I like to read as much as the next gal, possibly even more than most, but when it came to organizing a book club, I knew it just had to be a “Cookbook Club.” What began more than two years ago as a way to promote my retail shop – that sold a unique collection of cookbooks – has morphed into a regular gathering of myself and a handful of other cookbook obsessed individuals. I eagerly anticipate these monthly get togethers almost immediately after we’ve just finished one. I cannot think of a more festive way for a group of friends who are passionate about food, who are great cooks or would like to become better cooks, or who just like to eat and drink wine to enjoy their time together. I thought I might share with you the easy details surrounding my Cookbook Club and maybe inspire y’all to start your own!
Pick the book
We meet once a month, typically on a Sunday evening, working out what date works best for the group through a chain of emails. Even in our busy lives, we all make sure to set aside time for this very important time with each other. Each member takes turns hosting the “meeting” at their house. The meeting, in reality, is merely a dinner party…my kind of meeting! The host gets to choose the book, which is sometimes accomplished at the previous month’s meeting or sometimes announced a few days later, again, through email. No matter which book is chosen, they are always utterly interesting and each of us learns something from them. After spending a month with the encyclopedic tome of Italian cookery, “The Silver Palate,” we all realized that pictures were absolutely necessary for the complete enjoyment of a cookbook and after several exhaustive trips to the Asian markets and several failed attempts at a successful dashi broth, I came to the realization that I would rather fly to New York City and dine at the famed restaurant Momofuku than cook from that cookbook. Our group has prepared more than twenty-four feasts that would easily be fit for a king. From Indian to Chinese, and French country fare to vegetarian, our dinners – no matter how many kitchen fiascos ensue – are always gorgeous and filled with amazing food and tons of laughter.
Pick the menu
With nine members, each bringing a dish from the chosen cookbook, the dinners – um I mean meetings – are multi-coursed feasts either served course after course after delicious course, or served family-style with everyone merrily passing heaping platters of food around the table. Each member chooses what dish they would like to bring in a string of fun emails announcing something like, “Yay, I’m bringing the Vegetable Momos! I have no idea what a Momo is, but I guess I will figure it out!” We typically begin with little nibbles of some sort, possibly homemade chicken liver toasts if the book is French or ginger and leek dumplings if we’re doing Chinese. The host will typically take dibs on the main course with the remaining members filling in the blanks. We never forget dessert and it’s always a decadent success.
Pick a winery or invite a winemaker
Every month, it seemed, our dinners grew and so did our bellies. We feasted for hours, always sipping on amazing wines. One evening after several glasses of bubbly, as we sat down to yet another fabulous dinner, we all were discussing how we might be able to share this wonderful food without inviting more members that would ultimately result in even more food. The genius decision was to begin inviting a guest from a local winery. Whether it’s the owner, winemaker or a friend that simply works there. Each month, the “wine guest” brings wines from their winery to share with the group and even takes a little time to discuss them, educating us on their unique wines. It’s a perfect situation! We get help eating up all of that food and we have the opportunity to drink some pretty great Sonoma wines!
Cook, eat, drink and be merry!
I cannot share with you how much my Cookbook Club family has meant to me over these past two years. I say family because that is easily what they are to me now. A group of passionate, food-loving individuals who spend all month pouring over a book devoted to food. Each of us looks forward to the end of that month, eager to share our cooking experiences with each other. We arrive to the dinner giddy with stories of how traumatic it was attempting to make that Norwegian flat bread or how proud we were of the fact that one of us was able to debone that chicken without completely mangling it. I have witnessed a few members of our group grow as home cooks, as we have all grown as friends, becoming more and more excited with each book, each dinner, each month.
On The Menu
This Sunday, March 11, cheese enthusiasts can take a “Home Cheese Making Class” with Sheana Davis of the Epicurean Connection. From 1 to 3 p.m. students will learn how to prepare fresh ricotta, paneer, and spring tortas. The class is $45 per person and will be held at the Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn. RSVP to Sheana at 935.7960 or sheana@vom.com. The Epicurean Connection is Sheana’s wonderful cheese shop located on West Napa Street.
• Also on Sunday, visit BR Cohn for an “Olive Curing Workshop.” From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. students will learn the basics of curing olives, along with the opportunity for tastings of wine, cheese, and olive oil. For more information, visit brcohn.com or call 938.4064.
• This March, The HKG Tasting Room in Glen Ellen, is participating in the Sonoma Valley Visitor Bureau’s “Girlfriend’s Getaway Month.” Their “Sweet Spa” package is $58 and includes two food & wine flights and two dessert & wine flights at the HKG Tasting Room and two $25 vouchers good toward a spa body treatment at the Kenwood Inn and Spa. Please reserve in advance by calling 938.7622. The HKG Tasting Room is located at 13647 Arnold Drive in downtown Glen Ellen.
Vegetable Momo
“Momos” are Indian dumplings made of a flour-based dough and can be filled with meat, fish, or vegetables. They are often served as a starter.
For dough:
2 cups flour preferably maida
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
For filling:
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated cabbage
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic, diced
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
Mix the flour or maida, salt and baking powder and knead adding a small amount of water until stiff dough forms. Heat oil and add the onion and garlic. Sauté over high heat and add the carrot and cabbage. Turn around over high heat till glossy. Take it off the heat and mix in the soy sauce, salt, vinegar and black pepper. Roll the dough very thin (translucent) and cut into 4”-5” rounds. Take a round, wet edges and place some filling in the center. Bring edges together to cover the filling. Twist to seal and fill the rest in the same way. Steam, in a steamer basket, for about 10 minutes and serve immediately with soy sauce.
Kristin’s Best Foodie Event Pick
Join Transition Sonoma Valley for a “Locavore Potluck, Movie & Presentation” on Thursday, March 15, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Being held at the Grange in Boyes Hot Springs, this celebration of local food and farmers brings community members and organizations together for a wonderful evening focused on local food! Enjoy potluck fare featuring locally grown food, a thirty minute film entitled, “Nourish” and a presentation by the farmer from Tara Firma Farms. As a special treat, attendees will get to see a sneak peek of “The Organic Life,” a documentary about a small Sonoma farm. For more information, visit trasitionsonomavalley.org.
Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond. Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.
Be First to Comment