What is it about the fries?!?

Our family loves to spend time at the pool. They have a great kids' play area with hoses, buckets, rope ladders and slides. They also have a concession stand. My husband is crazy about their french fries. He will make sure to have his $2.50 in order before we get in the car to head to the pool. Last night, he ate two batches. Of course, each one was consumed alongside copious amounts of ketchup. I'm fairly certain that these are your garden variety crinkle cut spuds, which begs the question...what is it about the fries? I'd like to think that I have a slightly more sophisticated palate. My favorite fries are at AT&T Park (formerly Pac Bell Park) in San Francisco. They are the famous garlic fries...served with chunks of freshly crushed garlic. They are so garlicky, you're likely to smell them in the air when you arrive at the stadium, and on your breath a week after cheering your team on to victory. Now, those are some yummy fries! Thanks to Jason DeRusha for his flikr photo of this regional specialty. Perhaps the thing that makes food taste so good is the circumstance surrounding its consumption...summer vacation, a victorious ball game, a family gathering, etc. I hope you have a chance to share some good food with great company over the next few weeks.

Shopping Lists

I am a list person. I keep lists of everything. 'To do', 'To make', 'Bills', etc. I am just shy of the lists of lists (except for the brief example above!) kind of person. I have a computer program which will generate a shopping list from my menus for the week, or any given event, and I love, love, love it! Well, this week is a big week as far as grocery shopping goes...baby shower on Saturday, wedding reception on Sunday, and a family to feed in the meanwhile. So, I entered all of the things I'll be making this week from turkey sandwiches at lunchtime to cheesecake for one of the events desserts. The computer generated list is 3 pages and 100 items long! The beauty of it is this: the computer has arranged the list according to departments in the grocery store. I had better get started!

Wednesday Family Night Out Dinners

West County Assembly of God Church Wednesday Family Night Out Dinners are open to anyone, provided you have made reservation. Please email Ellen in the church office to do so. All adult meals include an entree, side, vegetable and/or salad, and dessert. Children's entrees are often available and junior-sized adult meals are available each week. The costs are $5 per adult (over age 12) and $3 per child (ages 3-11, children aged 2 years and under are free). First time visitors will receive complimentary meals as guests of the church (please make a reservation). Meals are served each Wednesday from 5:45-6:15PM.

Fall quarter menus:


August 26: Oven Fried Chicken, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Cucumber and Tomato Salad, Dessert

September 2: Made to Order Pizzas, Salad Bar, Dessert

September 9: Barbequed Beef Brisket, Baked Macaroni, Broccoli Salad, Dessert


September 16: Shredded Chicken Nachos, Corn and Black Bean Salad, Dessert


September 23: Pasta Prima Vera, Garlic Bread, Caesar Salad, Dessert


September 30: Baked Potato Bar, Salad Bar, Dessert


October 7: Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Market Vegetables, Salad, Dessert


October 14: Spinach Lasagna Rolls, Market Vegetables, Garlic Bread, Pasta House Salad, Dessert


October 21: Balsamic Herbed Chicken, Aunt Bev's Rice, Market Vegetables, Salad, Dessert


October 28: Chili with beans and meat or White Chicken Chili, Salad Bar, Dessert


November 4: Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables, Salad, Dessert


November 11: Taco and Burrito Bar, Salad, Dessert


November 18: Potato Chowder and Spicy Black Bean Soup, Salad Bar, Dessert


November 25: No meal this week, due to Thanksgiving holiday.

A few favorite things...

Although my fellow shoppers at Homegoods were well aware that the excursion was not among my toddler-daughter's list of favorite-things-to-do-today, they may not have known that it is one of my all time favorite places to pick up odds and ends for the kitchen. I shopped for all of ten minutes, and fully eight of them were spent trying to console and shush my sobbing kiddo. But, all of you with toddlers know, shopping must be quick and to the point (no meandering allowed)...so the two minutes were productive, and I found the perfect plates! I'll post pictures when I dress them up with some delectables after the wedding reception next weekend.
Another favorite is an online party supply site, Smarty Had a Party. I love all of the unique disposable (but washable and reusable) party ware. I ordered some square plastic shot glasses this morning. And the part that I think is the best, is they are based in St. Louis, so to forgo the shipping, I am going to go to the warehouse to pick up my order (and perhaps get a few more ideas while I'm there!). Here's hoping all of your shopping is a little less eventful than mine!

A New Venture

Just in case you think I may have tried a fabulous new recipe for dinner, and want you all to do the same, my new venture today was in the realm of computer-speak...not food! My kiddo and I re-heated leftovers for dinner (gasp!), and I was determined to enhance your experience while viewing my blog. If you would kindly take a moment and locate the lovely pink and white links at the top of my blog (immediately under the 'header' if you want to be technical about it), you will know what consumed the free portion of my day. I must say a huge thanks to the author of bloggersentral.blogspot.com for translating the thought into HTML. And for those of you who cannot believe that I did it alone...you're right. I had just about everything set, except for one little snag, and my hubby comes home and says, 'you have to remove the /*'. Done and done. Thanks, honey.

Secret Ingredients

Not many chefs would tell you their secret ingredients. Here's mine...I don't have any. I use fresh ingredients instead of things with crazy preservatives and the like. I enjoy working with fresh foods that are short on syllables and have lots of flavor. It may take a little longer to create your meal, but it is well worth it!

Speaking of fresh ingredients...I have almost a pound of fresh basil (that's right, a pound!) and some huge Arkansas tomatoes in the kitchen waiting to be grilled together with some onions and some smoky mozzarella. Mmmmm... If they last long enough, I'll post pictures.

Start at the Very Beginning

Welcome to my blog about all things catering! I hope you find this page informative and inspiring. I will post some pictures of my work. Too bad there's not a way to sample over the internet! Please let me know how I can help with your event.