May 10th - Supper Club

So this group of people we know in Harrisonburg--Jen, Pete, Laura, Michelle, Miriam, Peter and Christy (and others, but they're not relevant to this post)--get together on Wednesday nights for Supper Club. I guess Cafe Davis tonight was just a change in venue, because they were all here to help us enjoy dinner. The menu tonight was vegetarian - wild mushroom frittata, spring vegetable medley, and a spinach salad with strawberry champagne vinaigrette. I also served the leftover black bean hummus with tortilla chips and I made a basmati rice pilaf as well. The wine was a Chardonnay. The first bottle was relatively local - from Horton Cellars about an hour away on the way to Montpelier. Laura also brought a bottle from Barboursville, which is virtually across the street from Horton. Virginia may not be a Napa Valley, but some of the offerings are pretty good. And a day touring the vineyards is always fun. To give a run-down on who these folks are... Jen is a graduate student in Psychology at JMU. Tonight's meal was her last dinner in the states for a while - she's heading out tomorrow for an internship in the Dominican Republic. Pete is a professor in the Speech Communication department at JMU and the former debate coach. It's his decision to stop coaching debate that brought us to lovely Harrisonburg. Laura is an instructor in the same department, and also the assistant forensics coach. She comes to the 'Burg by way of South Dakota. Miriam is the, hmmm... she's gonna be mad because I can't remember her exact job title.... she does PR for the City of Harrisonburg. I'll leave it at that. And she's originally from Minnesota. When you get her and Laura together, they sure can talk funny. :) Michelle works in the speech center at JMU to help students get over their fears of public speaking and to make better grades on in-class presentations. And finally Peter and Christy are public school teachers - Peter teaches at Harrisonburg High and Christy teaches elementary school. The fun continued after dinner with a rousing game of darts out in the bar, and Mike made a great bonfire so that we could roast marshmallows and make s'mores. We ate on the deck again since there is more space out there. It's nice having Cafe Davis now before it gets too hot and the bugs get bad. I probably just jinxed us... ha ha. Thanks to Miriam and Michelle for going to Kline's (local ice cream joint, er, "Dairy Barn," that makes their own ice cream) and bringing so much chocolate and raspberry deliciousness. Also thanks to Peter and Christy for the wonderful mint-chocolate cake from Shank's Bakery downtown (by the parking garage, check out http://shanksbakery.com/), and to Jen for the gourmet chocolate bar. It made the s'mores even tastier. All in all, another great night! There's a lull this weekend, but we'll be back with more food on fun on Monday!