yum!
A blog about food
I love me some Supper Clubs
Kelly O, Beter and I have known each other since elementary school. But in 2002, we were all freshly out of college and living in Atlanta, working in big-girl careers, with dreams of bottomless pockets of cash. In reality we were barely scraping by, living in tight quarters and eating tuna fish and crackers. But once a week, and thank god for that designated day, we ate like royalty. We were all foodies in some regard, so it wasn’t long til we decided that with one splurge in seven days, we could combine our assets and make a spread to make Caesar proud.
This tradition grew as we added more friends to the table – and soon we had a bonafide supper club. This sort of group is better than a book club, more fun than a wine club, better for your self-esteem than a therapist and more soul-saving than confession. They are easy to implement and a great excuse to meet new people or invite your neighbors over.
A supper club is about…gathering good people family-style around the dinner table with the idea of a meal, healthier and easier on your budget than going out. I always enjoyed those nights and felt lucky to be surrounded by my friends and neighbors. And now, though I have been in many different supper clubs in crazy different places and there are many miles between us all, I still reflect and think of those ‘golden days’ of my first club. I loved the big table at Jim’s. Beter always saying she couldn’t cook but made something surprisingly yummy. Kelly O shared her guacamole on one of these nights, and it still stands as my favorite. She also gave me this recipe for Chops. And though it calls for veal – substitute lamb or pork chops and it will still be divine.
Caramelized Veal Chops with Balsamic Syrup
My good friend SmellyO gave me this recipe—I think she initially grabbed it from Williams Sonoma. I love it and use it often, usually with pork.
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup orange juice
1 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons crushed white peppercorns
4 veal rib chops, each about 6 oz, trimmed of fat
In a small saucepan over med-high heat, combine vinegar and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 3T (5 minutes). Remove pan from heat, stir in OJ and set aside. In a small bowl, stire together sugar and peppercorn. Press mixture onto one side of each chop, dividing it evenly.
Heat non-stick frying pan over med-high heat. Coat pan with spray. Add chops, sugar side down and cook until caramelized underneath, about 3 minutes. Flip chops and cook about 2-3 minutes more for med-rare or to your liking.
Transfer chops to a warm platter. Return pan to med-high heat. Add vinegar mix and deglaze the pan, stirring with wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Bring to boil and reduce to 3 tablespoons (about 3 minutes). Serve chops with sauce on top. Serve hot.
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