give me five

The vivacious 

April Trigg

invited us to join her

at the

Cherokee Town & Country Club

in Atlanta

on Sunday night

to attend the

Give Me Five 

event.

The function was to

benefit

Share Our Strength's

No Kid Hungry 

campaign.

Cocktails and a 

Silent Auction

began at 5:00

followed by

a seated five course dinner

with wine pairings

by Atlanta's best chefs
and sommeliers.

We began with

Chef Anthony Gray's

 Beef Carpaccio

which was paired with

Muller Thurgau, "Dolomiti"

Alois Lageder, Alto Adige,

Italy, 2010

chosen by Dorine Buche of 

BLT Steak.

Next,

we were served

Refined Potlikker Soup

courtesy of 

Chef Kevin Gillespie

of the Woodfire Grill.

It was paired with

Perrin et Fils, 'Les Sinards,'

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Blanc,

2009

chosen by Matt Bradford

of Canoe.

We delved into two delicious salads.

The first was by 

Chef Michael Deihl 

of 

East Lake Golf Club

and the second,

by

Eric Karell

of 

St. Ives Country Club.

Dinner was peppered with live

auction items

where altruistic donors

and generous patrons

raised money 

for the campaign.

At some point,

I forgot to take pictures.

However,

the main course was 

Cretan Crusted Agean Sea Striped Bass

prepared by 

Chef Pano I. Karatassos

of Kyma.

It was delightfully paired with 

Boutari Naoussa Xinomavro, 2008

chosen by 

Niko Karatassos

of Buckhead Life Restaurant Group.

Dessert was 

Milk Passion

created by 

Chef Heather L. Hurlbert

of 

HHDesserts,

paired with 

Hugel, Reisling, Vendage Tardive,

Alsace 2001.

John enjoyed meeting 

some of the chefs

while I enjoyed  

devouring the

extraordinary

 food and wine.

It was a wonderful evening

to raise money and awareness

for an

extremely worthwhile

cause.

Did you know

almost 700,000 of Georgia's children

live in food insecure households?

This means they lack access to enough food 

for an active, healthy lifestyle.

(Feeding America, August 2011)

It was one of those evenings

where I left asking myself,

'What do I do

that makes a difference?'

and 

resolving

to do more.

longing

I wish I was in 

East Hampton 

shopping

today

or

at Pierre's

in 

Bridgehampton

enjoying lunch.

Alas,

my table is empty ~

at least for

2 more weeks 

until

I go back 

for the 

Hampton Classic.

Counting the days...

legs

One of my favorite sites in

Sag Harbor ~

is the 

legs sculpture

at the home of

Ruth Vered

and 

Janet Lehr.

I don't know why,

but they make me happy

every time I drive by.

However,

the zoning board has

declared

they must come down

by September 15th.

I hope something changes.

I hope they can appeal.

I'd really miss those legs...

sunset beach

For me,

summer in the Hamptons

is never complete 

until we visit 

Sunset Beach.

So last Sunday,

with just a few days left,

John and I met up with the Ringelsteins

for dinner.

We sat downstairs

in the sand

so the girls could

have more freedom

to roam around.

The sunset was 

 still breathtaking.

Oh! What a night!

great chefs dinner

I woke up to rain and thunderstorms 

on Saturday morning.

John was in Georgia

getting Lyons ready 

for Cross Country Camp

and 

I was firmly

ensconced

on my couch.

I snuggled with the dogs

and watched

"We Bought a Zoo"

which made me cry.

By the time John returned 

in the late afternoon,

I had no desire

 in the world

to go

anywhere.

However,

we had tickets to the

 Great Chefs Dinner

at Hayground School

so

I gently reminded myself 

that you only regret the things

you don't do.

We decided to brave the dark and stormy night

and drove to Bridgehampton.

As so often happens,

I was happy I went.

The night began

under the white tent

where we were treated to

 delicious tasting stations

and an art auction.

I was so excited to meet

Eric Ripert

as we both stood in line

for Wolffer Rose'.

Later,

we made our way to 

the VIP Dinner

in Jeff's Kitchen.

It was so amazing to hear stories about

Jeff Salaway,

the beloved partner

of Nick & Toni's.

Jeff passed away tragically 

eleven years ago,

leaving his wife

and two young children.

Jeff's Kitchen is his legacy.

It is at the Hayground School

where students 

grow their own food

and prepare lunch 

every day.

The Chefs Dinner

raised money to build

Jeff's Kitchen

and supports

the Jeff Salaway Scholarship.

Every year,

the best chefs 

from New York

come out to support this event.

There are too many to list,

but you can see them 

here.

Dinner was amazing ~

from the cheese tray

before dinner ~

to the unveiling of the 

Barefoot Contessa's new 

sticky toffee date cake

for dessert.

We were able to 

watch the chefs

prepare dinner

on large flat screen tv's.

and observe them

in the open kitchen.

We enjoyed getting to know

the group 

at our table.

And
as the evening came to a close,

I was glad

I hadn't stayed 

on the couch.

rock of ages

We had a great trip into the city

this week.

John just happens to know 

the owner of the 

Helen Hayes Theater

and 

we attended 

the Broadway play

Rock of Ages.

The music was a blast from the past 

for John and me.

 Lyons & C enjoyed 

and 

rocked out 

to some old tunes

that were new to them.

Afterwards,

we were delighted

to meet the cast.

Regina ~ Josephine Rose Roberts

Drew ~ Justin Sargent

They were all so incredibly kind

and gracious.

Rock on!

chefs & champagne

We attended

Chefs & Champagne

Saturday evening

and

it was a feast 

in every way.

We delighted in the

succulent champagne,

bid on desirable auction items,

enjoyed scrumptious food,

chatted with dear friends,

and attended the fabulous VIP after party.

It was feast in every way.