The last Dinner Club get together of the year was quite an Extravaganza! We had 14 people at this gathering and it was quite a party. We welcomed our new members, Jim and Judy Wert and Rink and Annette Rinker. We also had a guest couple. Mike's sister Carol and her husband Gus who were terrific guests and fit right in with the rest of us. It was also announced by Pam and Joe that they are dropping out at least for a while since Pam will be working at a new job that requires her to work on Saturday nights. We wish them well and the best of luck to Pam in her new career. I'm sure everyone agrees that they will be missed and we hope they will be a guest couple sometime in the future.

As we all arrived at the Werts place we all got someting to drink and made our way down to the entertainment room where we were served some appetizers. Pat and Dan brought something called Satay which was Marinated Chicked on sticks that were grilled up and then eaten off the sticks. We called them Thai Sticks..... Annette and Rink brought Prawn Rolls which were shrimp wrapped in wonton skins and lightly fried then served with a very flavorful dip. Quite tasty.

After we ate all the appetizers we made our way back to the Dinning Room and took our places at the table. After dispensing with "club business" we started our meal with some soup brought by Jim and Judy. A light but Spicey soup with delicious shrimp and and mushrooms in a light broth. The spice came in the way of extremely thin sliced exotic hot peppers sprinkled on when it was served. Wow!!

Then it was salad time and Pam served up a salad of fresh spinach and other greens and served it up with a peanut and ginger dressing that was out of this world.

Now that everyone was getting full it was time to bring on the main dish. Mike and Maureen prepared Grilled Pork Loin Steaks and seved them with a Papaya / Pinapple relish that was delicious. The meat and the relish together just melted in your mouth with a very exotic flavor. If thats the way they eat in Thailand all the time I'm going.

As a side dish to that, Sally and Bob made a dish of Butternut Squash and Asian Noodles that used all the classic Thai spices and flavors like fresh celantro and curry and spicey peppers. I think it went very well with the Pork Steaks and relish.

Well that was good. No, that was GREAT! But there's more. Coffee and Dessert. Mike brought out the coffee and also some home made additives. Mike and Maureen made their own Irish Cream Liqueur and also their own Coffee Liqueur that raised the octane level of a cup of coffee just a bit but tasted excellent. Along with the coffee Carol served us up some dessert. Just a lttle thing she whipped up. Coconut Filled Puff Pastry with Fresh Pineapple, and Mango Pear Crisp all topped with Mango Whipped Cream. Talk about Gourmet!! Wow! I am Stuffed!!

Now that dinner was over it was time to settle back downstairs for some entertainment and partying. It was a great party and everyone seemed to have a terrific time. Thanks go out to everyone for making the last dinner of 2000 a fantastic event. You can check out some picture of the affair by clicking on the link below.