[Newsletter] A story or two from Laurey's for December 1, 2014

The Weekly Newsletter for December 1, 2014

Please call to Reserve your spot - Comfort and Joy Dinner this Friday

We are so looking forward to our Comfort and Joy Dinner, continuing a years-long tradition. Eek! It's this coming Friday! Can't wait to see you all!

Please call the office at (828) 252-1500 to reserve your spot at this joyful welcoming of the holiday season.

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Join us for a warm and cozy night of dinner, conversation and carols.

Hosted by Heather Masterton and our own Jenna Lindbo

This Friday night, December 5, 6:30 pm, here in the Garden Room at Laurey's Cafe.

The menu...

Wild Mushroom Pate

Balsamic Roma Bruschetta

Lump Crab Cakes with Old Bay Tartar

Cauliflower Bisque

Slow Braised Hickory Nut Gap Beef

with Wine, Celery Root Puree, Charred Broccolini

Crusty Hearth Bread & Butter

Chocolate Decadence Cake

with Bourbon Creme Anglaise

$49.95 per person

Kid's plate $15

This is a very family friendly event! Kid's plate includes a drink and specials!

Hand picked wines & local beers will be available by the bottle.

Please call us at (828) 252-1500 to reserve your spot for dinner.

Friday evening, December 5, a wonderful celebration of the approach of the shortest days of the year.

Cheers,

Heather

Kentucky dreams

Dear friends,

We gathered in Kentucky for Thanksgiving this year: Lucinda and Heather (Laurey's sisters) and our family.

One of the outstanding features was Greg's unbelievable Candy Roaster Squashes.

Lucinda and Greg wrestled them into submission in the root cellar.

(In this picture, Lucinda can barely manage to carry TWO of them.)

This was their final presentation, baked gloriously with Mutsu Apples (from Hendersonville!) and homemade Cranberry Chutney.

I've included a few photos from our gathering in this issue - and hope you all had a glorious weekend!

- from Heather Masterton

Dinners to go for the week

Here are dinners to go for this week. This, if you do not know, is a fabulous way to have dinner. It's easy - just call us by noon and your dinner will be ready for you to pick up by 3 that very day.

You can stop by to pick yours up until we close at 8.

Add salad (3.25) or bread (1.25) if you like.

Monday, December 1

Chicken Cordon Bleu $8.95

Tuesday, December 2

Tomato Yellow Branch Cheddar Pie $8.25

Wednesday, December 3

Quinoa Paella with Shrimp $11.95 **GF**

Thursday, December 4

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes $8.95

Friday, December 5

Cornmeal Trout with Broccolini $12.95 **GF**

....and (on Monday) you can use this link to see all the December Dinners-To-Go!

Casserole and Lasagnas to go!

Casserole of the Week

whole serves (9) ~ half serves (4)

Wednesday, December 3

Honey Mustard Pork Loin

& Potato Gratin

Whole $48/Half $24

Lasagna of the Week

whole serves (9) ~ half serves (4)

Friday, December 5

Zucchini Parmesan

Whole $42/Half $21

Byrne and the Buncombe Country Rescue Squad

In August, our own shopster Byrne, talked to me about his work with the Buncombe County Rescue Squad.

One of the best best things about Laurey's operation has always been that wonderful and interesting individuals pass through our doors. They root themselves in this terrific town, meet the folks they will have as neighbors for years to come, and find their own niche. Sometimes we get to see them at Laurey's for years and years, sometime they move along out into the community.

Byrne came to us from San Francisco, a firefighter who trained at the City College of San Francisco's Fire Academy. Byrne grew up across the street from a fire station, and like many youngsters dreamed of this career. (Just like Adam and Emily's Henry, yes?)

When a firefighter moves across the country, there is a degree of reciprocity between states to facilitate transfers, and a formal process of becoming certified. Firefighters are first responders, and all are now EMT's; many become paramedics as well. (Byrne got his local EMT license here in July.)

Even with that, Byrne needed to establish himself here, and one of the ways to earn the credentials to move along into a fire department in a new state is to involve yourself as a volunteer with a Rescue Squad.

In the Fire Academy he trained to the rank of Firefighter 1; his area of interest is in Wilderness Search and Rescues, and the volunteer arm of the Buncombe County Rescue Squad does just that.

