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In article >,
says...
> My church is having a silent auction in a couple weeks and tonight we had a
> meeting discussing the various things that could be auctioned off, and somehow
> I was volunteered (I'm sure it wasn't my idea) to auction off a dinner for
> six-made by me, of course. So sometime in October, 6 people-who will have
> presumably paid a lot of money, will come to my place for a gourmet feast. Does
> anyone have any great ideas on what i should fix? I thought I could go basic
> with a good pot roast, but now I'm thinking I should do something like poached
> salmon. But I am very open to suggestions.
>
> Sandra
>
I did exactly the same thing several months ago: donated a food and
wine-pairing dinner for six to a charity event I'm involved with.

For cocktail hour, I served cosmopolitans, and passed stuffed mushrooms,
grilled Cajun shrimp and bacon-wrapped grilled scallops. I also served a
buttery chardonnay with this course. This was served outside on the
deck.

When the guests moved to the dining room, I served a gazpacho with a red,
I think a zin, then a frisee salad with walnuts and poached pears with an
Australian chardonnay.

For the main course I served grilled leg of lamb, caramelized onions with
apples and marinated asparagus, and roasted parsleyed new potatoes. This
was paired with an amazing red, the name of which escapes me at the
moment.

For dessert I prepared a key lime cheesecake and topped that with a
melange of fresh berries marinated in lime juice and honey and a dollop
of whipped cream. This was served with a crisp champagne.

I gauged what I served on what was bid for the dinner. The winning bid
for the dinner was $600, and I felt it necessary to give them a memorable
dinner that was worth $600. It took a full day of prep and about a half
a day of cooking.

Two of the guests at the dinner party asked me to cater a dinner for them
in their homes, and the host of the party asked me to cater a cocktail
party for 40 or 50 people. At one point, the hostess of the party pulled
me aside and told me "I didn't bid enough!" All in all, I felt the night
was an overwhelming success.

--
Donna
A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist hopes they are.