Soups & Sandwiches

Tortilla & Chorizo Soup

Tortilla Soup

Sandwiches & Chips

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Black Bean & Chorizo Sandwiches w/ Guacamole


Soup & Sandwich Fixins

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

February gathering

The 28th gathering of the Ragamuffin Cooking Club is hereby announced!

Theme: Soups & Sandwiches

Date & Time: Saturday, February 16, 2008 at 6:30pm

Place: Chad & Karen's

We need signups for the following:

• Soup # 1
• Soup # 2
• Soup # 3
• Soup # 4
• Sandwich # 1
• Sandwich # 2
• Sandwich # 3
• Sandwich # 4
• Dessert (it would be great to somehow keep within the theme... maybe ice cream sandwiches or something of the like?)
• Drinks

Some of our favorite wintertime combos are soups & sandwiches. Let's try a few! We can go with old tried-and-true favorites like chicken noodle soup or club sandwiches, or go for a more unique approach. For the sandwiches, if possible, cut them into appetizer-sized samples so we can each try a bit of everything. For the soups, just make enough for everyone to sample about a half serving's worth - a regular 6-person batch will probably suffice.

Some soup recipes can be found here, and some sandwich ones here.

Iron Chef - the boys and blackberries

Wow, what a feast! We enjoyed a huge menu of blackberry goodness from the guys, who slaved away all day on the meal:

• Caprese salad w/ blackberry vinagrette
• Blackberry bellinis
• Blackberry lemonade
• Chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and cooked in a blackberry-port reduction
• Grilled and smashed sweet potatoes
• Grilled vegetables with blackberry vinagrette
• Blackberry cheesecake
• Blackberry soup
• Blackberry beignets / ollie bollen

June gathering

The 20th Ragamuffin Cooking Club is hereby announced!

This will be quite a new adventure for the club... we are embarking on a two-month IRON CHEF Competition. Boys vs. Girls.

Theme: Iron Chef - Boys' Night... the ingredient is blackberries
Date & Time: Saturday, June 16, 6:30pm
Place: Chad & Karen's

The RULES:

• Girls cannot participate on Boys' Night and vice versa. Each team must select their menu, organize planning and preparation. I simply send reminders!
• The meals must be done by 6:30pm. Some dishes can be prepared in advance, but at least part of the meal must be made on-site together as a team. The team must make enough food for the entire club as well as the three judges - if EVERYONE attends, that would be a maximum of 20 people.
• The team can arrange to arrive at club HQ (Chad & Karen's house) anytime in advance in order to prepare their meal. They can also bring any equipment needed. (You can email me to inquire what equipment we have.)
• The other team is welcome to attend early to watch the preparation. Also, I will try to DVR some Iron Chef America episodes for us to watch while waiting. :)
• The Iron Chef ingredient must be used in at least 4 "courses" including the main dish - this can be beverages, soups, salads, main dishes, side dishes, desserts, etc. Other dishes may accompany. For example, if you don't use the ingredient in the beverages, bring something to drink!
• We will have guest judges! The show uses three so we will aim to have the same number. The judges must be willing to attend both club gatherings in order to judge fairly. We have a few in mind, I will let you know if we need more suggestions.
• The meals will be judged on a 20-point scale as in the show. Judges will each rate up to 10 points for taste, 5 points for presentation (this one may be revised) and 5 points for originality. The higher score wins.