BYO Dinner Club

When I moved to Philly, LP was my only close friend from college that lived in the city. Knowing this, she invited me to be part of a dinner club that some of her friends were forming. Of course, I accepted the invite, anxious to connect with more people. The idea behind the group was to get together young professional women who were also looking for more girlfriends. A few of us were new to the city and only knew one or two girls and then some had been friends for awhile. I'm still not positive how each girl is connected but it seems like most of it stems from LP's friend, S. (or Winnie's Mom).  So after this we had a group of ten wine drinking girls and became the BYO Dinner Club.

We originally started with plans to meet once a month for dinner at a BYO restaurant that the group agreed upon. Philly has countless BYO restaurants so this was a great way to taste different restaurants and on a budget! But after doing this once they decided to start hosting in their homes. This became a huge hit because it was more intimate, we could talk to everyone rather than just the girls sitting beside us, and we got to check out each other's apartments and neighborhoods. Some of us live in the city (from No Libs to Queen Village to the Art Museum) and some us live outside (Manyunk). I  mentioned my first BYO dinner in this blog last year. The best part about the group is that all the girls are so friendly (who wouldn't be after a little wine?).

And in August it was my turn to host. I thought it would be difficult to get everyone together during the summer but five girls showed up, bottles in hand. I am always a nervous wreck when I'm entertaining, even though I love it. I want my place to be spotless, have the perfect table setting, display matching plates and napkins, have a well planned menu, and a new party dress. Well this hardly ever happens and hopefully soon I will realize this. After three (unplanned) trips to the grocery store, rearranging the menu, and having my planned outfit fitting a little too snug, I sighed, threw my hands up in the air, and said "Oh well". Well not literally, but I started to forgive myself for my lack of perfection that evening. Reminding myself that these girls didn't want perfection, they just wanted a glass of wine and some good conversation.

This BYO dinner was a little different because we added dogs into the mix. Of course there was Ry Guy and then LP got a new puppy so I invited her to bring her along. Then Winnie was invited too and before I knew it, it was a BYOD. We talked about next time bringing dates (it's just a maybe) so then I guess we'll have a BYOM (bring your own man).

For dinner we decided to brave the mosquitoes and gather on my balcony, sipping our sangria, eating a variety of appetizers, and chatting about our busy city lives. A date here, a relationship there, a few careers, a trip to Brazil, and we're all caught up! And with three dogs running around, our conversation was often directed back to our furry friends. Ry guy and Winnie became best buds, thankfully. We enjoyed two very delicious desserts, a peanut butter and chocolate pie and a blackberry crisp. I was in heaven.

Every time we meet we're always planning the next get together. Ideas were being thrown out left and right, a cocktail party, a movie night, a Sunday football tailgate, a pub crawl...Mom - please don't pick up the phone after this blog. Yes, I will talk to them about adding three mile walks and vegetable eating contests, but I'm pretty sure they're going to stick with the wine theme.We are all responsible young women and I promise even after a bottle of wine, I'm still making wonderful choices ;)

Here are some of the yummy recipes from our dinner:

Cheeseball

• 2- 8 oz packages cream cheese
• 1 - 8.5 oz crushed pineapple, drain well
• 2 cups pecans, chopped and divided
• 1/4 cup green pepper
• 2 T. onion
• 1 t. season salt

Combine all ingredients along with 1 cup of the chopped nuts. Use 1 cup pecans to mix inside ball and 1 cup to roll the cheese ball in, so the outside is coated with nuts. Serve one large ball with apple wedges or two small balls with crackers.


Salsa Won-Ton Tartlets

• 3/4- 1 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1/2 cup prepared salsa
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1- 4 oz can green chilies, drained
• 2 dozen won-ton wrappers
• Sour cream and fresh chives, optional garnish

Remove sausage from casings. Break up and cook in a large skillet until sausage is no longer pink. Drain fat. Stir in the salsa, cheddar cheese, and green chilies. Simmer, uncovered about 4-5 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Press one won-ton wrapper into each cup of mini muffin pans. Spoon one heaping tablespoon of the meat salsa mixture into each won-ton cup. Please filled muffin pans in oven and bake 10 minutes. Transfer tartlets from pans to a baking sheet. Bake tartlets an additional 10 minutes until bottoms are crisp.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pie

• 1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate cookies
• 1 cup peanut butter, in all
• 1/4 pound cream cheese
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
• 2 3/4 cups heavy cream, in all
• 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine the cookie crust with 1/4 cup of the peanut butter. Combine the mixture thoroughly and press into a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes. In an electric mixer with a whip attachment, whip the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the remaining peanut butter, milk and nuts and whip for 1 minute. Turn the peanut butter mixture into a mixing bowl. Whip 2 cups of the heavy cream and fold into the peanut butter mixture. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the pie is set. In a sauce pan, over medium heat, melt the chocolate with the remaining cream, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from the heat and cool for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pie from the springform pan and place on a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pour the chocolate topping over the pie, covering the top and sides completely. Refrigerate the pie for 2 hours or until the chocolate coating is set.