Dinner group

A bunch of acquaintances began a gourmet dinner group a few years back after my friend Anita Barr and I began kicking around the idea. I read about a couple that started one by inviting friends to their home for dinner and cooking great food. The word spread about the group after a while and it grew into a regular event. I thought this was exciting and I told Anita and our friend Casey LaCore about it and we began to talk and Casey told a few others and soon we were under way. It has been a very good thing for us. We were joined by Bruce and Lisa Reeves, the La Cores and Nelle and Lance Rhicard to make a group of ten. that seemed like the maximum we could handle at one time. It has proved to be just about right. We aren't all able to participate every time but usually most of us are there.
We have tried to meet on a monthly basis but that has sometimes proved hard to keep up. Nevertheless, we enjoy every time we can get together because the food is always excellent and we have become friends with folks we hadn't known before we started meeting. The common thread for us is obviously food and our love for making really great stuff and at the same time we have begun to form some relationships and that is a very good thing too.
We met again this last Saturday evening and our theme was "Steakhouse Night". Our menu consisted of a Wine and Cheese course, Home-aged Steaks (see a previous post on steaks), Onion Rings, Carrot Souffle, Spiked Shakes and Blackout Cake for dessert. I must say, it was most excellent! The aging process turned out to be really good and worth the time and effort. The Carrot Souffle was marvelous and I hope to bring the recipe here if Lisa will give it up. I will include the onion ring recipe here and will try to get the Spiked Shake and Blackout Cake from Lisa and Anita.
My Onion Ring recipe is one I have been trying to replicate from one of my favorite restaurants, Norman Quack's in Forest Lake, MN. They make the best rings I ever tasted and I have tried to make them over and over resulting in failure a few times but got it right at Deer Camp in November and I was ecstatic!
Here it is: Yield: 8 to 10 servings
3 to 4 Large sweet yellow onions sliced in 3/4" slices and separated into individual rings.
1/2 cup all purpose flour for dredging the rings
1 pkg McCormick's Beer Batter mix
1/4 to 1/2 Cup all purpose flour added to the dry Beer Batter
1 1/2 - 12oz. cans lager beer; Bud, LaBatt's, etc.
1 Gallon Peanut oil in a Propane fish cooker
Oil thermometer
Sheet pans lined with paper towels to store and transport the cooked rings to the oven for keeping warm until serving.
Kosher or Sea salt for seasoning.

In a large bowl, dredge the individual rings in the flour and toss to coat.
In another large bowl, mix the Beer Batter, extra flour and beer until smooth and fairly thin like a thin pancake batter that just barely coats the rings.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees and dip the rings into the batter to coat, then into the oil in batches and cook, flipping them over midway until they are a nice golden brown, about 1 minute per side.
Transfer to the paper lined trays, season with salt ( and pepper if you like) and transport to another pan in a warm oven. Continue cooking the batches until all are done, seasoning each batch as they come out of the oil and still very hot ( this way they absorb the seasoning nicely) and keep them in the warm oven until ready to serve with dinner.
I think you'll find they are light, crisp and stinking good!
As I receive the other recipes I'll pass them along if I'm allowed.
Go forth and cook!
Tim