TT Supper Club

These days I've been focusing most of my culinary creativity on TT Supper Club, so I gave it its own home. Please check out the website for dinner reports and announcements, or to join my mailing list!

TT Supper Club #4

This past Saturday night I hosted a fundraising dinner for SELMA. Their weekly Friday morning breakfasts raise money for a variety of local organizations. This fundraiser was for SELMA itself, to cover capital expenditures (like dishes) that make serving breakfast to 100 people every Friday morning possible. The hosts of SELMA - Lisa Gottlieb and Jeff McCabe - were my assistant cooks for this dinner, and it was really great to spend the afternoon and evening getting to know them while cooking and serving with them. Their help was indispensable - Jeff spent at least 90 minutes cutting vegetables and assembling the most complicated ratatouille known to man, and Lisa came up with the innovative idea of molding individual tart shells over the outside of a tipped over muffin pan. Brilliant!

This was my most ambitious menu so far, I think, but fortunately everything went off without a hitch! Pictures and menu below. And the guest list was great - as usual, I wished I'd had more time to spend getting to know my diners! For more pictures and commentary on the meal, check out this blog post from guest Brian Steinberg.

	Bounty from the Farmer's Market waiting to be turned into dinner.
	Yellow Oyster Mushroom Tart This was the first time I'd seen the Michigan Mushroom people at the farmer's market in quite some time, so I had to add a mushroom course. Lisa not only figured out how to make the tart shells, but contributed some of her homemade farmer's cheese to the cause too! The pea shoots were contributed by diner Brian Steinberg's new business - Inchworm Microgreens.
	Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Napoleon with basil oil
	Carrot Soup with toasted pistachios, hazelnut oil and chives
	Mixed Greens with Roasted Fennel and Roasted Beets
	Baked Lake Trout with Confit Byaldi "Confit Byaldi" is the fancy name for "most complicated ratatouille known to man." It involves layers and layers of thinly sliced veggies, laid out in a beautiful spiral. I forgot to take a picture of the pre-cooking version, but you can see someone else's here. This is the dish that Remy the rat makes at the end of the movie Ratatouille, and the recipe is from Thomas Keller (of The French Laundry).
	Lamb Rib Chop with Summer Bean Cassoulet
	Sheep's Milk Gouda, Leonore, Constant Bliss, Bayley Hazen Blue garnished with pickled raisins, creamed honey and grape mostardo
	Panna Cotta with Poached Peaches and 10-yr aged balsamic vinegar
	Mignardises Peach pate de fruit, milk chocolate almond rochers, and a dark chocolate yuzu truffle

TT Supper Club #3

I had a fabulous time last night, cooking dinner for eight great diners. Together, we raised $240 for Growing Hope. *And* I even remembered to take pictures! That was probably because of how easy my amazing assistant cook made things for me. Dee was one of the diners at my very first dinner, and when she volunteered to be my assistant this time I jumped at the opportunity. She's an accomplished cook and hostess herself, running a B&B and catering weddings and parties at The Rooms at Grayfield. She made my job very easy, and was excellent company too.

I've got two dinners coming up, one on August 29 for SELMA, and one on September 12 for Doulas Care. These dinners are a little different, as the benefit organization is taking on the responsibility of filling the guest list, so all I have to do is cook! However, if you'd like to attend either of these dinners, just let me know and I'll put you in contact with the person managing those guest lists. The Doulas Care dinner will be $75, with $50 going to support Doulas Care. I'm not entirely sure of the pricing for the SELMA dinner yet, but I should have details soon - contact me for more information.

Now for some pictures from dinner #3!

	Bounty from the Farmer's Market waiting to be turned into dinner.
	Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Salmon Roe
	Sauteed Squash with their Blossoms and a little goat cheese and black pepper
	Corn Soup with Bacon silky smooth corn soup with corn kernels, crispy bacon and chives
	Salad of Heirloom Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella with basil oil and 40-yr balsamic vinegar dots
	Salmon-Dill-Potato Cake with Horseradish Mustard Sauce on a mixed green salad with lemon vinaigrette
	Pork Tenderloin with Peach Tomato Compote and Collard Greens and a salad of cherry tomatoes and peaches
	4 Corners Creamery Aged Goat Cheese, Marieke's Gouda, Gorgonzola garnished with spicy orange marmalade, pickled raisins, creamed honey and blueberries
	Flourless Chocolate Cake with Beet Ice Cream and a crispy beet chip

Report from TT Supper Club #2 and Date Announced for #3

The July version of TT Supper Club was just as much fun as the June version was. Many thanks to my 8 fabulous diners who contributed $200 to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. And an even bigger thanks to Mom's Kitchen who was my tireless assistant. I really can't thank her enough. MK administers the annarborfood mailing list and is one of the most recognized names in the Ann Arbor online foodie scene. We met a couple of years ago when she attended a chocolate truffle class I was teaching. She's got a particular interest in helping feed the poor, so when she heard about my Supper Club project, she offered to be my assistant if I was doing something along those lines. We decided on the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, and then had a blast cooking and serving together. Thanks, Mom!

Next month's Supper Club event will be on August 8 (yes, that's just two weeks away!) and will benefit Growing Hope:

Growing Hope is dedicated to helping people improve their lives and communities through gardening and healthy food access. Based in Washtenaw County, Michigan, we work with neighborhoods, schools, community groups, and families to develop and sustain gardens. We also work to increase local food security through our Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market and other efforts that improve access to healthy, affordable food. Growing Hope is dedicated to helping people improve their lives and communities through gardening and healthy food access. Based in Washtenaw County, Michigan, we work with neighborhoods, schools, community groups, and families to develop and sustain gardens. We also work to increase local food security through our Downtown Ypsilanti Farmers' Market and other efforts that improve access to healthy, affordable food.

