11/07/06 Dinner/Gourmet Club

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and all this week we are answering your email questions. A listener wrote to ask. "To share our enjoyment of food and wine we are starting a gourmet dinner club with friends. Do you have some suggestions for how to organize it?" When organizing any food & wine tasting with friends it is always nice to share the preparation and expense. I have heard of dinner clubs where each member is responsible for the entire dinner once a year. They have six couples and they meet six times each year. In my own group we have four couples and we move from one home to the other each quarter. The hosts will prepare the main course. The remaining couples select another course. For example: appetizer as first course, soup or salad (that is up to the people bringing it) as the second course and then dessert to follow the main course. Each couple brings the wine that they think pairs best with their course. Another format, is to have a buffet in which each dish has a recommended wine next to it. This will accommodate a larger group and it is fun to mingle and chat about the pairings. One thing I do want to suggest is that you don't make it mandatory the food be made by the person bringing it. You see, I am not good at making dessert, so I would want to go to a bakery or specialty food store to get my dessert. It will be good, and it will go with my wine, I just won't make it myself. This provision also helps take the pressure off anyone who is running short on time. After all, it is supposed to be fun! Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.