The Vegan Supper Club

Tomorrow is a big day for Steve and me. There is no birthday or anniversary to celebrate. We don't care about it being St. Patrick's Day. Tomorrow is a big day, because we're going to feast on a traditional Wisconsin-style supper club dinner. And it will be entirely vegan. Auntie Sarah is going to babysit, while I cook and we eat. I can not wait.

An old fashioned at the Stagecoach Inn

If you're not familiar with the idea of a Wisconsin supper club, it was a fancy-ish type of restaurant, and going was an occasion. Folks got dressed up, and the meal was a big deal, that was not to be rushed.

River's Bend was a big deal during my childhood. 

The meal would start with cocktails, and in Wisconsin, that means an old fashioned (or two). With the cocktails, you enjoy a relish tray, complete with veggies, pickled things, bread sticks and crackers, and cheese spreads. We'll be having all of these accoutrement, and tomorrow I'll post recipes for my pickled mushrooms, old fashioned cocktails, and three kinds of vegan cheese spread.

Inside the Stagecoach Inn: exactly what I picture when I think of a supper club.

After cocktails, you'd have soup or a salad from the salad bar, and warm bread. I couldn't decide between soup and salad, so I'm making both. Monday you can expect a recipe for vegan French onion soup. On Tuesday, I'm featuring an iceberg lettuce salad with vegan blue cheese dressing (since a salad bar isn't really practical for just two people).

The Hobnob

The main course would include a piece of meat and some kind of potato. For my vegan version, I'll be serving seitan steaks paired with braised mushrooms, and baked potatoes. That recipe will be coming your way on Wednesday. The salad bar was the vegetable for the meal, so no additional veggies were served.

Inside the Fireside Supper Club

The meal will end with two sweet treats. The first will be dessert: bananas foster over vanilla ice cream and a bit of brandy for sipping. I'll post that recipe on Thursday. Then, to round out the week, on Friday I'll share the very end of the meal: an ice cream cocktail and coffee. We're having grasshoppers, though the brandy alexander and the pink squirrel are also acceptable and traditional ways to end a night at a supper club.

What do you think? Have you been to a supper club? Have you ever made your own supper club at home?