Luscious Lunches Cooking Club: Great lunch ideas served up for dinner

This month's Cooking Club was a smorgasbord of lunch recipes. In case you're just tuning in for the first time, we have a monthly Cooking Club at our house with 10 families. (No, they don't usually all come at the same time. However, we are starting to be outnumbered by the kids!) Each family brings pre-assigned ingredients. All the mamas cook while the daddies watch the kiddos. Everybody eats and then the daddies clean up while the mamas sit on the couch and chat. Good times.

Each month we choose a theme and this time around it was Luscious Lunches - inspired by a cookbook my mom gave me for Christmas. It's always fun to mix it up a little and serve something different for lunch. Who wants the same old boring sandwich day after day - especially when you are packing your hubby's lunch or your serving it up for multiple kiddos.

At Cooking Club, we always try out a new "adventurous recipe," which was this Asparagus Soup from Alfred Portale's 12 Seasons Cookbook. Our healthy option was the colorful Vegetarian Lavash Sandwiches created by our friend Cori. Everyone gobbled them up. We even made some peanut butter and jelly ones for the less adventurous types. We also look for recipes that use famer's market finds. Since spring has sprung in California that means strawberries and rhubarb are popping up in stores and on corners. We employed those babies in our fab dessert.

The Menu:

Dorina's Maple Pecan Chicken Wonton Cups
Cori's Lavash Sandwiches
Asparagus Soup
Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Avocado Dip
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Chocolate-Banana-Oatmeal Power Cookies

Here are the recipes that aren't linked elsewhere:

Cori's Lavash Sandwiches

Ingredients:
-hummus
-mayonnaise
-red pepper
-sprouts
-cucumber
-basil leaves
-tomato
-kalamata olives
-salt
-lemon pepper
-paprika
-1 package of lavash bread (find it near the tortillas at Trader Joe's or other local grocery stores)

1. Thinly slice all the vegetables.
2. Spread the lavash with a thin layer of 1/3 mayonnaise and 2/3 hummus.
3. Arrange the veggies on top.
4. Sprinkle with salt, lemon pepper, paprika.
5. Roll up and cut into halves or thirds. Serve.


Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Avocado Dip

Ingredients:
-15 sweet potatoes, peeled
-1 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour
-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-2 cups mayonnaise
-2 avocadoes
-1 jalapeno, finely chopped (approx. 1 tablespoon)
-1 tablespoon lemon juice
-1 teaspoon paprika
-1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Wash, peel and cut potatoes in large wedges. Toss with whole wheat pastry flour.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Spray two cookie sheets with olive oil. Place wedges onto the cookie sheets.
4. Bake in oven for approximately 45 minutes until cooked through. If they seem mushy, turn on broil and "crisp" for 5 minutes watching closely so they don't burn.
5. While the potato fries are cooking, assemble the sauce. Mash avocadoes in a bowl.
6. Mix in mayonnaise, lemon juice, jalapeno, paprika and salt. Blend well and put in small bowls to serve with fries.