Gala for the JPW Learning Center

This Thursday, I have the great honor to do something totally unexpected: Dave and I are the guests at a Cookbook Gala at a country club (!) – and the menu includes recipes from Well Fed. It’s a fundraiser for the JPW Learning Center, an organization that provides alternative educational instruction for children or adults with Dyslexia and other learning differences. With my addiction to reading, I couldn’t possibly say ‘no’ to the opportunity to help.

The other “celebrity chef” is Lou Lambert, restaurateur and author of the cookbook Big Ranch, Big City Cookbook: Recipes From Lambert’s Texas Kitchens… and the owner of Lambert’s, our favorite restaurant in Austin. I’m pretty excited to meet Lou and get the inside scoop on his Crispy Wild Boar Ribs.

About the JPW Learning Center

Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Williams established the JPW Learning Center in 1985, in memory of their son who struggled with dyslexia his entire life. According to the organization’s literature, James “suffered from academic frustration and disappointment as a result of a learning difference that is not often recognized or adequately addressed in traditional classrooms.”

Learning disabilities affect an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the general population – which puts both children and adults at increased risk for academic and social failure. In addition, approximately 80 percent of the U.S. prison population exhibits some form of learning disability resulting in illiteracy. The JPW Learning Center works to raise public awareness of the issues, to help teachers get the skills they need to recognize and teach those with learning differences, and to enhance national literacy programs.

About the Cookbook Gala

If you’re in or near San Angelo on Thursday, September 19, maybe you want to join us! (I got a new dress, and Dave’s probably going to wear tie. Swankiness for a good cause.)

The Gala will be held at Bentwood Country Club. Cocktails begin at 6:00 p.m. (I’ll be drinking club soda with lemon wedges) and dinner is served at 7:00 p.m. Some of the dishes on the menu should look familiar:

The Menu
Waldorf Tuna Salad prepared three ways wrapped in lettuce (from Well Fed)
Scotch Eggs with a Moroccan Dipping Sauce (from Well Fed)
Salt and Pepper Crusted Prime Rib (from Big Ranch, Big City)
Stewed Okra and Tomatoes (from Big Ranch, Big City)
Green Chili Grits (from Big Ranch, Big City)
Fried Apples with Bacon and Pecans (from Well Fed)

The meal will be prepared by Bentwood Country Club’s Executive Chef Chad Lowry – I love eating my recipes when other people make them! – and the menu will be accompanied by wines from the Christoval Winery and Wine Master Drex Vincent.

A silent auction will beheld throughout the evening – all benefiting the JPW Learning Center, and music will be provided by Dedra Knox. The cost for the meal is $150 per person or $1200 per table seating 8. Call 325-655-2331 to reserve a seat.

Both of our cookbooks will be for sale at the Cookbook Gala, courtesy of SugarBaker’s Kitchen Emporium, and I’ll be signing copies of Well Fed at the SugarBaker’s store on Friday, September 20, from 10:00 a.m. to noon.