We're going to do a special New Year's Eve dinner to go this year for the first time.  If you're not familiar with these things, well, suffice it to say that if you eat all of these on the first day of the New Year you are certain to have good health and prosperity (not to mention an delicious meal.)

 

Here's what we're making:

 

Brie in Puffed Pastry

 

Bone-in Pork Chops w/Pomegranate Sauce

 

Hoppin’ John

 

Firefly Farms’ Collard Greens

 

Corn Bread

 

North Carolina Honeycakes

 

Order by December 29 if you can.

Pick up on December 31 between 2 and 4pm

25 per person + tax

 

Call or come in to place your orders

The calendar in January is a bit full, a bit odd.   I'm traveling a couple of times, once for a vacation and once for a conference, so I'm going to suggest a bit of a different approach this month.

 

On Saturday, January 23 and Saturday January 30 we will have a Big Kid/Little Kid class.  If you are the big kid and know a little kid who might like to mess around in some flour and sugar and dough and savory stuff, sign up.

 

The first week we'll make onion dip with fresh and roasted vegetables, mini pizzas, apple tarts with honey, and spiced cider.  The menu for the second week will be Savory Cheese Pastries, Banana Boats, decorated Cookies and Sparkling Fruit Punch. The classes will start at 10 and will take about 2 hours.  Space is limited so please do call to reserve your spots.  The cost is 20 per person.  Plus tax.

 

We will also do an adult class on Wednesday, January 13, which will be all about using kitchen tools: mandolins, knives, Japanese shredders, Vitamix blenders, and food processors.  The cost for this class is 35 and will include recipes and tastes of everything we make. 

 

Do come listen or play with us on Tuesdays.  Have simple supper, a beer or a glass of wine, and enjoy a bit of time with friends before heading home.

 

We host Old Time music jams on the first and third Tuesdays of the month.

 

Ukulele jams are held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays.

 

Fun times.  (Listen, if I can play, so can you.  Know what I mean?)

Dinners 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 (252-0200)

or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

 

Dinners for this week are:

 

Monday December 28 Elsie’s Chicken Baked in Wine 11

 

Tuesday December 29 Cheesy Polenta with Braised Vegetables 11.75

 

Wednesday December 30 Pork Tenderloin with Blackberry Glaze 12.75

 

Thursday December 31 New Year’s Eve Dinner to Go – see inside

 

We make a special casserole each week.

 

 

Order by noon or so. Order a half if you have around 4 folks. If you have a bigger group, or you just like leftovers, order a full-sized one.

 

 

Then come pick up between 3:00 and 8:00. (Or bring a gang and enjoy your dinner right here. We do have beer and wine by the glass, you know.)

 

 

This week's casserole is for December 30:

Old Fashioned Beef and Winter Vegetable Cottage Pie

 

Full: 55

The Dinners with our Farmers started as "Dinner and Conversations."  Emily read about some that another restaurant did and suggested we do them here.  GREAT idea!

 

Now that it is not really farming season, we're going to have special dinners anyway - with a different sort of flair.

 

In January we will have "A Delicious Expedition to Tuscany."  This dinner will be a bit different as it will include some cooking demonstrations too - right in front of you.  Doesn't that sound fun?  Watch and learn AND eat?  We'll have special Tuscan wines to match each course.

 

(Oh, we're hoping to take a group to Tuscany in the fall.  This will surely wet your appetite for that!)

 

All the folks who have played in our Garden Room rave about its warmth and acoustics.  Already they are saying it is their favorite place to play.  We've decided to keep it going.

 

This is a nice, early evening for you and your friends.  Come and sit in the back if you want to be close to the musicians.  Sit up in the front of the cafe if you feel like talking.  Brendan and Martha make special simple suppers every night.  Beer and Wine are available too.

 

This is the sort of thing you might find here if you come later on in the afternoon.  We keep the place warm and the food good.  Listen to music with us or ask us to wrap these things for you to take home. 

 

 

December 26, 2009

 

Hiya,

 

It’s a quiet day in here, in the office at Laurey’s. I’m the only one here. We have the day off and I’m downtown doing some final shopping before it is movie time. My sisters arrive tomorrow and that, for me, will be Christmas.

 

My sisters and I tend to move the celebration day around. We have lived in various places for a long time, not usually together, and not usually even in the same state. We find what time we can to be with each other, waiting until then to celebrate. It’s okay. What matters most is that we DO get to be with each other, sooner or later. Their stockings are hung on my chimney this year. Last year they were on Lucinda’s in Kentucky. A few years ago, they were hung next to Heather’s soapstone wood stove in Vermont. As long as they hang together, things are okay, in my opinion.

 

Yesterday, Christmas day, Tye, the dog, Skipper, the cat and I slept in, all of us snug in my bed. When we woke up there was a BIG wind and we tucked in a bit deeper and watched the trees dipping and bending. Raindrops covered the big window and no one moved to get up. We read, dozed and thought about how lucky we were to be warm and with each other, especially after the storm last week.

 

I have a small Christmas tree that had a few decorations on it. After we all got up I added some strings of beads and some of my favorite things to it: felt animals made by Heather, lace puffs made by Lucinda, red balls and early glass pieces made by me. Tye and Skipper watched, dozed, kept up with one eye on me, one eye giving in to yet another nap.

 

We vacuumed and got caught up on the laundry that had not been done in too long, thanks to last week’s power outage. We watched a movie at home. We sampled some pumpkin bread and some spicy pimiento cheese, gifts from friends. Later I went into town, met up with Kris and went to see another movie. Today I’ll see another one in town and then one more at home. Four movies in two days! Sweet!

 

On Christmas Eve I took Tye to Jubilee, my odd little church. There was a full house but she settled down pretty well. I want to get her to the point where she can become a therapy dog, able to visit people in hospitals. She’s still very rambunctious but she did very well the other night, snoozing and not minding too much as one antsy little boy jumped up countless times to get a drink or a snack or a drink or another, um, drink. I love her and I was happy to have her with me. When we lit candles and walked out she headed for the door with glee, pulling me along. “Let’s go HOME now, okay,” she seemed to say.