Seventh Decade: Gourmet a la Costco

For the last twenty years, we have been a part of a gourmet group. We were invited to join four other couples when another couple resigned, and for years our group of ten people met to break bread five times a year . About two years ago, one couple in their early eighties resigned, and we four couples continued.

The group is called Gentlemen’s Gourmet, and yes, the men are supposed to be responsible for the whole process of selecting the menus, cooking, serving and cleaning up. We were excited to be invited to participate, but pretty much from the get-go, it’s been understood that the man in my house doesn’t cook unless it involves the gas grill. Our very first assignment was an appetizer: bread sticks with bacon wrapped around them, microwaved and rolled in Parmesan cheese. I remember my panic. We were part of a gourmet group; my translation: high-falutin’ food and self-imposed pressure to perform. Thankfully, the breadsticks turned out okay, and we weren’t drummed out of the group. In fact, the group has always been highly complimentary and supportive of each other, making it easy to take risks with exciting and exotic menus.

The way our group works is that we meet four times a year. The host couple decides on the menu and recipes. This usually entails hours of poring over Bon Appetit, scouring the Epicurious website, and sorting through piles of clipped recipes to come up with a dining experience that is a feast for the senses and, well, a feast, period. Each couple is assigned a course, with the hosts responsible for the main course and wine. We usually get our “assignments” a week or two before the dinner so we have time to shop for unusual ingredients or practice an unfamiliar technique. We’ve had many wonderful meals and have seldom repeated anything. We have learned over the years that there are endless varieties of cheesecake, and we have loved them all.

This time was different. On the Monday preceding our Saturday night dinner, we still hadn’t heard what the hosts had in mind. By coincidence, we ran into them while shopping at Costco. Fred and Judy greeted us, and we stood chatting for a couple of minutes. The subject of the impending gourmet dinner arose, and they laughed. “We’re having a Costco dinner,” they declared. “Your assignment is to get those frozen creampuffs. You can just drizzle some chocolate syrup on them.” We dutifully bought our creampuffs and headed home. We learned what the rest of the courses would be: sliced fruit appetizer; Caesar salad; baby back ribs and mashed potatoes for the main course.

Linda and Vern brought the sliced fruit which was delicious: pineapple, mango, kiwi, strawberries, and melon. The mere act of moving the fruit from its clear plastic container to a pottery platter made it that much more appealing. We sipped cold champagne as we nibbled on the fruit.

Doug and Diane had the salad course, and they discovered the Law of Costco the hard way: better buy early, or else it might not be there later. Et tu, Brute? Caesar was gone. Doug had to make his own salad, sans Costco. Not to worry. Doug knows his way around a kitchen. He very capably produced a delicious salad, crisp Romaine, just the right amount of Parmesan, croutons and dressing.

Fred and Judy served those baby back ribs over mashed potatoes to die for. Yes, the butter and cream cheese and sour cream in them will clog our arteries, but we’ll die happy. The tender, flavorful meat practically fell off the bone. Even some of the ladies had seconds.

We finished with coffee and the creampuffs. I couldn’t “just drizzle some chocolate syrup” over them. I remembered a delicious bidonata that we had in Italy years ago. Ice cream-filled puffs were piled into a conical shape and covered with chocolate. I had my inspiration and my Smucker’s Magic Shell chocolate sauce! I layered the creampuffs, holding them in place with dabs of Magic Shell. After they were assembled, I studded the whole hill with frozen raspberries (purchased fresh from Costco earlier this summer).