WHEN IT PAYS TO KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE

One of the three couples in our Tiny Dinner Club has this thing they do. Every year our town's civic club hosts a Spring Fling, where lots of different people volunteer to host a party or a game day or teach a class, at their own expense. Hoards of people sign up online and pay to take part in these activities, then all that money goes to different charitable causes right here in our community. Four years ago our friends Ken and Sherri decided to host a dinner -- an epic, tapas style dinner with five or six courses and wine pairings -- and it was such a huge hit that they've continued doing it, with different menus, each year since. We don't always manage to get a place at the table for that event, since word has spread and the limited seats sell out fast. But, as I said, it pays to know the right people!

Ken, Sherri and daughter Bella do all the cooking, while Sherri's mama hosts the official event at her home, where there is more table space, china and crystal!

Fortunately for us, they like to do a test run and get some feedback before the big event, and the members of our little dinner club get to be the guinea pigs. The theme? A Taste of Texas! Below you see the full lineup, minus the "amuse bouche" starter that I jumped in and wolfed down before I remembered to take a photo. It was a plate with chips, homemade guacamole and a cup of the most amazing queso with shredded beef.

(please forgive me, Ken and Sherri, for not remembering the proper names and ingredients of each course, being too busy wolfing, as mentioned above)

Next came these little risotto-like patties made from grits, topped with grilled and glazed shrimp wrapped in bacon...

followed by all of this!

Daughter Bella's Tomato Basil Soup

A Pheasant Taco that I can't even begin to describe, and the best slaw I ever ate!

A Grilled Pork Thingy And Caramelized Scalloped Potatoes With A Hint Of Fruit Somewhere

Last but certainly not least was a bread pudding that my bread-pudding-hater-husband actually devoured! Why? Because it started with a scratch-made biscuit, so you had a mix of creamy and crunchy, instead of the usual gelatinous gooiness.

We feel certain the "official" meal will be a roaring success, as we could not find a single thing to suggest or change this time. Well, other than maybe just giving them a dab of that queso on the very first course, instead of a cupful, which no one could seem to stop eating, even though we knew we still had five courses to go! Maybe that way they won't have to roll them all out to their cars, as they did us.