As the dreary doldrums of winter start setting in, I get itchy do get out and do something. The problem is, I’m not a winter weather girl…hate it, in fact. Even though I was born, raised, and lived my entire life here in Wisconsin, I hate snow and cold. Yet, here I am…livin’ the dream! Crazy, huh? Here’s what’s not so crazy.
Pizza Throwdown!
I have terrific friends who love a good time. They’re friends from several different paths in my life who, while their paths don’t normally cross, I think they’d get a kick out of each other. We all love food (that one’s easy). But, only some really find joy in cooking. A couple wouldn’t dare veer off recipe. Some might like to learn new techniques or, like me, they’d really love to try something new but don’t want to take the “risk” in a restaurant.
One winter Saturday, while I was burrowed under a blanket in front of my fireplace, I got to thinking about how I could bring these friends together in a fun, non-business way. I get tired of networking sometimes, feeling like I need to be “on stage.” What could I pull together that would be fun, yet purposeful? With that, Cooking with Friends was born. It was a way to “get out” without really being “out”…clever girl, aren’t I?!
The premise is this – gather a group of un-connected friends together on a Saturday, learn new foods or cooking techniques, cook together, and then enjoy eating the fruits of our labor. Of course, there’s a little wine thrown in for good measure!
Ever the planner and strategist, I posted a brief survey on Facebook to gauge interest and hear what friends would like from a group like this. Hands-down, the response was Food, Fun and Fellowship. Everyone was willing to pitch in to cover the cost of ingredients and take a turn hosting. And, everyone had something they’d like to try.
Enjoying the fruits of our labor.
On a snowy January Saturday, six of us gathered at my home. To keep it simple, I selected my favorite Minestrone recipe along with my Super Simple Focaccia. I wanted to keep it easy so that everyone could focus on getting to know each other. First up….wine…we seriously have our priorities in the right order! Then, we broke into two teams based on skills – soup-making and bread-making. The majority were in the bread-making group because they’d never worked with yeast or had made focaccia before. Within a short time, we not only produced a delicious Minestrone and perfectly baked Focaccia, we’d made new friendships.
The best part was a message from one of the gals afterward that said she not only went home and made the focaccia for her family that night, but she’d made it several times since. This simple, Sunday afternoon idea has turned into the day people can’t wait to arrive. On the occasion we’ve had to limit the size due to kitchen space, it’s a race to the ace to get signed up before space closes!
Ravioli with brown butter sage sauce, topped with walnuts and cranberries.
We’ve had two more – Pizza Throw-Down with 12 different little pizzas to taste (teams of 2 each made 2 different pizzas), and Pasta-Making with fettuccini, spaghetti, 2 different raviolis, and 3 sauces. I’m happy to report the group keeps growing! We sometimes have to put a cap on the number based on the size of someone’s kitchen. But, as I write this, we have Authentic Mexican and Asian Variety coming up and both will have 10-15 people! I love it!!
These two sessions will take us to June when maybe, hopefully, the weather will be perfect for outdoor cooking. I can’t wait to learn how to grill fish (yup…all the cooking I do, I’ve never, ever cooked fish in any form – how about that?! I don’t really even like fish, but I’m hoping to change that!). Our ideas grow each time we get together with homemade mozzarella cheese, baking breads, fancy cake decorating, craft cocktails, grilling techniques, and knife skills on the list so far. I frankly don’t care what we do…the fun for me is seeing people make new friends, the laughter, and the learning (yes, I’m a learner nerd).
If you’d like to start your own Cooking with Friends, here’s how ours works:
- Meet monthly (on a Saturday). Most of us work long days and/or travel, so we stick to Saturdays for convenience.
- Rotate homes and hosting as much as possible so one person isn’t doing all the work. Because I have a large kitchen, I may be the location but someone else is the “host.”
- The host gets to choose the date and time, what he/she would like to make or do, pulls the recipes, and buys the ingredients. As the “brainchild” behind this, I pitch in to help where needed.
- The event is posted privately on Facebook where everyone can extend the invitation to their friend circle and RSVP so we have a count. Of course, there are all sorts of online invitation programs available, but everyone so far is on Facebook and we can post fun pictures quickly and easily there. And, it’s a great tool for continuing the friendships made.
- Everyone contributes to the cost of the ingredients. We aim to keep it around $10/person. If it’s going to be higher, everyone knows in advance and can choose to participate or not.
- Everyone pitches in to clean up. (Thank goodness…we’re not very good at controlling our flour sprinkles!)
Looking for a great way to bring friends together? Why don’t you give Cooking with Friends a try? Then, let me know how it goes and drop me a photo to add to this story.
