Gnudi in parmesan broth with mushrooms, asparagus and peas
The Foodies (formerly known as the Supper Club) are a group of friends who love to cook, eat, drink, and laugh together – plenty of each occur at our periodic themed dinner parties. Friends and family like to live vicariously around our feasts so we’ll share the stories, pictures and recipes here from time to time. Click here for previous Supper Club posts, and here for the group’s origin story.
Did you miss Part 1? Find it here.
Quick refresher: Naked was the theme. Drinks included a cocktail named Hop, Skip and Go Naked and some truly excellent organic/biodynamic wines. Appetizers featured sushi served in … let’s just say in a unique way.
Did you miss Part 1? Find it here.
Quick refresher: Naked was the theme. Drinks included a cocktail named Hop, Skip and Go Naked and some truly excellent organic/biodynamic wines. Appetizers featured sushi served in … let’s just say in a unique way.
In today’s post we’ll pull back the curtain for an up-close-and-personal look at the main course and dessert. Here’s the menu:
Drinks – Greg and Dan: Hop, Skip and Go Naked cocktails; Sangría de Cava (with a theme-appropriate substitution of Naked Wine pinot grigio in place of the bubbly); a progression of Benziger Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon – we sampled the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages
Appetizers – Ilise and Ann: Sushi (Spicy Tuna Rolls and Salmon Nigiri) and Cucumber Canapes served nyotaimori style
Main course – Karen and Kathleen: Gnudi in parmesan broth with asparagus, mushrooms and peas; and an “Undressed” green salad
Dessert – Ellyn: Naked Cake - Lemon Layer Cake with whipped cream and berries
Drinks – Greg and Dan: Hop, Skip and Go Naked cocktails; Sangría de Cava (with a theme-appropriate substitution of Naked Wine pinot grigio in place of the bubbly); a progression of Benziger Tribute Cabernet Sauvignon – we sampled the 2010, 2011 and 2012 vintages
Appetizers – Ilise and Ann: Sushi (Spicy Tuna Rolls and Salmon Nigiri) and Cucumber Canapes served nyotaimori style
Main course – Karen and Kathleen: Gnudi in parmesan broth with asparagus, mushrooms and peas; and an “Undressed” green salad
Dessert – Ellyn: Naked Cake - Lemon Layer Cake with whipped cream and berries
In addition to having entirely too much fun with the naked Barbies from the sushi course, we enjoyed a magnificent main course worthy of the theme. Keep reading for more of the story, photos, recipe links and an au naturel playlist for your aural pleasure.
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In Part 1 we enjoyed an excellent Naked Playlist from Kathleen. Find it here. For Part 2, I've mixed up a little something that oughta polish the buttons on your birthday suit. Give a listen as you keep reading. |
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Kathleen and Karen served gnudi, light dumplings similar to gnocchi but with ricotta cheese instead of potato. (This being the Ks, it was homemade ricotta. Delish!) According to PopSugar, the name ‘gnudi’ is a joke about nude ravioli, the filling without its pasta over-garment.
This version was light and fluffy, nicely supported by the delicately flavored parmesan broth, earthy shitake and crimini mushrooms and fresh green vegetables.
Featured in the “undressed salad” were greens so fresh they deserved a slap. An abundance of tasty add-ins - beans, salami chunks, rainbow carrots – boosted flavor and variety. Edible nasturtiums brought beauty to the whole endeavor.
The Ks used this recipe from Food & Wine as the base for the gnudi. The broth was made by browning a half a head of garlic, and then adding thyme, water, peppercorns, bay leaf, and parmesan rinds. The undressed chopped salad was based on this recipe from Not Without Salt.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
This version was light and fluffy, nicely supported by the delicately flavored parmesan broth, earthy shitake and crimini mushrooms and fresh green vegetables.
Featured in the “undressed salad” were greens so fresh they deserved a slap. An abundance of tasty add-ins - beans, salami chunks, rainbow carrots – boosted flavor and variety. Edible nasturtiums brought beauty to the whole endeavor.
The Ks used this recipe from Food & Wine as the base for the gnudi. The broth was made by browning a half a head of garlic, and then adding thyme, water, peppercorns, bay leaf, and parmesan rinds. The undressed chopped salad was based on this recipe from Not Without Salt.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Following the altogether delicious main course we took a small breather to drink more wine and play naughty games with the naked Barbies and Kens. Sound effects were involved that had us all in stitches – although I suppose the thematically correct phrase would be ‘without a stitch.’
Ellyn overcame her qualms about baking, serving up a light and luscious lemon layer cake with whipped cream and fresh berries between the layers. As beautiful as it was delicious, this style of cake with no frosting on the sides is known as ‘naked cake’ – quite on-point for trendy weddings these days.
The cake was served with a dollop of berry compote. Because too much is never enough! This was over-the-top delicious. More, please.
Ellyn used the Southern Living recipe for Lemon Layer Cake as the basis for her Naked Cake - find it here.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Ellyn overcame her qualms about baking, serving up a light and luscious lemon layer cake with whipped cream and fresh berries between the layers. As beautiful as it was delicious, this style of cake with no frosting on the sides is known as ‘naked cake’ – quite on-point for trendy weddings these days.
The cake was served with a dollop of berry compote. Because too much is never enough! This was over-the-top delicious. More, please.
Ellyn used the Southern Living recipe for Lemon Layer Cake as the basis for her Naked Cake - find it here.
Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
So there you have it: the bare facts about our Naked evening together. Until the next time I'll leave you with a few more Barbie action shots. Click the photos to enlarge them and read the captions.
Photos by Ilise Goldberg unless otherwise noted
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