May 2026

Carol and her friend Margaret hosted and picked a childhood favorite, Cannelloni, as the main dish. This was rich with complex flavors from all the different components of sauces and filling. You can also prepare as layers and more like lasagna. Recipe at the bottom of this post.

Carol started us off with these delicious limoncello cocktails.  She also had beautiful, fresh Divina Castelvetrano olives in a cute olive tray.

Angelica put together these cute skewers for our appetizers. The perfect complement to the olives! 

For our salad Mary layered this beautiful and versatile antipasto chopped salad. 

For eating alongside the pasta I baked rosemary focaccia.  Make sure to use bread flour for extra light bread.  All purpose flour does work, it's just a little more dense.

Tonya brought the most delicious butterscotch pudding for our dessert and served in glass jars.  Over the budino, she layered homemade caramel sauce and I could have eaten a gallon of it! 

Cannelloni

Tomato Sauce:

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onions

4 cups canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped (reserve liquid)

6 Tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt and black pepper

Tomato sauce directions:

Heat oil in a 2- or 3-quart saucepan until a light haze forms over it.

Add onion and cook until soft.

Add tomatoes with liquid and other remaining ingredients.

Reduce heat to a very low and simmer for 40 minutes with pan partially covered.

Stir occasionally.

Bled tomato mixture in blender and taste for seasoning. Correct if necessary.

Makes 3 cups.

Meat Filling :

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 10 0z package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 pound ground round beef

5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons whipping cream

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ teaspoon oregano

Salt and pepper

Meat Filling directions:

Heating oil in skillet.

Add onion and garlic.

Cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, for 7 -8 minutes until soft.

Stir in spinach and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

When all the moisture has cooked away, transfer to large mixing bowl.

Melt butter in same skillet and lightly brown meat, stir and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Add meat to spinach mixture.

Add cheese, cream, eggs and oregano.

Mix and season with salt and pepper.

Bechamel Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 cup milk

1 cup whipping cram

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Bechamel directions:

In a heavy 2 or 3- quart saucepan melt butter over moderate heat.

Remove from heat and stir in flour.

Add milk and cream all at once, stirring constantly with whisk.

Return to the heat.

When the sauce comes to a boil and is smooth, reduce heat.

Simmer, still stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until sauce is thick enough to coat the whisk wires heavily.

Remove from heat and season with salt and white pepper.

Additional ingredients:

1 pound (box) lasagna noodles

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

To assemble cannelloni:

Cook lasagna until done.

Cut each whole lasagna noodle into 3 equal sections.

Pour a light film of the tomato sauce into 2 (10x14 inch) shallow baking dishes.

Cut lasagna noodles in half and place a Tablespoon of the meat filling in the middle of the pasta rectangles and roll them up.

Lay the cannelloni side by side, seam-side-down in layer on the tomato sauce.

Pour bechamel over cannelloni and spoon the rest of the tomato sauce on top.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the assemble cannelloni and dot with butter.

Bake at 375 F degrees uncovered for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling.

Serve with a crisp tossed salad and Italian bread.

March 2026

Tonya hosted with her Mamaw's recipe for rolled chicken and dumplings!  These are my favorite version of dumplings because they are similar to egg noodles.  She started us off with an Arnold Palmer in a mason jar.

Since the theme was comfort food, I made a colorful cowboy caviar dip. This is a fresh, flavorful dip or salad and lasts for many days in the fridge.

Angelica put together a delicious and fancy salad with arugula, pine nuts and shaved parmesan.  

For the side, Mary prepared some yummy sweet potatoes. You cannot go wrong with even a plain sweet potato and add some sugar and butter and HELLO!

The finale of our cooking group was a three layer Dolly Parton cake to celebrate Mary's 29th birthday!  Carol prepared the box cake mixes, substituting the oil with butter and adding food coloring for the layers.  She used this icing. Yum and so pretty.

February 22, 2026

Angelica hosted and featured a German meal, the home country of Roman!  Roman helped us make his mother's recipe for meatballs.

Carol brought a delicious southern appetizer, apparently a classic and one we had never heard of!  This Captain Rodney's Dip was rich and delicious. It features Captain Rodney's Boucan Pepper Glaze. There are copycat recipes if you would rather make your own!

Captain Rodney’s Boucan Glaze is a sweet, spicy, and tangy Caribbean-inspired sauce that can be used as a glaze, marinade, or dipping sauce for meats, vegetables, and dips.

Classic Copycat Boucan Glaze Recipe

To make a homemade version similar to Captain Rodney’s original:

Ingredients: 

1 cup ketchup

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp crushed red pepper

¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions: Whisk all ingredients in a medium saucepan until smooth. Simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and cook for 5–7 minutes until thickened. Cool to room temperature before storing. Adjust thickness with extra apple cider vinegar if needed. This glaze stores well in the fridge for weeks. 

Roman brought this tasty liqueur from Germany and shots were enjoyed! 

Tonya made boiled, buttered potatoes for the side and this is a classic pairing.  Potatoes are smushed and serve as a base under the meatballs.

I really liked the tangy sauce with the meatballs.  It had more flavor than the Swedish meatballs I have made in the past.  I also appreciate how the meatballs cooked in the sauce and you skip the step of pan frying or cooking in the oven first.

For dessert I baked a German apple cake.  It is easy to make this homemade cake with a fine crumb and layer of sweet apples.  Make sure you cut them thin.