I held my second “Cook for the Cure” Dinner Party last week. These are mini-fundraisers, organized around a meal, and the idea is to raise funds for breast cancer --- a topic near and dear to my heart since my own bout last year.
I invited five delightful gluten-free ladies to join me for dinner in my home. The donations went to a local charity known as Sense of Security , which has provided over 1.2 Million Dollars toward housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, COBRA or insurance premiums and other basic living expenses of breast cancer patients in treatment. To date, they have assisted over 650 Colorado breast cancer patients.
I always appreciate a challenge in the kitchen and this evening was no exception. Among the six of us, we had numerous sensitivities, so the gluten-free menu was also devoid of beef, bison, fish, dairy, eggs, soy, cane sugar, quinoa, beans, and cumin. How’s that for a challenge?
But that still left lots of delicious choices so we had a great time dining on the following menu:
Ancho-Spiced Pecans
Warmed Olives in Herbs
Herb-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Mango Salsa
Long Grain and Wild Rice
Steamed Asparagus Bundles, Tied with Chives
Baby Greens in Vinaigrette
French Bread (using my Ready-to-Bake Technique)
Warm Apricot Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Mousse Parfaits with Chocolate Wafer Cookies (shown in the photo below)
Baby Guinness After-Dinner Drinks (layers of Kahlua and Bailey’s and absolutely addictive)
The temperature in Denver that day was 102 degrees, so my plans for an outdoor event were scrubbed. Instead, we pretty much stayed in my kitchen and dining room, enjoying each other’s company and rejoicing that we didn’t have to explain our food sensitivities to a waiter.
The pictures below show the group, starting on the left side of the table: Katy Martin, Melissa McLean Jory, Karen Cranford, Mary Anderies, Gina Meagher (who brought the baby Guinness), and me. We decided to keep the evening as “girls-only” although, who knows, I may host a couples party sometime in the future.
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