Dave Wonder

Diner Club

Yesterday I had the “Diner Club” kickoff, which meant I had to come up with a diner for seven. Me, being called mister bacon head, absolutely adores Bacon. So it was clear that it would be the main ingredient for my menu. First problem is finding English like bacon in the Netherlands. My mate was friendly enough to go to a butcher and asked for English cut bacon. With that bacon I started to make bacon croquets last week. A recipe I came up with earlier this year when I was making croquets in England. It took me Monday and Tuesday evening to make since you first have to make the ragout and let that cool for a few hours.

But what do you serve with bacon croquets? That answer came from England as well. My friends made me grilled potatoes once which I really liked and go fine with the croquets. My mate came up with the idea of serving them with carrots and sucker snaps. So with the main course ready, what do you use as starter? I asked my English colleague what a typical starter would be in England. He cam up with shrimp salad which I at first found kind of boring. But over a beer in the pub with some friends, of which one used to be a professional chef, I came up with the idea of making a shrimp salad with crunched bacon over it. He came with the idea of serving it in a lead of serving it in a leaf of iceberg lettuce filled with some rucola and then the shrimps and crunched bacon.

Finally desert, that was easier and would be an old time favorite of mine. A French toast made with sugar bread and ice-cream.

Now you think, alright we’ve got a many. But we were not ready. One of the guest is a big one lover and instead of cooking he offered to the sommelier. So now I had to tell him my kind of weird menu and he had to come up with some wines.

Yesterday it all came together. I cleaned the house and went shopping. My mate arrived a bit later but that was no problem since I already had done most of the shopping. We started to prepare as much as we could before the other 5 arrived right on time. The whole evening went perfect. My mate and I were really working on time and together. The people loved the food and all by all a perfect evening.

The next party will be by the end of June and be held on an island if the weather is good enough. But I do not have to worry about that one.