Girls Night Out

For the last 15 years or so, I've been fortunate to be a part of a group of women we fondly call Girls Night Out.  Way back when, we were a bunch of mostly single gals.  We'd meet once a month or so - typically at a bar.  Probably our favorite bar was Daddy Jack's.  At Christmas time we'd rent a limo, dress to the nine's and go bar-hopping.  Everyone's jaw would drop when 15 women would climb out of a limo in sequins et al.  As the years went on, some of the gals got married and others found significant others so we on occasion included the guys.  And, we all got to the point that we preferred to have at least some of our get-togethers at each other's homes.  The glue who held the group together was Shelly.  She made sure we had the appropriate number of scheduled play times.  Then, she up and moved to Phoenix and our ringleader was no more.  Judy (and her hubby Carl) has been tremendous about hosting a Halloween party (guys invited) and a Christmas party (guys can come late if they want but DO NOT show up during dinner or the gift exchange.)  Connie and I have our annual holiday party the first Friday after New Years (unless it's the 1st or 2nd, then it's the second Friday.)  But, ours is an open house for about 150 so unless the GNO folks find a great corner, it's kind of crowded!   For the last few years, other get-togethers have been pretty hit and miss.  Finally about a month ago I took the bull by the horns and suggested we put together a calendar.  I'd start with a cookout at my house on the 17th.  Then, we'd have Halloween and Christmas at Judy's.  I'd be back with the open house in January.  Deb would do a Super Bowl party, someone will do St. Paddy's, Joanie will do a garden brunch the first weekend of May, we'll do a race party the end of May and a July 4th party.  Finally, some structure. 


I warned the crew not to look too closely when they came over to my house.  Too much work and too little time to clean.  If they found dust, please either ignore it, dust it or write your name in it.  Being a group of busy women, none of us tend to be great about deciding what we're pitching in til the last minute.  All I knew was that I was doing pork tenderloins, Vicki was bringing apple salsa, Judy a salad and Deb strawberries. Joanie, Dee, Pannga and Susie, I hadn't a clue what they were bringing.  Cassi, Melinda, Kathy, Renee, Linda, Marianne and Shelly couldn't come.  Since we were celebrating Judy's 50th birthday I was more than a bit concerned that nobody would bring a dessert.  What I didn't know was that we'd wind up with a table full of appetizers, three desserts (including my desperation one,) pork tenderloin and salad.  No veggies or starch.  Our dinner plates would look rather sparse...  A few potatoes, a mandoline (yes, Christiane, I thought about you slicing your finger and I was VERY careful!!) some butter, rosemary, garlic and a bit of beef broth and we were in business for the starch.  One of the foodandwine.com recipes I'd pulled out was for a marinated pork tenderloin.  I'd reduce the liquid and we'd have it as a rub and broil them.  My desperation dessert was Sommer's gingersnap bowls filled with blueberries and cream.  That'll get blogged about sometime since it's the third time we've used the bowls and have loved each of the desserts.  Hopefully, I can remember enough about what I threw in there to make sense!

Here's the crew along with a cryptic comment.  TNBTFN and TOAYCADETNLS.  I promised the gals I'd pass along that tidbit of info but I can't share what they mean with you - sorry!

Judy,Pannga, Vicki and Dee

Joanie the salad meister

Deb and Judy

table's ready to go

Dee, Pannga and Joanie

Deb, Judy and Susie

Now, on to the food:

Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Garlic Rub

2 - 1 lb pork tenderloins
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 T crushed red pepper
1/4 c crushed rosemary
1/4 c lemon juice
2 T white wine
1/4 c olive oil

Mix the rub ingredients.  Pour half over the pork tenderloins and rub it in well.  Turn the tenderloins over and repeat. 

Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Broil or grill to desired doneness.  Make sure you allow the meat to rest for at least 10 minutes after removing it from the heat. 

adapted from Food and Wine

Rosemary Potatoes

6 large redskin potates, sliced very thinly (a mandoline is preferred)
butter
rosemary
garlic
beef broth

Spray a 9x13 glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Cover the bottom of the dish with potato slices.  Dot the slices with butter, then sprinkle them with crushed rosemary and garlic powder.  Repeat until you've used up all the potato slices.  Carefully pour beef broth around the edges (not over the top or you'll wash off all the good rosemary and garlic!) until the broth comes almost to the top of the potatoes.  Normally these are baked at 350 for about an hour or until the top is crusty and the liquid is all absorbed.  Since there was a bit of a time crunch here, I microwaved them for about six minutes then baked them for about 30.  Amazingly enough, they turned out perfectly. 


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This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD and WINE archive. As a FOOD and WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD and WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD and WINE for my participation.