Good people.

These are the words that keep popping into my head as I struggle with how to begin writing about my Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24 experience.  But this is supposed to be about food, I keep telling myself, not people!  Yet without the amazing folks I met along the way, this would never have turned into something so memorable and full of meaning.  Yes, it’s all about the food, but in my opinion, the company you keep makes it all taste even better.  And this, my friends, was one memorable meal!

I became one of the chosen 24 after submitting a last minute proposal to Foodbuzz, a cutting edge social network site for foodies.  They’re the kind folks who place the advertisement on The Wicked Noodle while presenting many other fun opportunites for food bloggers just like this one.  Foodbuzz had sent out an email to all their Featured Publishers asking for submissions to their monthly 24, 24, 24 dinner – 24 meals, 24 hours, 24 blogs.  Each submission had to outline what your “dream dinner” would be, which could be anything from eating at every taco stand in Southern California (which would be so awesome!) to cooking up a fireside dinner under the stars (hmmm…maybe next month’s proposal?).  If accepted, Foodbuzz would provide a $250 stipend to assist you with your dream dinner.

The proposal for my dream dinner was inspired by the new home, town and state in which I’ve lived since this past December.  Having spent sixteen years in sunny California, then another three just outside Annapolis, Maryland, I am now living in a country setting in the northern part of Virginia.  Surrounded by both cattle and dairy farms along with plenty of local produce, this is a great place to be if you enjoy food the way my family and I do.  It’s been an exciting new experience for us – and a tasty one, too!  Yet, at the time of my proposal, we hadn’t had the opportunity to purchase any of these locally grown delights.  Moving into this area in winter meant that we were pretty much shut in, waiting for spring to arrive so we could really start exploring the wonderful things this area has to offer.  The possibility of a Foodbuzz dinner couldn’t have come at a better time.

I proposed that I would host a dinner, prepared with locally grown organic produce, meats and dairy, as well as wines from our local Virginia wineries.  The extra twist was that we would only invite acquaintances from our new area here in Virginia whom we had not previously socialized with.  In short, I wanted to bring my new community together by enjoying the hard work of our farmers, and celebrate the fact that we have such amazing food so readily available to us.

Once I found out that we’d been chosen, we (“we” being my husband, Alan, and me) immediately began to decide who we would, and should, invite.  We realized that most of the folks on our list were already fans of The Wicked Noodle, so we decided to turn the dinner into a sort of thank you to those who had been most supportive.  There was Karen, Elizabeth and Michael from Alan’s place of business, who all read The Wicked Noodle daily and have been fans from the start.  There was Michelle, who I met at the gym, and her friend Angela who became a friend of mine through Facebook because of Michelle.  Then there was Maryanne, a city-data.com user who had dispensed invaluable advice to us when we were deciding where in NoVa to move.  Last but not least, and the only exception to our “has to be virtually a stranger” rule, was Alan’s mother and her significant other, who had flown in from California to check out our new surroundings.

Next, I began planning the menu.  This was a much more difficult task than I’d imagined, specifically because it’s, well, April.  Let me tell you, not much is in season in NoVa during the month of April.  Thankfully, asparagus and spinach were on my side, or I’m not sure I could have pulled this off!  I searched through cookbooks, magazines and the internet, before deciding on this menu:

Appetizers

• Soft goat cheese and hot pepper jelly on water crackers
• Gorgonzola topped with dried cherries soaked in balsamic vinegar, served on water crackers
• Sparkling wine

First course

• Spinach and microgreen salad with fresh citrus dressing, served in parmigiano-reggiano cups

Main course

• Chicken Wellington
  
• Freshly picked, roasted asparagus
• Roasted fingerling potatoes with rosemary

Dessert

• Honey ricotta cheesecake with a biscotti crust, served with warm chocolate sauce
• Hand-dipped chocolate covered strawberries

roasted asparagus

roasted fingerlings

a few of the wellingtons that spelled out "foodbuzz"

It was about this time that I had a thought: Perhaps some of the local newspapers would be interested in covering this story?  It could be a nice little feature, a way to give a bit of publicity to many different businesses in our community.  I called two newspapers and waited.  The second never called back, but the first, Middleburg Life, called almost immediately.  The call came from Noel Ryan, one of the coolest people I’ve met.  Worldly but incredibly down to earth and approachable, he was a welcome addition to our dinner, along with his fabulous girlfriend Julie who generously offered up her talents as a personal chef!

I want to take a moment here to tell you how crazy excited I was about this.  A personal chef and local press?  My little dinner just kept getting better and better!

Planning this dinner took a bit of work and careful planning, but the end result was so much darn fun that I wish I could do it all over again tomorrow!  I was curious to see how it would all play out, considering that not only did our guests not know one another, but we barely knew any of our guests!  This would either be a huge success or a boring, stodgy dinner that everyone would be glad to be done with.

But I’m happy to say that it was a huge success!  Every one of our guests entered our house an acquaintance but left our home a friend.  What fun, down-to-earth, smart, successful, interesting and charismatic people!  Everyone seemed comfortable and relaxed…well, the wine surely didn’t hurt! ;-)  And to think that I was repeatedly warned before moving here that people in Northern Virginia are not friendly, that it’s a “cold” place to live.  My experience has been the complete opposite, and this dinner proves it!

So where did we find all these organic goodies?  Here are the companies that shared their time and delicious products with us:

1. Home Farm – Organic, Natural & Humane Meats, Poultry & Game.  This is where we purchased our produce, as well as the chicken for the main course.  The spinach, and especially the asparagus, was quite possibly the best I’ve ever tasted.  Microgreens and mushrooms were also simply amazing.  The chicken was just fabulous, tender and moist with superb flavor.  I wish I had the budget to buy from these folks every single day!  They’re worth every penny!
2. Blue Ridge Dairy – We purchased the majority of our dairy from here.  The fresh ricotta!  The freshly made butter!  The smoked mozzarella!  Okay, we didn’t try the mozzarella, but it’s next on our list!  A special shout-out to Michelle, a knowledgeable Blue Ridge Dairy employee turned friend!  So happy to have met you!
3. South Street Under – This is where we scored some freshly baked garlic ciabatta bread, you know, to go with that freshly made butter.  Heaven, anyone?
4. Bigg Riggs Farm – Although their farm is in West Virginia, we’re so darn close to the border that it’s considered local fare.  Their hot pepper jelly was the perfect accompaniment to soft goat cheese!
5. Aldie Peddler – This is one groovy little shop!  Wally, the owner, is friendly and engaging, and really cares about his customers.  With a number of local wines to choose from, as well as scores from around the world, you’ll never leave this place empty handed.  We served the following local wines, purchased from the Aldie Peddler:

Whites

• Pinot Gris, 2007 Fox Meadow Vineyards
• Chardonnay, 2007 Gray Ghost (Alan’s favorite!)

Reds

• Claret Monticello, 2007 Veritas
• Ameritage, 2005 Pearmund (Angela’s favorite!)

A special note to thank Julie, our personal chef, for her inspiring contribution to our dinner!  She selflessly volunteered her time and amazing talents to help make this a memorable dinner for all of us.  If anyone is ever looking for a personal chef, I highly recommend her.  And I personally know fourteen other people who would do the same!

And thanks to Foodbuzz, too!  This dinner very likely would not have happened without your inspiration.  You don’t have to have a blog to join their free site, so if you’re a foodie – and let’s face it, you wouldn’t be on my site if you weren’t – you should really check them out!

julie and kristy, prepping dinner

a few of our guests

my handsome husband