A while back I wrote about my new potluck group, the Global Gourmet Gathering. In case you missed the last post, there are four couples in the group and we take turns hosting a potluck at our home, each time with a different food theme. Last week our friends Andrew and Nivale hosted and the cuisine was Indian.
It’s hard to say what was the best dish of the night. Steph made her own poppadums [insert standing ovation here] which she served with homemade raita and a cilantro chutney. She was concerned that her poppadums, usually paper thin, were too thick. But they were gone in minutes. She wins the award for most difficult dish tackled. And we came up with a new name for her dish: thickadums.
I made Palak Paneer…in my slow cooker! The palak (spinach) part of the dish was perfection (but it’s hard to mess up slow cooker recipes). I loved the flavor and the gentle heat that slowly crept up on your palate. My homemade paneer was going well until I cut it into cubes and tried to fry it. It stuck to the pan and ended up a bit of a mess, but we picked at it and then plunked the rest of it into the spinach. Next time I would just put the paneer straight into the palak.
While I love chickpeas (and adore hummus), they can be dry and bland in whole form, but Anna made the most flavorful and moist Chana Masala. After seeing that Steph had made poppadums and I had made paneer, Anna worried that her dish wasn’t challenging enough, but we all delighted in this perfect side dish.
Nivale, a newlywed, who claims she is “just learning to cook,” made a melt-in-your-mouth pork vindaloo. But it wasn’t in-your-face flavor—or even heat. It was subtle. Nivale thought perhaps the sauce was too watery (it was not) and that the meat was too dry (also not).
Of course we are our own worst critics, especially when cooking outside our comfort zone. Despite each of us having reservations, our dishes were strong on their own and a triumph together.
But Nivale literally took the cake. Before that evening she and I had learned that both Steph and Anna had birthdays the coming week, so we planned a special celebratory dessert. She would make the cake, and I would arrive early and frost it while she took care of last minute preparations. Sometimes cake is just cake. Boring. This was not.
She made a pistachio cake with honey butter cream frosting. We tasted and went mute. It can’t be written about. You simply must make it.
Slow cooker palak paneer? Do you have a recipe you can share?
I order Palak Paneer every time I go to an Indian restaurant, but my attempts to make it at home have not been very successful.
A while back you wrote about a cook-off in school. Who won?????
Pam here.
Mike, Maggy’s out of the country right now, but we’ll make sure you get the slow-cooker palak paneer recipe by early next week. Maybe she can write a post about it at some point.
And Bob, that’s was Sharon who wrote about the cook-off. I’ll try to get an answer for you on that as well: )
I love the idea of a dinner club. I’ve been sporadically having potlucks with my friends and we all want to do it more often. I think we need to get it organized!
Wish I could be part of a dinner club…hubby is too embarrassed by our small living space to have folks over…anyone have any ideas?
RJ,
I wish I could convince your husband that your small living space doesn’t matter. If you’re having a good time, I promise your friends will have fun too–no matter how cramped. Maybe you could volunteer to host in the warmer months and stage it at a park or some other really beautiful spot. Eating outdoors is just the best.
Hey Bob, Sharon here. I thought I already told you but maybe not. OUR class won the cook-off! Thanks for checking in.
Pam – thanks so much for the response…and the great idea!! I’ll keep you posted!!
i love our supper club. Bring on Sunday Lunch! ps. I made the cilantro chutney too but I won’t hold that against you 😉
HI, our dinner group has done all different themes and menus. As far as small space, ours is dinky, but we just squeeze together. One time we even removed all the furniture in the dining room and served Moroccan food and sat on pillows.
Pam,
I have been asked to participate in a recipe exchange where you actually make the dish for the group to taste. I know I want to make one of your dishes but I love them all that I don’t know which to pick from. I have all your books so I’m currently leaning towards a casserole thinking it will hold up best over the evening. Spinach-muchroom lasagne is one of my favs but I’m also thinking mac & cheese because these are women with school age children.
Which recipe would you cook/submit?
Mac and cheese is usually a winner with kids, but I think they’d like the lasagna made with chicken too. Lots of people really like the Sausages and White Beans Cassoulet style, that is if you have a roasting pan. Good luck–your gathering sounds fun!
Is the Palak Paneer recipe available?
We don’t currently have a recipe for Palak Paneer on our site, but here’s a link to one that has great reviews. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/rosys-palak-paneer/