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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for December 18 - 22, 2006
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| Sweetness from my other home |
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I could not resist this picture this morning. "Brrrton" is the Vermont maple-syrup-filled glass bear who, might I suggest, would be a perfect Christmas morning accompaniment. (You ARE making pancakes, aren't you?) I've lined up a few of these fellows in the shop window and this morning, with the sun pouring in, it was a fine sight indeed.
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It's not too late |
Nope - not too late to find some sweet things to tuck in here and there.
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| A visit from Santa |
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Oh we had an ordeal this week. During a momentary electrical flash� we lost power to our cheese cooler. Though we tried to figure out the problem we were not able to and so, in the midst of a VERY busy day (isn't that the way it always is?) the gang had to empty out this much-needed piece of equipment and find room for everything in other places.
Our refrigerator repairman showed up to do his part. He IS Santa as you can see and, though he did not bring us a bag of toys, he "ho ho ho"d to the gang which was a cheerful thing. (But he couldn't fix it either).
Finally, finally, FINALLY I called an old friend, JD, the electrician who built this kitchen for us 3 years ago. He remembered that those outlets were the kind with a little reset button on them (Martha, in the kitchen, had suggested that but I did not listen to her, silly me). JD came to our rescue, wiggling in and resetting the button and getting us back on track.
So thanks Santa (and JD!)
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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.
As a reminder, 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.
Maybe you'll win next month.
Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!
Here's this week's menu:
Monday December 18 Chicken Baked in Wine with Potato Pancakes 9.95
Tuesday December 19 Roasted Rosemary Pork Tenderloin w/ Corn Pudding 11.95
Wednesday December 20 Traditional Meatloaf with Molasses Baked Beans 12.00
Thursday December 21 Laurey�s Favorite Crab Cakes 12.25
Friday December 22 Special Christmas Dinner to Go (see below)
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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. Order before noon on Wednesday and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.
(Last chance this year.� Perhaps you'd like to order two.)
This week's offering is:
Wednesday, December 20
Chicken Pot Pie
Full: 33.50
Half: 16.75
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Christmas Eve Eve Eve Dinner to Go |
Christmas Dinner to go � 2006
Oh yes, oh yes.
A reminder - please place your order by this Wednesday (the 20th)
Here is this year�s menu:
At the start:
Cheese-Stuffed Baby Portobello Mushrooms
Shrimps Steamed in Beer with a Lemon Garlic Cream
The Salad:
Pickled Beets and Clementine Wedges
with Bermuda Onions and a Citrus Vinaigrette
The Dinner:
Sorghum-glazed Pork Tenderloin with Winter Fruit Sauce
or
Blueberry Hill-style Baked Halibut with Peppers and Sour Cream
Tomatoes Seven Seasonings
Real Old-fashioned Potatoes Au Gratin
Kris�s Yeasty Rolls
The Dessert:
Individual Sour Cream and Blackberry Tarts
The price:
26.75 per person
Please place your order by Wednesday, December 20
Orders will be ready for you to pick up on
Friday, December 22 between 4:30 and 6:00 when we close.
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| Thanks so much! |
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Thanks to you and to our staff we were able to provide a very nice Christmas for our adopted family.� Proceeds from our Craft Sale and from various staff initiatives resulted in this pile of happiness.
Thank you.
Thank you so very much.
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Those chocolates |
Oh it was fun to share conversations with David Hurand (from WCQS Public Radio) and Eberhard Heide (my neighbor at the Asheville Wine Market) last week. This radio show is, for us, a bit of a holiday tradition. You might have heard us gushing about a lovely sparkling red wine that comes from our Sister City, Saumur, in France. I had brought some chocolate things to taste along with it.
These salted caramels were a thrilling accompaniment to that sparkler. Eb can show you where the wine is. But these are the caramels I was talking about.
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| A Note From Laurey |
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Oh what a week it has been.
I guess the biggest thing is that I now have a proof of my book. The other day I was out in the caf� meeting with some folks about an event that will be coming up in January. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Fex EX guy dropping off an envelope. There was a lull in our planning and I stepped into our office to check on a date. I noticed the Fed Ex package lying there on my desk, all tied up with a bright red ribbon. Emily and Noel and Jaime were all staring at me.
�We think we know what�s in that envelope,� they giggled.
I had to go back into my meeting but as soon as it was finished I scampered back to my desk.
Just at that moment the phone rang. Emily picked it up. I started opening my package.
�Yes, she�s here, just a sec, let me let her know you�re calling,� she said.
I kept opening, cutting the side of the big envelope with a pair of scissors.
�It�s Dori Sanders,� she whispered across the room.
I finished opening the package and, yes, took out a book � MY book, the assembled proof of my very first book. And then I picked up the phone.
Dori Sanders, by the way, is a lovely lady from South Carolina, a peach farmer, a cook, a storyteller, an author, and a friend. She has been a big cheerleader to me throughout the process of the writing of this book, telling me first to �tell those stories of yours� and then to �build a frame, like a big barn, and then fill it in,� and then, �keep it up!�
�Dori!� I hooted, �Guess what I have in my hand! The proof of my book! It�s real!�
We laughed together at the fortuitousness of this call, though neither of us was terribly surprised, if we really thought about it. I mean I was thrilled and VERY surprised to hear her sweet voice on the phone. I haven�t talked to her for a year or so and her timing was impeccable. But her timing is always perfect. She always calls when I need to hear from her. She has been the secret guardian angel of this book and so, really, she was calling to share this next step with me. What a nice thing, to have a guardian angel.
The book will be ready in February. What a lovely process it has been. Just lovely.
Merry Christmas to you all. This is the last newsletter until the new year. We�ll be closing at the end of the day next Friday and are traveling away to be with our families. We reopen on January 2nd. I�ll look forward to telling more stories � and in the meantime I wish you the best holiday possible. Take care of yourselves and of the ones you love. They matter the most. Don�t forget.
Talk to you next year.
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Just in case |
Okay - here's my other side, the one who says "yes" to these goofy magnets that we sell up in the shop. This is one in a set of lightly sarcastic thoughts to share with your closest friends. These are "Rules of the House."
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