Traveling Pans, Healthy Hearts

My good “blend” Mara first initiated me into the Sisterhood of Traveling Pans way back in June of last year. Since then, the Sisterhood has met several more times, but with the wedding, honeymoon and holidays, I have regrettably not been there.

That all changed on Sunday night in the city. The theme? Heart healthy, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

As usual, I was amazed by the dishes these women put together. Pictures simply do not do them justice, but I will make them try as hard as they can!

For starters, there was a fresh spinach salad, made with chickpeas, pears, red onion and balsamic.

Fresh asparagus seasoned with cajun spices.

A platter of beets and mandarin oranges with homemade dressing.

Handmade turkey potstickers with Asian soy sauce for dipping. EDITED TO ADD: Amy posted the recipe on her blog! You can make these yummy potstickers for yourself by clicking here.

And finally, my contribution: Humbecue Salmon Salad! Served with rye and sesame crackers.

For the main entrees, there was whole wheat pasta, which had every type of mushroom you can imagine (the kitchen smelled like heaven) and fresh Parmesan cheese.

Chicken lettuce wraps with “everything from the fridge” sauce (including ketchup and mustard)!

And last but not least, Mara’s homemade wheat rolls

…served with black bean burgers!

Nom, right?

We brought everything to the gorgeously arranged table for serving.

I took a bit from each dish and by the end of the meal, my tummy was very happy with me.

Wine was also served, of course. It has heart healthy antioxidants, you know.

The conversation was fabulous as well. We discussed our biggest cooking disasters (mine being that I still have never been able to make a decent batch of chocolate chip cookies), booming new businesses, family and friends. Many laughs were shared.

When the table was cleared for dessert, Tina amazed us all by bringing out a stunner.

I kid you not, this may have been the best dessert I have EVER had. Where to begin? Let’s start from the top. We have fresh strawberry with sugar-coated mint leaves and edible flowers. Next to that, peeking out from underneath, are homemade macaroons. Those, combined with the heart-shaped meringue and raspberries, help balance the exotically rich flavor of the homemade dark chocolate sorbet in the center.

That’s right. Homemade. Dark Chocolate. Sorbet. Four of the best words you could ever string together.

The goodies were surrounded by sprinkles of orange dust. Orange dust. I think it’s self-evident that there wasn’t a single person in the room who was not oohing and ahhing over this dessert.

We left Beth’s house with full stomachs but more importantly, happy, healthy hearts. Sure, we could say it was the food that did it. But I’m more inclined to believe that a night filled with laughter, no matter what is on the menu, is what truly adds years onto our lives.

(How’s that for a cheesy ending?) 😉

Do you host or attend dinner parties, supper clubs, etc.?

I’d love to hear your stories, too.

Abrazos,

29 Comments

  1. That mushroom filled pasta is what the pasta of my dreams looks like. I love simple oil/garlic sauces, and to fill it with mushrooms and top with parmesan…yum!

  2. oh my gosh! What a dinner! Everything looks AMAZING! My favorite parts are the fresh fruit, potstickers and that dessert! I love hosting and attending dinner parties. Its so much fun to try new dishes

  3. This post made me want to pack up my bags and move to Chicago! lol Just to partake in your get togethers!!! 😛

    As for dinner parties – we’ve had small casual stuff but we only have a dinette set for two in our current place (no room). So no formal sit down stuff.

  4. So much great food! Now I’m craving a black bean burger…
    Interesting factoid I learned yesterday: tulips are poisonous to humans! So don’t go eating that flower arrangement!

  5. Such a fun idea! My friends aren’t very into food or cooking right now, but it’s definitely something I’d like to do when I’m more “grown up”!

  6. I love this idea so much!!! And oh my goodness, what a dinner!! When you put amazing women together who love food and love to cook, only incredible things can happen!

  7. […] I’ve looked and looked and cannot find the recipe I used to follow when I first started making gyōza . I thought it would be fun to post it as it was another one of my culinary adventurous’ Mothers’ well-before-you-could-buy-them-frozen specialties back in the 1970′s. She would keep frozen batches ready to cook at a moment’s notice. Since I can’t give you the original, I’m giving you the recipe I’ve been making for years. Having grown up eating these, pre-made wonton wrappers were one of the items I’d make room for in my suitcase on return trips to Italy. Ground cumin, a few packages of flour and corn tortillas, peanut butter and York peppermint patties all kept company with the wrappers and they were a comfort when I was missing home. Knowing that when I needed a break from what was otherwise some of the freshest ingredients for anything Italian, I could whip up some of these tasty pot stickers by having the wrappers at the ready. I did try to make them from scratch and said “never again”. Some goyza have thicker dough but these are light because of the thinness of the store-bought wrappers. I made them recently for a dinner with The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pans where “healthy” was the theme. […]

Comments are closed.