"We're Thailand"

Get excited kids, 'cause EATclub's going to Southeast Asia! Please join us as on Saturday, November 21st as we explore all that Thai cuisine has to offer. As always, please give the blog a shout out and let us know what you'll be bringing!

The dinner will be at Lily and Kevin's Northern Liberties home, please check your email for specific address locations.

Small Bites

Howdy EATclubbers, hope this finds you all well. Time has come for fall, football and our glorious phillies in the world series chase - what better time than the present to indulge in a delicious plethora of small bites?!?!

This month's feast will be held at Dan and Moria's house in East Falls, prime time for some football (and yes, they have a great TV). Please let us know if you'll be in attendance and what you plan on bringing by posting a comment to this post.

This month's meal leaves the door wide open for creative exploration into a variety of flavors and cultures...hopefully someone will bring some fried deliciousness!

Check your email for the exact address, we are looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday, October 25th at 4PM.

Mexican Food Fiesta!!!

Welcome back EATclubbers! We are exited to start off our Fall meal series with a tribute to all things Mexican. Crack open that Rick Bayless cookbook and try something beyond the standard Mexican fare. However, I have to be honest, tacos are my absolute favorite food of all time so I won't discriminate!

This month's meal will be held on Sunday, September 13th at the Hess residence in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood. Please leave us a post as to what you'll be making so we all can plan our dishes accordingly.

Long Time, No Post...

Wow, so apologies to my reader for the recent lurch in blog activity! EATclub has been plugging along quite well over these past few months and there is much to report.

In May we held a Spanish theamed feast at Mark and Kim's loft, which was a grand meal. The June dinner was a grilling extravaganza that definitely did not disappoint! In order catch up with the back log of food photos and recipes I'll be posting regularly over the next few weeks with the hopes of catching up by the end of July.

And just to wet your blogging palates a bit, I thought I'd start with a few cocktails, including Kim's delicious white sangria from the Spanish feast and a vodka/lemon/rosemary drink that won much acclaim at the Flanders/Church going-away party. Enjoy!

Kim's Saucy Sangria

1 bottle dry white wine
1 cup peach liquer
2 cups seltzer water
sliced strawberries
sliced kiwi
any other fruit of choice!
a few cups ice cubes

Mix all, excluding ice cubes, smashing fruit slightly. Chill up to 4 hours. Serve over ice. Drink your face off.

Vodka Rosemary Lemonade Fizz

Ingredients

* 1 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 (8-inch) rosemary sprigs
* 1/2 cup vodka
* Chilled club soda or seltzer
* Garnish: 8 (3-inch) rosemary sprigs

Preparation

Bring lemon juice, sugar, and rosemary to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Discard rosemary sprigs.

Fill 8 (8-ounces) glasses halfway with ice. Divide syrup (about 2 tablespoons each) among glasses and add vodka (1 tablespoon each). Top off with club soda.

A Feast for the Eyes

So, I've finally gotten my act together and am ready to post the photos from last months Spring Feast! Much thanks to the lovely Ray-Ray Myers for her photo uploading skills! Only fitting that her amazing looking and tasting fruit tart will be the first photo to devour. And why not start with dessert? It was definitely the most visited table.

Our inaugural meal began as all good meals should, with a lot of wine (about 15 bottles when it was all said and done). We definitely had our fair share of appetizers too...thanks to Fintan's genius we were are able to enjoy a collection of small but mighty spring-pigs-in-blankets. There is no finer way to begin a feast!

For the main meal we enjoyed a hit parade of amazing spring dishes, that were not only a feast for the eyes, but complimented each other incredibly well.


Grace and Alex's Forged Salad
with Fresh Beets





Lara's Myer Lemon Green Beans





Alethia's Fennel Salad with
Aged Manchego



Sayeh and Sam's Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus
With Truffle Oil





Eli's Tandoori Chicken





Moira's Fresh Chive Butter





Dan B's Roast Spring Chicken with Vegetables





Alethia's Spring Vegetable Risotto




And as if we did have enough to eat, this happened...

