I have been in touch with some of the best cooks in Marion County the past week or so drumming up scrumptious and decadent desserts for the “To Die For” dessert auction at the Puttin’ on the Ritz dinner Saturday night. The “To Die For” desserts really are spectacular and all of you planning to attend the Saturday dinner and concert should be sure to look over the offerings and gather your posse around you so that when the bidding begins you all are in agreement about which dessert will make everyone happy.
A number of years ago the dessert auction was the brainchild of Janet Post — no slouch herself in the cooking category. She thought we ought to add it to the Peabody Main Street benefit auction and give the bidders something different to purchase. Smart girl! I believe that first auction consisted of eight or 10 desserts and netted about $325. We were thrilled. Since then the number of desserts has remained around a dozen, but the amount of money raised has risen substantially. At the 2010 PMSA benefit auction, 13 desserts brought in just under $1,400. Talk about a sugar high!
Once again the star of the show for me will be the Million Dollar Cheesecake donated by Carmen South. All six of my regular readers know how I love to make that dessert my own. I don’t even share it with my children. I may have a real chance at buying it again this year — I have been outbid by a 7-year-old and a grandmother at the past few auctions. However, I have it on good authority that this year the grandmother is headed to western Kansas for a family reunion. Yeeessssss! Only one opponent left.
Come see how this drama unfolds. Actually there will be nothing BUT wonderful desserts available at the Saturday supper. You won’t be disappointed and my son-in-law, ol’ What’s His Name, will be the auctioneer. He will keep you so entertained you will find the bidding process quite painless.
So far the other highlights of the weekend are shaping up quite nicely as well. There is an insert in this newspaper listing many of the events on tap for the celebration. Check it out.
Come downtown to help celebrate our veterans, especially those who served in World War II. Visit the Vault of Treasures and see what was happening in Peabody during the war years. Be ready for the siege on Peabody in the afternoon. Check out the Veterans’ Roll Call window and see the many men and women related to current Peabody residents who have served your country. Let Rosie the Riveter serve you breakfast at Santa Fe Park and the World War II re-enactors show you how they lived on the move in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific islands. Enjoy the parade and fly-over. Thank the veterans you see.
Come to the free band concert and ice cream social Sunday evening, compliments of Peabody Main Street — a small token of their gratitude for your help and support honoring the men and women who have kept us free.
Enjoy!
— susan marshall