Pam has been telling me for some time that I need to host an Culinary Fund Raiser, but I have no restaurant! How could I hold a fund raiser? Well...I bought myself a new toy recently, not a toy really, a fine piece of back yard cooking equipment and a great tool for feeding a lot of people. It is a wok. Not an ordinary wok, mind you. This one was custom built for me by a gentleman from Kansas. It is made from a heavy cast iron disk used for turning soil in the farming fields. The hole in the center of the disk is welded shut and heavy sides are added. Custom handles are built and mounted on the sides. I built a custom cover for the thing so it would stay clean and well seasoned and retard rusting. It is designed to sit on my Turkey Fryer stand with propane bottle. Anyone who has used one knows they crank out some BTU's. Here is a look:
That is a one gallon bottle of peanut oil for your perspective.
There is a lady in Algodones, Mexico who has a most famous Shrimp Taco Stand. Anyone in the southwest will tell you a tale of her if they have ever been to that town. It is a four hour drive to the border and many people I know including myself will make the trip to stand in line for her shrimp tacos. This past summer Pam and I worked hard on duplicating her recipe and pretty well nailed it down. Heck...it's only Shrimp Tacos right?
We decided last week to hold a party at the RV Park where we winter, down in Arizona. I had a 5 lb. box of 21-25 white shrimp and a wok. I also have a friend who has a wok like mine, so that would take some of the pressure off of me. I drafted an invitation and placed them around the park. We also told as many people as we could about the party, but with only one days' notice. There are about 200 folks in the park. 22 of the were on a cruise to Mexico, so that narrowed it down. These people did not know that I was there to raise some money. But I did tip them off when the Culinary Pig showed up at the gateway to the park where we held the event. He was there instead of the tip jar with a note explaining that any proceeds were going to the Chefs4Students.org Culinary Grant Fund.
Everyone was invited down to the park for a complimentary Shrimp Taco and a Mini Margarita, compliments of Pam and I and some great friends. We had a big ole bonfire and people were invited to bring along a side dish to pass if they wanted to hang around for a while. My buddy Frank and his wife Karen and another fella named Louis helped us set up and serve, a couple others jumped in as the park started to fill up. Everyone was interested in our Margarita Machine which dispensed two ounce shots of Margaritas into 2 ounce portion cups dipped in Rose's Lime Juice and Margarita Salt.
We had butterflied the shrimp from head to tail so the were long enough to span a white corn tortilla when fried in beer batter. We had condiments of shredded cabbage, red onions thinly sliced in a spicy bath of Cholula seasoning and sauce, Cholula Sauce itself, Mexican Sour Cream, Salsa, Limes and Shredded Cheese. The tortillas were warmed on a warming plate and topped with a beer batter fried shrimp. Then the folks would go down the line of condiments and then to the Margarita Machine. Then they went off to the Pot Luck table which filled up very nicely.
Everyone was very happy, most came back for seconds and thirds.
Pam was in charge of the Margarita Machine and was very popular, especially with the guys. Here she is with helpers and friends Boyd and Rich
About 75 people came to our gig with little or no notice and with no idea that is was a fund raiser. We just said we would send whatever landed in the Culinary Pig's belly to the Yampa Valley Community Foundation. Low and behold...at the end of the event, about two hours, there was $99.50 in the Culinary Pig. I added a couple of quarters and we raised a quick $100. SPECIAL NOTE February 20th, 2007: Park mates, fellow cook and server, Frank and Karen Holsapple just dropped by and handed us a $50 bill to go towards the fund, so we will cut a check for $150 to the foundation. YEHAW!
So...for the cost of some shrimp and Margaritas and a few condiments, we raised some money without any big deal. I think when we go home to Colorado this spring, we will let our foodie friends know that we are holding a culinary fund raising Shrimp Taco and Mini Margarita Pot Luck. Bring a dish and $25 a head for the cause. I bet we can raise a bundle. We'll let you know.