Moira's Key Lime Pie


Lara's Flourless Chocolate Cake


Moira's Coconut Macaroons


Fintan's Fruit Salad

Thanks to all who contributed to this fabulous meal. I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday for a Spanish feast!

Comida Espanol (Spanish Meal, fools!)

Hey fellow clubbers. We would like to get the ball rolling for the next EATclub meal on May 2 to be held at Kim and Mark's comfy abode (340 N 12th Street, Ste 512, Philly). We will be cooking up a Spanish themed meal. We'll make the paella and sangria; you bring the tapas and cava, and we will no doubt have a tiempo estupendo (I think that translates to rad time...). Email Molly (mollychurch@gmail.com) or Kim (knava16@aol.com) and let us know if you can make it and what you're bringing by April 29 so that we can plan accordingly. Hope to see you there!

It's the jump off!!

Well kids, get excited 'cause EATclub is T-48 hours away from deliciousness!  Sure, it coincides with the final four, but we have a TV, and yes, it will be on - so no worries!

Thus far we have about 14 peeps making the trek to Mt. Airy to share in the foodie fun and drinking.  If you haven't RSVP'd yet, please do so otherwise you'll be stuck eating without a utensil.

Also, please be sure to either email or bring a copy of the recipe you use so we can post it on blog and make everyone who couldn't attend jealous!

Free Cooking Classes

Williams-Sonoma will be offering free cooking technique classes all spring at their center city location.  

They are all demonstration style, not hands on, and they will most definitely  try to sell you some cooking gear...but free is free!  Below is the upcoming schedule and you can register and find out the class time (they are strangely cryptic about this) by calling the store at 215.545.7392.

Springtime Baking - Sunday March 29

Best of Breakfast - Sunday, April 5

Healthy Cooking - Sunday, April 19

Cooking for Kids - Sunday, April 26

Strata, Frittata, and More - Sunday, May 3

Thrill of the Grill - Sunday, May 17

Summer Drinks - Sunday, May 31

All About Ice Cream - Sunday, June 7

Hells Yeah Ruth!

Um, get excited people! Ruth Reichl, editor, author and all around food expert is coming to the Free Library on Tuesday, April 28th at 7:30pm.

Ms. Reichl is the current editor of Gourmet Magazine (one of my absolute obcessions), has an incredible sense of humor and a great insight into food, wine and current trends. She'll be discussing her latest book, "Not Becoming My Mother".

Tickets can be purchased for $14 by visiting the Free Library's website.

Schuylkill Punch

Many of us (myself included) take access to quality drinking water for granted. With a flick of the faucet, we are able to quench our thirst, wash our dishes and cook our food. For many in developing nations this luxury simply does not exist.

March 22nd - 28th, local Philadelphia bars and restaurants are joining forces with Unicef in the Tap Project, designed to help raise awareness and funds to support clean water projects. Every dollar donated will provide 40 days of clean water to a child in need.

So check out the Tap Project's webiste, pick a bar near you, drink up and be thankful for once that your water comes from the Schuylkill!

Let's EAT!

Welcome to EATclub, a Philadelphia gathering of local foodies, drunkards and all around awesome people who are interested in exploring all things food and drink.

This blog will be used as a planning and recipe sharing tool and anyone in EATclub is welcome to post.

EATclub will meet the first Saturday or Sunday of every month at a different club member's home. The club's dinner theme will be chosen by the host and will be communicated via this site. Club members will be able to sign up for dishes (main, side, dessert, wine, etc) by adding a comment to each of the monthly dinner posts.

After each meal, we will post recipes on this site for all to enjoy!

Our first dinner will be on Saturday, April 4th at Dan and Alethia's house in Mt. Airy. This month's theme is "All Things Spring"...let's welcome in the warmth and give winter the big F-U!