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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for August 14 - 19, 2006
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| A Mountain of Oyster Shells |
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As promised, here is a picture of me on my summer vacation.
This one is of me standing next to a gigantic pile of discarded oyster shells. I was in Oysterville (an appropriate name, yes?) which is at the northern tip of a short penninsula that juts into the ocean at the southern most point of the state of Washington, a mere blip north of the state of Oregon.
Oysterville is now a mostly abandoned town, but, even though the railroad no longer shuttles summer visitors, the place is still a rich osyter area. Oh and fish and clams and crabs and cranberries and many other things grown there too. This pile extended way off into the distance but my camera lens could only capture this much.
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Summer Salads |
And then, as soon as I got back, it was time to hop up to Penland for their annual acution. This is a big event for us, for my cooks, and for me. We do three big events in two days. One right after another. The Penland School grounds become filled with artists (many of my glass idols were there!) and donors. Its a lovely mix, and we, I'm happy to say, get to bring them a whole lot of great food.
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| Heirloom Tomatoes |
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August is the best time here. This is a shot of one of the auction's offerings, a bright, light, fresh mix of local tomatoes and cucumbers with a bit of a vinaigrette to zip it up. The tomatoes, as I coached the volunteer servers, are "Mr. Stripeys" and "Cherokee Purples." Gorgeous.
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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 coming week:
Monday August 14 Ginger Chicken with Peanut Cilantro Rice Noodles 9.75
Tuesday August 15 Roast Pork with Cheesy Squash Casserole 11.25
Wednesday August 16 Flank Steak with Fig and Bacon Rice Pilaf 11.75
Thursday August 17 Hawaiian Luau Baby Back Ribs 12.00
Friday August 18 Crab Cakes Crab Cakes Crab Cakes!!!! 12.00
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, August 16
Chicken and Green Chili Enchilada Pie
Full: 32.00
Half: 16.00
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A volunteer serves a guest |
Over 170 people volunteer for the weekend. I get about ten minutes to deliver a rapid course in buffet service. 10 willing folks serve the buffet to 325 guests in a very short time. Somehow it all works out just right.
I also have two volunteers who become my food helpers. This year I had a fellow who is a wood carver and one who is an engineer. We three create four buffets, setting them up, presenting all the salads, and cleaning them up in less than two hours - two days in a row. The guests then turn their attention to the auction, and the lively bidding masks our tidying efforts. Whew!
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| Local Fennel and Celery |
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Another light salad from Penland's auction. We tossed it all up in a light lemon cream and right at the last minute, shaved on some Grana Padano (YUM!) Since we had a huge bag full of fennel fronds left over, I made beds of them to cradle the buffet platters. The fragrance was lovely, enhancing the sight and then the taste of it all.
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The Penland Dish Crew |
These kids are part of the 170 volunteers. They play extraordinarily loud music and dance and yell and, yes, scrub like crazy. My Friday gift to them was a stack of our bumper stickers, which they wasted no time in putting to use.
When they are off duty they become party guests but they have no time to change, and heck, it's an art school so all dress is welcomed. They sashayed through the cocktail hour, adorned as you see, causing a bit of a stir among the older set, not to mention a number of smiles.
After the party they came down to the dish room and put a very sweet sparkle on all of my platters. Thanks!!!
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| A Note From Laurey |
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August 13, 2006
Hi to you all.
Sorry I didn’t get to write to you yesterday. By the time I got back here from the Penland auction I was pretty tired and figured I’d be better off (as would you) if I waited until today to sit and take care of this note.
It’s hard to believe that my trip to Seattle has come and gone so quickly. Just like a zip, really. I look at these pictures and it seems like the vacation was last year, not last week.
One day Chris and I went to the World Kite Museum in Long Beach, Washington. Chris is one who, I am now finding, would rather lie on the beach with a book and a long afternoon of nothing. I, she is finding out, like to spend a bit of time finding out all there is to do and then try to, well DO it. Sigh.
She gamely agreed to go along with me to the kite museum. The description made it sound like a magnificent place, filled with amazing exhibits from all over the world. And, when we got there (“Go past the slat water taffy stores and turn right at the go-karts,” the guidebook said) the woman behind the counter excitedly told us about all that we would see. When we got to the actual museum, and found just one big room of kites, I felt bad that I had dragged Chris to this modest display. But, determined to get out money’s worth, we methodically stopped at each kite and carefully read each description and, before we knew it, we were pulling each other to look at the things that we were learning: pictures, taken from a kite, of the San Francisco earthquake; videos of a fighting kite contest in Japan; and yes, interesting kites from all over the world.
As we were leaving we saw an area, set up for children, where one could make a kite. Since there were no children there, I went over, followed the instructions, and made a little kite. It was kind of a goofy yellow thing, sort of sloppy looking but, well, why not take advantage of all the museum’s offerings, right? Chris added a green tail and we headed toward the door.
“It WILL fly,” the museum lady said, “though it’ll do better at the beach.”
Chris was looking kind of tired but I wanted to try my little creation. We turned at the museum’s sidewalk and walked two long blocks to the sand. The wind seemed to pick up as we crossed the protective dunes and, as soon as we cleared the wooden boardwalk, I let out a little string (included in the make-your-own-kite area.) My little kite took off, quickly soaring to, um, about 4 feet off the ground.
“Run with it!” Chris urged.
I tried that, but the kite, though airborne, continued to stay low to the ground. It had listed to the left, making it look jaunty and off balance. Chris broke a stick and tied a a chunk of it to the tail, hoping to weigh it down and give it some stability. When she let it go, the little kite hopped back up into the sky, but clung to the safety of its low altitude.
I let out more string and then more. All around us kites flew, high over our heads. The week after our visit there was going to be a huge kite flying contest and there were a lot of people out practicing. Fighting kites swooped, whistled, soared. Fathers and children flew big beautiful fish and bats and planes and colorful abstract concoctions. My little yellow creation fluttered away, never crashing, never climbing, never getting into trouble.
Chris lay down on the warm sand and dozed off. Since my little kite seemed stabile, I did the same, holding onto its string. Occasionally I’d open my eyes and there it would be, dancing in the softer breeze. Finally I too dozed off, comforted by the tug of my little kite which held its own all the way through our naps.
There were other very nice parts of the trip. Nice visits with new friends, wonderful meals, fun excursions. But that quiet time with my sweet little kite hovers in my mind, constant and easy and soft and warm and simple.
See you next week.
Laurey
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Dining on the water |
Chris and I enjoyed a one day kayak trip out in the San Juan islands of Washington. Just before our lunch stop our guide parked us on top of a giant forest of kelp. There, gently rocking, we learned a bit about these wonderful plants.
"Taste 'em!" she invited.
And so we did. Salty! Pure fun.
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Contact
Info: |
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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