In August, the Mountain Express's Jessica Farthing posted this great article about the BCRS - - and featured photos of Search and Rescue (SAR) training sessions.

And whaddya know - photos of our guy, in service! (It's a staged training exercise - Byrne is at the top left - go Byrne!!)

We thought that in honor of the season of giving, and the season of thanks, you'd like to see a little bit about these wonderful men and women. BCRS's board member Mary Summers marvels, "They give their best to people who are at their worst". The squad joins other first responders in work that is emotionally and physically taxing.
(Read Jesse's article, won't you? It's a great story of real rescues, too!).

Founded by community members in 1962, the BCRS was originally funded in large part by their own Women's Auxiliary - imagine ambulances purchased by candy sales! Today, the Buncombe County Rescue Squad pays the staff who provide medical services compensated by insurance, but that is just a small part of what they do - all the Wilderness work is done by volunteers, like Byrne. They also stand by to help firefighters under stress on the job, or for more light-hearted assignments at UNCA athletic events or with the Blue Ridge Roller Girls.

This month of December will see a ribbon-cutting for the new ambulance (that replaced one that spontaneously combusted last July!) A very large gap beyond insurance was partly closed by a grant from the Community Foundations' Janirve Foundation. (They are still trying to cover this emergency; you can send support to them here. And thank you!!)

Even more, Byrne tells me the squad is always looking for new sources of volunteers.

If you have wilderness skills, and would like a chance to be a part of this amazing work, talk to Byrne at our shop, or call Buncombe County Rescue Squad.

Want a look at some Rescue Training? The BCRS Facebook page says they were looking forward to the Mountain Rigging Operations at the Dupont Rescue Experience. Gee whiz!!

Laurey's notes (from a lifetime of writing)

[So much has been written about Laurey and her life projects, but of course the best spokesman is Laurey herself. In this column we present archival reprints of her messages.]

November, 2005

I write to you this week from Seattle. It is cold, rainy, grey. Early this morning the water from the Puget Sound woke me up as it smashed into the deck of our house. The waves hit so hard that the whole house shuddered. It's a good day for comic books and hot chowder.

I'm here to be a part of the Women Chefs and Restaurateur's conference. This year I am cooking at one meal, speaking at one session, helping with two other sessions and being a regular attendee whenever else I get time. Tomorrow I am scheduled to go to an Oyster Farm (I hope it stops pouring by then!) and then out to a dinner. As you can imagine, there are lots of dinners and events and times to taste new things. Over the course of these next few days there will be a whole lot of tasting. I feel full in anticipation, to be truthful.

I have been coming to these conferences for a long time, but this is the first time I get to really cook something. It feels like a big deal to me. I walked around the hotel kitchen this morning, finding my way in and out of the ovens, pans, cooks. The sous chef was gracious to me. The whole staff has been warned that this conference is taking over the whole hotel for the weekend so everyone is very nice.

I can't help feeling that I am "playing cook," but on Sunday, some 300 folks will be eating my roasted vegetables for lunch - along with food from many other chefs, to be sure. Of course it will all be fine. The produce is from local farms, but I feel a bit out of my element, nervous that I won't do well. (But really, what might I imagine that could happen to roasted vegetables?)

Oh - here's a fun little story: this morning, as I was waiting for the desk clerk at the hotel to look something up, I saw a steady stream of very tall men wandering through the lobby, making their way out to a bus. Turns out they were The Timberwolves - a professional basketball team on their way to today's game with the Seattle Supersonics. I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I CAN say that these men were all VERY tall! (We have one client in Asheville who used to be an NBA player, and, whenever I see him it amuses me that I have to crank my head all the way back- just - to look into his face.) Well, these guys were ALL that tall.

Anyway - it's kind of fun to be here, a bit intimidating, but exciting all the same. I'll be back next week. I'll tell you all about it then.

[source: Laurey's newsletter, November, 2005 ]

- Heather Masterton

..and don't forget to call! Comfort and Joy! Friday night, December 5

Join us for a warm and cozy night of dinner, conversation and carols.

Call for reservations: (828) 252-1500.

THIS Friday night, December 5, 6:30 pm, here in the Garden Room at Laurey's Cafe.

The menu...