The Savor the Moment 10th Anniversary Celebration: Definitely "A Night to Remember!"

Janel Williams, Alison Gatto, Linda Gunn & Frank Forlini

One week ago, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Junior League of Boca Raton's Cookbook, "Savor the Moment." Yes, the same cookbook I've been cooking my way through for the past year! Thanks to our amazing Cookbook Committee led by Co-Chairs Alison Gatto and Janel Williams, it was a magical evening of food, wine and fun that truly celebrated our James Beard Award-winning Cookbook and the fabulous ladies who created it! 

The celebration was held at the beautiful Seagate Beach Club and featured delicious culinary creations from Chef Chris Schaefer inspired by recipes from the Cookbook. The fabulous hors d'oeuvres for our cocktail party included:

 Nueske Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with Point Reyes Blue Cheese & Marcona Almonds

Marinated Cherry Tomato, Spicy Mozzarella & Broken Balsamic Vinaigrette

Brie en croute with Raspberry Jam

Crab Tater Tots with Black Truffle and Old Bay Aioli

Chicken Marakesh, Peppadew, Red Pepper & Onion

Jerk Marinated Grouper, Banana Chutney & Crisp Plantain



An assortment of delicious cupcakes from All-Star Cupcakes and "Savor the Moment" inspired desserts created by Chef Jennifer Reed of The Sugar Monkey rounded out the evening beautifully. Desserts included:

Chocolate Turtle Tart

Bourbon Butter Glazed Cake

Key Lime White Chocolate Cheesecake

Pear Napoleon with Apple Cider Cream

In addition to plenty of fabulous food and wine, the evening also featured an amazing raffle chock full of specialty lots tailored for food and wine lovers. From Private Chef's services to Waterford crystal to a Chef's table dinner with wine pairings - tickets sold like hotcakes! Our raffle donors included 32 East, Art Sea Living, Bloomingdale's, Boca Bacchanal, Boca Bons, The Boca Raton Resort & Club, Brewzzi, Brooke Qualk, Caffe Luna Rosa, City Oyster, Cut 432, Café Boulud, Frederic Fekkai, John Paul Custom Cuisine, The Melting Pot, Neiman Marcus, Sigrid Olsen, Seasons 52, Southern Wine & Spirits, Stephanie Savors the Moment, The Sundy Houe, Taboo, Waterford Crystal and Where the Fairytale Begins. Their generous donations allowed us to raise a nice sum of money that will benefit our local community projects. 

Many thanks to our event Sponsors CDS International Holdings, the Seagate Beach Club, Worthing Place and Paul & Kathy Adkins for making the evening such a success! Big thanks too, to Brenda Lusher and her company Mizner Industries for creating the beautiful "Savor the Moment" 10th Anniversary commemorative tiles for the event. Also, our celebration could not have been possible without the AMAZING managers at the Seagate Beach Club, Cathy McNellen and Frank Forlini as well as an entire staff of truly wonderful people. They made the entire process, from planning to our incredible evening, a delightful experience!

The only unfortunate thing to report about the evening was that, after breaking a bone in my leg two weeks prior, I was on crutches - ugh! Thankfully, my husband was nice enough to paint my crutches pink to coordinate with my Lilly Pulitzer dress - thanks, Hon! All in all though, it was a fabulous evening with friends full of moments to savor! Be sure to check out the slideshow on the right side of this page for even more fun photos from the event.

As for my blog, I will continue to wrap up the recipes in the "Savor the Moment" until the end of the year - stay tuned for some exciting announcements about what's to come in 2011!

Bon Appétit,