Hello!

We successfully hosted our first supper club here in my Judson Street kitchen! All went great. We hosted five of you on a perfectly warm, blue-skied afternoon in mid September. (It felt much hotter inside with a continually heated oven and a bustling kitchen.)  

Kids and ingredients arrived around 2:30: mounds of cucumbers, garlic, yogurt, EEVO and guest appliances decorated the countertops and kitchen table. We set up, got organized, talked out food timing and staggered oven needs, and got to work.

Among the highlights: feta cheese. Kids helping each other with their recipes and taking turns washing and using our single metal teaspoon. A couple of us practiced knife skills and Joss shared her tips on squeezing the most juice out of a lemon. We talked about the dice vs. chop vs. mince, and how uniform salad components make for enjoyable bites of salad. We marveled at the amount of feta and olive oil the Greeks consume, and transferred messy, chopped ingredients from cutting surface to bowl with newfound grace. Everyone seemed to take great pride in our collective efforts, and there was plenty of encouragement and compliments going around. We dealt with fussy kitchen timers, short electrical cords and too few outlets, and errant phyllo dough. Feta. We sampled our dishes in the making, especially the sweet stuff. Willoree chopped staggering amounts of fresh parsley and of course cried while chopping onions. And more feta.

By 4:30 or 5 the kitchen work was roughly complete and the younger girls were off and managing each others’ braids and chitons. Phoebe grabbed my camera and took some photos. The kids perfected the outdoor table setting, picked lavender, soaked up some late summer sunshine and took a much needed water break.

On the menu: a gorgeous and perfect greek salad by Ella, a quickly devoured honey cake by Joss, Willoree spearheaded our amazing spanakopita dish and, with Uma’s help, got it assembled and baked. Uma assembled a damn good batch of tzatziki sauce. Phoebe prepped and roasted marinated potatoes (with feta!). We all ate too many of those, if I remember correctly. I grilled yogurt and herb marinated chicken for gyros with sides of (unfortunately overcooked) pita bread, olives, and sliced peppers. All in all it was a delightful and successful feast. There were lots of flies joining us at the table. The light was perfect. Boy we ate the heck our of Joss’ honey cake and yes we all served ourselves seconds.

Washing dishes! I got all the help I asked for. It was like magical Christmas unicorn season in my kitchen. Thank you.

Finally, and just in time for parents to arrive for pick up at 7:30, my small batch of amygdalota (Greek-style chewy almond cookies) made it out of the oven. 

Thank you, to all of you.

I couldn’t have pulled this off without the expert help and generous contributions from you and your families. Special thanks to Amanda for lugging her tables and pretty tablecloths to the backyard. I look forward to our next event! We are rolling, and I feel like this is a really good thing in the making.