We just entered our 5th year of Supper Clubbing with the same three couples — a marvelous feat. We started the group in 2011 and despite moves, job changes and babies, the eight of us still manage to get together every other month or so for a themed dinner. I love this crowd and have enjoyed getting to know everyone through great food and wine over the years.

Saturday night was a Cuban-themed meal chosen by our lovely burb-dwelling hosts (it’s always an adventure for us city folk to cruise on through the suburbs). It’s like a different planet out there. So. Far. Away.

Appetizers:  fried plantains and crunchy ham and potato croquettes with a heavenly smoky aioli.

Main Dish: Ropa vieja (Cuban meat stew) over rice, black beans with bacon and green beans with bacon. The ropa vieja is a slow-cooker wonder. One of those dishes that makes me want to bust out my crock pot.

Dessert:  Cuban coconut rum flan. I was (scarily) assigned dessert for this particular evening, not my strong suit. In fact, this was the first time since the group’s inception that I have been charged with making dessert. I welcomed the challenge, however, as it pushed me out of my cooking comfort zone.

Not too pretty to look at, I must say, but the men all went back for seconds and demolished the thing, so I will take that as a good sign. Perhaps I shall start making dessert more often …