We had dinner club last night at my 'new' house. Our group has diminshed in size quite a bit and we are now down to just 6. I can't remember when last I had so much fun and it was amazing to share my home with my beautiful friends over some good food (well, I made it, so I might be being a little baised here) and some delicious wine. I hope now that my friends know where to find me, I'll have a lot more company!!
Our evening was relaxed, we lit candles, drank a little (some of us more than others - hey, I didn't have to drive anywhere!) and caught up. We haven't had a dinner club since our Christmas one, it was long over due! We chatted a lot about the importance of having girl friends and about sharing our lives with women who really care. We have all walked such different paths and come from varying backgrounds, but life has drawn us together. We all have issues and there aren't words to describe how good it feels knowing that we have a safe 'place' to turn when life throws us lemons (as it seems to be doing to so many at the moment. I love you girls!
Back to the purpose of the evening, dinner... Let me just say that I love Ina Paarman. I think she's an amazing chef; her recipes are super-easy to follow (and fairly impressive) and her ingredients are always readily available. So, last night I made onion, feta and olive pizza for starters. I didn't top with cheese, just drizzled a little olive oil over the top and popped them into the oven. I used Ina's Basic Pizza Dough recipe and I can honestly say that it's an incredibly easy dough to make. I can't knead, so I just mix it up as best I can and it always works well. The trick is to roll the dough really thin and it comes out super crispy and totally delicious. The best pare is that you can freeze it for up to 6 months and I swear I'll always have some in the freezer (just in case you all decide to visit more often). Jake's made a request for pizza for dinner tonight, so I'll be making more tonight. Oh and I didn't mention that I had some cooked pizza left over from last night, which I wrapped in foil and popped into the fridge - it was still crispy and delicious this morning!!
For mains, I made Spinach and Ricotta lasagne, aslo an Ina Paarman's recipe (blush). We have 2 vegetarians in our dinner club and I must be honest in saying that I always find the thought of cooking vegetarian food a little uninspiring (SORRY, just being honest). It's because I have no clue what to do without meat. Anyway, this lasagne dish was so simple to make and it was so delicious (even if I say so myself). I'm so pleased there are left overs in my fridge for tonight! I'm having a friend over and she and I can have lasagne; the kids can have pizza - easy peasy!
We had 2 birthdays in our dinner club this month - Michelle (who turned 40, can you believe?!!) & Zanita. Zanita brought along a rich, delicious caramel custard cake, from Limnos Bakery, which was absolutely heavenly. Thank you for leaving me some in my fridge! Jake had some for breakfast (I'm not a bad parent, we normally have cereal or fruit and yoghurt!) and I had a little after the left over pizza... YUM!
Anyway, I look forward to our next dinner club. I loved having you all at my house, please come again!!
Susie XXX
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