Compared to where I grew up, I live in a small town.  Right here I feel like I should insert a perennial Hee- Haw favorite.  Marshall, MN – population 13,700 – SALUTE! More than once, comments have been made to our family with noses turned up, “What do you do for fun there?”

The truthful answer is we make our own.  We spend time with friends doing all sorts of things, but nine times out of ten our fun has some food component.  My favorite plans (and meals) are the ones that get put together about eleven minutes before they happen.  It might be a chance meeting in the grocery store and then – Voila! – we have the makings of an impromptu party.

I relish small town living, and for me, personally, the only major drawback is the missed opportunities involving food, particularly fine dining. Another even smaller town restaurant had coursed meals for years, but the chef moved away, much to my broken heart.  We loved driving down and enjoying a relaxing evening among friends and strangers alike.  But those glory days are now done.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to put my love of food – cooking, eating, and fine dining – to good use.  The result was an eight coursed meal for two special young people in my life for their first prom.  I posted a few comments on Facebook about my busy day, which elicited quite a few inquiries as to what I was doing.  So, I am using today’s blog to tell a story of food, but it is more so a story of two families who created their own fun for one afternoon.

All courses were homemade, except for the bread (which I simply just ran out of time) and cheese (but reassured I do know the cows).

Course One –lemon sorbet

Course Two – fresh fruit bowl

Course Three – bacon wrapped scallops

Course Four – strawberry gazpacho

Course Five – baby lettuce, pecans, red onions, feta cheese with homemade lemon balm/basil/blueberry vinaigrette

Course Six – Assorted cheeses, bread, dipping oil with pesto

Course Seven – Grilled T-bone steaks with steamed purple and gold potatoes served with steamed yellow and green summer squash with dill and sea salt.

Course Eight – Mini-cheesecakes with fresh berries

In the end, the sun was shining, the prom goers and staff (parents and siblings) were well fed, and many laughs ensued.  So what do we do for fun in a small town?  You never can tell what we come up with next!