FOODIE FUN

Here is it, the finished product. One of the best meals we've made so far!

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Looking for some affordable fun? Have you considered forming a foodie group? We did this several years ago with two other couples and it has been great fun.
I'll tell you how it started. I was tired of cooking the same old same old and wanted to try some exotic new recipes. Somehow, cooking for company always motivates me, and hanging with friends makes me happy. Combining those two ideas, getting a couple of girlfriends (and, as it's turned out, guys) to come help me create in the kitchen seemed like a good idea. And it was! We meet roughly once a month, although sometimes this gets stretched to every couple of months depending on how busy everyone is. We pick a menu ahead of time - usually whoever is hosting gets to choose. Then we get together, make it and eat it. Yum! And we split the cost, so the evening is affordable for all. Here's a great way to improve your culinary talents and enjoy the company of good friends all at the same time.
In the pictures we're making Coq au vin. Since we've been together we've made everything from seafood lasagna to Salmon Wellington (a recipe concocted by my old water aerobics pal Donna Moore) to chocolate fondue. What might you come up with if you got together with your friends?

Super Chef Tom Nordlie prepares to set our pot of chicken on fire. Gerhardt looks concerned.

My friend Theresia is now a caterer. Here we're showing off the wine our hosts found. The label says "Foodies". Appropriate for our group!