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This meal was inspired by Czech Svickova, a braised beef and sour cream dish Nicole had a long time ago while traveling in the Czech Republic. There was more trial and error than usual for most of the Eastern European themed items on the menu, including failed attempts at making spaetzle and sauerkraut; but we also came up with some recipes that are sure to stick around, like spicy beer mustard and coffee whipped cream. The final attempt at Svickova was pretty delicious as well…. 

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After a long summer break from using the oven we did our best to squeeze the best of what was left at the farmers markets into one meal. We also came up with a cocktail pairing for each item and bought some new glasses to hold them. The week before was busy freezing ice and coming up with a different ice treatment for each drink. … 

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Spicy Cocktail: Bulldog Gin, Cointreau, cucumber, cilantro, lime, thai chili
Duck Skin Chips

Thank you to everyone for making our first beer versus wine party so much fun. Each beverage represented well, with a few standouts like the Alycone Dessert Wine (perfect with chocolate with notes of vanilla and a syrupy mouthfeel) and the Fastenbier (tastes like bacon!).

Our neighborhood vendors for the drinks were Mike and Rebecca of The Natural Wine Company (N11th between Driggs and Roebling) and Erik of Brouwerij Lane (Greenpoint Ave and Franklin). Both vendors went far and beyond what we could possibly have imagined in curating the pairings, general support for us, and making the night a success so please please visit their stores and buy lots of booze. Or rather, don’t do it because I tell you but because you know you’ll be getting something delicious along with someone to guide you in choosing what matches your tastes.

The menu follows and you can hear even more details about the meal after the jump.

Spring Cocktail

Aperol, St. Germain, lime, fizzy water

Salty + Sweet Granola

Cherry Rosemary Flatbread with Guffanti Taleggio

Wine Butterfly Riesling Zilliken
Beer The Bruery “Saison de Lent”
Winner* TIE

Linguini with Clams

bacon, tomato sauce, ling cod
Wine Fuso Barbera
Beer Dentergems Witbier
Winner WINE

Caesar Salad

smoked whiting dressing, farmer’s market greens, pumpernickel croutons
Wine Pecorino Terre di Chieti
Beer Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier, (aka “the Fastenbier” or “Bacon Beer”) 
Winner BEER

Hangar Steak

herb butter, whipped + fried potatoes, glazed carrots
Wine Le Ragose Valpolicella Ripasso
Beer Wandering Star Brewery “Mild at Heart” English Dark Mild Ale
Winner WINE

Molten Chocolate Cake

Amaretto whipped cream
Wine Viñedo de los Vientos Alcyone Tannat Dessert Wine
Beer Rodenbach Original
Winner WINE

*Winners are based on the combined scores of both seatings

… 

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Thanks to everyone for coming out to a night of eating, drinking, joke-telling, 90s hip hop listening, and general all around merry-making. Two seatings of friends, four courses of (all vegetarian!) food and bottomless growlers of beer from Brouwerij Lane.

Salty Dog 

pepper-infused vodka, grapefruit juice

Raw Carrots, blue cheese dressing

Butternut Squash Soup

curried dumpling, roasted squash seed oil

beer: Captain Lawrence Liquid Gold

Roasted Root Vegetable Pot Pie

buckwheat shortcake crust, sunchoke + kohlrabi salad, tahini, balsamic grape reduction

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Deep-Fried Egg

creamed spinach, farro, mushrooms

Peak Organic Oaked Mocha Stout

Lemon Ginger Tart

oatmeal cookie crust, fancy whipped cream

Element Winter Ion (tastes like chocolate!)

Thanks to everyone for coming to dinner last Saturday. We’re pretty pumped that the cool weather has given us an excuse to make comfort foods like braised meats and creamy vegetable gratins. Paul also seems to have perfected a donut recipe…and all those tester donuts that were in the kitchen last week brought us officially into the holiday season of eating heavy but delicious things.

Special thanks to Julia for her kitchen skills and to the Natural Wine Company for the wine pairings. It was so great to see you all and hope to celebrate again soon.

Spiced Apple Cider

Popcorn

Donuts with apple cider glaze, sage custard

Homemade Bread + Cheese

ricotta, focaccia, fennel slaw, fried apple

San Giovanni Brut Prosecco

Fall Vegetable Gratin

cauliflower, butternut squash, greens, gorgonzola, gruyere

Opera Lambrusco di Modena Secco

Chicken with Tomato + Whey

braised chicken breast, collard grens, polenta, bacon fat potatoes

Vignetti Massa Sentieri Barbera

Floating Islands

creme anglaise, chocolate crumb, mugolio syrup

Now that summer’s almost gone and temperatures have been cool for weeks, it’s hard to imagine a night when it was 104 degrees. The weather was so gross that weekend that the NYTimes said stepping outside was like being licked by a big, swampy monster.

Yuck. Well, at least we got to eat and drink while the swampy monster licked us. You can plan a pretty picnic but you can’t predict the weather.

The ice cold water from our new Igloo cooler also seemed to help a little with cooling things down, especially when it got sprayed in your face. At one point I overheard one guest say to another: I know how you like it…which meant she liked getting sprayed on the back of her neck as the water bottle made its way around the table. Touché.

Since this was our last outdoor supper club for a while, we planned a menu that would take advantage of all our summer gear: a charcoal grill, Paul’s trash can smoker, and our brand new oversized propane burner. My favorite dish of the night was Paul’s lamb ribs, which smoked for a whole day and tasted like a lamby version of brisket. It probably didn’t hurt that they were served with french fries, something we’ve been hoping to make for a while. We used a bunch of new toys to cook them, including a wire basket that fit perfectly inside our gigantic pot of fry oil. I also was quite pleased to serve sour cherry pie for dessert and was lucky that supper club happened on a week when I could find those little guys at the farmer’s market.

This was the last big meal in South Slope and it was a real group effort getting all the chairs, tables, and eating supplies up and down those stairs. Special thanks to Julia, Lisa, Sam, Anna, Quincy, and everyone else who helped out. We also had amazing wines provided to us by The Natural Wine Company, delicious gin care of Bulldog Gin, beautiful flowers from Anna c/o Lebak Farm and Flowers and fresh oysters from the guys at McCarren Park’s farmer’s market, Pura Vida Fisheries.

Hope to see you at the next one. Until then Paul and I will be busy combining our kitchens up in Greenpoint…

London Lemonade

Bulldog Gin

 Gruyere Flatbread

olive oil, honey, lemon thyme

Shuck-Your-Own Oysters

pickles, mignonette sauce

Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet

Chilled Corn Soup

Market Salad

smoked eggplant, summer squash, beets, sunchoke chips, tarragon-goat-cheese dressing, bread crumbs

Domaine de la Pepiere La Pepe Rosé

Colorado Lamb

smoked lamb ribs, grilled lamb chops, tzatziki, cucumber, french fries

La Sacristie de la Ville Cure Red Bordeaux

Sour Cherry Pie

creme fraiche ice cream