How to Form a Dinner Club

Dinner clubs focus around fabulous food and people who like to share it. They can be extremely fun and entertaining, and an event you will look forward to. Some of my fondest memories of food and friends come from dinner parties and the dinner club we formed in DC. Evenings were filled with exceptional food, delicious wines, and interesting conversation. What is the most challenging part of organizing a dinner club? It's not the cooking or the cleaning up afterwards; it is coordinating everyone's schedule to get together.

I think the key to forming a successful dinner club is communication. Nothing should be left to assumption. Every member should be actively involved in one way or another, and everyone should have a clear understanding and similar expectations. There are no rules when it comes to forming dinner clubs, but the more organized things are, the more enjoyable the experience is for everyone.

Here are a few pointers I can share:

1. Decide on the type of experience you want to have and find like-minded people who will want to share in an on-going experience. For example, pressure shouldn't be put on people that prefer casual potluck dinners to serve a gourmet 3-course meal.

2. Decide on the number of people. Is it going to be a potluck, family-style, or served courses? If you choose to serve courses, keep it small (6-8 maximum). The more elaborate the evening, the smaller the number should be. Less people equals less stress and the night will be easier to handle. For casual parties, based around potluck and family-style dinners, the numbers can easily be bigger. Confirm with the members, in advance, if you'd like to bring along additional guests.

3. Decide how often the group will meet.

4. Decide on who will be cooking and where the party will be hosted. Discuss themes (Italian, Asian, Mexican, etc.). Themes are easy to coordinate around and can be a lot of fun.

5. Openly discuss the cost. If one member intends to serve lobster and the other mac and cheese, people are bound to feel uncomfortable. Set limits or divide up the cost evenly each time. If you are involved with a like-minded group, these things won't be an issue.

6. Decide on matching beverages from apéritifs to beer, wine, and dessert wine. Discuss how the cost will be divided. Nobody should be stuck with the majority of the bill.

7. Add special touches by decorating the table. It doesn't have to be extravagant, but little add-ons make the evening that much nicer. Play music that matches your theme. Have board or card games on hand.

8. Discuss at each dinner where the group can improve for the next celebration, such as how to make things easier for the next time around or how to better modify the structure. Perhaps you will want to try different rounds that include gourmet meals, then a potluck, etc.

When I think back to our DC Dinner Club, we had a small and incredible group of multi-cultural people. We would try to meet once every two months and would rotate houses. The host for the evening would prepare the entire dinner from appetizer to dessert. Everyone brought a unique beer to start with and wine to match. It worked out really well. We all loved food, and it just so happened that each couple contained one person that loved to cook, and didn't mind spending hours in the kitchen preparing something special. It was a lot of work for the hosts, but it was always worth it and we all appreciated it.

Are you part of a dinner club? What has made your club a success? What were some of the challenges?

Tagged as: [ culinary howto tips ]

How to Roast Nuts

Roasting any kind of nut enhances its flavor and gives it a wonderful crunch. It's easy to do. You just need to be careful so you don't over-roast them and turn them bitter. Preheat your oven to 300 170ºF and lay the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. I am using almonds here. Place the nuts in the oven for 10 minutes, shaking the pan periodically. Check the nuts after 10 minutes by cutting one in half to see if the color inside has changed. If you are using smaller nuts, check them before 10 minutes has elapsed to make sure they don't roast too quickly. Taste them to see if you like them. After all, that is most important.

Put the nuts in the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes and check again. You may have to do this a few times until you get the desired color. Once the nuts are roasted enough, remove them from the baking sheet to a cooler surface or they will continue to cook from the residual heat in the baking sheet. Here you can see the roasting progression from a raw almond to a fully roasted one.

Roasted nuts make for a quick and healthy snack, and they give all desserts added flavor.

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Update: Dawn, over at Rouxbe, prompted me (see comments below) to dig a little further on the benefits/harm of roasting nuts. Here is an excellent resource on the web for the World's Healthiest Foods. It appears that nuts should be slow-roasted at lower temperatures. Roasting nuts quickly at high temperatures (over 170ºF) can cause a breakdown of their healthy fats, but roasting at low temperatures will take substantially longer. Thanks, Dawn for the info! It's true - shortcuts in the kitchen don't always produce better results

Tagged as: [ basics howto tips ]

Chocolate Series | Piping Chocolate Decorations

Once you know how to fold a paper cone, piping decorations using chocolate can be a lot of fun. Half fill the paper cone with tempered chocolate and snip the tip off with scissors. Snip less of the tip off to achieve a finer thread/stream of chocolate, or more to obtain a thicker one. It is best to snip off a little at a time until you obtain the result you want.

Secure a large piece of clean parchment to a working surface by weighing the corners down so it doesn't slip around. Begin to pipe, keeping the top part of the paper cone folded at all times so that the chocolate doesn't ooze out of it. Apply even pressure, while bearing in mind that the heat from your hands could throw the chocolate out of the tempered range. This is one of the reasons that it is best to work with small amounts at a time, ensuring you only handle it for short periods.

Fine piping takes lots of practice. Here I am messing around to show that anything can be done. These aren't the fanciest decorations, but once set, these can be stood upon or stacked on any kind of dessert to give an added touch.

