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| All-American Summer Picnic Pink Slaw, Pasta Salad, Veggies Tomatoes with Mozzarella Cheese, Olives, Cucumbers, Pickles   Fry Bread (Native American) This bread is so good! Easy to make, check for recipes by using "Google". |
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Food Photos
Today's task is to learn how to import several pictures to this Cooking Buddies blog. Here goes!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Early Beginnings
Note* I found Judy Elliot's typewritten pages in my Cooking Buddies "archive boxes" which gives further details of our early beginnings.
After a tremendously successful debut in September, our new cooking group will meet again on Sunday, November 19, 1995, at 6:45 PM at Karen Kelly's home.
The theme we decided upon for our dinner is Southwestern cuisine. According to my notes, the following people have volunteered for: Sangria: Elfreda, Appetizer: Cathy, Soup:Barry, Entree: David, Vegetarian entree: Jan, Bread: Ginny, Dessert: Lorna
Since we have a list of 17 members, it seems reasonable for each person to plan to bring 8 servings of his or her chosen dish. If you are having a particularly busy week and have neither the time nor energy to cook by all means, feel free to bring some excellent after-dinner mints, a bottle of wine, or even some flowers for our hostess. Just come and enjoy!
Please call me before (9:00 PM) at home: (number deleted), or at work (number deleted), to let me know if you plan to attend and what you are bringing. If you would bring a copy of the recipes for both your September and November creations, I'll put them on my hopelessly antiquated compter and have a set ready for each of you by our next meeting. As usual, we contribute $6.00 apiece to cover the cost of refreshments and the luxury of a clean-up crew in the kitchen.
I hope that each of you shares my enthusiasm for this new endeavor. Our first evening together combined outstanding food and a wonderful mix of company. Please plan to be at Karen's on the 19th - maybe it will be even more fun than the last time! Judy Elliott
After a tremendously successful debut in September, our new cooking group will meet again on Sunday, November 19, 1995, at 6:45 PM at Karen Kelly's home.
The theme we decided upon for our dinner is Southwestern cuisine. According to my notes, the following people have volunteered for: Sangria: Elfreda, Appetizer: Cathy, Soup:Barry, Entree: David, Vegetarian entree: Jan, Bread: Ginny, Dessert: Lorna
Since we have a list of 17 members, it seems reasonable for each person to plan to bring 8 servings of his or her chosen dish. If you are having a particularly busy week and have neither the time nor energy to cook by all means, feel free to bring some excellent after-dinner mints, a bottle of wine, or even some flowers for our hostess. Just come and enjoy!
Please call me before (9:00 PM) at home: (number deleted), or at work (number deleted), to let me know if you plan to attend and what you are bringing. If you would bring a copy of the recipes for both your September and November creations, I'll put them on my hopelessly antiquated compter and have a set ready for each of you by our next meeting. As usual, we contribute $6.00 apiece to cover the cost of refreshments and the luxury of a clean-up crew in the kitchen.
I hope that each of you shares my enthusiasm for this new endeavor. Our first evening together combined outstanding food and a wonderful mix of company. Please plan to be at Karen's on the 19th - maybe it will be even more fun than the last time! Judy Elliott
David Greenberg
David Greenberg brought energy and enthusiasm to our Cooking Buddies events which 17 of us started in Sept. 1995. David had excellent suggestions which helped our group grow and improve. He shared his knowledge of great places to enjoy dinner. In addition to Cooking Buddies we started our "Dining Out" group and tried new places which included Brandywine Inn, One (no longer in business), Knotty Pine on the Bayou and Wild Ginger (only a "sampling" of the places we went). I know he had a group of fellows he called "The Cronies" who dined together - regularly.
Eventually some of our group joined "Food Chain" which merged into Meetup.com and now is Cincinnati Let's Eat Out. My dining groups are "The Cincinnati Brunch Club" and "Tea Toads" which have about two hundred members in each group. We will continue to honor David by preparing his recipes and dining out together! Thank you David!
Onward!
David's Gazpacho a la Vermont is really, really good! Hope you will try it.
