Supper Club
We’re dining under string lights with the table nestled between blooming fuschia roses and crepe Myrtle trees. The fall air is crisp and the laughter is golden. Now THIS is supper club!
My sister is queen of supper club. It’s fancy yet approachable. Her friends wait for the coveted supper club invite because they know just how special it is.
My sister is good at hosting supper club because she’s got that Type A brain that marches to her own rules. Supper Club is a stress free zone. Don’t expect her house to be show room ready (although it is) and come dressed as you are.
I recently visited and when she asked if I wanted her to have supper club when I was there I didn’t skip a beat and said “uhhhh, yes!” For how smart she is, that was a dumb (meh maybe more unnecessary) question.
She requested I make the pear salad that I posted a few weeks back. I hesitated and offered alternatives because the pear salad can be a little involved with making the cheese and and cooking the pears. I had a change of heart because she never asks for anything aaaaand y’all she was gifting me supper club.
I, typically the resident go with the flow sibling, cornered her during a car ride about the menu. Menu planning is the one area of my life that is planned far far in advance. I gave a couple of options, we mulled them over, brought in the parents on the discussion, and decided on stuffed apples for dessert.
I suggested doing stuffed acorn squash because I saw a recipe for it in one of her Mediterranean cookbooks and thought perfect fall Al fresco dining dish. She suggested I stuff it with Italian sausage and apples. Wait! Wait! Hold up! Was I in charge of all the dishes? Yes, yes I most definitely was. Not quite sure how that happened but I was game especially in her perfect work triangle of a kitchen.
A part of menu planning is timing food to be at peak when it’s time for the course. She said, “Nicole, it’s supper club. It’s low key and no stress. If we need to wait for apples to cook, we drink more wine and wait.”
The thing is her friends know the rules, support the rules, and I think they even like the rules so I made myself omit the mental timeline. One of her friends came to her house early to hang out. I was finishing the apples and said I’ll run and change before others get here. She looked at me and said, “It’s supper club. You come as you are and wear you want.” It was as genuine as someone could possibly be and I stood barefoot in a long sleeve tee that doubled as a hand towel.
Nothing could shift her guests away from their no stress game. We had a slight mix up of plates and the dessert plates got used for salads. When I said I would grab dessert plates, her friends said. “It’s supper club. No stress. We’ll reuse these plates!”
Y’all find those friends and hang onto them. You’ll spend more time enjoying their company and less time getting ready.
