Favorite Things - Dinner for a Cause

DINNER FOR A CAUSE
by Chris Wilbeck
August 2009

Kevin and I attended the Iowa Rivers Revival conference held this spring in the river town of Webster City. At the conference dinner, an auction was held to raise money for the non-profit organization whose mission is to increase public awareness about river recreation opportunities and water quality initiatives.

One of the items up for auction was an Italian dinner for 10 prepared and donated by Chef Rand Lehman of Des Moines. It took little effort to convince the folks at our table to chip in on a bid for the dinner. We "won" and enjoyed our auction prize in June. Chef Rand came to our home and, with help from his wife Kim, served us a terrific meal on our front porch.

I set the scene and served the appetizers which included artichoke-garlic dip, lemon-basil goat cheese from Northern Prairie Chevre, red pepper hummus and chunky salsa with chips. Chef Rand prepared the main course which included a tossed Italian salad, rosemary-infused artisan bread, and scrumptious spaghetti with meatballs. Dessert was a gourmet white-chocolate raspberry brownie "to die for."

Before dinner was served, Rand greeted us and gave us a description of the meal. While preparations were underway, we gave our guests a tour of the Pool Bin and Camp Coyote. When we returned, the chilled salad plates were set out and we dug in! Unfortunately, I was too engaged in enjoying the dinner with my guests to take any photos of Rand's dishes. But, trust me, they were terrific! Check out his website at Pan4Hire.com.