GAZAPACHO a la Vermont (for 8)
1 clove garlic
1 med. onion (sliced)
2 tomatoes (peeled)
1 cucumber (sliced)
1 green pepper (seeded)
4 oz. Egg Beaters (optional)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup tomato vegetable juice
Puree the first six items in a blender, season with second list of ingredients (salt - tomato juice). Garnish with 1 cup breat croutons browned in 2 Tbsp. oilive oil with 1 clove garlic (minced). Just before serving, add croutons, additional pieces of 1 cucumber (diced), 1 green onion (sliced) & 1 green pepper (cut up) - optional.
Eventually some of our group joined "Food Chain" which merged into Meetup.com and now is Cincinnati Let's Eat Out. My dining groups are "The Cincinnati Brunch Club" and "Tea Toads" which have about two hundred members in each group. We will continue to honor David by preparing his recipes and dining out together! Thank you David!
Onward!
David's Gazpacho a la Vermont is really, really good! Hope you will try it.
GAZAPACHO a la Vermont (for 8)
1 clove garlic
1 med. onion (sliced)
2 tomatoes (peeled)
1 cucumber (sliced)
1 green pepper (seeded)
4 oz. Egg Beaters (optional)
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup tomato vegetable juice
Puree the first six items in a blender, season with second list of ingredients (salt - tomato juice). Garnish with 1 cup breat croutons browned in 2 Tbsp. oilive oil with 1 clove garlic (minced). Just before serving, add croutons, additional pieces of 1 cucumber (diced), 1 green onion (sliced) & 1 green pepper (cut up) - optional.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Picture this.
I'm learning how to "upload" photos from Cooking Buddies albums. I have several albums of pictures and archive boxes filled with Cooking Buddies information.
Today I learned of David Greenberg's death. I find it amazing that I'm inspired to do this blog and I credit David for being on a Spiritual journey to make this happen. I'll post more about David very soon. (I bet Angel Lois, Judy and Kathy greeted you!)
Today's picture shows the dining room table set up for a "Native American" dinner: placemats with a "Native American" design, blue and brown plates, (some clear glass), a centerpiece of gourds in a low, round stand, bunches of Indian corn forming a "runner" with small, votive candles on round plates placed in between.
The bay window (can't see it) was filled with fall silk branches with a large pumpkin candle set in the middle. I think I also put more Indian corn in the window display.
We made Fry Bread, too. This recipe is easy to make and can be found by just "Googling" it on the internet. (I will be making Fry Bread for our Native American dinner on Sunday, Nov. 14th @ 6 p.m. through my Meetup.com Brucn Club group). I learned about Fry Bread from watching "Smoke Signals", a favorite, incredible movie which ranks "high on my movie list".
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Cooking Buddies Again!
The "History" of Cooking Buddies began when I met Judy Elliot, a friend I met in the Salon groups. She and I went to several interesting discussion groups "around town" and eventually found that we enjoyed cooking. Tracy Duckworth was giving cooking classes in her home (her classes are still available, following her on Facebook). I asked Judy if she wanted to go with me. We enjoyed our classes and dining experiences with Tracy.
We wanted to do more cooking together. I said, "Now that we have had our classes together, let's share with other people who like to cook. I put a small ad in the Cincinnati Magazine's classified section: "Small Suppers" 6 to 8 people, cooking together, share expenses for clean-up, etc." We had a good group of people sign up for our first dinner. "Small Suppers" rapidly increased to more than 16 people - it was more often 22 - 30 people and finally the Luau for 54! (Enough already!)
My husband, Bill did not share my enthusiasm for opening our home to "total strangers". He took down everyone's license plate numbers!
We enjoyed a wonderful potluck dinner around "the big table" and had dessert in the family room. Then we discussed a NAME for our group which eventually became "Cooking Buddies".
At that time I had "help" who cleaned our home. I offered my housekeeper and her friend, her sister and eventually her daughter to team up and be part of helping me make it work. I needed help with serving and clean-up. To pay for their work, I collected $7 (at first) and eventually $10 from each guest. They could make as much as $80 a night ($20 an hour).
I sent out "mailings" to our group with the "theme" and plan for each event. Sometimes I sent postcards and other times, I sent a detailed announcement and sometimes included a recipe from one of the dinners.
