Thursday Club 10/19/06

I haven't cooked for the club since the end of August, so I went into this round feeling a bit rusty. No one had done a pasta yet, so I had pretty much decided that I was going to hook up some Italian fare.

- Antipasto plate.
- Cannellini Soup.
- Pappardelle w/stewed rabbit ragu.
- Arugula Salad w/shaved parmesan.
- Chocolate dipped Macaroons.

The meal was initially going to be 3 courses, but after Teddy pointed out that only 1 course was 'cooked', I decided to add the soup. Then, while pottering around in the bakery section of my local supermarket looking for flour, I stumbled on the coconut flakes & semi-sweet chocolate; I couldn't help myself - so the desert rounded out this meal.

I invited my buddy Wax over for dinner, so we were 4 altogether, with enough wine to drown a legion of whinos.

A simple antipasto plate, it didn't require much preperation (just a trip to Gracefully (28 Avenue A). I despise this place, but I was too lazy to walk to East Village Cheese (40 3rd Avenue)) Prosciutto, Genoa salami, artichoke hearts, olives & Asiago & Pyreneese cheeses. Simple yet effective!

I had made this soup before, but this time I omitted the Andouille sausage & I added carrots to the mix. It came out suprisingly well!



We took a little break after this course. The rabbit ragu had been simmering for about 3 hours now & I needed to remove the poor little bunnies from the sauce so I could remove the meat from the bones. Adam & Teddy hit the roof while Wax & I watched the game & drank more wine.

The rabbit ragu came out far better than I could have expected. I've eaten rabbit as a child (my Dad is a huge fan) & Teddy had cooked it for one of the earliest Thursday Clubs, rekindling my love for this great meat. I plated the ragu on top of fettucini, with hindsight, I sort of wish that I mixed everything beforehand & then served it up, but oh well. I had originally wanted to serve the pasta on papardelle, but I was unable to find any.

I served the salad last to cleanse the palate after the hearty ragu. Arugula, red onions, tomatoes, a sprinkle of parmesan & O&V. Easy.

The night ended with espresso & macaroons. I could barely finish 1 by that time... We sat around watching TV & drinking fine wines into the wee hours of the morning.



All in all, it was a great meal & I think my best Club dinner offering to date. We've had trouble in the past stuffing 4+ courses down our collective cake-holes. But I think that spreading the courses out over 4 hours or so helped us the make it through the choppy waters.


Bless this mess!


Not sure what Teddy's so excited about, but it probably has something to do with a full stomach & a liver groaning under the weight of the 5 bottles of wine that we dispatched!


Wax with a mouthful of something that was once cute & furry!