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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for May 15 - 20, 2006
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| Last Week's Wedding |
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Way off in a field, tucked under the trees, we had the pleasure of catering a most lovely wedding last weekend. The mother of the bride was a delight, bending and swaying with the twists that came up. The weather, torrential rains here in Asheville, stayed away and the bride and groom had an absolutely perfect day.
I thought I'd show you a few pictures from the event in this newsletter.
We have a big summer lined up. A terrifically diverse bunch of events - perfect for someone like me - who, I recognize, has a short attention span. Variety is what keeps me (and all of us) going. I'll show you as many pictures as I can as the summer progresses. Maybe one of the parties will be yours!
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Our new boss |
This is Jaime, pictured here in the midst of unpacking the van for the wedding. She's been working with us for quite some time, mostly as a server on parties. Recently Karen, our director of catering for the past three years, decided to move to New York. She is an artist and her partner is a singer and, well, they want the big city scene. (!?!)
Jaime is going to take over. Lucky us!
In addition to being a wonderful server, she is an accomplished dancer - an African dancer. Her husband is from Ivory Coast and they perform together here and there. Jaime is also a gardener, a Warren Wilson college graduate (which is a great training place in my mind) and is already a great addition to the gang here.
Welcome, Jaime!
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| The Wedding Cake |
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Here's the bride's cake. Melissa made the cake and I was decor babe. Julie, one of our servers, was transport babe. And then Karen finished it off with the flowers and greenery. 250 people can eat a lot of cake! The perfect white cake. Perfect for a wedding (not to mention a child's birthday!)
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Dinners to go |
Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Here is the menu for this week:
Monday May 22 Gorgonzola Chicken and Fettucine 9.75
Tuesday May 23 Shrimp and Avocado Quesadilla 10.00
Wednesday May 24 Beef Tenderloin Tips with Red Wine 11.25
Thursday May 25 Grilled Pork Chops and Rosemary New Potatoes 10.50
Friday May 26 Crab Cakes – yee ha! 11.50
By the way, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go. Inaugurated a few months ago, our first winner was delighted! Maybe you'll win next month.
Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!
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Our website |
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| Special casserole of the week |
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We make a special casserole each week on Wednesday. Please give us a call by the end of the day on Tuesday and we’ll fix yours for you. Come by between 4:30 and 6:00. Get a half (for 4 appetites) or a full sized pan (for 9 or so.)
Wednesday, May 24
Southwestern Lasagna with Fullam Creamery’s Queso Fresco
Full: 33.75
Half: 16.75
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The Groom's Cake |
When brides and bride's mothers ask for a Groom's cake, they frequently say, "We don't know why, but weguess we need one, don't we?"
I tell them that we'll make simple ones, round, you know, but that we're not good at Armadillos or sillier shapes. No one can tell me why the groom gets a weird cake. Do you know?
This one, a German Chocolate Cake, sat up high on this fun woodsy pedestal. I'm told it was enjoyed (devoured) by the guests.
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| Charles readies a buffet |
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Charles is one of our lead servers. He coaches Girl's Soccer at one of the local high schools (I think they came in second in the State last season) and also teaches Business classes. On the weekends he helps us.
The wedding menu was varied, plentiful. Here is the setup for the skewers of Grilled Chicken and Grilled Tenderloin. The men, I'm told, gathered around, making sure that the hot bites didn't get a chance to cool off.
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More on Organics |
Please allow me to correct a comment from last week's newsletter. I made a flip statement about trucking Organic produce from California and that, with all the gas it took, you might as well buy conventional things.
Not so.
Organic is a good thing. And, yes, there are complex considerations when talking about organics. Are big agribusinesses shutting out small farms? Are the rules to become a certified organic farm too difficult and costly for small farms to afford? Big things to think about. One thing is true, I believe: less poison in the ground is a good thing - no matter where it happens and whatever the actual certified status of a farm happens to be.
One way to do a good thing, I think, is to buy locally grown produce. In our area the tailgate markets are plentiful and frequent. We have more and more local produce in our stores here and folks are working hard to increase that even more. Farmers are beginning to show up at our door, beginning to call with things. More and more we, right here in this business, are able to have more locally grown foods available, and more carefully, considerately grown raw product to work with.
That, in my mind, is good.
(Oh - this Peony is from my home garden. Isn't it a beauty?)
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| A Note From Laurey |
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Happy Saturday to you all (or Sunday or Monday…)
Wow – did you have that thunderstorm last night? What started as a distant rumble got closer and closer and, ultimately insisted that I wake up and pay attention. The logs of my cabin shook, the bed trembled, the cat snuggled in closer, ending up on my head (!) and dreams ceased to be possible – until it all passed.
This morning the trees dripped, making me think it was still raining, but it really truly had stopped. Whew! I found myself wondering about the farmers, hoping that the fields did not get ruined. At least the items for this morning’s markets had already been picked, so they would have gotten by unscathed.
We’re having a lush spring. With so much rain the plants have all taken off around my house. It’s beginning to feel like a jungle in places but that’s sort of fun too. The path that runs around the side of the cabin is now packed with bending Anemone, Rosemary, more. All of a sudden everything is pink and purple. Bushes are loaded, plants burst with color. I love this. Love the color, the brightness of it all.
With my new roto tiller I am going to make a Labyrinth in the lower lawn. I’ve wanted to do this for some time, musing, thinking, dreaming, planning it in my mind. I mentioned this idea to my sister a few years ago and, one weekend she created one in the side yard of her house in Kentucky. Hers is now well underway, wide grass paths separated by perennials of all kinds. Weaving in and out of a Pear orchard, hers is an inspiration. I’ve begun thinking that it would be fun to make this one with herbs and fragrant plants. A meditative stroll on its paths will yield scents of all kinds. Won’t that be nice? Chris and I went to the Arboretum here last week and she jotted suggestions for local plants that will add color to the rounds. The new roto tiller makes it all possible.
In the meantime, we have a big day here at work and I am going to stop this musing and go help pack boxed lunches. Have some fun this weekend. I’ll be in touch next week.
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My birthday present |
No, it is not this statue: my "Garden Goddess". No, look at the ground under the statue. Those are my just-planted tomatoes. You probably can't see the Basil, but it's planted in between the tomato supports. A week ago, if I had taken this picture, you would have seen Monkey Grass. Nice, but pesky and generic.
On my birthday I woke up early and, once my eyes were closed in preparation, I was presented with - a new rototiller! Chris put it right on the bed. What a terrific birthday present!!! I waited until the neighbors might be awake - 8:00 or so, and then hopped into my red boots, shorts, and a t-shirt, dug up all the Monkey grass, and proceeded to roto till the ground around my Goddess. In a flash the ground was tilled, smooth, airy, ready for something new.
I think tomatoes in the front yard will be a great thing. Landscaping is one thing. But I can't wait to step out of the kitchen door and pick dinner. YUM!!!
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Contact
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Laurey's "Gourmet Comfort Food"
Eat In - Take Out - Catering
67 Biltmore Avenue Asheville, NC 28801
828-252-1500
Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 - 6:00 pm
Saturday 8:00 - 4:00 pm
"Don't Postpone Joy!"(tm)
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