St. Valentine's Lunar New Year Supper 02-14-2010

Location: Somewhere in West Village
Time: 7pm
People: JLam, RB and myself with Sunday Suppers Club

Feelings: JLam from MeSoHungry took us to Valentine's Lunar New Year Supper held by Sunday Suppers Club. Sunday Suppers Club is run by a photographer and wonderful cook/party host, Rachel. They have a monthly potluck dinner every Sunday at her beautiful home, based on specific theme or ideas, and the Valentine's theme was of course "red."

We brought blood sausage from Williamsburg, Cherry Ale, and red wine. But oh my-- the table was full of healthy, natural/organic/locally grown, vegetarian friendly, and overall amazing dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed everything I tasted, and most of the dishes were even better than many restaurants' meals. My favorites were Broken Artichoke Hearts in Beet Ravioli and Endives Stuffed with Cranberry and Red Cabbage Slaw. Especially the Beet Ravioli brought such a nice surprise to my mouth. I bit into it thinking it'd be just a plain beet, but inside, there was a delicious artichoke stuffing. The Endives with the Slaw was also refreshing and full of different textures and flavors.

RB kept raving about Ricotta and Tomato Tartlet, which was flaky and light with nice cheesy flavor. He is a big fan of puff pastries, so this dish hit the spot. He was also happy to try blood sausage for the first time, but he mentioned it is not something he would want to try again...as he kept complaining about bloody burp taste all night. Most of the guests washed it down with a mug of mulled wine. This warm, sweet and spicy concoction made with manischewitz was a pleasant change to the usual red wine.

We finished the meal by sharing delicious desserts: Poached Pears, Red Velvet Cake and Vegan Raw Fudge. They were all subtly sweet and light, which is just the way I like my dessert. Most Red Velvet Cake can be quite heavy with the cream cheese frosting, but this cake was light and fluffy, and I did not mind the frosting at all. Perhaps one thing I hate more than meat is frosting, and I usually avoid it at all cost, but this was something I could definitely finish eating.

I am usually not a big fan of dinner parties since I like trying out new restaurants so much, but tonight might have opened up my eyes to home cooking and potluck dinner. When people with great palates bring amazing, healthy food together, I could possibly have the best dinner ever! Bravo, Sunday Suppers Club! They do such a great job bringing people together, and we had a night of Valentine's with full of love in the air.