roll of the die

Friday night I cooked a dinner for 12 that turned out to be 15 plus 4 little ones.  This was my month to host Bunco.

In case you're not familiar with Bunco, it's an excuse for a bunch of women to get together, gossip, drink wine, gossip, eat, gossip and drink more wine - oh and eat.  As the host, you supply the house, dinner, dessert and determine who's going to win the prizes.

duke wanted to join in

For dinner, I decided to make beef brisket, squares (which I named way back when I was little - my mom used to make them and I loved them, but I've added my own twist), string beans (as Sean calls them), Chip 'n Dale woopie pies, vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate sauce.

You may remember my new kitchen gadget.  I used it to make the ice cream, chocolate sauce and brisket.  For the brisket I seasoned it with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and jalapeno garlic salt.  I then sealed it and cooked it in the water bath at 147 degrees for 2 days.  The new gadget really does make the difference.  I heard so many comments like "this is so juicy for brisket" and "I don't even like brisket but this was really good".

In case you're wondering what in the world squares could be I've included the recipe.

Squares
olive oil
minced garlic
1 can whole new potatoes
salt and pepper
jalapeno garlic salt

Heat up a little olive oil in a pan.  Add the minced garlic.  Cut up the new potatoes into squares.  Season with salt, pepper and jalapeno garlic salt to your taste preference.  (I can't find a website for the jalapeno garlic salt but there's a phone number on the packaging in case you want to order some for yourself (210.287.4535).  They also have a jalapeno lemon pepper that I have.)  Cook the potatoes until they're heated up.

The whoopie pies were chocolate chip with salty peanut butter filling.  YUMMY!

I didn't win any of the prizes but it was a great night!  Do you play Bunco?  Do you have any special traditions or rules you play with?  My favorite we play with are the "grabs"!!!