A Dreamy, Dairy-Filled Dinner with an Underground Supper Club
/If you’re a loyal Half & Half reader, you know that we love enjoying meals made with the best ingredients and showcasing the people who help put those meals on our tables. In each issue, we tell stories of the dairy farm families of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) who produce the delicious dairy that goes in our favorite recipes. We love sharing how dairy is farm to table, and inspiring you with all the wonderful ways to cook with it.
So, when we had the recent opportunity to partner with Kansas City’s underground supper club, The Test Kitchen, on a special dinner that showcased dairy in all its glory, we knew it was a perfect match we couldn’t pass up.
“What makes this an ‘underground’ supper club?” you may be wondering. To get a ticket to a Test Kitchen dinner, you must enter your name in a lottery and cross your fingers that you are one of the lucky 30 people randomly selected. The location of the dinner is not revealed until one week prior. And every new Test Kitchen member (dinner attendee) must say The Test Kitchen Pledge, in which they promise to try everything placed in front of them that night.
Dairy is local and farm to table
Hosted in a dreamy atrium in the historic J. Rieger & Co. distillery in Kansas City, Mo., (click here for a short video of the space), this six-course dinner titled “Dairy is Local” was made possible by the talented Chef Charles d’Ablaing and cocktail creator Derek Branham. From beginning to end, each course highlighted dairy in a unique way, and was expertly paired with a cocktail to complement its flavors.
Chef Charles says his preferred style of cooking is simple yet delicious — the types of dishes he wants to make an extra serving to bring home. And, needless to say, there were no plates left untouched … but that wasn’t because of The Test Kitchen Pledge.
First course: Deep fried fresh pimento cheese. Midwestern Dry Gin, lime, green apple soda, cilantro.
Second course: Monkfish butter confit, corn pudding, greens. Premium Wheat Vodka, blanc vermouth, yogurt, cucumber, mint lime.
Third course: Fried green tomato toasted cheese sandwich, spinach, cotija. Midwestern Dry Gin, peach, lemon lavender shrub, dry cider.
Fourth course: White cheddar grits, sweet cream-chili shrimp, crisp cheddar. Kansas City Whiskey, pineapple, cream, orange soda.
Fifth course: Beef tenderloin, parmesan roasted, toasted gorgonzola, bearnaise, potato chip, asparagus. KC Club Bourbon, smoke, maple, amaro, creole bitters.
Sixth course: White chocolate crème brûlée , berries and cream. Premium Wheat Vodka, Caffe Amaro, cold brew, almond, vanilla.
All the possibilities
Whether you’re attending an underground supper club or preparing a meal for your family at home, there are so many ways to enjoy dairy. And the best part is knowing the dairy in your meal was produced by family dairy farmers, many of whom live not far from you and operate farms that have been in their families for generations. Those feel-good meals feel even better when you know where the ingredients came from.
Special thanks to The Test Kitchen organizer and host, Jenny Vergara, for bringing this wonderful dinner to life alongside the team at Dairy Farmers of America and Half & Half. Be sure to follow Dairy Farmers of America and Half & Half on social media for recipe inspiration and stories about the dairy farm families who make our favorite foods possible.