If you'd like to reserve one of the 8 spaces at the August 8 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! Also, I don't yet have an assistant cook lined for the August 8 dinner - please let me know if you'd be interested in volunteering!

The *only* thing that went wrong at this month's dinner was that I was so focused on the food that I completely forgot about taking pictures until the 6th course (out of 9)! So not nearly as many pictures as last time. But here's the final menu, with pictures where i do have them.

Raspberry Gazpacho

Caramelized Zucchini with Walnuts and Fiore Sardo
I recreated this from leftovers after everyone had left to get a picture. Then I ate it!



Creamed Corn with Caramelized Onion and Basil
This was an extra course I decided to add just yesterday morning, because this was the first week I'd seen corn at the market and I figured we should celebrate.

Land and Sea Pasta with Mussels

Nicoise Salad
I'll describe it so you can visualize: red potatoes, green beans, white and deep yellow boiled egg wedge, bright pink center of the seared tuna, and then a drizzle of yellow-green salad dressing.

Seared Duck Breast with Blueberry Sauce, Chard and Roasted Carrots



Selection of Cheeses: Brillat Savarin, Fiore Sardo, Lingot de Quercy
With frais du bois ("wild" strawberries) and pickled raisins for garnish.

Cherry Pie with Thai Basil Ice Cream and Manjari Chocolate Shavings
I scheduled this event on my only available Saturday in July, which happened to be the same night as the SFHV Pie Lovers Unite event. Sad to be missing that, we served pie for dessert in their honor.



Petit Fours: Raspberry Pate de Fruit, Pistachio-Rose Petal Mendiants, and White Chocolate Covered Stem-on Cherries

TT Supper Club to benefit Capuchin Soup Kitchen

I had so much fun last month, I'm doing it all over again!

On Saturday, July 25th I'll be hosting a supper club event to benefit and the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit. I'll be offering an 8-course tasting menu, designed to highlight seasonal and local foodstuffs. The menu will be wine-friendly, but the event is BYOB (or better yet, bring some to share). A donation of $50 is requested per person.

Here's a little more information about this month's benefit organization:

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 remaining spaces at the July 25 dinner, please contact me ASAP with your food restrictions and preferences. I'm happy to accommodate a variety of food restrictions, such as gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegetarian.

Rhubarb Mojito

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.

First TT Supper Club a Success!

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!

Guests at Saturday's dinner were obliging enough to let me do that stereotypical food blogger thing of taking pictures (although I missed a couple of courses), so I'll leave you with a peek at how we celebrated spring.

	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

Supper Club Update

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!

Introducing the TT Supper Club

Summer is a tough time of year for chocolate making, so Tammy's Tastings (the business) always takes a summer hiatus from regular sales. But while I love making chocolates and confectionery, I also love to cook. So this summer, I've decided to use my hiatus a little differently.

I'm pleased to introduce the TT Supper Club. Once a month, from June through September, I'll be hosting a fundraising dinner in my home to benefit different local food organizations. My inaugural dinner will be June 6 and will benefit Preserving Traditions:

Preserving Traditions is a non-profit club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We aspire to keep old-time foodways alive and well, to build and support our local foodshed, and to make really good food for our families and neighbors!

If you're not familiar with the group, I think they're really exciting. It's a grass roots, bottom-up effort, with people getting together to learn skills from each other that encourage eating well and seasonally and locally. They host their events at the Pittsfield Grange and are planning to use the funds raised to better outfit the kitchen there so that they can offer a wider range of classes and to more people. Local foodblogger Emily from Eat Close to Home is the founder of the group and will be helping me cook the dinner. She'll talk a little about the organization at the meal, so it's a great opportunity to learn more or get involved.

Each dinner is limited to eight people, and will feature a tasting menu designed to highlight seasonal and local foodstuffs. In order to be as flexible and market-driven as possible, I won't be posting a menu in advance; you'll just have to trust me. (Edited to add: here's what I'm thinking about for the June dinner.) The menu will take into account food restrictions (vegetarian/gluten-free, etc) and preferences/dislikes. Here's a sample menu, so you'll have some idea of what you can expect:

Wild Mushroom Tartlette
Seared Scallop with Tarragon Leek Sauce
Salad of Baby Greens with Hazelnut Vinaigrette
Lake Perch with Beurre Blanc and Roasted Asparagus
Roasted Quail with Yellow Oyster Mushrooms, Pea Shoots and White Grits
Cheese Plate with Garnishes
Rhubarb Galette and Vanilla Ice Cream
Petit Fours

Dinners are designed to be wine-friendly, but are BYOB (or better yet, bring some to share). A minimum donation of $50 is requested per person.

Sound good? If you'd like to reserve one of the 8 spaces at the June 6 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.

If you'd like to be notified about future dinners, please subscribe to the TT Supper Club Mailing list by filling out the form below, and you'll be the first to know when I'm accepting requests for July and beyond. Your privacy is important to me, and I'll never share your email address or information.

Name:


Email:

I'm really excited to have a chance to use my culinary creativity to help our local food community, and I'm looking forward to cooking for you!



Photos courtesy of Kitchen Chick, who I've been lucky enough to cook for many times.