Peg Dunphy's Redding, California, supper club is a family affair. Her club shares cooking duties each month, as well, with the added incentive of pleasing the families. The husbands and children come with open minds to try new dishes. While there have been a few changes in membership during the past four and a half years, the club is still going strong—mostly because of the simple system they've perfected. Each month the hostess chooses a theme and two recipes, and e-mails the other members to set a time and let them choose their contributions.

What makes Dunphy's club unique is the way members share the cost of putting on these gourmet meals. The hostess provides ingredients already in her kitchen, then "everyone brings receipts for things that had to be bought. The receipts are totaled, and all expenses are split between the number of 'eaters'," Dunphy says. This system of equality has created a place for members to expand their culinary horizons. "We frequently choose recipes to make together that we never would consider making alone in our own kitchen," Dunphy says. As with any experiment, some results are more successful than others. But over the years the club has become comfortable enough to allow its members to critique the dishes they make together. Because they share the duties, they can share success and failure alike—just like family.

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