Bunco Practice Run - Jewish Brisket

Have you all heard of Bunco? It's a mindless dice game, usually played by women. It requires zero skill, and zero knowledge. The game is so easy, that a newcomer will be an expert in less than a minute. In my mind, the sole purpose of a bunco night is to provide an excuse to get together with friends and drink. The game is so easy that you can easily talk, drink and play all at once. It's no wonder that many refer to the game as "drunko".

Well, anyway, I'm part of an awesome bunco group that meets once a month. This month I'm hosting. Hosting involves providing dinner, drinks and chocolate for the group (anywhere from 8-12 women). We were supposed to get together tomorrow night, but due to sickness (myself plus two others), we are postponing until next week. I made the main course this past Saturday, but it freezes wonderfully. I'm serving brisket.

Every time I host, I like to choose a theme, and I like to show off. Everyone knows I'm a foodie, so I feel it's my duty to impress and go all out. The first time I hosted bunco, I did a Tapas theme. That one was a bitch. I cooked for 8 hours straight in a non-air conditioned kitchen on a 90 degree day in July. The last time I hosted bunco, I was 6 months pregnant, and I did a Caribbean theme. This month, I'm doing a Jewish theme. I'm the only Jewish woman in the group, and Toledo doesn't have a big Jewish population, so Jewish food at bunco will be as exotic as Tapas.

Another benefit (beyond its "exotic" nature) to the Jewish theme is the fact that most of the dishes I'm making can be prepared in advance. The brisket was made Saturday and is now sliced and in the freezer. I'm also making noodle kugel which can be made next Tuesday night. Finally, I'll be roasting some asparagus, a dish that requires minimal prep and comes together in minutes. (Note: Dessert is not really a big deal at bunco. I'll probably have some cookies available, but chocolates are part of the game - we use them to keep score - so those are always the primary dessert offering.)

Before I froze the brisket, I put some aside for tonight's dinner. We had it with buttered egg noodles and roasted asparagus. Everything was amazing.

Here is the asparagus pre-roasting:

I laid it out on a pan, sprayed it with some olive oil (from my Misto) and sprinkled it with a generous amount of salt and freshly ground Tellicherry black pepper.

Dinner:

Dylan's dessert (the middle heart is an ironic commentary on my Valentine's Day evening):