Dinner club

For almost 35 years now the Phactors have been members of a dinner club.  The year starts with an appetizer/tapas and wine social to plan themes for the year, and it always ends with a brunch.  In between there are 6 dinners, each with a theme.  The hosts and co-hosts for each dinner plan a menu and then each participant (not all are couples) cooks one of the items for the group and the costs are divided evenly among the diners.  Right now a magnificent pan of osso buco is simmering on the stove and filling the kitchen with a wonderful herby, Italian aroma.  The taste tests indicate that something wonderful is cooking.  This is a wonderful way to spend an evening, and we certainly encourage people to consider forming a similar social group.  The hosts usually don't cook, but they supply the seats, the wine, and the bread.  The menus are sometimes ethnic, sometimes other themes, and you get to try a lot of dishes, a lot of recipes that you would not probably try by yourself.  This is a classic Italian dish, and having grown up in Italian NY, this is quite familiar.  My point is quite simple.  Life is short, we have to eat, so why not make it into a social event once a month, and don't give me this crap that you're too busy.  Our dinners are often quite spectacular and at a fraction of the price you would pay to get similar fare in a restaurant, and then without the company and socializing.  Of course the Phactor is forbidden from discussing, however intellectually, religion or politics.  Good thing the food is good.