Cage Match Supper Club.

An odd and beautiful string of words, don’t you think my darlings?

Last night Kevin and I hosted the first of many gatherings for a small group of friends who like to cook, eat and drink. As you can tell, the now official title of our little dining club was quickly decided upon after a few glasses of wine.

The Cage Match Supper Club players include:

Matt and Mary -- our fabulous neighbors in the little red house across the street. They have an adorable toddler (and another little one on the way), a great backyard garden, and a wicked smart sense of humor.


Chet and Heather -- avid soccer players and blushing newlyweds with a passion for the outdoors and good beer. (Chet is also a team mate on the Lompoc Soccer team with my Subtly Amazing husband)


Then, finally of course, last but not least, Chad and Laurie -- Chad plays soccer with Kev and Chet. His girlfriend Laurie is a beautiful, vivacious, warm-hearted blonde who totally gets Chad’s sense of humor, which is no small feat.

                                 Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here’s what I mean:

                                       (Chad is the guy in the soccer uni spooning Daisy Duke)

Our night started off at the Culinary School restaurant where Kev and I work.

We brought with us a couple bottles of Pinot Noir and ordered a gorgeous buttery chardonnay, Rombauer Chardonnay (my favorite) and then proceeded to make plans for our dinner group over savory appetizers of marinated pancetta wrapped prawns with celery leaf salad and Meyer lemon.
 
Blood orange and fennel salad with watercress and shaved red onion followed, and I ordered the entrée of seared sea scallops with mustard braised Savoy cabbage. Heather nearly wept with pleasure over her entrée of pan-roasted chicken breast with baby red potatoes and herb and Meyer lemon jus.



Chad came up with a list of ground rules and we were off and running. Every six weeks each couple will take a turn hosting, and the host couple chooses the theme and gets to invite an additional couple. We are already planning theme dinners including a Fiji dinner party at the Zimmers, a Dim Sum brunch, a *gourmet* corndog affair, and an Italian pasta dinner where we all have to wear shimmering mafia-style track suits, sunglasses and multiple gold chains.

Here's the cookbook I'm going to order right now so I can use it when Kev and I host:

I will make delectable treats just like this:

and this:

I still can’t get over the awesomeness of our supper clubs name.