The dinner club that we have with two other couples has been very neglected in the past few months. Originally it was supposed to be a once a month occurrence and a fun way to try a new restaurant. But between work, honeymoons & a baby the six of us have been busy and we went many many many many months without doing it. But we resurrected it!!

Instead of going out and trying a new restaurant, we decided to do a Moroccan themed pot luck dinner at our house. Why Moroccan? I don’t know…why not, right??

It was decided that the Glodney’s would take the main course, The Garahan’s would take the salad & The Rocciho’s would take the side dish & dessert, with each couple also agreeing to bring an alcoholic beverage. Good plan, huh? Brian and I settled on a Moroccan chicken dish and a Moroccan kefta Tagine with lemon and saffron butter sauce (aka fancy meatballs). Preparing these two dishes took all afternoon between the shopping and preparation but it was totally worth it because both turned out delicious. Also, I have said this before but I will say it again- I love cooking with my husband. It’s such a fun way to spend time with him. We both assume our roles in the kitchen- Brian the executive chef and me the always happy to help sous chef. Brian is just more confident at tackling big recipes than I am. Let’s be honest if I was alone I would have most likely panicked half way through the tagine dish and opened a bottle of chardonnay while dialing the nearest chinese restaurant.

Where I do shine though is setting the dining table. I went with a fall theme (it’s my favorite time of year after all!!) complete with tiny pumpkins, flint corn & gourds, oh and two tiny gold camels, which were party favors from The Garahan’s wedding in May. If I told you how much joy setting the table brought me you would probably laugh. It’s the little things in life, right?

The evening was perfection…oh and the food was AH-mazing. Rachel and PJ brought a beet (that was prepared with olive oil, lemon, salt, pepper, garlic & red onion), arugula, goat cheese & pistachios salad with a reduced balsamic salad dressing that knocked my socks off. Such simple ingredients but so flavorful. Loni & Mike brought a Moroccan carrot and quinoa salad that was not only beautiful to look at but so damn tasty- I devoured my plate of it (recipe found here) and for dessert they brought Moroccan date truffles which were tiny pieces of heaven!

Do any of you guys do a dinner club?? It’s such a fun way to get together with friends as well as EAT!

Tags: beet salad, Cooking, cooking at home, cooking with friends, dinner club, fall, fall themed table settings, family, flint corn, Gratitude, happy, Kate McClafferty, Kitchen, Laughter, marriage, Moroccan, Moroccan carrot & quinoa salad, Moroccan food, Moroccan kefta Tagine, morocco, pumpkins, turning 30