Ilex from Homesteading in a Condo was one of my TT Supper Club guests, and she requested that I post the recipe for the pre-dinner cocktail I served. So here it is!
Rhubarb Mojito
1 oz chopped rhubarb
5-6 mint leaves
1 oz rhubarb syrup
1 oz light rum
3/4 oz lime juice
club soda
extra mint
rhubarb stalk
Muddle rhubarb and mint. Add syrup, rum, lime juice, shake. Strain into glass filled with ice, top with club soda. Garnish with extra mint leaves and rhubarb stalk.
 | Mojito - Bacardi light rum, Muscovado brown sugar, fresh mint, and ice. And lime, although the description fails to mention it. Wouldn't be much of a Mojito without it! Mojitos have become the new faux-tini, but this one is pretty classic and was nice and refreshing for our first meal out on the patio this spring. The Muscovado brown sugar adds some interest over the more typical white sugar or simple syrup. |
 | Ramos Gin Fizz - This is the first drink on the cocktail menu, and I have to admit that I'd been avoiding it. It just seemed like too much! Plymouth Original Dry Gin, heavy cream, egg white, lemon and lime juice, orange curacao and club soda. My verdict? It's certainly tasty. And not as sweet as you might think from looking at it. But the cream and egg white make it pretty substantial, so it was a lot to have with a meal. Maybe a good choice for when I want a cocktail, but I'm a little bit hungry too, but don't really want to eat... |
 | La Floridita No. 2 - Vya sweet vermouth, light crème de cacao, fresh lime juice, pomegranate grenadine. The website claims there's some rum in there too, although it's not on the printed in-restaurant menu. In any case, I thought this was delicious! And it's a perfect example of why I wanted to do this challenge - it's not a drink I ever would have picked off the list to order otherwise. I love Vya vermouths, and they didn't let me down here. And while there's some sweet fruitness to the drink, it doesn't taste like fruit juice - you can tell you're drinking a cocktail, and that's what I'm usually looking for. I'm adding this one to my rotation for sure! |
Thank you to the eight adventurous diners who came out to my first supper club event, and to Emily of Preserving Traditions and Eat Close to Home for her tireless assistance in the kitchen! The event was everything I'd hoped it would be. I got to meet and cook for some really wonderful food lovers, and enjoyed listening in on the lively conversation at the dinner table. We raised over $250 for Preserving Traditions, and learned about the long and storied history of the Grange movement (of which Preserving Traditions is now part) and all the ways it has supported farmers over the years.
Next month's TT Supper Club will be on Saturday, July 25th and will be a benefit for Earthworks Urban Farm and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit.
Earthworks’ primary activities include running a 1.5 acre farm and apiary, hosting classes for Detroit gardeners, hosting two youth programs for area kids, attending markets with youth during the growing season, and providing support for guests of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen who are interested in gardening and food justice. We are a full program of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and have our offices and gardens on their grounds. Every day we are striving to be more responsive to our soup kitchen community and neighborhood. Currently, the majority of our produce is incorporated in the meals at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and we are planning to install a commercial hoop house (similar to a greenhouse but uses only heat from the sun) to provide greens for the soup kitchen and for marketing to the public.If you'd like to reserve one of the 8 spaces at the July 25 dinner, please email me with your food restrictions and preferences. Early requests will receive priority, but I reserve the right to adjust the guest list in order to manage conflicting food restrictions. I'm happy to accommodate a variety of food restrictions, such as gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian, I just don't necessarily want to do them all at the same time!
 | Bounty from the Farmer's Market waiting to be turned into dinner. |
 | The guests gather. |
 | First up: radishes with raw milk butter and Murray River pink sea salt The butter was made by one of the guests, Ilex who writes the blog Homesteading in a Condo. She'd emailed me to ask if I'd like to use it in the meal. Normally I'd just serve it with bread, but she's gluten-free, so I needed to find another way to highlight it. This was perfect. |
 | Sauteed beet greens with a bit of 10-yr balsamic vinegar, roasted beets, Zingerman's Creamery Aged Chelsea goat cheese, and freshly ground pepper. |
 | Chilled potato-sorrel soup garnished with chive flowers |
 | Pan-seared skate wing with parsley-lemon butter, radish leaf pesto, and steamed asparagus |
 | Indian spiced roasted leg of lamb, lentils with garlic and onion, pea shoots sauteed with mustard seeds, and mint raita These pea shoots from Gardenworks were the very definition of fresh - they were still back at the farm picking them when I arrived at the Farmer's Market! |
 | Ig Vella Dry Jack, Idziabal, Zingerman's Creamery Aged Chelsea |
 | Vanilla bean panna cotta with rhubarb compote |
There are still spaces available for Saturday's inaugural TT Supper Club dinner. I've been having a lot of fun thinking about what's at the market and planning a menu. Here's what I'm thinking about right now, subject to change based on guest food restrictions or market unavailability. Oh, and note that this will be a gluten-free meal - I might serve some bread on the side for those that can have it, but all of the dishes are gluten-free.
Celebrating Spring!
Spring Radishes with Butter and Salt
Beet Greens, Beets, and Goat Cheese
Sorrel Soup
Salad of Local Greens
Fish with Herb Butter, Radish Leaf Pesto, and Asparagus
Indian Spiced Lamb, Lentils, and Pea Shoots Sauteed with Mustard Seeds
Selection of Cheeses
Rhubarb Panna Cotta
Petit Fours
Email me if you'd like to join the fun!
