I was never a Girl Scout as a kid. My sister did it for a year but it never really appealed to us. Nevertheless, like most people in this country we certainly enjoyed the cookies – no box of Samoas was safe around me. Surprisingly, as I’ve gotten older I find that I don’t actually like cookies and am not tempted by the persistent girls at the grocery store; however, I am a sucker for my nieces and always end up with at least a box every year.
Tonight was the Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan (GSSEM)’s big fundraiser – the Cookie Gala. The event was held at the DTE Energy building downtown and Melanie invited me to go with her. Neither of us knew what to expect and were pleasantly surprised to find an assortment of treats and finger foods.
The event was part silent auction and part cookie competition. Ten restaurants competed to see who could best transform the Girl Scout cookie of their choice into a culinary masterpiece. I’m proud to say I did not have all ten samples; however, Melanie and I did taste most of them.
As far as desserts go the hands down winner was the Tagalong churro and ice cream presented by Aramark Corporation (below). Melanie and I were shocked it didn’t win a prize. Although I didn’t try the cheesecake, my favorite submission was the shrimp breaded with Do-Si-Do cookies (above). I have no idea what the pink sauce drizzled on top is but it tasted amazing! The St. Clair Inn created the dish and I don’t believe they won a prize either.
The purpose of the evening of course was not to indulge in delicious food but to celebrate and raise money for the GSSEM. As noted, I wasn’t a Scout and I don’t know much about the organization. I was surprised at how aggressively they promoted the Scouts as an entrepreneurial program. That is not something I previously identified with the organization (my experience has generally been moms leaving sign up sheets and asking for orders) but I think it is an admirable objective. One of the evening’s speakers was Kayla. She is a student at Renaissance High School and was last year’s top selling scout. She is only 16 but she did a wonderful job speaking.
It was a great event and a wonderful Wednesday night.
CarrieDaway 