"Cooking Buddies" was wonderful, fun and challenging. It was a "time-consumer". In addition to all the "paper work", I would purchase a lot of items for the dinners including: tablecloths, runners, napkins, dishes, glassware and theme items (signs, decorations, etc.) I would set the big table ahead of time so that I could figure out "what else was needed". Then, the appetizer/dessert table and soup table were set up in the family room (for our indoor dinners).
Outdoor events were on the patio with a buffet area under the magnolia tree, grilling done on various grills on a porch or out in the yard and dining was at a big picnic table and three round tables.
People sat and visited, were served soup first, then they "hit the appetizers" before they disappeared. Salads were often "plated up" if the dinner was inside. Outside, the salads were part of the buffet. We "kept to the schedule" which was posted in the kitchen and next to the sign-in station where people checked off what they brought and if they paid their $7 or $10.
When we had dinner "inside" the plates were on the table, so each person could pick one up and walk through the buffet line. Other items already on the table were bread, butter and ice water. The beverage areas were in the family room. People served themselves and brought the beverages to the table.
After the main course, the table was cleared, people were asked to "get their desserts" from the dessert table (leaving the main dining room) and coffee or tea. Some people would continue visiting at the table or go into the family room. Others would head for the kitchen to gather up their "left-overs" or share with others. Sometimes there were NO left-overs and that was an unhappy moment for me to open the "fridge" door to find NOTHING!
I will be having some more Cooking Buddies suppers at my art studio. I'll share some pictures and some recipes here, too.
We wanted to do more cooking together. I said, "Now that we have had our classes together, let's share with other people who like to cook. I put a small ad in the Cincinnati Magazine's classified section: "Small Suppers" 6 to 8 people, cooking together, share expenses for clean-up, etc." We had a good group of people sign up for our first dinner. "Small Suppers" rapidly increased to more than 16 people - it was more often 22 - 30 people and finally the Luau for 54! (Enough already!)
My husband, Bill did not share my enthusiasm for opening our home to "total strangers". He took down everyone's license plate numbers!
We enjoyed a wonderful potluck dinner around "the big table" and had dessert in the family room. Then we discussed a NAME for our group which eventually became "Cooking Buddies".
At that time I had "help" who cleaned our home. I offered my housekeeper and her friend, her sister and eventually her daughter to team up and be part of helping me make it work. I needed help with serving and clean-up. To pay for their work, I collected $7 (at first) and eventually $10 from each guest. They could make as much as $80 a night ($20 an hour).
I sent out "mailings" to our group with the "theme" and plan for each event. Sometimes I sent postcards and other times, I sent a detailed announcement and sometimes included a recipe from one of the dinners.
"Cooking Buddies" was wonderful, fun and challenging. It was a "time-consumer". In addition to all the "paper work", I would purchase a lot of items for the dinners including: tablecloths, runners, napkins, dishes, glassware and theme items (signs, decorations, etc.) I would set the big table ahead of time so that I could figure out "what else was needed". Then, the appetizer/dessert table and soup table were set up in the family room (for our indoor dinners).
Outdoor events were on the patio with a buffet area under the magnolia tree, grilling done on various grills on a porch or out in the yard and dining was at a big picnic table and three round tables.
People sat and visited, were served soup first, then they "hit the appetizers" before they disappeared. Salads were often "plated up" if the dinner was inside. Outside, the salads were part of the buffet. We "kept to the schedule" which was posted in the kitchen and next to the sign-in station where people checked off what they brought and if they paid their $7 or $10.
When we had dinner "inside" the plates were on the table, so each person could pick one up and walk through the buffet line. Other items already on the table were bread, butter and ice water. The beverage areas were in the family room. People served themselves and brought the beverages to the table.
After the main course, the table was cleared, people were asked to "get their desserts" from the dessert table (leaving the main dining room) and coffee or tea. Some people would continue visiting at the table or go into the family room. Others would head for the kitchen to gather up their "left-overs" or share with others. Sometimes there were NO left-overs and that was an unhappy moment for me to open the "fridge" door to find NOTHING!
I will be having some more Cooking Buddies suppers at my art studio. I'll share some pictures and some recipes here, too.
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