SEASONAL BITE

While I love cooking, eating and dining, sharing that experience with friends and especially food lovers makes it all the more sweet. For several years, my formally-a-restaurant-chef husband Xerxes and I have discussed hosting an Underground Supper Club. When we moved to Tucson just over two years ago, we finally attended our first one put on by two gals Lori & Sara who not long after became our dear friends. We were delighted, mesmerized and completely fired up to put on our own. At the dinner, we also met Kusuma Rao who we affectionately refer to as the “Spice Queen”. She was also regularly putting on dinners featuring produce from Tucson CSA and her genius spice blends that brought together Indian and Sonoran cuisine. After every time we dined at her home, we made tentative plans to our own. More recently we have been thrilled to dine through Monsoon Kitchen’s underground dinners and catering. Three fabulous gals, Rani, Molly & Gigi put together unique flavor combinations featuring local, plant based cuisine. Their most recent dinner was based on the cookbook Jerusalem.

With all of this eating and experiencing the delights of the Underground Supper Club scene in Tucson you would think the two of us would have jumped on board a while ago. It wasn’t until we had scheduled a moving truck that will sadly take us away from this desert dining scene that I woke up one morning and said I am not sure how but we have to do our first Supper Club before we leave. Xerxes was quick to agree and I sent out an invitation one week prior to the dinner with the menu just starting to become a vision in my head. Within a few hours our dinner was booked and there was clearly no looking back.

Winter weather in Tucson is not always predictable (we actually had snow a few days prior!) and when we started seeing the forecast was chilly and windy, we started doubting our decision for an al fresco dining experience. But, Xerxes jumped on it and created a surprisingly attractive plastic tarp room that would keep our fireside guests comfortable. We also had a back up plan to ask a few guests to help us rearrange our living room into a dining room at the last minute if everyone was too cold.

Two of my interns from Lilly’s Table also agreed to come on as servers and assistants as needed. The night would not have been nearly as smooth and enjoyable for us without them. I took on all kitchen duties with Xerxes happily prepping and helping as available in the 36 hours prior to the event, in between transforming our patio of course. During the dinner, he was up in the ‘front of the house’ using the skills he honed as a waiter and bartender in San Francisco to keep the guests comfortable and happy.

After a week of preparation, planning and cooking, guests arrived properly bundled up and ready to dine. As they walked through the opening to our tented patio they were greeted with the first course of appetizers that encouraged them to mix and match their first bites.

First Course
Crudites

Carrots, Rutabagas & Broccoli from Menlo Farms

Romensco Cauliflower & Easter Radishes from Tucson CSA

Watermelon Radishes from Sleeping Frog Farms

Served with Harissa, Dukkah, and a Meyer Lemon Salted Yogurt

Sparkling Grapefruit Ginger Tamarindo

My desire for the dinner was to feature the root vegetables and their greens that are currently abundant in Tucson. The next course was two parts that showed off how carrots can be sweet, but also more robust especially when featuring the root’s fluffy green carrot tops

Second Course
Carrot Fennel Soup with Honey Kissed Fennel Topping

Carrot Top Tabbouleh with Carrot Hummus on top of Socca

My favorite part of the carrot course was the slight irony of how the Hummus was entirely carrot based without any garbanzo beans, yet the Socca was simply garbanzo bean flour based.

The next course explored turnips. The shredded roots became fritters, while the greens were cut into a chiffonode & kissed with searing heat. I also featured local cheese maker Rainbow Valley Heritage Foods’ farmers cheese & mascarpone, both of which melted in your mouth.

Third Course
Two Turnip Fritters

Rainbow Valley Heritage Food’s Farmers Cheese & Turnip Greens

Mascarpone with Caviar Style Beluga Lentils & Smoked Chinook Salmon

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My Dad and I smoked the Chinook Salmon up at their home in the Pacific Northwest this past summer and I had to share my last fillet with this Tucson crowd. The Beluga Lentils were cooked with a few umami flavors to become a poor man’s caviar.

For the dairy-free diners, we featured White Tepary Beans and a Coconut Cream in place of the cheese.

The next course featured beets & their greens with a vegan meatball based off of my Beets & Seeds Burgers.

Fourth Course
Beetballs & Meatballs

Beets & Seeds Meatballs and Walking J Beef & Pork Sausage Meatballs with Beets

Creamed Beet Greens & Caramelized Onions

Creamy Polenta

For this dish, we also had a dairy-free option using a Creamy Coconut White Tepary Bean Sauce.

The dessert takes inspiration from the fact that it was so chilly and the guests were dining by the fire. The Hot Cocoa was also based on two of Xerxes and my favorite Hot Cocoa experiences. First, when we lived and first started dating in San Luis Obispo the café I literally could see from my living room window featured the Dense & Intense Hot Chocolate. Then when we traveled in Argentina we loved the fact that their Cocoa was insanely thick and served with hot milk on the side allowing you to make your very own perfect cup of chocolate.

Fifth Course
Dense & Intense Hot Cocoa

with Hot Milk, Whipped Cream, Cinnamon & Cayenne

Homemade S’mores

with Orange & Cointreau Marshmallows and Pecan Grahams

I must admit that quite possibly my favorite part of the entire meal was creating the Pecan Grahams, which I based on my Pecan Crackers by adding a bit of honey & sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar on top. They are exactly how I want graham crackers to always taste. They are also totally gluten-free and dare I say low-glycemic since they are mostly nuts. Of course the low-glycemic part is destroyed when one adds the marshmallows and a square of chocolate to the stack.

The addition of orange to the marshmallows and the grapefruit in the cocktail was to feature the beautiful citrus that Tucson has growing everywhere this time of year. In terms of the marshmallows, I have to admit this was the first time I ever made them and thank goodness my chemistry minded husband was there to assist. After an initial way-too-spongy and almost wet batch, the second was the ethereal light delights that you always hear about with homemade marshmallows.

Without a lot of intention the entire meal was gluten-free and making it vegetarian, dairy-free and vegan was pretty easy, too.

We are both thrilled to be able to pack up the memories of watching friends with blissed out, joyful faces as they enjoyed the meal by fireside seemingly forgetting that it was brisk, chilly and that their toes and fingers were cold. Many thanks to each of the diners who dove in and became our first Supper Club guests.

A special thanks to Melissa & Sam who helped us every step of the meal from washing dishes, plating, serving and helping put an extra dose of love into the process. Xerxes and I keep talking about how the event would have been impossible without you.

And thank you to Grace for helping us with a final tidy to the house and watching not only our daughter but a few of the guest’s girls, too.

Now the only question that remains, is how to package every one of you up with us to take on our next adventure as we move to Colorado!