Weekend Cooking - Edible Extravaganza

 Beth Fish Reads sponsors this weekly meme where we foodies can chat about cookbooks, cooking gadgets, recipes, or anything else gustatory. Be sure to stop over there to find other terrific weekend cooking posts.

This weekend I want to spout a bit about a fabulous event I attended Thursday nite.  I didn't have to cook.  In fact, I didn't have to do anything but show up hungry.  My sister-in-law in Modesto works for a local radio station.  They were one of the corporate sponsors of "Edible Extravaganza" a benefit for the Center for Human Services.  There were food booths from over 50 restaurants, wineries, and sweet shops.  The champagne (and other wonderful California wines) flowed freely.  There was live music, a silent auction, door prizes, and lots of fun people.  But it was definitely the food that was the star of the event. I'm not able to upload some pictures I took, but there was sushi, ravioli, baked penne, about seventy-eleven varieties of Mexican goodies and salsas, roast beef, pulled pork, homemade creme brulee icecream, homemade bread pudding, chocolate covered grapes, all kinds of cakes and candies, shrimp satay, cupcakes, sauteed scallops and crab puffs, wine, sparkling lemonade, watermelon basil coolers, polenta with goat cheese lamb ragout, more wine, jelly beans, florentine chicken on garlic mashed potatoes, salads (for the silly few who wanted to maintain the illusion they were watching their intake) more wine, and just tons and tons of fun.  I had no idea that this town in the middle of the Central Valley of California could be home to so many divinely delicious eateries.  A great way to spend a vacation evening.