Friends Cook to Celebrate Wendy's Big 6-o
40 of our friends gathered at Draeger's cooking school in
Menlo Park to mark Wendy's "Big 6-o" milestone. She randomly selected
groups
of 10 people per 4 cooking stations, which each created 1 to 2 elaborate hors
d'oeuvres. None of our friends is shy, but as a conversation starter
along with lots of wine and a starter-snack, each person's nametag had their
cooking station and a code indicating how they were
connected to us. People had to guess among many categories, e.g., P (Diana's
playgroup), G (Gourmet), Y (YMCA), B (Book Club), etc.
We must have great (and tolerant) friends because they are still having fun
with us despite knowing us for 10 to over 30 years!
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(Above Far L) Wendy and Rick and (Above L) Wendy and our 1st friend
in CA, Phyllis, pose before heading out to Draeger's Cooking School. (Above R and Far R) Before we touch any food, we must wash our hands and put on our aprons! |
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(Above and Below L to R) Once everyone was divided into groups, it
was time for serious prep work, which of course required lots of teamwork, communication and the occasional tasting to ensure tasty tidbits! |
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After some serious cooking there were occasional breaks for posing.
(Above Far L) Carolyn, John, Pete, Margaret, Glenne and Garner. (Above L) Mark the official griller. (Above R) Brian and Chris are working on blini. (Above Far R) Barbara is shocked at the effort required for arroncini while Reed just keeps stuffing them for baking. |
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(Above Far L) Rebecca serves the blini with salmon and creme fraiche.
(Above L) Wendy with Reed and Meryl. (Above R) Barbara serves arroncini which are risotto balls filled with mozzarella. (Above Far R) Jim, Frank and Larry might or might not be discussing the finer points of arroncini-making. |
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Once the delicious food was cooked, the rest of the evening focused
on eating, drinking and more conversations. (Above Far L) Pete, Margaret, Larry and Bob. (Above L) Becky and her dad Norm. (Above R) Rebecca and Garner. (Above Far R) Phyllis and Geoff. |
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10:00 p.m. everyone was quite jolly and relaxed. (Above Far L)
Margaret, Dave and Rick. (Above L) Jim, Retta and Jack. (Above R) Among the group were Pete, Margaret, Barbara and Harry. (Above Far R) Wendy blows out the candle while everyone gathers around to taste the chocolate cupcakes. Wendy had a great time at her party! |
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