The Make A Wish Cooking for Wishes Luncheon

With all the chatter and the wine flowing, you just knew everyone was having a good time at the Make A Wish Cooking for Wishes Luncheon chaired by Denise Mei and Terri Klauber at Michael's On East.  It was an interactive luncheon where each table prepared their own meal - four courses worth!  It was actually quite delish! 

MOE made it very easy for everyone whether you were a cook or not.  All the ingredients for each dish were chopped, placed in little bowls and ready to go.  The first dish was Spanish Bouillabaisse with Shrimp, Clams, and Mussels.  The shrimp were huge!  Marilee Roberts and I cooked that dish for our table and it was quite simple.  You basically just threw everything together in the pan and cooked it for a few minutes and voila!  It was done!  The second course was Fluke with Leeks, Artichokes, Tomatoes, Garlic and Brandy - yum.  That was followed by Farfalle with Prosciutto, Peas, Parmigiano and Mushrooms.  Are you full yet?  To top it all off, dessert was Home-Made Ice Cream Sandwiches with Cherry Flambe and Almonds.  We had to waddle out of there.  Regions Wealth Management Group provided a little recipe book for each of us with the printed directions for each dish. 

Between courses, they played the Charlie Daniels' song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia with that very fast tempo.  My table thought it was because they wanted us to eat faster, so we did! 

Michael Klauber was the auctioneer for several items that went well and then they did a paddle raise, which raised $24,000 in a matter of minutes.  Paddle raises are becoming the hot trend and a very efficient and effective way to raise needed dollars very quickly.

A sad, but uplifting, video was played of a young boy with a serious illness to whom a wish was granted.  Honestly, I can't tell you much about the video because I tried not to see or hear it.  I did not want to be sobbing at the table, which I most definitely would have done, so I tried to distract myself by reading about the live auction items.

:Lots of laughter, lots of food, and lots of money raised - it was a lovely afternoon for all!

Co-chairs Terri Klauber and Denise Mei

Monica Barth, Sandy Albano, and Sheryl Vieira

Rochelle Nigri, Wendy Resnick, and Rebecca Blitz

Sally Schule and Kim Mancini

Stephanie Hannum and Emily Walsh

Phil Mancini and Brent Greeno

Lee-En Chung and Joy Weston

Terry McKee and Beth Bobb

Johanna Gustafsson and Chris Pinckney

Denise and Lea Mei with the ingredients

My table mates cooking

Beth Knopik

Elle McComb

The spatula centerpiece