic “fish on Fridays in lent” or Kosher rules it does require a bit of thought.

As I write this blog I have to confess to serving a meal a few months ago that got me excommunicated from two religions in one sitting. I had a menu that included both beefsteaks on Good Friday and bagels (leavened bread) during Passover. A few additions got me out of the religious penalty box. I added a tuna steak for the Catholics and matzos for the Jews.

In today’s culinary world people are generally less demanding with religious requirements. I grew up working at a Jewish country club in New York and Lobster night was a big crowd pleaser even though shellfish is a Kosher no-no. I have a friend in London that is a strict Muslim. I have seen him order Lobster at a Chinese restaurant and have the wait-staff bring the uncooked lobster to the table so that he could pray over it. Somehow his prayers absolved him of potential halal sins. Or maybe he just liked lobster.

Most of my formal Kosher training has come from working with a friend in Israel. Tuvi Soreq who is a major food distributor has explained to me that most of Kosher law has its roots in ancient practicality. Pork in ancient times presented health risks. Today not eating pork has become a tradition. Of course there is the difference between reform and orthodox Jews. When I first met Tuvi 20 years ago I remember being concerned about Kosher requirements when selecting a restaurant for Tuvi and his son Ofer. Any concern I had dissipated pretty quickly when Ofer ordered Oysters Rockefeller as the dish breaks at least 3 kosher rules.

I once wrote a menu for a supper club dinner party where one of the hosts kept a Kosher home. The host called me with concerns and I offered to “Kosherize” the menu for her. Making substitutions is pretty easy when you know some kosher basics like no shell fish and no mixing of dairy and meat.

I did get in trouble the night of the party. The college-aged daughter of the hosts was watching me prepare a dessert dish. When I added some lime zest she asked why. I explained that it was a culinary trick that added a fresh dimension. She asked me if I knew any similar tricks. I couldn’t help myself. I told her I knew that her mom kept a Kosher home, but one trick is that you can add bacon to almost anything and people will like it. With a sparkle in her eye she said: “I have heard that”.

When you know that your guest may have dietary concerns, a quick Google search and a few substitutions will go a long way to keeping everyone happy.