November Friendship Table

Welcome to The Friendship Table, hosted by 4 friends.  The Friendship Table was created out of a desire to continue blending 4 different individual hospitality styles after one of the group moved out of state.  Two are nurses, one an office manager, and another a former instructor. Our children brought us together, our interests drew us closer, and time, indeed bound our hearts together.  The recipe for a succesful Friendship Table is dedication, common interests, and laughter - lots of laughter, the ability to love each other just as we are, and tremendous support for the challenges life throws at us as we raised our children up and out of the nest. Our husbands always join us, unless we plan a knitting tea or Mother-of-the Groom luncheons, or birthday luncheons. The men always talk a little business.  Someone always throws in a little politics, and the women talk - knitting, crafting, pets, kids, and the opportunity to tell the story that just needs telling. The Friendship Table is blessing!

We used to meet once a week, rotating houses, or, when life got to busy, going out. For The Friendship Table, we will share one meal a month.  We hope you will gather your friends and be as blessed as we have been.

Come share our Friendship Table dinner with us.

Dinner Menu

Side Dishes

Bake a Pumkin

Squash Casserole

Entre

Honey and Black Pepper Pork

Dessert

Normandy Pie

Bake-A-Pumpkin



1 medium pumpkin ¼ cup melted butter

1 ½ cup raisins

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 ½ cup walnuts
¼ teaspoon salt

8 large cooking apples (I prefer Golden Delicious)

Scoop out pumpkin. Slice and cut apples into bite size pieces. Add all ingredients together and fill pumpkin. Place top on pumpkin and cover stem with foil to prevent burning. Bake as directed. Serve out of pumpkin…makes a great conversation piece!

Oven temperature: 250 °. Cooking/baking time: 2 – 4 hours (depending on the size of your pumpkin)

Squash Casserole

2 cups cooked squash drained

1 small onion chopped

2 eggs

½ cup milk

½ stick of butter

1 cup grated cheese

1 ½ to 2 cups of crushed saltine crackers

pepper to taste

Cook and drain squash. Mash. Saute onions in butter. Add onions and butter, eggs, milk, and pepper to taste, to squash. Pour into baking dish and top with crackers and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Entre

Honey and Black Pepper Pork

(From Zingerman's Guide to good eating by Ari Weinzweig)

The author recommends free-range meats, and likes lots of black pepper for this recipe, but you can cut back on the amount if you prefer less heat.

4 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper

1/3 cup full-flavored honey

1 boneless pork loin (about 3 pounds)

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Mix the salt and pepper in a small bowl. Untie the roast, then rub the honey evenly over the surface of the pork and coat it with the salt and pepper. Retie the roast.

Place the pork in a roasting pan and roast, uncovered, in the middle of the oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the pork reads 140˚F, about 1 hour 10 minutes. The cooking time will vary depending on the density of the meat and on your oven, so use the thermometer, not the clock, as your guide. The meat should be slightly pink inside. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Dessert

Tres Leche Cake

(MarthaStewart.Com)

Evaporated, condensed, and whole milk are combined in this cake for just the right amount of sweetness. Make the cake up to three days in advance and refrigerate it. It's traditionally served chilled and topped with whipped cream but is also delicious with chopped pineapple.

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for baking dish

6 large eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 can(12 ounces) evaporated milk

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. In another bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks. Using a rubber spatula, fold whites into yolks until almost combined. Gently fold in flour (do not overmix).

Spread batter in prepared dish. Bake until golden and pulling away from sides of dish, 20 to 25 minutes. Using a small knife, scrape skin from top of cake; discard. Cool cake 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the three milks; pour evenly over cake. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

To serve, prepare topping: In a mixing bowl, whip heavy cream with sugar to soft peaks. Chill cake and cut into squares; serve topped with whipped cream.