Friday night, Mr. Crazy Blonde and I !hosted a dinner for the Alamance County Arts Council for their yearly fundraiser, Alamance Ala Carte.  Couples bid on menus that have been submitted by various chefs and home chefs and arrive at the Arts Council on the given night and find out where they are going to be dining!  We hosted five couples which was the perfect fit for our dining room and my sanity!  It was a beautiful day, we couldn't have asked for better weather!  I had been working for days getting everything ready and making sure the house was perfect.  The preparation was done on Thursday, everything chopped, trimmed, tied and mixed.  I made the dessert and homemade caramel sauce and picked up the flowers from Randy McManus Designs and picked up the Coppa roast from our local butcher, Left Bank Butchery!  We were set for a perfect evening with very little left to do on Friday which was the DAY!  I woke up on Friday morning a little slowly and came downstairs to get coffee.  I knew then that something was very WRONG!  My stomach was doing back flips and it was clear that I was sick!  I was able to medicate myself enough to roast the pork and make the sauce and then I had to go to bed and leave the rest to Mr. Crazy Blonde (he got major brownie points for this) and my best friend Britt (thank you, thank you).  Later that night, our wonderful friends Darrell Coble and Martiez Taylor arrived.  Darrell is the photographer behind this photo of me, and he had graciously agreed to take photographs of the evening.  Unbeknownst to them, they were in for a real treat - stirring pots, plating food, serving food, washing dishes and anything else that Queen Britt needed done!   Upstairs, from my very uncomfortable position in my bed, I could hear the festivities and I so wanted to join in!  I will be forever grateful to my wonderful husband and friends who stepped in and did what I wasn't able to do on Friday night!

The Menu

Flowers in the foyer from Randy McManus Designs

The dining room just before guests arrived!

My vision of the cheese board, brought to life by Britt!

The roaring fire, complements of Mr. Crazy Blonde!

Flowers on the patio.

A lovely Pinot Noir for a lovely evening!

Britt and Mr. Crazy Blonde serving the salads just before the guests took their seats.

Pots simmered on the stove.

The guests by the fire having conversation and waiting for dinner to be served.

The beautiful Coppa Roast from Left Bank Butchery.

Mr. Crazy Blonde supervising the plating of the food!

Dinner is finally served!

My heroes!

Wondering if the cakes are heated?  Hard to tell by just looking!

Ending the evening with a glass of bubbly!

I guess there is always next year for another chance to participate in this event!  I am so blessed to have a supportive husband and great friends! 

Special thanks to Darrell Coble Photography for the photographs in this post!