Sunday Night Dinner with the lovely Tamara

This was my third visit to Tamara’s home in Astoria to sample her food and I walked away as impressed as usual. Tamara makes amazing 5-6 course meals in her home in Astoria and serves it to anyone that rsvp’s to her mailing list.

I first found out about because I was on the mailing list for the NY Bite Club and they sent out a link to an article in the Post about them that also mentioned various other Supper Clubs in the city. While NY Bite Club is a much more gourmet and upscale dining experience with well plated individual servings and great beverage pairings, Tamara’s Sunday Night Dinners are much more casual and friendly experience. She welcomes you into her home as if she has known you for years and the food is served family style. Wine is consumed for miniature jars, the plates don’t match, she or a helper bring the dishes back and forth, you open and share your own wines, etc. but the food is absolutely amazing and her hospitality cannot be beat. Everyone there is very friendly and lovely for conversation as well.

The price tag is much friendlier too. Tamara’s dinners are $35 and a bottle of wine, while the Bite Club dinner start at $125 + tip. That was last year so with the increase in food prices it might have gone up from there. I have only been to Bite Club once and Tamara’s multiple times now so you can see which one I prefer. In fact, the only reason I wouldn’t go to one of Tamara’s dinner is if I have a scheduling problem. For $35 I don’t think I can ever find better food anywhere else or have a better experience anywhere else.

Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter - This wasn’t really a soup I ate with a spoon as it was something I could eat with a fork. I have never had a “soup” in this style before, but if they are all as good as this one I’ll definitely be having some more. The bread was toasted with a layer of crispy melted cheese on one side and added a textural dimension to the soup. I have requested this recipe and intend on recreating it at home sometime.
Steak and Guinness Pie with Puff Pastry Lid - Another stellar dish. It came out in a giant enameled cast-iron crock pot. The flavor of the Guinness worked really well with the oh-so-tender stewed beef that fell apart with your fork. The puff pastry was a nice rich and buttery layer that soaked up the delicious sauce. I am debating about making this for my upcoming dinner party. For a while I was sold on doing a cinnamon & cardamom flavored turkey stuffed with apples & pears, but this was so good I am considering doing this recipe instead.
Roasted Squash with Chili and Cinnamon - I requested this recipe as well. The sweetness from the squash mixed with the spices were an excellent combination. It also had some sort of crumbled cheese sprinkled on top of it.
Broccoli rabe - This was probably the only thing I wasn’t a big fan of. It was a nice fresh & crisp tasting dish that worked well to cut the heaviness of the other dishes, but it seemed a bit too acidic or something for me.
some sort of salad w/ goat cheese - This was gone by the time it got around to me so I can only assume it was fantastic or there would have been more leftover for me to try. I was pretty full at this point so I wasn’t too concerned.
Apple Quince Pudding with Whiskey Cream - If you can add more alcohol to my food I am a happy person. The whiskey flavor was subtle but definitely present in the not overly sweet whipped cream. And the pudding itself was fantastic.
Handmade chocolates from Recchiuti Confections - Richard Recciuti himself was actually present for the dinner and on hand to dice up the chocolate confections into taste-sized portions. He runs a chocolate shop in San Francisco that hand makes all their chocolates. They have a store front in the Ferry Building or you can check them out online. Anyhow, they definitely had some tasty treats for the round two of desserts.

This particular menu was an inspiration from Jamie Oliver’s new book, “Jamie at Home” because Tamara actually cooked a lamb dinner for Jamie last weekend for a video segment of a documentary. Most of these, excluding the chocolate, was made by Tamara, but I think Liza Queens was helping out with some of the dishes as well because I did see her in the kitchen for a bit. Liza is the restaurateur behind Queen’s Hideaway in Greenpoint which was recently closed due to an issue with the landlord. Tamara will be hosting another dinner where Liza will be creating and cooking everything on December 28th. I would totally jump on that, but I am going to be on a trip to Belize on a different culinary adventure.

If you want to be on Tamara’s list just send an email the address she has posted on her blog. They have dinners every 2-3 weeks and its open to anyone and everyone. There are usually only 20 seats per dinner and they go quickly so be the first to respond if you are interested.