Our story?
Well, just out of high school I (Hannah) was visiting an out-of-state friend, and was totally enthralled by her mom's (family's, I guess) weekly "recipe night" with friends: because they lived in a small town and were trying to build friendships, once a week 2- 3 families would get together at my friends' house, and the kids and dads would hang out while the moms prepared a meal together- all with new recipes. Their main dish when I was there was a FIREy hot fettuccine alfredo... I could barely eat the pasta, but loved the recipe night concept...
Fast forward 10 years, and a close friend of mine mentioned she wanted to start a recipe club- having a monthly potluck dinner with girlfriends, with a new theme each month. I was so excited about her upcoming club that my mind was a flurry of ideas. I bugged her with my excited ideas for a month or so, as I realized she was too busy to coordinate her club. So, I asked if she minded if I got it going! She was more than happy for me to do so, and, ironically, has never once come! :) The girlfriends that did come loved it, and so we have kept it going for years now, and periodically new girls join our group and grow it, which is great!
Logistics?
We meet once a month- generally the first Wednesday of the month (though that often changes based on busy schedules, holidays, etc.).
We take turns hosting- so that we are at different homes each month; and whoever hosts makes the entrée. Having been at potlucks at which there were 25 side salads, but no entrees... or one entree and 15 desserts... I knew it would be good to try to coordinate who brings which part of the meal... So, on our monthly Evites, we sign up for what we each will bring via Evite's “suggest your guests bring something” function... each month I list Appetizer, Entrée, Starch side dish, Veggie side dish, Dessert, and Other?- each with the ability for multiple people to sign up to bring them, and I also list Drinks- though for only one person to sign up... as that's kind of our one "easy out" option.
Some of us enjoy decorating our tables- or homes!- based on our theme, though that is certainly not expected... and, *true confession*, I generally also dress to match our theme... because I have yet to grow out of my "dress-up" phase from girlhood.
I thought it would be cool if we "give back" somehow... so for awhile we were sponsoring a little girl through Compassion International. But it was hard to coordinate getting cash from people, especially since which girls attend varies month by month, so it was really me sponsoring "our" little girl March- Dec, 2012 and I stopped trying to track/ ask for money for her... Our next idea is to serve at a soup kitchen, or something similar. That was Julie's idea- and I'm hoping it works out! :) Whether or not that's our nitch, I'm sure we'll find some way to be a little more outwardly focused...
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Recipe info...
Unless otherwise noted:
Some of the original recipes call for organic ingredients, Kosher salt, high quality olive oil, etc... I prefer to keep recipes consistent, as easy as possible, and simple to understand, though, so I have posted the recipes accordingly.
Also, some of our ladies prefer to take liberties with the recipes they prepare (myself included!), and so I have posted the recipes as prepared. Please feel free to amend the recipes here as you desire, and/ or check out the original recipes (linked, when applicable, below each recipe) for possible differences.
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We take turns hosting- so that we are at different homes each month; and whoever hosts makes the entrée. Having been at potlucks at which there were 25 side salads, but no entrees... or one entree and 15 desserts... I knew it would be good to try to coordinate who brings which part of the meal... So, on our monthly Evites, we sign up for what we each will bring via Evite's “suggest your guests bring something” function... each month I list Appetizer, Entrée, Starch side dish, Veggie side dish, Dessert, and Other?- each with the ability for multiple people to sign up to bring them, and I also list Drinks- though for only one person to sign up... as that's kind of our one "easy out" option.
Some of us enjoy decorating our tables- or homes!- based on our theme, though that is certainly not expected... and, *true confession*, I generally also dress to match our theme... because I have yet to grow out of my "dress-up" phase from girlhood.
I thought it would be cool if we "give back" somehow... so for awhile we were sponsoring a little girl through Compassion International. But it was hard to coordinate getting cash from people, especially since which girls attend varies month by month, so it was really me sponsoring "our" little girl March- Dec, 2012 and I stopped trying to track/ ask for money for her... Our next idea is to serve at a soup kitchen, or something similar. That was Julie's idea- and I'm hoping it works out! :) Whether or not that's our nitch, I'm sure we'll find some way to be a little more outwardly focused...
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Recipe info...
Unless otherwise noted:
- Flour = all-purpose
- Olive oil = extra-virgin
- Sugar = granulated sugar
- Temperatures are Fahrenheit
Some of the original recipes call for organic ingredients, Kosher salt, high quality olive oil, etc... I prefer to keep recipes consistent, as easy as possible, and simple to understand, though, so I have posted the recipes accordingly.
Also, some of our ladies prefer to take liberties with the recipes they prepare (myself included!), and so I have posted the recipes as prepared. Please feel free to amend the recipes here as you desire, and/ or check out the original recipes (linked, when applicable, below each recipe) for possible differences.
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