Fifteenth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

This is the last time you’ll see me posting the details of our next meal, as I have moved from Cincinnati to California. But don’t despair! I’m leaving you in the capable hands of Erin Marie, who is taking over as chief cat herder and Cincinnati Supper Club organizer. I know she’ll do a fabulous job.

Here are the details for May’s supper, which will be a glorious outdoor affair, mere feet from downtown’s coolest rooftop pool. Greg Hyland will be your charming host for the evening - one I am sad to be missing!

Date: Thursday, May 15
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). Greg’s address and other details will be emailed to you a couple of days before the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Fourteenth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Not too much time between suppers thirteen and fourteen, but who’s complaining? Duncan Muir will be hosting us at his home this month, with yours truly pitching in on the cooking.

Date: Friday, April 11
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). Duncan’s address and other details will be emailed to you a couple of days before the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Thirteenth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Thanks to all who volunteered to host after my last post! It looks like we have hosts lined up for the next couple of months. More are ALWAYS welcome, though!

This month we’ll be the guests of Julie of Wine Me, Dine Me (in Cincinnati), one of our city’s most engaged food enthusiasts. Sounds good to me!

Date: Thursday, March 20
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). Julie’s address and other details will be emailed to you the week of the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Twelfth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Wow, are we really on our twelfth month? I guess so! I’ll be hosting again this month (and eagerly await hosting volunteers, especially those who have attended several suppers and not yet hosted!).

Date: Thursday, February 28
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). My address and other details will be emailed to you the week of the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Eleventh Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Apologies for the tardiness of posting this - I’m still catching up after the holidays!

We’re very lucky to have the ominpresent (and omniscient, I suspect) Cincinnati blogger Bob Schwartz - better known as 5chw4r7z - and his wife, Ms. Schwartz, hosting the January edition of the supper club. These are two of the most plugged-in Cincinnati residents around, and I’m excited that they’re the first ones to share their hospitality with us in 2008.

Date: Wednesday, January 16
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). The Schwartzes’ address and other details will be emailed to you the week of the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Cincinnati Supper Club: The Tenth

supper club

Originally uploaded by cincinnatista

Many apologies for the lateness of this post! I had to leave for my Christmas trip to Europe the day after I hosted the supper club, which meant: 1) I did not cook and 2) I did not get a chance to blog about it before I left.

I didn’t think many people would be able to make it in December, what with the holiday social season being so hectic. So I was pleasantly surprised that we had about a dozen people, including a few new ones! We were thrilled to meet Shannon and Carol from Cincy Scenes, and I was also pleased that my new friend (and City Beat columnist) Stephanie Dunlap could make it, as well as two other new friends, Greg Hyland and Ben Yamaguchi.

Like I said, I did not cook this time. Instead, we had pizzas and three flavors of Ben & Jerry’s, along with Ben’s wonderful homemade almond cookies and homemade fudge contributed by Ms. Schwartz. Bob has more photos here. Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a lovely evening!

 

Tenth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Even though December is a hectic social month for everybody, I still wanted to press on with a supper club gathering. After all, we still need to eat this month!

So rather than ask one of our busy regulars to host this month, it seemed only fair, as the one who started this thing in the first place, that I have everyone over chez Jackie for a laidback holiday edition of our monthly ritual. (Never fear: Volunteers to host in 2008 are very much welcome!)

Date: Friday, 21 December
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). I will then email you with my address and other details.

 

Cincinnati Supper Club: The Ninth

Mary Gruber did not disappoint with her wonderful spread of filling but relatively light winter comfort food for our November gathering.

After hors d’œuvres (including sweet honeycrisp apples with caramel apple dip, chips and salsa, jalapeno jelly over cream cheese with crackers), Mary served up piping hot chicken mulligatawny soup and a crunchy Asian salad. Those of us who had room then finished with a rather autumnal graham cracker cake, served with Godiva chocolate creme coffee.

I was determined that we carry on with the supper club through November and December, despite the holidays, and I’m so glad we did. We had a great turnout and - as ever - some new people who we hope to see again soon. All my pictures from last night are here, and watch this space for the date and host announcement for December!

 

Ninth Cincinnati Supper Club gathering

Thanksgiving or no, we are pressing on ahead with a November edition of the supper club. How could we not?

This time we’ll have our first sojourn to Kentucky (Covington, to be specific). I’ve been assured by the host, Mary Gruber, that neither buckets of Colonel Sanders’ finest nor turkey leftovers will be on the menu. Hallelujah!

Date: Friday, November 30
Time: 6.30pm for drinks, dinner at 7.30pm

If you want to come, please say so in the comments to this post (slots are allocated on a first come, first served basis). Mary’s address and other details will be emailed to you the week of the supper. Hope to see you there!

 

Cincinnati Supper Club: The Eighth

What a pleasure it was for me to host the Cincinnati Supper Club for October. I don’t say that lightly, either: Preparing for the descent of hungry friends takes some work, but it really is more like fun than hard graft when you’re doing it for such great people. So thanks to everyone for letting me cook! I hope it came across as the expression of gratitude and friendship that I intended it to be.

As for what we ate, it was all rather thrown together at the last minute - I had a variety of food but was undecided until the eleventh hour as to how I’d combine it all. In the end we had: crudités and dip to start, followed by green salad with walnuts and feta (creamy poppyseed or ranch dressing on offer), shrimp korma, chicken and mushrooms in cream, couscous, a pizza-esque quiche, and a spicy salad of chickpeas, okra, and peppers in a lemon olive oil dressing. For dessert, we had mini pecan and pumpkin tarts (which I did not make from scratch, I hasten to add) with freshly whipped cream.

I had a blast, and I hope everyone - newcomers especially! - did, too. More photos are here. Watch this space for details of November’s gathering, which will be our ninth. If this supper club were a pregnancy, we’d be graduating from Lamaze!