Here is a close-up to show that well-tempered chocolate does contract as it sets. The edges of the decoration actually lift off of the paper. If you want to prevent a decoration from curling, you will need to place something of a suitable and even weight on top of it. Don't do this until the chocolate has set though, or you will mush your design. Once set, cover it with a piece of parchment, and apply a light weight on top overnight. Chocolate can take up to 24 hours to fully set/contract, so don't be tempted to take the weight off early. This applies to all things chocolate that you want to keep flat.

Obviously, the finer the piping, the more fragile the decorations will be. Once the paper cone is empty of chocolate, dispose of it. It cannot be re-used.

Related posts:

• Chocolate Series | How To Dip Chocolates by Hand
  
• Chocolate Series | How To Temper Chocolate
• Where to Find Pastry and Chocolate-Making Supplies
• Chocolate Series | The Simplest Way to Finish the Simplest Truffles
• Chocolate Series | How to Make a Simple Ganache
• Cleaning Up Hardened Chocolate The Easy Way

Tagged as: [ basics chocolate decorations howto pastry piping techniques temper tips ]

How to Fold a Paper Cone

Rather than using a large piping bag, paper cones are very handy in the kitchen when you need to pipe small amounts for decoration. Folding a paper cone can be awkward at first, but with practice it will take literally seconds to create one. All you need is a right triangle piece of parchment paper (not wax paper). Many pastry supply shops carry pre-cut triangles but it is easy to cut your own. Just cut a rectangular piece of parchment in half, along the diagonal, and away you go.

I have created a slide show in Flickr to demonstrate how to fold a paper cone. If you click on each individual photo, I have included helpful notes.

Tagged as: [ basics howto pastry techniques tips ]

Chocolate Series | How to Dip Chocolates by Hand

Once you get the hang of tempering chocolate, the world is your oyster, in terms of design and decoration. Shapes can be formed, decorations can be piped, and all sorts of confections can be dipped. In a previous post on simple ganache, truffles were rolled in cocoa powder to finish them. To finish truffles the professional way, they need to be coated with a thin layer of tempered chocolate. This protects the center, giving products a longer shelf life, and also makes them look pretty.

Equipment Needed:

• kitchen towel
• bowl of tempered chocolate
• appropriate dipping forks
• parchment paper
• a paper weight (to prevent the parchment from moving)
• desired topping(s)
  
• room temperature truffles or confections

Directions:

1. To begin, place your bowl of tempered chocolate onto a towel so it is resting at an angle, with the chocolate reaching the rim of the bowl, as shown below.

This angle makes it easier to dip, if you don't have a filled-to-the-brim bowl of chocolate.

2. Toss a truffle into the tempered chocolate and submerge with your dipping tool. For round truffles, use the circular dipping tool. Scoop up the truffle from underneath and begin to bounce up and down, using the viscosity of the tempered chocolate, to pull off the excess from truffle. It will help to just touch the surface of the chocolate on the downward motion. Click on the picture to see more detailed notes.

3. Before moving over to the parchment paper, catch a bit of the drip on the edge of the bowl that may remain underneath the truffle (this avoids dripping everywhere). Move over to the parchment, hold your hand still, and turn directly over in a quick and steady motion. The truffle should easily release from the dipping tool. If you take too long, the truffle may stick to the tool. Quickly re-dip before the chocolate sets.

4. Once you have placed the truffle on the parchment paper, be careful to not move it. Sprinkle on a topping, if desired, while the surface is still wet. This will make the topping adhere to the truffle. Alternatively, you can line a sheet with a smooth layer of your chosen topping and rest the dipped truffle directly onto the layer of topping. Let set and then remove the truffles. This is a faster method and will give you an even coating of topping on the top of your truffles.

Here I have sprinkled the surface with raw cacao nibs. To obtain a shiny surface on raw cacao nibs, place them on a tray, in a very low oven for 30 seconds at a time. You do not want to heat them or burn them. Just stir them around and take them out as soon as they have a nice, dark sheen.

5. If you discover any bubbles, you can gently poke them before the chocolate sets. Bubbles occur when the tempered chocolate is too cold/thick, or you may have incorporated too much air during the tempering process. Warm the chocolate to the proper range and continue. While dipping, remember to keep the chocolate at the proper working temperature, by occasionally placing it over the bain marie. Stir often and scrape down the sides of the bowl, to keep the temperature of the entire mass consistent throughout. Click on the picture to see more detailed notes.

6. The goal is to have a very thin and even layer of chocolate on the truffle, with a minimal "foot". A foot is the base/underside of the truffle. You don't want globs of chocolate on the bottom, as it doesn't look as refined. If you wind up with a mess, pick the chocolate up quickly and re-dip it before it sets. Click on the picture to see more detailed notes.

Happy dipping! More chocolate work to come...

Related posts:

• Chocolate Series | How To Temper Chocolate
• Where to Find Pastry and Chocolate-Making Supplies
• DontMessWithOurChocolate.com - Maintaining Chocolate Standards
• Chocolate Series | The Simplest Way to Finish the Simplest Truffles
• Chocolate Series | How to Make a Simple Ganache
• Cleaning Up Hardened Chocolate The Easy Way

Tagged as: [ chocolate howto pastry temper tips ]