A Girls' Night Out---In

Friday night we offered a Girls' Night Out cooking class. The menu was the result of a competition we held during the summer called the "Chowhound Challenger". Participants submitted menu ideas for what they considered to be a fun collection of food and drink that "girls" could really appreciate. The winner, Dornia Hoffer, suggested preparing the types of foods that are a bit fussy, delicate, and not at all manly. There would be no Barbeque sauce at this meal and definitely no meat or potatoes (except for maybe fingerlings)

The result was a lively evening centered around Cosmopolitans, mushrooms stuffed with gorgonzola, crabcakes (baked not fried) that were loaded with crab and light on the breadcrumbs, and served with a homemade red pepper aioli. Next was a tangy salad of baby organic spinach with avocado, dried cranberries, and fresh pomegranate seeds. Dessert was chocolate, of course. A dense Mocha cheesecake with the earthy flavor of espresso served with a dollop of cream and dusted with cocoa powder. All of this was washed down with copious amounts of bubbly. It was a great time in the kitchen!